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bigquestions

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 13, 2012
1
0
So I'm currently in the middle of my contract and am looking to upgrade to the 5 tonight when presale comes out. I'm hearing different things so I'm a little confused as to whether I will be eligible to make a purchase.

According to some sources, purchasing an unlocked iphone will be unavailable until some later point in time. I'm assuming that because I'm still on contract, that I'd essentially have to purchase an unlocked phone - is this true?

If not, will I still be eligible to pay full price for a new upgrade later tonight? And, are there any additional fees tacked on for upgrading early?
 

KPOM

macrumors P6
Oct 23, 2010
18,020
7,863
You can still purchase the full-priced phone. It will be locked, though you can request an unlock since you are paying full price. The unlocked phone being sold later is not tied to a carrier to start with.
 

dave006

macrumors 68040
Jul 3, 2008
3,566
889
Just West of East
Based on past iPhone pre-orders cycles:

If you pre-order an upgrade tonight and you enter your current line, the system will provide the price for the new iPhone 5. You will get one of 3 price points: full subsidy, reduced subsidy, and full price.

Go here and check the price that you will be offered for a pre-order:

http://store.apple.com/xc/iphone_eligibility

If you continue with the order at either of the 2 reduced prices, you will be restarting a new 2 year contract. If you are only offered the full price, then your contract is not restarted but the iPhone is still going to be carrier locked.

Dave
 
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