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Will we be able to upgrade to the iPhone 5, if it comes out

spartanrob

spartanrob

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 4, 2008
316
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Like many of us, I upgraded to the 4S on launch day. It appears that ATT changed the rules and now my upgrade date is 5/6/13

Any thoughts if ATT will allow early upgrades or will all of us early adopters be stuck paying full price if and when the iPhone 5 comes out.

I'm assuming there are many of us in the same boat. (For the record, I am Primary on a family plan and spend more than $150/mo)
 
You're best bet is to contact ATT.

You're asking specific questions on an unreleased product with no release date. Getting concrete answers is like nailing jello to a tree - it won't happen.
 
I know Verizon offers an early upgrade deal where you pay an extra $50 or $70 to upgrade or something... I don't know. I just got a 4S mid-december but I'm eligible for a new phone 6/12 at full discount. I loved 1-year contracts!
 
A lot of time if you just call and talk nicely to someone they will help you out. A lot of people did that with the gnex. If they said no they would call back the next day.
 
maflynn said:
You're best bet is to contact ATT.

You're asking specific questions on an unreleased product with no release date. Getting concrete answers is like nailing jello to a tree - it won't happen.
Click to expand...

Just a topic for discussion, nothing more. I know that nobody will have concrete answers. I'm just frustrated that ATT moved my upgrade date out almost 2 years (from my upgrade)

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Interstella5555 said:
Of course you'll be able to upgrade, why wouldn't they take money from you?
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You can always upgrade, i should have clarified "at the upgrade price"
 
Probably not. ATT changed their upgrade policy right around the time the 4s came out so now it doesn't matter how much you spend. Some people that had a 4 was able to use their last upgrade under the old system to get the 4s and that was it. They'll fall under the new rules now.

http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/upgrade-advantage.jsp

Before, if you spent over $100 on your line, not counting text messages or something, you'll get an upgrade every 12 months. Now, it's 20 months for all.

Best bet is to see if you'll get an early upgrade (price of the phone + $250) and see if you'll sell your phone and get some money back.
 
spartanrob said:
Just a topic for discussion, nothing more. I know that nobody will have concrete answers. I'm just frustrated that ATT moved my upgrade date out almost 2 years (from my upgrade)
Click to expand...

iPhone 4s was released on October 14, 2011. Thus you signed a 2 year contract meaning you wouldn't be eligible for upgrade again until October 14, 2013 [under some conditions you were able to cut time off the upgrade; family plans NEVER qualified for this]. Looks like they pulled it in several months (if you're upgrade qualified on 5/6/13) not pushed it out two years.
 
CylonGlitch said:
iPhone 4s was released on October 14, 2011. Thus you signed a 2 year contract meaning you wouldn't be eligible for upgrade again until October 14, 2013. Looks like they pulled it in several months (if you're upgrade qualified on 5/6/13) not pushed it out two years.
Click to expand...

AT&T does full upgrades after ~20 months. I upgraded in November 2011, i can upgrade in June 2013

Either way, its not AT&T's call on whether we can upgrade early or not. It's completely Apple's decision. I can't find the link to the article, but it has to do with the subsidized prices we pay and what Apple sells the iPhones to AT&T for.

They did it for the iPhone 4 because of the time difference between the 3Gs and the 4. So who knows, they could do it again if they release the next iPhone in a specific time frame.

But like Maflynn said, Jello to a tree
 
CylonGlitch said:
iPhone 4s was released on October 14, 2011. Thus you signed a 2 year contract meaning you wouldn't be eligible for upgrade again until October 14, 2013 [under some conditions you were able to cut time off the upgrade; family plans NEVER qualified for this]. Looks like they pulled it in several months (if you're upgrade qualified on 5/6/13) not pushed it out two years.
Click to expand...

Contract date and upgrade date typically have nothing to do with each other.
 
spartanrob said:
I'm just frustrated that ATT moved my upgrade date out almost 2 years (from my upgrade)
Click to expand...
You mean to say they added 2 more years to your upgrade date after you signed a contract? They have in the past allowed customers to upgrade early but I have not heard of them pushing it out further.
 
maflynn said:
You mean to say they added 2 more years to your upgrade date after you signed a contract? They have in the past allowed customers to upgrade early but I have not heard of them pushing it out further.
Click to expand...

