Develop Bugs

T-Mobile ending subsidized phones.

T-Mobile announced that in the coming months they will end discounted phones with a contract and go the European way and make you pay retail for any phone yet your monthly bill will go down a lot in price. How do you guys feel about this.?
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Some people will love it, some will hate it. Here in the states, we are spoiled, do the majority will hate it. If it goes too bad, then they'll go back to subsidies. To keep it during hatred, the other companies will do the same. I don't mind as I buy my own phones even when I was in a contract to try the latest phones. Hey, you win some, you lose some
Sent from my Rooted Gameboy

If they're doing it the way they generally have offered as of late, they may not do a carrier subsidy the way Big Red/Yellow/Blue do, but they'll allow you to do a "handset mortgage", where you can pay a "down payment" when you get the phone and then the loan will be a separate line item until you pay it off, which can be at any point.
I actually prefer this model because it allows you to pay more or less to decrease the amount still owed for your phone and potentially decrease your bill substantially once you're done paying the phone off. It will also allow for quicker upgrades because you won't have to wait two years until your contract rolls around again.
I'm not opposed to this model at all.
Joey

voyager529 said:
If they're doing it the way they generally have offered as of late, they may not do a carrier subsidy the way Big Red/Yellow/Blue do, but they'll allow you to do a "handset mortgage", where you can pay a "down payment" when you get the phone and then the loan will be a separate line item until you pay it off, which can be at any point.
I actually prefer this model because it allows you to pay more or less to decrease the amount still owed for your phone and potentially decrease your bill substantially once you're done paying the phone off. It will also allow for quicker upgrades because you won't have to wait two years until your contract rolls around again.
I'm not opposed to this model at all.
Joey
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If they offer that. Then I'll be okay with that. But I'm not OK with paying 5-600 dollars for a phone...I got more important things to pay for lol. But then again on the bright side the bill per month is gonna drop sooo much
Sent from my SGH-T999

I'm in Charlotte, and the store I went to has already gone through this transition. The plan price went down approximately $30. The down-payment was similar to the advertised price for the subsidized phones, and the monthly payments were $20, for twenty months. Overall, I'll pay $550 for phone retailed to cost $599, with a slight savings on the rate plan.
The big savings come after twenty months, when the phone is paid off. I'm not one to upgrade immediately, so I may save money on the rate plan for 6-12 months before buying a new phone. Where before, even if I didn't buy a phone, I was paying the monthly rate that included the subsidy.

zeekx4 said:
I'm in Charlotte, and the store I went to has already gone through this transition. The plan price went down approximately $30. The down-payment was similar to the advertised price for the subsidized phones, and the monthly payments were $20, for twenty months. Overall, I'll pay $550 for phone retailed to cost $599, with a slight savings on the rate plan.
The big savings come after twenty months, when the phone is paid off. I'm not one to upgrade immediately, so I may save money on the rate plan for 6-12 months before buying a new phone. Where before, even if I didn't buy a phone, I was paying the monthly rate that included the subsidy.
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So u can still get a new phone without paying retail?
Sent from my SGH-T999

ddizzy81 said:
So u can still get a new phone without paying retail?
Sent from my SGH-T999
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Yes and No. ** I do not work for T-Mobile, but this is how I understand things **
EIP has existed for a very long time now and will continue to exist. T-Mobile is simply being upfront with customers instead of building in a subsidy into a rate plan. In almost every case, the customer wins.
Here's one way to look at it. Value Plan + EIP = Classic plan Either way, the upfront costs are similar. In one case, you call it a downpayment, in another you call it a price w/ 2 year contact extension. EIP is typically 20 months, which is better than the 24 months a full blown 2 year extension will be. Again, as far as the initial cost of the phone, the downpayment is essentially equivalent to the previously advertised price of the phone with contract.
This model does a few things from the perspective of a customer. It gives you the option of purchasing phones outright, or opting to get what essentially is a 20 month interest free loan from t-mobile on up to $400 towards the purchase price of a phone. When that loan is paid off, you are left with a nice and small bill for just the services you use, the voice, data, and text services provided by T-Mobile. This opens the door wide open for people to bring unlocked devices over to T-Mobile, and enjoy a low price monthly rate plan. Previously, the best way to do this was to buy an unlocked phone, buy a carrier phone with a 2-year extension, and sell the carrier phone and put that towards the price of the unlocked phone.
This really is a win for pretty much all consumers. People who want a low initial cost can opt for the EIP, people who bring their own devices can choose to do so and enjoy a low monthly rate, and finally people who keep their devices for a long time will enjoy a low rate after they complete their EIP payments.
The only time this is NOT advantageous is if you decide to break the contract prior to the end of the EIP term + value plan contract. For example, if I buy a new phone, start a EIP plan for 20 months, and sign up for a 2 year value plan, I would have to pay a $200 penalty to break the value plan, and also $400 to close out the EIP. Of course, the way to get around this is to sell the phone to repay the EIP.

