Develop Bugs

How quickly can one upgrade within contract, in your experience??

Hi Folks,
With ever more capable mobiles coming out at an ever increasing rate it seems highly relevant not to be locked into an old phone for a long time. With the TP2 the contract times seem to be between 18 and 24 months. However in your experience how quickly can one upgrade to a newer phone?
I would also welcome views on different network flexibility to this. I am UK based.
Thanks,
Sam

I've just left T-Mobile, had a business contract with them with 6 phones.
They were great to start with but have got progressively worse.
Here are a few of the issues I've had with them:
1. I changed my company bank account, had the direct debit transferred. T-Mobile got the change of details instruction and processed it as a cancellation instruction, cut us off, no notification after just a couple of weeks of non-payment which shouldn't have happened if they had got it right in the first place.
2. One handset broke, was covered by warranty, T-Mobile had no stock and refused to provide any replacement device.
3. I added a couple of the phones a little later on, sales didn't tell me a full 24 month term would apply to the new handsets, until I tried to cancel them, which was nice of them.
4. Business customer service now takes forever to answer your call, regularly on hold for 15+ minutes, compared with < 1 minute a year ago.
I seriously doubt you will have any chance of an early upgrade with T-Mobile, they are worse than useless. I can only imagine how bad it is for personal contract customers with the support being in India!
I believe Orange offer an early upgrade option, however no recent experience with them as I've had issues with them in the past.
I think O2 possibly do as well, friend of mine said they were upgrading his iPhone to the 3GS within the contract, but he has to pay for it (not sure how much though).
Vodafone, no idea what they offer, only been with them a week.
Any other network, I think it's safe to say leave well alone!

Philio, Thanks...
So basically it comes down to the "Upgrade Policy". I am with Orange and will either stay with them or go to VF, although I am very tempted to go to VF due to their good current package on the TP2.
Interesting to hear about TM.
Sam

Personally I think TM coverage is worse than it used to be as well.
I used to be able to get the train into London (from Kent) and sit online the entire way on my laptop, last time I did it, I was cut off repeatedly!

Saw your post on the VF forum too btw, I'll be keeping an eye on that, also curious as to their upgrade policy!

Had an interesting call with T-Mobile today, spoke to them again about trying to get the broken N95 handset replaced.
Now they are telling me it's discontinued (I had asked them if this was the case in previous conversations considering it's been superseded by the N96 and now the N97).
Long story short... No replacement can be offered as discontinued, they do not offer like for like replacement (e.g. N96) whatsoever, their useless insurance company will not replace without sending the phone off to be tested repair attempted. They are happy to provide a new handset on a new 24 month contract though!
Useless company, stay away.

SamJolly said:
Hi Folks,
With ever more capable mobiles coming out at an ever increasing rate it seems highly relevant not to be locked into an old phone for a long time. With the TP2 the contract times seem to be between 18 and 24 months. However in your experience how quickly can one upgrade to a newer phone?
I would also welcome views on different network flexibility to this. I am UK based.
Thanks,
Sam
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
currently the only way to upgrade within contract is via phones4u. they will buy out the remainder of your contract depending how many months is left and provide you with a new line and new phone. i have know them to buy out contracts with 9 months left! not bad at all. there are rules in place where you can downgrade your tariff after so many months. i think its 9 months on a 12 month contarct, 11 months on a 18 month contract and 16 months on a 24 month contarct. this is service provider dependant as i am sure tmobile allows you to downgrade after 11 months.

Interesting about phone4u
So far I have found Orange and VF allow an upgrade after 21 months in 24 month contract.
Sam

Returning my phone

T-mobile are so silly, I really don't want to be stuck with a 35 quid a month price plan after getting my phone unlocked and sticking my o2 sim in it, so asked if it's ok to downgrade whithin the first 7 days, but belive it or not you cannot downgrade on t-mobile untill your last month so for me that would have been 23 months.
I took out the £35 a month plan but shortly realised it's a bit of a con as the 10 quid a month plan comes with unlimited internet and 1 free booster and you just pay 164.00 for the handset then you can just upgrade as and when you want.
So I now have to return the handset and they send out a new one on the new contract as a brand new line. I was happy to keep the phone and just knock it down and pay the 164 but you can't do it.... oh well
Obviously I had 7 days cooling off period anyway, so they are not charging me for returning the handset and are sending the packaging to post it through the post.

that is ridiculous! At least you'll get what you want. I got the £15 deal and have the unlimited free landline booster

