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stafil

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 15, 2017
425
297
Why do I have to pay $30 activation extortion fee if I buy an XR from Apple full price and just swapped my sim? Also why isn't there a carrier-free XR?
 
Which carrier is trying to rob you??? I’m with T-Mobile and there’s no charge. Just swap your old sim into the new one. No carrier should charge a fee.
 
Which carrier is trying to rob you??? I’m with T-Mobile and there’s no charge. Just swap your old sim into the new one. No carrier should charge a fee.

Unfortunately T-Mobile’s service is very unreliable in my area.
 

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Unfortunately T-Mobile’s service is very unreliable in my area.

Ah those thieves. I left ATT 3 years ago and couldn’t be happier. You could always call customer service and ask them to waive the fee or else u will change carriers. Give it a try.
 
That's AT&T's "upgrade" fee.
“Extortion” fee you mean. Same thing with Verizon. WTF. Why do they think they are entitled to a piece of the cake?
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Ah those thieves. I left ATT 3 years ago and couldn’t be happier. You could always call customer service and ask them to waive the fee or else u will change carriers. Give it a try.
I did the same with Verizon, just a month ago for charging me 2x$30 for 2 XS. But I am running out of carriers...
 
Wait for the sim free model to come out.

Is there going to be one? The apple support representative told me that there won't be a sim-free version for this model. The exact wording: "For this model there will not any sim free verisions"
 
Is there going to be one? The apple support representative told me that there won't be a sim-free version for this model. The exact wording: "For this model there will not any sim free verisions"

That doesn't sound right. If you are buying full price and just transferring sims there should be no upgrade fee. It is extortion. I would wait a month to see if the sim free version shows up. There's no reason it shouldn't.
 
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Wait we pay in full but its still locked? Another low budget feature on this phone,.
 
I’m on an AT&T Premier corporate account through work, and apparently a new phone will cost me several hundred bucks (cost of the phone), plus an additional mandatory charge of $45 - just for the luxury of upgrading. Chaps my hide
 
It's a carrier fee, not apple. They all charge it. The key is when you get a new phone is to not activate it. There's a process when you turn on the phone that activates it through the carrier. Instead if you just swap your old sim in it will bypass that and you don't get hit with the fee.
 
Wait we pay in full but its still locked? Another low budget feature on this phone,.
No, *I think* it's unlocked if you buy it straight from Apple. But you will have to pay the $30 fee if you are with ATT or Verizon.
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It's a carrier fee, not apple. They all charge it. The key is when you get a new phone is to not activate it. There's a process when you turn on the phone that activates it through the carrier. Instead if you just swap your old sim in it will bypass that and you don't get hit with the fee.

Do you have any references for this? Is it confirmed that you can activate using your old sim?
 
Apple lets them get away with this BS, so it's as much on Apple as the carriers. I agree it is extortion and these US wireless companies have absolutely not one shred of shame in how the screw over their customers. However, I'v avoided the fee by not using the sim that come with the phone, just inserting my current one. You may even see it go through an activation, but the system sees that sim is already active and it doesn't charge you the fee. Now that has been my experience, so your mileage may vary as I always say.
 
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Why do I have to pay $30 activation extortion fee if I buy an XR from Apple full price and just swapped my sim? Also why isn't there a carrier-free XR?

It's just a freaking money grab... and Apple played right into it by not offering a SIM-free version of the XR at launch. I did the XS Max, got the SIM-Free version and didn't get hit with this bogus "upgrade" fee. Thanks for nothing, Apple. And carriers, stop with the bogus money grab.
 
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They all do it, and I have been told specifically by customer service reps at both Verizon and AT&T that there is no way to get it waived, there is no way around it. It is ridiculous when you buy 2 phones to have to pay $60 for this, especially as a new customer OFFERING THEM a guarantee of a couple years' worth of patronage!
 
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And if you buy from the carrier, they also nail you with a $45 restocking fee if you return the first 14 days. So they get $75 from you if the phone has issues or you just want to return.
 
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