ddizzy81 said:
T-Mobile announced that in the coming months they will end discounted phones with a contract and go the European way and make you pay retail for any phone yet your monthly bill will go down a lot in price. How do you guys feel about this.?
Sent from my SGH-T999
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as far as i know, t-mobile has already offer $50 contract free service in NYC. that includes 4g network, unlimit calling, texing, web, etc.
I am current simple mobile user, $40 each month, and it is great!
I am sure if ATT, Verizon, don't take any action, most of their customers will walk way.

My contract ends in may...its gonna be a big decision whether I'm gonna leave T-Mobile or not
Sent from my SGH-T999

About a month ago a tmo rep told me they are doing this soon.
O well doesn't bother me lol
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Yeah its not all that new . Tmobile has been allowing people to break up their payments since they announced their even more plus plans. I think its a great option in present times for those that can't afford to fork out 500$ in one transaction.
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They already have offered this its called the "Value Plans", as apposed to the "Classic Plans" the value plans are only offered at t-mobile stores and since sept they have offered a truly unlimited data option on the value plan. thats the plan i have been on since i joined t-mobile in sept. the gs3 for me was 149.99 down with $20 for 20 months. (549.99) and my rate plan is 69.99 for unlimited everything. The one thing i dont like about the value plan is that even though you are paying full price for your phone in the end you are still on a 2 year contract with $200 early termination fee. and if you dont use all the minutes and want to lower your bill thats a whole new 2 year contract. T-mobile really shouldnt due that to its customers.

Chuckatron said:
They already have offered this its called the "Value Plans", as apposed to the "Classic Plans" the value plans are only offered at t-mobile stores and since sept they have offered a truly unlimited data option on the value plan. thats the plan i have been on since i joined t-mobile in sept. the gs3 for me was 149.99 down with $20 for 20 months. (549.99) and my rate plan is 69.99 for unlimited everything. The one thing i dont like about the value plan is that even though you are paying full price for your phone in the end you are still on a 2 year contract with $200 early termination fee. and if you dont use all the minutes and want to lower your bill thats a whole new 2 year contract. T-mobile really shouldnt due that to its customers.
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Well to be honest they kinda have to keep that early termination fee, because basically if they don't what's to keep you from leaving after you only payed 149.99 for a 800 phone. Even if you still decide to leave you only end up paying about 350. 200 fee plus the 150 you put down. This is coming from a guy who really dislike tmobile I'm just with them because I almost don't pay anything on a 5 line account. Really there's not much difference between classic and value when it comes to buying a phone both tie you to a 2 year contract and early fee.
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Isn't this pretty much the same thing as their Value Plan they've had for some time now? I've been on that plan for a bit over a year now. For me, the plus side is that over the course of a two year period, I'll end up saving roughly $1200 for two lines compared to my previous plan with everything unlimited.
The downside is of course the unsubsidized pricing of all the phones...completely ineligible for any special promotions, as well. If T-Mobile keeps that same plan model, people may find themselves paying for multiple devices at a time if they run into mishaps (theft, damage, etc.). Even with insurance, you'll pay a pretty penny for a replacement but will still be responsible for paying off the original. This would be a big adjustment for a lot of people in many ways, not just financially.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
Edit: Chuck beat me to it LoL. I'm so not used to typing novel-length msgs on a mobile xD
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So how the phone insurance will work, will tmobile offer this option I doubt. I'm not referring manufacturer 1 year but long term one.
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dito33 said:
So how the phone insurance will work, will tmobile offer this option I doubt. I'm not referring manufacturer 1 year but long term one.
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Good question
Sent from my SGH-T999

ddizzy81 said:
If they offer that. Then I'll be okay with that. But I'm not OK with paying 5-600 dollars for a phone...I got more important things to pay for lol. But then again on the bright side the bill per month is gonna drop sooo much
Sent from my SGH-T999
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LOL...pay now, pay later. do the math. if youre on a classic plan, you still pay full price for the phone, you just pay for it a little a time added onto your monthly bill. so, you are okay with paying 5-600 dollars for a phone...