Bandare said:
that is ridiculous! At least you'll get what you want. I got the £15 deal and have the unlimited free landline booster
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup i am quite happy to keep my phone and downgrade, am I being unreasonable not wanting to get lumbered with a 35 quid a month contract that cannot be downgraded for 23 months?
I was under the impression I could downgrade if i never used my mins anyway, like on o2

ronnyuk said:
T-mobile are so silly, I really don't want to be stuck with a 35 quid a month price plan after getting my phone unlocked and sticking my o2 sim in it, so asked if it's ok to downgrade whithin the first 7 days, but belive it or not you cannot downgrade on t-mobile untill your last month so for me that would have been 23 months.
I took out the £35 a month plan but shortly realised it's a bit of a con as the 10 quid a month plan comes with unlimited internet and 1 free booster and you just pay 164.00 for the handset then you can just upgrade as and when you want.
So I now have to return the handset and they send out a new one on the new contract as a brand new line. I was happy to keep the phone and just knock it down and pay the 164 but you can't do it.... oh well
Obviously I had 7 days cooling off period anyway, so they are not charging me for returning the handset and are sending the packaging to post it through the post.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
order over phone the 18 month £15 plan 100mins unlimited txt internet and phone for 164 but say that your friend got offered it for £124 and they should give you the 40quid discount as I and couple of us from here had

cez10 said:
order over phone the 18 month £15 plan 100mins unlimited txt internet and phone for 164 but say that your friend got offered it for £124 and they should give you the 40quid discount as I and couple of us from here had
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok thx will try it tonight, I don't want to be without my desire so will do it now.

Hang on, you signed up to an expensive contract so you could get an expensive hanset for free.
Then you're surprised to learn they just wont drastically reduce the price? I need whatever you've been smoking!
You entered into a fixed term contract, they're under no obligation to let you downgrade AT ALL. That they will let you in the last month of your deal is nothing more than goodwill.
Some people want the moon on a stick, I swear

Rusty! said:
Hang on, you signed up to an expensive contract so you could get an expensive hanset for free.
Then you're surprised to learn they just wont drastically reduce the price? I need whatever you've been smoking!
You entered into a fixed term contract, they're under no obligation to let you downgrade AT ALL. That they will let you in the last month of your deal is nothing more than goodwill.
Some people want the moon on a stick, I swear
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have consumer rights and I only found out I could not downgrade today, I don't want to be locked into a 23 month contract with no downgrade rights or were you well aware of this new policy abiet a year old that T mobile have started doing.
And while your on your high horse, they are quite happy for me to UPGRADE and take my money when times are good, but unable to downgrade when times are bad, does this seem fair to you?

O2 used to allow you to get a high cost contract and then downgrade straight to a lower tariff, however I think they stopped you doing this about 2 years ago as everyone was doing this and they eventually caught on!
I think you can downgrade your tariff on O2 after 6 months. Not 100% sure though.
Will T-Mobile check the Sim-Lock on your phone when it is returned to them?

Perfectly. Again, fixed term contract. If you didn't read all the small print, you can only really blame yourself.

Rusty! said:
Perfectly. Again, fixed term contract. If you didn't read all the small print, you can only really blame yourself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only people to blame here are T-Mobile, I am quite happy to keep the phone and change to another tariff that T mobile offer new customers, it's no different to buying a TV and then seeing it cheaper somewhere else after you have bought it and asking for a refund, or do you want to live in a country that does not offer buyers this protection?
There contracts state you have 7 days to inform us if you are not happy with the phone or contract, I have informed them that i am not happy so have to return the phone and take out "another" contract.

http://support.t-mobile.co.uk/resources/sites/TMOBILE/content/live/DOCUMENTS/0/DO117/en_GB/MC25257%20Terms&Conditions56.pdf
Section 2 / 2.7 (Page 3) said:
2.7. We don’t have to allow You to change Price Plan.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Therefore they are totally within their rights to not allow you to change tariff.
I would have thought they would have allowed you to downgrade to the lower tariff if you were willing to part with the £169 that it will cost you? But thats up to them I am afraid.

StuMcBill said:
http://support.t-mobile.co.uk/resources/sites/TMOBILE/content/live/DOCUMENTS/0/DO117/en_GB/MC25257%20Terms&Conditions56.pdf
Therefore they are totally within their rights to not allow you to change tariff.
I would have thought they would have allowed you to downgrade to the lower tariff if you were willing to part with the £169 that it will cost you? But thats up to them I am afraid.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know they are within their rights lol but I have to return my phone and order a brand new one even though I want to pay the 170 quid up front.
That's the silly part.
Ok my order has been accepted I didn't bother haggling with price just went for the £10.00 a month deal £164 up front, for the sake of a manager to just drop the price plan all this could have been avoided, and yes i know i should have ordered the correct deal in the first place, but if we all had hindsight then there would be no need for the 7 day cooling of period.

