The original plan was to offer mildly subsidized prices of $399 and $499 for the 16GB and 32GB versions of the
iPhone 3G S to AT&T customers who weren't currently "upgrade eligible," but the carrier's having a change of heart, ostensibly in response to... you know, people wanting to pay less. The new plan is to let anyone with an upgrade date in the months of June, July, August, or September get in on the fully discounted $199 / $299 price points, which should cover a good number of existing 3G owners. Unfortunately, the way the upgrade date is calculated is black magic involving your monthly bill, your credit rating, your contract, and your astrological sign, so you'll need to log in to AT&T's site or call up a rep to figure out the full deal; we're told customers should start to see those new discounts reflected on their accounts as of tomorrow. And don't worry -- anyone who's already preordered will be receiving a full refund for the difference.
posted Jun 17th 2009 12:58PM
You're welcome, please thank me. For I alone called AT&T with anger in my voice to make myself heard. I have instigated change.
*pats gfaltersack on the back.* Job well done.
will be calling at&t today.
THANK YOU SO MUCH!
I thought I was going to be stuck pretending to have a new iPhone 3G S
This must be a joke cause no one that brought the 3G at launch last year will qualify and those that qualify have been eligible for a upgrade for over a year now cause they brought the iphone without it being subsidy.
Fastest way to see if you're eligible now-
Go to the phone and call *NEW# (*639# for the Il1337erate)
It'll text you back whether you're eligible or not.
Many thanks to yourself and all the other aggressive AT&T customers who made this eligibility subsidization possible. I appreciate it.
Uh, it says I'm not eligible until 2010, even though I purchased it when it came out. So I'm guessing it'll be changed tomorrow? Or do they mean the first iPhone gen?
More chickens need to be sacrificed for a resolution to this issue. AT&T is da devil!
Mehrad, your upgrade eligibility doesn't have to do with when you purchased your phone as much as it has to do with how much you're paying for your service. I'm guessing your iPhone is just one phone that's included within a family plan. This will drive the upgrade eligibility date further back, as opposed to being on your own line, paying for the most minutes and the most everything you could.
According to TFA
"If you’re one of the many customers who will benefit from this change, please note that our upgrade eligibility tools will reflect this change on Thursday, June 18."
I just got off the phone with my rep. My current upgrade date is set as 03/12/10, but should be reset by Friday, allowing me to purchase in-store at the fully subsidized price, but NOT as a pre-order (she stated specifically). After seeing that I was off contract when I made my 3G purchase, she had to put me on hold and figure out what was goin on. She came back "I have some good news for you!". "Your upgrade date will be reset by Friday, and visible to stores by then." I asked her to note the account accordingly, and wished her a great day.
I was not going to purchase at the half-assed mediocre subsidy, but now I shall get my 32 GIG-ON at the $299 price point boo-yea. Thanks!
But they'll still get their pound of flesh by charging you an "upgrade fee". Why? You're already signing on for a new contract. What purpose does the additional fee serve?
Yes, yes I know. Lining their pockets.
How come I see so few people discussing this? Everyone yelled like crazy at the upgrade pricing, but when AT&T makes a gesture that still manages to leave out what has to be the majority of the existing user base, it's relatively quiet.
AT&T's official announcement only has 13 diggs as of my typing this.
http://digg.com/apple/AT_T_Announced_New_Upgrade_Eligibility_Terms
It's possible... AT&T knows they are loosing exclusivity sometime this summer and are trying to get everyone they can back on contract to reduce loss from people switching carriers.
They're dealing with customers that refuse to abide by the 18 month upgrade policy that they supposedly agreed to in their original contracts. What makes you think they won't try to weasel out of their contracts the second AT&T loses exclusivity?
This may be the wrong place to ask... but if I want to buy an un-subsidized 3GS from APPLE instead of from AT&T, is the price still a whopping $600? Even the first unsubsidized iPhone was dropped to $400 (from it's original $600)... the extra $200 bucks may be worth it if i dont have to even remotely worry about adding another 2 years to my contract
Once again, whiny iPhone users get their way.
Who in their right mind wasn't aware of the standard 18 month upgrade eligibility limit associated with subsidized phones? I just don't understand where this righteous indignation is coming from. You knew the rules, and for some reason Apple is willing to bend them YET AGAIN.
Of course we're willing to bend the rules, average customer spends about $54, the very minimum an iPhone customer can spend is $70. Higher value to the company = additional flexibility.
Apple is willing to bend them?
What?
Meh. To them. They don't care. Lower price = more sales
It's AT&T you should be whining your head off about.
"Of course we're willing to bend the rules, average customer spends about $54, the very minimum an iPhone customer can spend is $70. Higher value to the company = additional flexibility."
Blackberry and WinMo phone users pay just as much per month, how come they don't get breaks?
Exactly how is Apple bending the rules? AT&T is the one taking the hit on the subsidy. And this really doesn't affect the 3G users. If you became a new customer when you bought the 3G on July 11th your upgrade date is 12/12/09.
Yeah, when I read the article on CNN about iPhone 3G users being outraged (outraged!!) that they had to abide by their contract, it was a major facepalm moment.