dito33 said:
So how the phone insurance will work, will tmobile offer this option I doubt. I'm not referring manufacturer 1 year but long term one.
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Don't see why they would stop offering the extended insurance. If you're going to be paying for you're phone for 2 years you might as well have insurance that also extends the warranty for that long.
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LiquidGlow said:
The downside is of course the unsubsidized pricing of all the phones...completely ineligible for any special promotions, as well. If T-Mobile keeps that same plan model, people may find themselves paying for multiple devices at a time if they run into mishaps (theft, damage, etc.). Even with insurance, you'll pay a pretty penny for a replacement but will still be responsible for paying off the original. This would be a big adjustment for a lot of people in many ways, not just financially.
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Actually the promos DO apply. The last sale was a zero down sale, so you get your down payment back as a rebate. So instead of a $600 phone it's only $400. It's no different than a free phone with a higher monthly payment.

I haven't had a plan for years. If you look you can find a deal on craigslist sometimes ebay

GS4 @ $99 down + 10% off on bill

Wanted to share this T-Mobile flyer - GS4 @ $99 down + 10% off on bill + no activation fees. You have to call customer service to activate and mention association with Student rate.

thanks! i'll be using that promotion i was just now about to add a line to my account...

Tricksie said:
Wanted to share this T-Mobile flyer - GS4 @ $99 down + 10% off on bill + no activation fees. You have to call customer service to activate and mention association with Student rate.
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What do you mean by "mention association with Student rate"

can you explain it a little more? i got the galaxy s4 a day before the price dropped to 99$ can i still get this discount on my phone? like a 50$ card or something and the 10% off

Wish &^*%(% TMo would make up their mind.
Right after its release they told me that their days of discounting a phone with a contract or extension were gone forever when dealing directly with them, but for now, third party vendors were still being permitted to so. Got mine from Costco because of that.

Is this with contract, or is it the prepaid thing. I have been waiting for the S4 to become $100 with data plan. We use the data and I don't see myself canceling the contract so paying $100 for the phone with data seems like a better deal to me than paying $600 plus data for the phone. Does this also include activation fee and if so, can it be waived? How much is one paying with this deal.

+1
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Just picked up a Galaxy S4 yesterday at T-Mobile. $99 down (plus tax on the full retail cost of the phone - $579 at the moment) brought me up to about $146 at the store and a promise of $20/month for 24 months. Is it just me or does it seem a lot more expensive to get a phone through T-Mobile these days?

crawler9 said:
Just picked up a Galaxy S4 yesterday at T-Mobile. $99 down (plus tax on the full retail cost of the phone - $579 at the moment) brought me up to about $146 at the store and a promise of $20/month for 24 months. Is it just me or does it seem a lot more expensive to get a phone through T-Mobile these days?
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Per my earlier post - yes. Go to 3rd party vendors. Walmart just advertised $199 with a $50 gift certificate . That would be new line or two year extension - no $20/month BS.

crawler9 said:
Just picked up a Galaxy S4 yesterday at T-Mobile. $99 down (plus tax on the full retail cost of the phone - $579 at the moment) brought me up to about $146 at the store and a promise of $20/month for 24 months. Is it just me or does it seem a lot more expensive to get a phone through T-Mobile these days?
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No. You're basically buying the phone outright, but for $99 down with the remaining 480 spread out over 2 years with no interest. If you were to buy the S4 outright at AT&T or Verizon, etc. then you'd have to pony up the total $579 right then and there.

Can't find any info on this, so anyone with personal experience: Can you take this deal if you're on the $30 pre-paid monthly plan? T-Mobile just posted a simaler offer on their Facebook page today....

did this expire?