StuMcBill said:
I think you can downgrade your tariff on O2 after 6 months. Not 100% sure though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Taken from the o2 website
If you Pay Monthly, you can choose a lower tariff nine months after you joined us – or after you last upgraded your phone. You can increase your tariff any time the first 30 days of connection.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

@Rusty
Sorry but your assumptions are incorrect not all Networks operate the same way at all for instance i got my TG01 for free on a 18month £35pm contract which included free Internet and Unlimited landline calls. After 6 months Orange Best Plan option kicks in so i down graded to a £20pm plan with £5 for the Internet pack and still have the Unlimited Landline calls for free. Which saves me £120 over the last year of the contract so it has reduced the overall cost of ownership and running my TG01. It's one of the things that makes Orange a better choice for me as i hate paying for my phones especially on a 18 month contract and the ability to down grade my plan after 6 months saves me money i have more incoming calls then out going and never use all my minutes.
VodaFone on the other hand only let you downgrade your plan after 12 months and it appears T-Mobile in the last month only so as long as you know this you can make the right cost choice for your needs. As always there are so many variables as to what makes the best deal and as individuals what suits some of us won't all but choice is good for the consumer.
Marc

I was informed by T-Mobile that their policy states that after half of the full contract term has passed, I'm allowed to downgrade my contract.. But when you downgrade, you're only allowed to go one price plan down. So from £35 to £30, etc.

jamiepyrite said:
I was informed by T-Mobile that their policy states that after half of the full contract term has passed, I'm allowed to downgrade my contract.. But when you downgrade, you're only allowed to go one price plan down. So from £35 to £30, etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thats what happend with o2 when i wanted downgrade couple months ago. only 1 plan down

ronnyuk said:
T-mobile are so silly, I really don't want to be stuck with a 35 quid a month price plan after getting my phone unlocked and sticking my o2 sim in it, so asked if it's ok to downgrade whithin the first 7 days, but belive it or not you cannot downgrade on t-mobile untill your last month so for me that would have been 23 months.
I took out the £35 a month plan but shortly realised it's a bit of a con as the 10 quid a month plan comes with unlimited internet and 1 free booster and you just pay 164.00 for the handset then you can just upgrade as and when you want.
So I now have to return the handset and they send out a new one on the new contract as a brand new line. I was happy to keep the phone and just knock it down and pay the 164 but you can't do it.... oh well
Obviously I had 7 days cooling off period anyway, so they are not charging me for returning the handset and are sending the packaging to post it through the post.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ronny...you had me worried for a minute. I thought that something was wrong with the phone

Sounds like a bit of a whinge to me......It's a contract, that is up to your to read all the fine print. Assumptions from other carriers is just stupid. Neway you should be happy they are at least changing it for you.
Close thread lol

redrazr7791 said:
Ronny...you had me worried for a minute. I thought that something was wrong with the phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nothing wrong with the phone, love it still

Cant get my HTC Desire :-(

I hate T-Mobile!!!!! Well I love them up until now.
Theytold me when I renewed my contract over a week ago that the HTC Desire was in high demand and it would take 10 days to deliver! Ok not a problem they are now telling me though they have no idea when they will be able to get it to me and advised me to phone my local store (as I deal with the contact center). My local store is refusing to answer the phone and I have tried T-Mobile stores all across the county and they all have massive waiting lists and not accepting any more names :-(
They also said they would buy from Carphone Warehouse but none of their stores are answering the phones......
My last attempt one of the suppliers my company deals with on a weekly basis have 5 HTC Desires sitting in the warehouse ready for purchase but T-Mobile are refusing to let me get it from there! I can't afford to buy it myself and I don't see any harm in them buying it from there for me. They gave me the reason that each supplier gets a different price for it so I replied with well I will pay the difference (wouldnt be alot surely) but then they changed their story saying we are not allowed to purchase from companies that are not T-Mobile Accredited!!!!
This is winding me up now. Its my birthday tomorrow and I really want my new phone but I can't afford to buy one myself!!!!!
Sorry just having a rant. Anyone here work for a T-Mobile store and can get me one on my contract?

Man that sucks. I don't think its just t mobiles fault. Htc are having a mere getting hold of the AMOLED screens, as the manufacturers (samsung) are keeping them to themselves for their galaxy s phones. (and are probably enjoying having their main rival in the android handset market over a barrel.)
Could be some time for htc to get the phone altered to use the SLCD screens. Google amoled + htc + samsung for a better explanation than mine!
In the mean time, what is t mobiles "cooling off period" for sending a handset back after it being supplied? You could use this opportunity to try out the competition, and send the thing back before the dead line and try something else!
Make enough of a nuisance of yourself and you may move up the priority list!
Who knows, you may end up liking either a sony x10 or a galaxy s. If I could not have a desire, I'd lean towards the galaxy s.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

That's a bit out of order from Samsung, if they had an agreement they have to fulfill it with HTC...

Well when my Desire stopped vibrating I called up T-Mobile (This was within the first week of release) and the rep told me they had around 900 Desires in that morning and by 16:46 the same day they had 54 left. I got number 52 as two had been sold whilst I was explaining my problem. That was in April.
So either the phone is much more popular than I thought and HTC can't make them quick enough (which is likely due to AMOLED shortages) or they didn't expect such a high demand after the initial early adopter phase (First month).