But actually my (1st gen iPhone) contract expires in Sept and I was already eligible for the $199 upgrade so I'm not sure how many customers AT&T 'relenting' today actually effects.
Switching to my company's corp plan and hoping I can still get the cheap upgrade.. 199 outta be an easy approval, especially since I damaged my current phone on a business trip.
Yeah xienze, keep complaining about it until your type turns red... Maybe, just maybe, they'll change it back.
I see that Apple hatred reaches so deep that some commenters will even side with a major mobile phone corporation just to have something to commiserate about.
It's AT&T doing the subsidizing, not Apple.
Hey, the whining paid off... it saved us 200 dollars. Would you whine for 200 dollars? I think you would.
@Aqua: I have 2 original iPhones (one mine one wife's). Total bill is $120, with unlimited data plan and 200 text. That's $60 a piece.
Cellien, original iPhone Unlimited Data + 200 txt is $20/mo, 3G/3GS iPhone Unlimited Data is $30 (200 txt is $5 additional), I based my figures on the pricing for current generation iPhones.
$70 in the minimum for iPhone? Not really, I pay $52 a month for my 3G with ATT.
I agree there was some whining going on, and I wasn't going to complain about the high upgrade costs (was gonna upgrade anyway :lol:).
However, you must be a sick freak if you are actually whining about a case where a major multi-billion dollar corporation bent over and took one from its customers for a change.
Is this any AT&T customer with an upgrade date before October, or only AT&T customers with an iPhone 3G?
I was thinking the same thing? I got mine on day 1 and still have a year? how does this help 3g users?
Dunno, what is listed in this article hasn't even been mentioned to us employees, I don't even know if this is valid information. But as the article said, this is starting tomorrow. So ask us about it tomorrow, not today.
@ hammer.mike the silver lining is you get to miss the long lines :p
http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=13745
Does anyone know the answer to this question? :)
I bought mine on the day it came out and AT&T's site still says December. What's the deal?
I think it said the eligibility will show up on your account tomorrow or Friday.
Same here. Seems that 'magic forumla' for upgrade says that some people can do it after 12 months, others after 18.
I've been with AT&T (Actually cingular) for god knows how long 10+ years, yet my upgrade says December as well.
Yea. Woo. Token gestures ftw!
It could be worse, I bought mine in August of last year and it says I can't upgrade until April of 2010
This is just PR on their part; I bought my iPhone 3G in July 2008 and I'm not eligible for upgrade until December 2009. This doesn't help iPhone 3G users who didn't have the original iPhone first. I don't understand which iPhone 3G users would be eligible for upgrade between June-September 2009.
It's no PR...I bought my 3G the day it came out. My eligibility says 7/12/2009--so I can get the fully subsidized price right away.
I am unclear why some people are complaining that AT&T is letting customers upgrade early. Isn't this a good thing? Is it so wrong fro customers to expect, you know, customer service from a company they do business with, regardless of what the 50 page contract says? I think it's a bit of a sad commentary on our society that this doesn't happen more often.
They're complaining because only a few iphone 3g users like yourself are eligible for upgrade.
Those of us that only have the 450 minute voice plan + unlimited data + unlimited text, are not spending enough $$$ per month in AT&T's eyes to allow us to upgrade to the 3GS when it is released. You have to be spending a certain amount or more to be eligible at 12 months. Everyone else is restricted to 18 months. So AT&T listened, yes, but only made a half-### gesture in allowing people the spend a lot of money on their cell phone bill to upgrade early.
a few, relatively speaking that is.
This early discount still only applies to 2G users though, doesn't it? It is a two-year contract so it won't be until next summer they would be available for upgrade, not this summer, early or not.
Or am I wrong?
Secondly, what is the complaing all about? Sure, you pay $200 if you are not 'upgrade eligible.' But like you 3G users, I won't be needing my 2G phone when I upgrade to the 3G s. I will be selling it and I found that I can get over $200 for my 2G. You can get more then $200 on eBay for your 3G iPhone, maybe even the full $399/ $499 so the upgrade will essentually cost nothing.
Or am I wrong again?
Yeah, i just got $250 for my 2G!
-Taylor
2 year contract yes, but AT&T lets you upgrade after 18 months of being in the contract. Making launch day buyers eligible in December.
However their magic mystery unicorn and puppy dog tails powered formula lets some users upgrade after 12 months.
yea i have 4 iphones on my account and pay close to 300 a month, so mine (being the main line) is eligible at 12 months. but all of my addalines arent until later in the year/early next year depending when they got their upgrades.
Why should iPhone customers get special treatment when it comes to subsidizing? If they had any other phone and wanted to upgrade halfway through their contracts, they wouldn't get a subsidized price at all. It should have been the same for the iPhone as well. Apple people think they are special because they use Apple stuff and should be treated better than the rest of us. If I was an At&t customer and had paid full retail for a past upgrade I would be furious at this.
They didn't.
Take it from a non-iPhone user. ATT will always fudge a the date for the subsidy of a phone especially when the employee is trying to get their quota for the month or quarter.
"Apple people think they are special because they use Apple stuff and should be treated better than the rest of us."
Your generalisations are amazing.