Right, previously i was eligible every 12 months.
 
spartanrob said:
Right, previously i was eligible every 12 months.
Click to expand...

Was that eligibility because they artificially bumped up the date, or is it in your contract. From my experience they moved people's up as a courtesy however if your contract has something in it about 12 month upgrades then perhaps you should contact them.
 
i'll clear this up a little bit...AT&T recently (within the last year) changed their upgrade policy. Used to it was based on your lines monetary value (which is why main lines on family plans were eligible to upgrade every 12 months and secondary lines every 18 months)...now they don't do that any more...its a strict 18-20 month upgrade window...everyone qualifies for an "early iphone" upgrade after 12 months which adds $250 to the upgrade price...for instance if you used it now a new 16GB 4S would run you $449 instead of the $649 it retails for
 
I was about to order a 4S but the tradeoff of my contract being up in January vs being stuck with the 4S while the 6th gen is out isn't worth it.
 
spartanrob said:
Like many of us, I upgraded to the 4S on launch day. It appears that ATT changed the rules and now my upgrade date is 5/6/13

Any thoughts if ATT will allow early upgrades or will all of us early adopters be stuck paying full price if and when the iPhone 5 comes out.

I'm assuming there are many of us in the same boat. (For the record, I am Primary on a family plan and spend more than $150/mo)
Click to expand...

Sell your 4s to basically take care of the early upgrade fee of $250. There will be a few that may get to upgrade with the full 2 yr contract price but it will be because they probably have been with the company since the old Bellsouth days. Average customer should not bank on that.:cool:
 
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Ajones330 said:
Sell your 4s to basically take care of the early upgrade fee of $250. There will be a few that may get to upgrade with the full 2 yr contract price but it will because they probably have been with the company since the old Bellsouth days. Average customer should not bank on that.:cool:
Click to expand...

That's my plan. Sold my iphone 4 for $400 and bought the 4S for $299
 
This isn't meant to sound mean, but you shouldn't have upgraded to a midcycle phone, especially one that (for all intents) is the same as last year's model. Now you're suck with a 2 year contract.

Rather than doing what you did, I bought a used iP4 off ebay for $295-32gig and can happily upgrade the second a new iphone comes out this year. the iP4 is still a great phone.
 
AlphaVictor87 said:
AT&T does full upgrades after ~20 months. I upgraded in November 2011, i can upgrade in June 2013

Either way, its not AT&T's call on whether we can upgrade early or not. It's completely Apple's decision. I can't find the link to the article, but it has to do with the subsidized prices we pay and what Apple sells the iPhones to AT&T for.

They did it for the iPhone 4 because of the time difference between the 3Gs and the 4. So who knows, they could do it again if they release the next iPhone in a specific time frame.

But like Maflynn said, Jello to a tree
Click to expand...

Does that mean it's Apple's decision on all other phones AT&T T sells as well? The upgrade policy is not much different from any other phone with AT&T now.
 
William.Mantle said:
Pointless thread... Unknown Phone, unknown release date and unknown price points
Click to expand...

May be pointless, but there is a lot of discussion. This is a discussion board, isn't it?

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Sedrick said:
This isn't meant to sound mean, but you shouldn't have upgraded to a midcycle phone, especially one that (for all intents) is the same as last year's model. Now you're suck with a 2 year contract.

Rather than doing what you did, I bought a used iP4 off ebay for $295-32gig and can happily upgrade the second a new iphone comes out this year. the iP4 is still a great phone.
Click to expand...

Read my previous thread: "Sold my iphone 4 for $400 and bought the 4S for $299"
 
djransom said:
Does that mean it's Apple's decision on all other phones AT&T T sells as well? The upgrade policy is not much different from any other phone with AT&T now.
Click to expand...

Here's one article i quickly found
http://www.cultofmac.com/120848/att...e-pricing-that-screws-loyal-iphone-customers/

Besides we are talking about squarely the next iPhone upgrade here, not other phones.

i would assume its up to each phones maker, but i've only ever read about Apple controlling the prices and early upgrades.
 
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