Sounds like you are not making enough fuss to customer services!
I phoned orange up a couple of months ago as I was getting the same stuff.
First they said they were in stock and I could have a really decent contract with free phone!!!, but... literally phoned about 20 mins later to make an order and it had changed to 300 mins less and £50 for the phone! and the best part was they said stock would be another 2 weeks to a month and I can't go on the waiting list as it's full!
Pissed off, I decided to go to high street stores to get a more expensive contract and alas, no-one had any and if they did I was told that the tariff I was on would mean I would have to pay £75 for the phone!!!
So I got home, got myself in a strop and phoned orange to complain, funny enough they added me to the list (before it was full), they said when the phone was in stock they would text me and as soon as the text came through I needed to call them straight away as it was first come first serve after the text was received.
Patiently waiting (not) I decided to call the next day to find out whether it had come in, they said yes and were sending the texts out to everyone now, with 6000 odd people on the list I didn't fancy my chances!
Somehow while trying to get them to haggle on the contract (cancellations dept) which they did in the end - gave me a great contract, god opened up the heavens and I got my text whilst on the phone, the lady sounded like she didn't believe but I gave her the code and she said congrats and that I could reserve a black one!!
The next day there is my shiny new Desire on my doorstep!!!
The End... lol

they seem to have it in stock on the t-mob website:
http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/shop/pay-monthly/htc-desire/mobile-tariffs/

wnp_79 said:
Man that sucks. I don't think its just t mobiles fault. Htc are having a mere getting hold of the AMOLED screens, as the manufacturers (samsung) are keeping them to themselves for their galaxy s phones. (and are probably enjoying having their main rival in the android handset market over a barrel.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Judging by reports, galaxy s is the best sold phone in South Korea ever since it was released, and it surpased Iphone in sale numbers around the world. Samsung is planning to sell 10 million pieces of this phone...

T-Mobile and their stores are getting regular deliveries but because there is such a backlog they go before they even reach the shelf!
I spent the whole day on the phone to T-mobile yesterday they were phoning around all the stores in the county as well as Carephone Warehouse (who none of their stores were answering)
There was stock at one of our local suppliers but T-Mobile refused to purchase from there.
I finally late yesterday managed to get hold of Carphone Warehouse local to me who told me they had sold 10 that day and there was 1 left so I told them to hide that phone and keep it for me and went down there after work and collected so I finally have my Desire
T-Mobile did lie though and said it would be free but I had to pay another £30 to get it :-( - Better than waiting for months though

By the way I don't like the Samsung's
Not a device for me

Good news. You'll love this phone. Give the battery a few charge cycles before expecting to see it's full performance tho. Its worrying at first!
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

You should have switched to another network

Well wr8_utd, There is that option but using the points below you can see why I dont:
> o2 - Had very poor experiences and hate them - My company used them as well when I fist joined and nothing but problems
> Orange - Poor to no signal in my local area
> 3 - Heard lots of problems about them
> Small dealers like Tesco - Can't offer me what I want
> Virgin - My dads on it and he doesn't get a signal anywhere! No point in having a mobile
> Vodafone - Possibly a viable option - Who my company is currently with and apart from two months having a bill around £6,000 for one handset they have been good.
> T-Mobile - I have been a very loyal customer for I think it must be about 6 years now (back when they were 1-to-1?) That gives me negotiation points
> T-Mobile - I have brought many customers to them over the last few years through my account - again adding to my negotiation powers
> T-Mobile - Always offer me exactly what I want (even when they don't have a contract that offers exactly what I want) - For instance When I wanted the HD2 to get it free their cheapest contract was £40 per month. I told them I wanted that phone for free but only pay £30 per month + wanted unlimited internet but I was happy to juggle min and texts with them and they were happy to comply
> T-Mobile - One of the best Customer Support Centres I have ever experienced. apart from one or two prats over there who don't know what they are talking about they are normally very kind / generaly know what they are talking about / normally answer quite quickly (until recently but select that you are leaving them and they answer very quickly )
> For what I am on every other network seems to charge me more
> HTC Desire - Seems out of stock with every network...
Now you can see my logic behind sticking with them.

Hehe yeah I can see why now
Is it out of stock at stores as well now?
Oh and how is the 3 Network?

As I said above I haven't personally used the 3 network but I haven't heard a single good word about it, its all been bad so I am not tempted to go near them.
All the T-mobile stores have massive waiting lists, Online shops all over the place say out of stock. All my suppliers at work apart from one our out of stock (even the mobile specialists suppliers are out of it) So I imagine its the same all round. The trick is to keep trying every day I was lucky, Our local carephone warehouse received stock in the morning I was ringing them all day but they were under staffed and too busy to answer the call. Finally got through to them abour 2pm and they had one left which they hid away and reserved for me

Nothing wrong with 3 UK service is improved from their call centre and shops are fab .. good deals as well plus the bombed all other companies out of the water £349.99 for unlocked unbranded desire when they first came out
Give em a go oh and very few two year contracts most eighteen months
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