Still think you are not getting it folks or I am missing something.
Why buy from TMo when you can get a much better deal elsewhere (unless you would not be eligible for the two year extension requirement and you don't want a new line)?
I was eligible but TMo would not deal - they even suggested I go elsewhere for the phone which I did. Then I sold my Note 2 (too big for my pocket - especially on my bike) for over twice what I paid for the S4..

aimfire72 said:
No. You're basically buying the phone outright, but for $99 down with the remaining 480 spread out over 2 years with no interest. If you were to buy the S4 outright at AT&T or Verizon, etc. then you'd have to pony up the total $579 right then and there.
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Yeah, but the way the plans were before, you could pay the up front cost of the phone, sign a 2 year contract, and either get the phone without much additional cost with the plans you intended to keep anyway, or pay a $200 ETF which in this case would put you completely out of contract with a Galaxy S4 for $299. With the way things are now, you pony up an extra $280 over the course of two years (or up front, or at any point in between up front and two years) to reach the same state you could have reached for $299 + tax + activation before.

crawler9 said:
Yeah, but the way the plans were before, you could pay the up front cost of the phone, sign a 2 year contract, and either get the phone without much additional cost with the plans you intended to keep anyway, or pay a $200 ETF which in this case would put you completely out of contract with a Galaxy S4 for $299. With the way things are now, you pony up an extra $280 over the course of two years (or up front, or at any point in between up front and two years) to reach the same state you could have reached for $299 + tax + activation before.
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Guys, its basically the same thing. The only difference I see is that before this change happened, if you knew you were going to be in a two years contract and it didn't matter to you, you could buy the phone for $199. Now you just have to buy it full price.
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statuzz said:
Guys, its basically the same thing. The only difference I see is that before this change happened, if you knew you were going to be in a two years contract and it didn't matter to you, you could buy the phone for $199. Now you just have to buy it full price.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda app-developers app
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You are basically right as to buying it from TMo. My point is don't - you could get if for $199 with 2 year extension but now this is down to $149 elsewhere.
TMo said they will be reining in the third party sellers soon so they can't do it anymore, so take advantage of it now.

You can find a lot more info on this deal here . Sry I didn't post that link before. this deal is with the no-contract plan (but not prepaid plan) .

Tricksie said:
You can find a lot more info on this deal here . Sry I didn't post that link before. this deal is with the no-contract plan (but not prepaid plan) .
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I have personally used this deal with the galaxy S4 - I signed up on the phone to confirm with a rep that discount was applied properly. I pay $54.00 for unlimited talk text and 2.5GB of data + $20 of monthly payment for the phone. I have one line on my plan. Hope this helps

T-Mobile paid off my old EIP and put the 99 plus taxes on my bill coming next month. Came out to 151 down on my bill next month. Free Express shipping, and also gave me 10 dollars off a month for 6 months on my bill.
Gotta love T-Mobile. Been with them 7 years.
That was from just talking to the right rep. No specific deal

It's all about talking to the right rep. Last time I called with a billing question, I ended up speaking with someone who didn't really know what was going on instead of trying to make my case I just hung up and called back and spoke with a super helpful rep after.

Contract Buy-out. How does it work?

I am probably moving from sprint to T-mobile on saturday, and thus from the m7 to the m8. Sprint's been a jerk to my mom (her phone, LG optimus G hasn't worked since 4g rolled out, something about it being incompatible with the network or some such non-sense) so we're switching and having them buy out our contract. Does anyone have experience with this program? Is it pretty straight forward?

TriBeard said:
I am probably moving from sprint to T-mobile on saturday, and thus from the m7 to the m8. Sprint's been a jerk to my mom (her phone, LG optimus G hasn't worked since 4g rolled out, something about it being incompatible with the network or some such non-sense) so we're switching and having them buy out our contract. Does anyone have experience with this program? Is it pretty straight forward?
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You might wanna post this at the Sprint forum.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

I just figured that since the people here were t-mobile, some might have gone through the process already and would know about it first hand.

Well I was actually a sprint customer I went through the process. It wasn't call a contract buyout. what I actually pay was for months remaining at $10 a month... And that was your termination fee.. Also another way to approach it I'm not sure if T Mobile still offer that but they're paying the termination fee if you switch from different carrier.
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shook187 said:
Well I was actually a sprint customer I went through the process. It wasn't call a contract buyout. what I actually pay was for months remaining at $10 a month... And that was your termination fee.. Also another way to approach it I'm not sure if T Mobile still offer that but they're paying the termination fee if you switch from different carrier.
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That's what I meant by "contract buyout". Sorry if that was confusing. I talked to someone from t-mobile through the chat, and we would get a credit for our phones, and up to 350 per line for ETF fees, which would cover everything. From my understanding, you just give t-mobile your last bill that shows all the fees and whatnot, and they mail you a visa gift card thing with the money on it to pay the fees. That's the part of the process that I was curious about.

