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Why would you ever buy an unlocked iPhone?

chambone said:
I have been asking myself the exact opposite. In the US it might not matter, but down here buying your phone outright and using it with a sim-only plan is simply cheaper (although most people don't). Also, I can change plans and carriers whenever I want. Who wants to be stuck for two years at a time?

That's why, I guess.
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That's also a point. If you want to ever unlock, but don't need it immediately, you're better off buying it in contract and cancelling so that you can have it pro-rated instead of paying the full price.
 
What I also do not get is why people seem to think they save money on the phone, because a plan costs the same with or without it.

That doesn't mean you save money on the included phone, it means that you get reamed if you bring your own.
 
617aircav said:
You can used an unlocked,phone on AT&T prepaid plans.
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but why get a prepaid plan with a major carrier? If you get a prepaid plan with a major carrier and stay with them for 2 years, you just wasted money on an unlocked phone.
 
What Verizon Plan did you use???

3rd Rock said:
For me it's a no brainer..

1. Unlocked $650.00 + $45.00 month for data = $1,730.00 2 yrs of usage, not mentioning fee's


2. Locked $200.00 + $45.00 month data + Activation = $1,316.00 two yr contract not mentioning fee's.


I'll take the 2 year contract from Verizon which I have been using for ever now :D
I won't be using unlimited, since I don't use music/movies/facebook stuff, and like the OP mentioned, I could over a short period of time just cancel the contract + pay the early termination fee, what ever that will be a few months later. I will still use Verizon since its the better of the others in my area
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What plan with Verizon are you getting $45 a month?? - the shared plan with 1 phone is $100 with just 2 GB of data.

1. Unlocked $650.00 + $45.00 month for UNLIMITED data = $1,730.00 two yrs of usage

2. Locked $200.00 + $100.00 month 2GB data + Activation = $2,600 two yr contract

***$870 in Savings by going with Prepaid***

Please tell me how to get a $45 a month plan on Verizon with unlimited data and I'll be happy to stick with them once my contract expires :eek:
 
mattopotamus said:
but why get a prepaid plan with a major carrier? If you get a prepaid plan with a major carrier and stay with them for 2 years, you just wasted money on an unlocked phone.
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Maybe because a prepaid plan could be cheaper and allow more flexibility?
 
Todisco said:
What plan with Verizon are you getting $45 a month?? - the shared plan with 1 phone is $100 with just 2 GB of data.

1. Unlocked $650.00 + $45.00 month for UNLIMITED data = $1,730.00 two yrs of usage

2. Locked $200.00 + $100.00 month 2GB data + Activation = $2,600 two yr contract

***$870 in Savings by going with Prepaid***

Please tell me how to get a $45 a month plan on Verizon with unlimited data and I'll be happy to stick with them once my contract expires :eek:
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I think that $45 is for the unlimited talk and text...then you still have to pay for the data. The data is unlimited on cheap phones with the crappy fake web....smartphones you still have to pay like normal
 
For me, the discounts and rebates on sim only contracts in the UK make phone contracts unattractive.

I don't need a heavy voice/data plan so last year my phone contract for 300mins/300texts/500MB data monthly cost me -£7, that is, the rebate was for more than the cost of the contract. This year the same contract is going to cost me just under £1 per month. The 500MB cap is for data over and above browsing and email, which is unlimited and includes free tethering and no overage charges.

No phone contract can even begin to compete with that, I am not tied into one provider for any length of time and my phone is able to take any sim should I need to travel.
 
Some people want an iPhone, but dont need data. Prepaid will do this. You can use a smart phone for as little as $30 a month. That's $360 a year.
 
Dwalls90 said:
It seems almost everyone missed the intention of the thread. Not, WHY you would buy an unlocked phone. But why one would buy an unlocked one versus buying one on AT&T and ETFing the contract so they could officially unlock it for you. I'm assuming a fair amount of repliers didn't realize AT&T now offers this service. Also, Paying the ETF doesn't ruin your credit, defaulting on the line would however (at which point if you cannot pay your phone bill you have bigger fish to fry than your credit score ...).

The rest of you do raise some other discussions points though concerning activation/upgrade fees and the first monthly bill. From what I understand, AT&T isn't strict on activation/upgrade fees. I have always had the activation/upgrade fee waived every year for the lines on my plan, so that's not necessarily a cost for all users. Furthermore, I guess I was thinking more in terms of a typical user's stand point, so they would be probably on a shared/family plan. This would lower their "first" bill to more of the ballpark of $25-$40 per line. The "master" line could easily be switched to the non-unlocked phone switcher, thus the hefty first month bill is easily avoidable.

Applying both of these facts, one would even still arrive at the $200+325+40 (assume most expensive scenario, unless you are on your own line) and that's still at $565, almost $100 cheaper than the unlocked phone. Even if you were flying solo, I was under the impression that AT&T's cheapest plan starts at $55 a month, so that's not much more than the $25-40 range.
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I want to keep my existing ATT contract and number but I also want the phone to be unlocked for foreign travel. If I do what you suggest I have to start a new contract with ATT and cancel it immediately. All of this to save in the best case 50 bucks is just not worth it given that I might lose my existing contract.
 