Oh forgot to add they were poor at beginning when they first started hence poor reports but honest they are probably on of the best now (just get unbranded handset if you do their firmware updates are the only issue )
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

2 other option is
1) Get them to buy a nexus one for you and flash it
2) Get a wildfire

I intend to get one of the 3 Desire deals and unlock it. Will I have any issues after I unlock it?

meteor
i had problems getting my desire too, it was meteor in ireland i vent to 3 shops and they said they don't have them in stock and the third shop guy said they dont have it and he offered legend instead but some miracle happened when i said no he went to check stock second time and he brought phone over, they are acting strange ..

i hate t-mobile i have been with them over 8 years and they still treat me like S**T i only stay with them as its cheapest option but there like virgin terrible Cusomer support but as long as you never have to deal with them its mostly good. i personally went and got a desire off ebay 280 new, and a £10 pay monthly sim which was cheapest option and didnt tie me into a long contract which i hate especially with a company i dont like lol. mind you all phone companies need a slap for using the word unlimited to mean limited how much more proof do you need the benter then a 50p note.

Upgrading from DInc Before 2 Years Up Cost?

I have a Droid Incredible that I got probably a week or two after the release date (somewhere around May 2010). So my 2-year contract ends around the first or second week of May of 2012. My Dinc is pretty much dead, lots of problems with it now and I need to replace it before May. I was wondering if anyone in a similar circumstance (or anyone who knows) can give me an estimate on how much it will cost to upgrade to the GNex tomorrow? I also have a employer discount of 20% monthly and 25% on accessories (if that has any effect).
Also, in case it matters, my name isn't set as the owner of the Family Plan that I am on but I do have the main line that the Plan is attached two (the other two lines on the family plan are the added lines). Not sure if I need to get him to come with me (we live 2 hours apart) or if getting him on the phone/knowing his SSN would be enough to allow me to upgrade. I will be paying for it in cash so I don't need to charge it to the monthly phone bill.
Thanks,
Steven

I don't believe you can get an early upgrade until 20 months into your contract.. so you would have to wait until January to get it for $299.. Otherwise it will most likely be $649 off contract if you really can't wait..

That would really suck considering it is only like $150 for the ETA. They can't let me pay the $150+300 for the phone? I guess I can wait until mid January but my phone sometimes goes days where it reboots every 10-15 minutes plus even with the extended battery it can be 10% by like 1pm (used to last 2 full days easily). Some days it is virtually impossible to use and I just leave it at home. (sorry for ranting, lol)

Tytanius said:
That would really suck considering it is only like $150 for the ETA. They can't let me pay the $150+300 for the phone? I guess I can wait until mid January but my phone sometimes goes days where it reboots every 10-15 minutes plus even with the extended battery it can be 10% by like 1pm (used to last 2 full days easily). Some days it is virtually impossible to use and I just leave it at home. (sorry for ranting, lol)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha no worries, I was in this position before my Nexus with my original Droid
You can certainly try, it depends on who you talk to really.. if you talk to someone who is having a particularly good day that has enough authority (I'm assuming a store manager could do this) then you might be able to get it a month early, who knows.. worth a shot. Goodluck

I have a Droid Incredible and Verizon shows I am eligible to upgrade. I had already planned on upgrading to the Nexus but I accidentally killed my phone over a month ago which made me even more anxious.
I don't think I upgraded to the Incredible right away (at release) but I might have. Still only a two week difference and I was eligible to upgrade (with a renewed contract) back in November for sure.

sglasgowaz said:
I have a Droid Incredible and Verizon shows I am eligible to upgrade. I had already planned on upgrading to the Nexus but I accidentally killed my phone over a month ago which made me even more anxious.
I don't think I upgraded to the Incredible right away (at release) but I might have. Still only a two week difference and I was eligible to upgrade (with a renewed contract) back in November for sure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got my OG Droid a week before the dInc came out, and I was eligible on 12/3... so those of you who bought a dinc day of, or really early on, may be eligible right now or very very soon.
That being said I spoke to a guy who got me my Rezound a day early (I returned it because it was bad, 2 of em) because I was going out of state and I just went about it not expecting them to help me but asking kindly for some help because my OG Droid's headphone jack is all but shot and I use it to listen to music in my car.
Dont know if it will work, but only a manager can force the system to let you get an upgrade early. Worth a shot, just dont get your hopes up. Good luck.
Edit: I just read about the not being the primary / authorized person on the account to make changes, you may run into a lot of road blocks. You may have to have the account owner call up Verizon and see if there is anything they can do to get you authorized to make changes. Even though you aren't charging the phone to the account. If you are paying the subsidized price for the device you are infact signing a contract that binds that line up for a set amount of time. (2 years most likely)

don't let the responses discourage you. I signec a 2 year this past march & got the thunderbolt. in october, the thunderbolt started having some "big" issues & I wasn't paying for insurance so decided to call 611 for the hell of it and see if they'd do anything for me.
they ended up offering me an early upgrade!
which I eventually used for the rezound and exchanging tomorrow.
definitely call them & see what they can do. I wouldn't bother going to a store as they'd just tell you to call anyway.

