When does the early upgrade eligibility kick in for AT&T members? is it when you have a year left on your contract?
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When does Early Upgrade for AT&T kick in?? One year left on contract?
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Early upgrade kicks in 6 months after your contract start date. Keep in mind there is a $250 early upgrade fee if you choose to go that route.
I remember that some people had their upgrade fee waived when doing early upgrades for iphone 5.
whats the deal with that?
No fees are waived anymore, customers now have to either wait the full 2 years or early upgrade with $250 fee attached. With Att doing their Next program all those exceptions are out the door from recent years. They are giving more options so if you want your fees waived they will tell you that you can choose the Next program. All customers do not qualify for the Next program so check it out and do your research cause that can be more expensive in the long run...
i looked up their next program and it was very vague
what exactly does the next program do other than provide u with option to get a new device every year . does it tack on additional monthly charges?
Some blog out there like Engadget did a analysis on this. It's actually more expensive going through Next instead of the regular route.
I got a launch day iPhone 5 and my AT&T account still shows I'm not "early upgrade" eligible yet. I contacted AT&T and they said i won't be early upgrade eligible until 12 months. I forwarded them the section on their website that clearly states your early upgrade eligible after 6 months of service and they replied that applies to every phone except the iPhone? Leave it to AT&T to confuse the heck out of people.
The truth is AT&T has no incentive to allow early upgrades anymore. In the past there were a plethora of customers who did not have a smart-phone or data plan. So allowing these customers to upgrade early to a new phone with a data plan, and likely a "pure profit" unlimited texting plan, made good business sense. The money you were losing in subsidizing the phone was more than made up by the higher monthly revenue from said customer.
However, now just about everyone has a smartphone and data plan with unlimited texting or some variation thereof. It no longer makes good business sense for AT&T to just let people upgrade whenever they want for free. Now whether that is good for their actual rate of customer retaining in the long run is another argument and, I would submit, has yet to be seen.
I would assume most will not be happy and will likely voice their disapproval of the policy but in the long run will either wait or pay the Early Upgrade Fee. Those in a position where it would be cheaper to pay the ETF and jump ship may choose to do so. Though, only to find themselves in the same position when the newest iPhone comes out next cycle.
You can always do the "Ghost Line" option...
However, now just about everyone has a smartphone and data plan with unlimited texting or some variation thereof. It no longer makes good business sense for AT&T to just let people upgrade whenever they want for free. Now whether that is good for their actual rate of customer retaining in the long run is another argument and, I would submit, has yet to be seen.
I would assume most will not be happy and will likely voice their disapproval of the policy but in the long run will either wait or pay the Early Upgrade Fee. Those in a position where it would be cheaper to pay the ETF and jump ship may choose to do so. Though, only to find themselves in the same position when the newest iPhone comes out next cycle.
You can always do the "Ghost Line" option...
I do know that AT&T has always given me early upgrades every year when I'm 6 months into my contract. That's how I get the new iPhone every year. I don't like AT&T Next, because you have to trade in your device to get an upgrade, and it adds the cost over 20 months.