TriBeard said:
That's what I meant by "contract buyout". Sorry if that was confusing. I talked to someone from t-mobile through the chat, and we would get a credit for our phones, and up to 350 per line for ETF fees, which would cover everything. From my understanding, you just give t-mobile your last bill that shows all the fees and whatnot, and they mail you a visa gift card thing with the money on it to pay the fees. That's the part of the process that I was curious about.
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I just switched 4 lines over to tmobile from sprint and couldnt be happier. Just did it this past weekend so i havent had the etfs show up on my bill yet but i will let you know when it goes through. From what i was told you are spot on. trade in your sprint phone and they pay your etf and get you trade in value of your phone off a new one from tmobile. i was told its best to pay the etfs when they show up so it doesnt become past due while you are waiting for the tmobile gift card to come through so it doesnt effect your credit.

boxdgm said:
I just switched 4 lines over to tmobile from sprint and couldnt be happier. Just did it this past weekend so i havent had the etfs show up on my bill yet but i will let you know when it goes through. From what i was told you are spot on. trade in your sprint phone and they pay your etf and get you trade in value of your phone off a new one from tmobile. i was told its best to pay the etfs when they show up so it doesnt become past due while you are waiting for the tmobile gift card to come through so it doesnt effect your credit.
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I don't really have 1300 dollars or so that I can spare, so I guess I'll just have to hope it comes quick and they don't ding me too bad. I'm just excited for a new phone and (hopefully) more reliable service. T-mobile claims to have LTE around me, and pretty decent HSPA where that is lacking, so hopefully it's better than sprint, where we just recently got spotty LTE

I switched from Sprint to T-Mobile last week. As I understand it, you just get your new service with T-Mobile and they handle porting over your number and ending your service with Sprint. Once that's done, you just have to wait for the bill that has your early termination fee, then take it to the T-Mobile store and they'll reimburse you that amount in the form of a Visa gift card and it's supposed to take 4-6 weeks to receive it. I'm hoping I can time it well enough where I can get the reimbursement before paying the bill to Sprint. If not, I'll just eat the cost until I get the money back from T-Mobile.
Note that they'll only reimburse you up to $650. This should cover anyone on a single plan, but can't speak for those on large family plans.
I can definitely say it's worth the money and time to switch. The service I've gotten with T-Mobile is excellent, and where it isn't (note, I haven't personally encountered poor signal on T-Mobile yet), WiFi calling on the M8 works great.

In order for them to pay off your ETF (Up to $350) you have to port over your phone number and give them your old device. The $650 you hear about is the maximum you can get for switching ($350 for ETF and $300 for device) They also do a credit check and that will determine if you need to pay a deposit for your new phone. If you have good enough credit then all you pay is the taxes on your new device. The cost of the device is then split up across 24 months on your bill.
The $10 a month thing someone mentioned earlier is the JUMP program and isn't a requirement to be switched over to them. It's basically a protection and upgrade program rolled into one which isn't very bad. More info on it here: http://www.t-mobile.com/phone-upgrade.html

nsuviolin2005 said:
I switched from Sprint to T-Mobile last week. As I understand it, you just get your new service with T-Mobile and they handle porting over your number and ending your service with Sprint. Once that's done, you just have to wait for the bill that has your early termination fee, then take it to the T-Mobile store and they'll reimburse you that amount in the form of a Visa gift card and it's supposed to take 4-6 weeks to receive it. I'm hoping I can time it well enough where I can get the reimbursement before paying the bill to Sprint. If not, I'll just eat the cost until I get the money back from T-Mobile.
Note that they'll only reimburse you up to $650. This should cover anyone on a single plan, but can't speak for those on large family plans.
I can definitely say it's worth the money and time to switch. The service I've gotten with T-Mobile is excellent, and where it isn't (note, I haven't personally encountered poor signal on T-Mobile yet), WiFi calling on the M8 works great.
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tkoreaper said:
In order for them to pay off your ETF (Up to $350) you have to port over your phone number and give them your old device. The $650 you hear about is the maximum you can get for switching ($350 for ETF and $300 for device) They also do a credit check and that will determine if you need to pay a deposit for your new phone. If you have good enough credit then all you pay is the taxes on your new device. The cost of the device is then split up across 24 months on your bill.
The $10 a month thing someone mentioned earlier is the JUMP program and isn't a requirement to be switched over to them. It's basically a protection and upgrade program rolled into one which isn't very bad. More info on it here: http://www.t-mobile.com/phone-upgrade.html
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My understanding was that it was up to 650 per line. I know I'll get 85 for each of my phones (One m7's), so it'll be more like 430 or so per line. But my ETF with sprint is 1300ish, which would fall under the 350/line that they offer. Or at least that's what they led me to believe over chat.
Also, I have 4 lines on my sprint account and have been in good standing with them so I don't imagine that the credit check would be a problem, and it's a family plan so if I can't do it we can try my mom, or my grampa until someone can.