Early Upgrade
If you signed a "New Every 2" plan before Jan 2011, you should be able to upgrade your phone after 12months. VZ will tell you that's there's a $20 charge for upgrading early. This is an optional charge. I upgraded from my OG Droid (bought 11/09) 13months later to the Droid X on 12/1/10. Charged the extra $20 bucks. I signed a new 2 year contract (ne2). I just upgraded to the Droid RAZR on 12/3/11. When I upgraded to the RAZR, they waived the $20 charge.
After Jan/2011 VZW did away with the NE2 plans and now enforce the 20month upgrade discount policy. Now I'm not sure how this affects you when you are not the primary on the account. But I would at least look into it. Also if you go through multiple phones, talking to Customer Relations not service might help you get an early upgrade for repeat problem phones.

I tried Amazon Wireless and it said I wasn't eligible, so then I tried LetsTalk. They said I am not eligable until 1/4/12 so that is only 20 days from now. I am going to call Verizon this evening or tomorrow and see if I can get them to bump it up less than a month so I can purchase it earlier, otherwise I guess I can wait until January 4th.
It also said I can order it now and they will hold it for me until the fourth. LetsTalk's price is $174.99 for me to upgrade so I may order it now to lock in that sale price, though it would suck if they or somewhere else got a better deal by then. Hmm, decisions..

I emailed Verizon last week and they just called me back and left a voicemail saying they will let me get my upgrade early! I have to call the specific person back and I hope she will enable my upgrade not just force me to buy it through her (Verizon) instead of being able to get it though Amazon or LetsTalk since I would be saving $125. I will let you guys know in case anyone else is interested in upgrading early.

I was able to upgrade early despite being in contract only 8 months in with my Thunderbolt. I had to agree to buy some accessories which came out to be about $400 total but it sure beat the price of paying $650 + tax for another 8 months extension.
It all depends on who you talk to I guess.

I had the dinc and got it about 3 weeks after release. I got my nexus on Thursday and just had to pay the $20 early upgrade fee. Was about $360 when it was all said and done. Go to your store and just ask. Doesn't hurt.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

I had to buy it through Verizon but she discounted it so it wasn't the full $300. I should have it in two days and I already purchased a screen protector and also the extended battery for $25. A nice Christmas present to myself.

I too came from having a Dinc. I got my Dinc in July 2010. When I was on VZW website it said I was able to upgrade back when the T-Bolt came out. I just waited till the GN came out and ordered it and only had to pay the $299 + tax. Nothing else. Was disappointed no discount like the old days w/ new every 2 years but oh well. I was even able to bill to my account w/ free shipping and just got it and life is good.

anyone received one from UK t-mobile?

placed order on Tuesday, the guy said would be released thursday so should get friday, today he emailed to say there was a delay and he`ll let me know when i will receive... are they just loading there bloat ware on it?
a number of places in UK has the device and is selling, why are the service providers like t-mob, orange etc struggling?

Got unbranded on t-mobile from mobiles.co.uk for 31/month. Delivered next day. There are other third parties doing the same. You could just cancel and do that?
Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2

T-Mobile staff don't seem to know much. Was told 11th and 15th as release dates, was given incorrect specs. ..just gonna wait and see

Did you order the LTE version and what colour? Also, what deal did you manage to get from them?
I was under the impression that they'll be released on the 15th of this month

I got a deal of £31 per mth, £40 for handset, 300 mins x network, unlimited calls to t-mob, 1.5gb download, 3gb bt openzone wifi. 24 mths.
prob not best deal, easpecially on mins and txts, but to be honest i dont use much, i just want the latest phones.
I would imagine (hope) that t-mob would only sell the LTE version as they are the ones pioneering 4G? will keep an eye out though, if can get a better deal will do so.. (limited to networks i can use as 02 doesnt work where i live and am waiting on a three sim to try there network.)

t3rm3y said:
I got a deal of £31 per mth, £40 for handset, 300 mins x network, unlimited calls to t-mob, 1.5gb download, 3gb bt openzone wifi. 24 mths.
prob not best deal, easpecially on mins and txts, but to be honest i dont use much, i just want the latest phones.
I would imagine (hope) that t-mob would only sell the LTE version as they are the ones pioneering 4G? will keep an eye out though, if can get a better deal will do so.. (limited to networks i can use as 02 doesnt work where i live and am waiting on a three sim to try there network.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have 2 lines one of which is always with unltd calls so something like this would suit me just fine for the 2nd line. As i said i was under the impression that they'll be releasing this phone on the 15th...I just had another look on their website and the deal you got isn't mentioned BUT the only version they have IS the LTE one. So if or when you do get it, update us please? I think a lot of people like me are holding off on this phone waiting for the LTE 4G ready version.