$3500-4000 for a couple of phones for two years! That is insane. People just gots to have that phone in their ear or they aren't complete in some unfathomable way.

Paying for data not used is worse than insane, seems illegal to have to pay for that.
 
carlgo said:
$3500-4000 for a couple of phones for two years! That is insane. People just gots to have that phone in their ear or they aren't complete in some unfathomable way.
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Or they run a business where their customers call them, and they call their customers???

The other thing about Unlocked handsets is, they are worth more second-hand, because people buying have the flexibility to use whatever carrier they like.
 
I believe some people mainly buy the unlocked because:

1. It provides freedom for international users; roaming charges are excessive and downright cruel.

2. They use StraightTalk or those pre-paid SIM companies that are definitely gaining traction.

3. I have friends from Brazil that buy the iPhone unlocked here and take it to their country.

4. AT&T is a *lut. :)

#4 is my mantra.
 
mattopotamus said:
but why get a prepaid plan with a major carrier? If you get a prepaid plan with a major carrier and stay with them for 2 years, you just wasted money on an unlocked phone.
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it depends on your usage. not everyone wants/needs data. When on a contract you HAVE to pay for data.

Besides the $45/month straight talk. maybe someone just likes the iphone but they don't want to pay the data bc they have a mifi or they are near a wifi connection 90% of the time.

With contract you are basically at $75/month minimum and have to use it how they tell you to use it.
 
rmhop81 said:
it depends on your usage. not everyone wants/needs data. When on a contract you HAVE to pay for data.

Besides the $45/month straight talk. maybe someone just likes the iphone but they don't want to pay the data bc they have a mifi or they are near a wifi connection 90% of the time.

With contract you are basically at $75/month minimum and have to use it how they tell you to use it.
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gotcha. I would say that is a very small percentage of iphone users.
 
mattopotamus said:
gotcha. I would say that is a very small percentage of iphone users.
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yeah and that's why contracts rule here in the USA. BC everyone and their grandma wants an iPhone if they hear it's under $200....the monthly bill doesn't matter how high it is. Now as soon as they hear it's $650 they aren't interested at all. It can be significantly cheaper to buy it at $650, but that doesn't matter....they don't see the total picture. Many people don't understand what a subsidy is either. They think if you bought the iPhone for $200 that's how much it costs. When in reality the phone is a $600+ device.

Someone who buys the unlocked version isn't going to be your standard iPhone user. Like you said, probably a small percentage.

I would be interested to see how many people actually buy the Virgin Mobile iPhone.
 
rmhop81 said:
yeah and that's why contracts rule here in the USA. BC everyone and their grandma wants an iPhone if they hear it's under $200....the monthly bill doesn't matter how high it is. Now as soon as they hear it's $650 they aren't interested at all. It can be significantly cheaper to buy it at $650, but that doesn't matter....they don't see the total picture. Many people don't understand what a subsidy is either. They think if you bought the iPhone for $200 that's how much it costs. When in reality the phone is a $600+ device.

Someone who buys the unlocked version isn't going to be your standard iPhone user. Like you said, probably a small percentage.

I would be interested to see how many people actually buy the Virgin Mobile iPhone.
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Exactly, and we then end up with stupid twitter trends like the '$800 iPhone'
 
rmhop81 said:
yeah and that's why contracts rule here in the USA. BC everyone and their grandma wants an iPhone if they hear it's under $200....the monthly bill doesn't matter how high it is. Now as soon as they hear it's $650 they aren't interested at all. It can be significantly cheaper to buy it at $650, but that doesn't matter....they don't see the total picture. Many people don't understand what a subsidy is either. They think if you bought the iPhone for $200 that's how much it costs. When in reality the phone is a $600+ device.

Someone who buys the unlocked version isn't going to be your standard iPhone user. Like you said, probably a small percentage.

I would be interested to see how many people actually buy the Virgin Mobile iPhone.
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I agree! I forget how many times I have to explain this to people, mind boggling.

If you plan on using Staright Talk you can also buy a used/new iPhone 5 from eBay/Craig's that is locked to AT&T for less than the $650 of a locked phone. Then maybe try and get AT&T to unlock it for you.
 
So many broke hippies in this thread. LOL

If you cant afford to buy the iphone outright, you shouldn't buy it.
 
therationalist said:
So many broke hippies in this thread. LOL

If you cant afford to buy the iphone outright, you shouldn't buy it.
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I am fortunate enough to be able to do this, but $700 is a lot to most middle class citizens to fork over for a phone. Especially since most people carry credit card debt of around $10,000.
 
Dwalls90 said:
So, why would ANYONE buy the unlocked variant instead of just buying a locked phone and then canceling the contract immediately and saving at least $100!
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Not everyone's with a carrier that sells the iPhone. Not everyone with a carrier that offers it is eligible for a subsidy at whatever given point in time they're looking at buying. Don't just assume that your situation is universal.

Does it really matter? If it doesn't apply to you then move on... Your inability to see reasons doesn't mean that they don't exist.
 
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