06-12-2012 07:27:25 AM
Hi,
I want to start a new contract with 3 iPhones. My parents just want the iPhone 4S, but I have a friend's AT&T iPhone 4 right now (unlocked via that new official process). We are on another carrier but want to switch to AT&T very soon. I just want to use my current phone on AT&T until the iPhone 5 comes out. The person in the store told me this would be no problem, and the person on the phone said the same thing, except when i asked her about the details, there is a problem.
She said that when I use my upgrade at a later date to get the iPhone 5, the contract will start over with two years left. This does not make sense to me. If I pay the advertised price for the phone with a 2 year contract, and I have AT&T for 2 years, it should not matter when I buy the phone within that two year period. Also, would that extend the contract for one line, or for all three?
does anyone think a sales rep would understand my argument and be able to put a note in the account to not extend the contract upon purchase of the iPhone 5? I would hope they are willing to be accomodating to new customers.
06-12-2012 07:57:35 AM
There are two reasons that I would recommend staying where you are for right now, then switching to AT&T when the new iPhone comes out. 1) You have already been given conflicting information. Some of it is what you want to hear and some of it isn't. Suppose a representative tells you what you want to hear and says "I'll make a note on your account reflecting the conversation that we had today". Then, when the new iPhone comes out, the next representative says that what the first representative said is against policy, and it won't be honored. You would probably be upset.
Even if #1 went your way all the way through, the iPhone 4S will likely drop in price when the new iPhone comes out. Looking out from now, it may not seem to be a big deal. When people look back four months however, they usually wish that they had waited for the price drop.
If you absolutely have to move now, you can start your service without a contract, then start a two-year contract to get the new iPhone when it comes out. It really doesn't change your philosophical opposition to the timing of the start of the two-year contract, but at least this should reduce the chance that someone will tell you that you don't qualify for a subsidized device later on.
On AT&T, a new subsidized device equals a new two-year contract, with no consideration for "time served".