xmob101 said:
I have 2 lines one of which is always with unltd calls so something like this would suit me just fine for the 2nd line. As i said i was under the impression that they'll be releasing this phone on the 15th...I just had another look on their website and the deal you got isn't mentioned BUT the only version they have IS the LTE one. So if or when you do get it, update us please? I think a lot of people like me are holding off on this phone waiting for the LTE 4G ready version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its peculiar they released a non lte version in the UK. Arguably it's cheap and not in the interest of the customer, the main focus of any good supplier. That's something Apple and Samsung have in common - the smell of their own farts in their nostrils. The latter at least makes phones rather than toys.
Some might argue they don't mind having no lte chip but it's a stretch to say they're better off and it's Samsung's fault. They might release new models every 6 months but in your mind how long should a £500+ phone function as an admirable device? If lte was brand new then it would be excusable but its been obvious for a while what a future proof device for the UK would need although only recently was it known roughly when. If they do release a sim free version of the 7105 (they better do) AND it has all the UK present(nearly) and future bands of lte but they price it at £700 then their behaviour is acceptable but their prices criminal.
This my opinion, and it leads me into your camp. Maybe I'm just jealous my desires don't allow me to be the first to own this device like the hundreds of happy customers on here. Samsung are training me to be a patient and sensible consumer, not a good idea.
Sent from my Desire HD using xda app-developers app

EmptyArea said:
Its peculiar they released a non lte version in the UK. Arguably it's cheap and not in the interest of the customer, the main focus of any good supplier. That's something Apple and Samsung have in common - the smell of their own farts in their nostrils. The latter at least makes phones rather than toys.
Some might argue they don't mind having no lte chip but it's a stretch to say they're better off and it's Samsung's fault. They might release new models every 6 months but in your mind how long should a £500+ phone function as an admirable device? If lte was brand new then it would be excusable but its been obvious for a while what a future proof device for the UK would need although only recently was it known roughly when. If they do release a sim free version of the 7105 (they better do) AND it has all the UK present(nearly) and future bands of lte but they price it at £700 then their behaviour is acceptable but their prices criminal.
This my opinion, and it leads me into your camp. Maybe I'm just jealous my desires don't allow me to be the first to own this device like the hundreds of happy customers on here. Samsung are training me to be a patient and sensible consumer, not a good idea.
Sent from my Desire HD using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree and would add that not releasing a 32 or 64gb version is just a ploy to make more money later on. Forcing people on to the 16gb NON-LTE version is just a dirty business tactic. And before anyone says 'oh but they probably couldn't have them ready in time' Lets not forget that Samsung are one of the biggest memory manufacturers in the world (if not the biggest?). So would have been a piece of cake to swap out the internal memory.
And about being jealous lol. I was dead set on getting the S3 when that was released but waited for my upgrade to be due. Then i heard rumours of this beast and decided to wait. I watched the presentation live and thought THIS is my next phone. I recently tried it out in the shops and it's....BIG....in a good way? i think lol. Reading people's views on here i think i'll get used to it...Now do i wait for the LTE version of this, get the LTE version of the S3 or wait a month more for the Nexus phones to be released? Argh I hate having to make this decision.

We share the dilemma, except I've written off the s3 my missus has one and although very good its just an inferior note 2 with screen size a preference consideration.
I'll be getting the note 2, either lte or not, depending on the price differential (£518 the cheapest so far). I know the new nexus will probably be excellent but I don't have to let that serve to make this device look worse.
I'm disappointing with Samsung, I'll say again they've lost customer focus at the crucial marketing and sales level. Its all about profit and market share. They should treat their customers less like Apple does, as mindless sheep who'll believe, and do, anything to be told their sexy. And more like children who need protecting from their ignorance. That's not an insult or even pessimism, it's a rationalisation of the fact mobile phone hardware is a boring subject to most people. If they released both models at the same time and it was made clear then fine. But giving one choice caused confusion, its not like called it:
"Galaxy Note II (No LTE)"
Sent from my Desire HD using xda app-developers app

+1 to that ^^^ I think the technique is designed to spread sales and I will not buy until at least the 32GB is available - 16GB is just too small considering you can't install apps (easily) on the external SD. However, sammy is sure to loose "some" customers if they leave it too long as newer phones are released and, if they leave it a really long time, the rumours of the SGNIII start to build tempting others (including myself) to wait for that and/or another "super phone". Still, it's only 2 weeks so far since release, give them a chance, but if we get to 4-6 months for decent internal SD size I might have found an alternative device (you never know, as this is a new "hot" format). Personally I reckon they'd have been better off releasing all sizes at launch - I'd have jumped straight onto the (likely much more expensive) 64GB but now if the 32GB comes out before the 64GB I'll get that (likely at a lower price) and will not upgrade to a 64GB when that is released - so they will loose money from me. They "may" of course drop the price of the 16GB when the higher sizes are released but, based on the SGIII, I think that is unlikely.
LTE doesn't really bother me that much, 4G will be a couple of years before it is common place (and I live way out in the countryside 3G is pretty poor here still!) - I'll be upgrading by then and, for some reason, I never sell my old phones - usually de-sim them and give them to the kids as games machines
Waiting impatiently...........

Lol I've got all my old phones too (except a few stolen ones) even though I always keep em pristine for resale value.
Haha
The lack of storage sizes is foolishly annoying, I understand it for the s3 the majority of people who bought one wouldn't give it a second thought. But the note 2 is a different market, with much more media entertainment focused purposes.
As you say its early days and its my own impatience that has me frustrated.
Talking about alternatives, I like the look of padphone 2.
Sent from my Desire HD using xda app-developers app

When 32 and 64 come out I will sell my 16 wont loose that much and to have the 16 in my hand makes me smile enough for now
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda premium

Where will you sell it?
Sent from my Desire HD using xda app-developers app

Im literally on hold with tmobile now, going to enquire about the Note II LTE.
Im not too fussed if it is 16GB as it has the SD card capability right??

Waiting still
I've got one more month. Hopefully next year some time this phones contract price will reduce a bit. If I upgrade it will still be £30 on T mobile. Managed to get my last phone on £17 / month for 2 years (yeah right)! I took off the answer phone service which knocked off £5 / month from the the original price. Considering that at the time I was charged for calling the answer phone as well as a fiver a month I thought no thanks so saved quite a bit. Then came the 20% VAT hike and Tmobile upping the price of the contract to compensate. So I now pay a little over £21 per month.
I might have to get one a little later than I expected to.

Yep called them too. The usual clueless replies. 15th is all they know as the release date. ..they think.

I'll wait until CPW get them. Their prices can be better and their customer service strong.
Sent from my Desire HD using xda app-developers app

EmptyArea said:
I'll wait until CPW get them. Their prices can be better and their customer service strong.
Sent from my Desire HD using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where are you based in the world?
i went into a cpw in essex and they had them in stock and ready to ship - that was probably 2+ weeks ago. i had a look at the phone (which wwasnt on / battery want in it) he could do it on orange, t-mob and one other, poss 02 but not sure..
only reason i was waiting on t-mobile direct is i have a ok offer to stay with them.
though a quick look onlien shows some web only comanies offering the note 2 for £32 per mth - 300 mins, 1.5gig data with t-mob.
+£50 cash back) just a bit weary of using online companies, as can imagine if there was a problem t-mob would say go to the web company, and web company would say talk to t-mob..
are the ones on mobiles.co.uk etc not LTE? is the difference between LTE and non LTE only 4g? as i live in the middle of nowhere LTE will not affect me so might as well get a non LTE, though i feel it should be cheaper then the LTE version...

Went into tmob shop in UK today - none on display - so I asked about it - the sales person looked at me blankly and said "we only have the note I" so I tried another one, who THB wasn't interested in speaking to me at all, "nah, not heard anything about the note II release yet, it's not out" I directed him to the 3 store opposite with a SGNII sitting in the window - "oh, yeah, we'll we will be getting it, just not sure when" I gave up at that point. 3 were very helpful and, spent a lot of time going through things with me and it turns out, for a mere £69 I get a SNGII 16GB (3G) for £36 per month with unlimited Internet and unlimited tethering included (plus pretty much infinite call time and texts - more than I would use anyway). 4G - honestly they said wont realistically be working everywhere for at least a year, probably longer but they will be getting the SGNII on 4G when they feel 4G is reliable enough. Oh and the sales rep thought that 3 had no plans to tie the handset to the network.
TBH at 3s deal I'd be saving £15 a month from my current contracts - only shame is..............no 32/64GB yet! - no store I visited had any news on 32/64GB one and all only stocked the 16GB SGNI version too. I might have to give in and get 16GB and root.
Tmobs current price plan is for 3G even for the LTE model and info sheets in store said there will be an upgrade charge to 4G and a new contract will have to be signed.
When will these stores realise customer service is important - I'd have gone with tmob because their coverage is better even tho they are slightly more expensive but not now!
Re-looked at ip5 - !!! Why did I ever even consider it - it was funny, the ip5 stands in all shops were deserted, the Sony and Samsung ones were packed - how things change lol

t-mobile do seem like utter rubbish - when you consider o2 has priority moments, orange has things like orange wednesdays and on panther you can watch stuff like sport and tv etc without using your data allowance. Three does the completely unlimited thing, vodafone has yoda as a mascot - what does t-mobile offer?
i got an email today saying finally has it in stock. plan was changed slightly - £27 per mth, but £80 for handset, i couldnt be bothered to argue or search - i wouldnt get a better mthly plan elsewhere (600 mins, 500 txts, 1.5gb data)
plus if i delayed any longer a new handset would arrive that i would want instead i.e. the padfone 2..?
so i should get my LTE SGN2 on monday, if the delivery drive can find my work place..