TriBeard said:
My understanding was that it was up to 650 per line. I know I'll get 85 for each of my phones (One m7's), so it'll be more like 430 or so per line. But my ETF with sprint is 1300ish, which would fall under the 350/line that they offer. Or at least that's what they led me to believe over chat.
Also, I have 4 lines on my sprint account and have been in good standing with them so I don't imagine that the credit check would be a problem, and it's a family plan so if I can't do it we can try my mom, or my grampa until someone can.
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The max they'll cover for an ETF is $350, it says so on their website. the $650 total is for the ETF and the amount they can give you for a device. In your case it would be $435 per line ($350 ETF and $85 for your device) You ETF with Sprint is pretty outrageous, is that just for your single line or is a total for all lines on your account?

tkoreaper said:
The max they'll cover for an ETF is $350, it says so on their website. the $650 total is for the ETF and the amount they can give you for a device. In your case it would be $435 per line ($350 ETF and $85 for your device) You ETF with Sprint is pretty outrageous, is that just for your single line or is a total for all lines on your account?
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There are 4 lines on the account, and the oldest one in terms of an upgrade is from last july. When we were in the sprint store, we were working with a lady and the supervisor and when we brought up leaving for t-mobile or something since they weren't willing to do a whole lot of anything other than tell us to wait for a software patch, she said that we had "about 1300" in ETF fees. Did we really want to pay that instead of just deal with it for a while? I brought up the t-mobile buyout stuff, and that got her real quiet real fast. The way she said it really bothered me though. Just the smug implied "we've got you by the wallet for another year and half. deal with it"

yeah, the MAX that Sprint charges for a cancellation fee is 350 PER LINE. I know, as I just went through all of this recently.
Tmobile pays up to 350 per line for your cancellation fee. You have to give them ANY Sprint Network phone to qualify for this program, but it does NOT have to be the current Sprint phone you have.
What I did was go on ebay and bought a 20 dollar cheapo phone that was on Tmobiles list of "Acceptable" trade in phones, and used that one to get them to pay my Cancellation Fee. they gave me 10 bucks for the phone.
Then, I sold my Sprint HTC One Max for $385.00 to someone, so I made out big time on that deal; remember, once you cancel your Sprint account, you then OWN the Sprint Phone, so if you can sell it on Ebay or somewhere and make MORE than what Tmobile will give you for it, you can make a nice chunk of change.
Also, when you get your FINAL bill from sprint, its much faster to scan it/take a picture of it, and upload it on the T-mobile site directly to them; if you take it to the store, and they send it in, it might add a few days/weeks to your approval and reciept of the MasterCard Gift card.
Mine took 4 weeks and one day to come to me after I scanned it in and uploaded it to them.
If you bring it to the store, and go that route, it takes 6-8 weeks.

wase4711 said:
yeah, the MAX that Sprint charges for a cancellation fee is 350 PER LINE. I know, as I just went through all of this recently.
Tmobile pays up to 350 per line for your cancellation fee. You have to give them ANY Sprint Network phone to qualify for this program, but it does NOT have to be the current Sprint phone you have.
What I did was go on ebay and bought a 20 dollar cheapo phone that was on Tmobiles list of "Acceptable" trade in phones, and used that one to get them to pay my Cancellation Fee. they gave me 10 bucks for the phone.
Then, I sold my Sprint HTC One Max for $385.00 to someone, so I made out big time on that deal; remember, once you cancel your Sprint account, you then OWN the Sprint Phone, so if you can sell it on Ebay or somewhere and make MORE than what Tmobile will give you for it, you can make a nice chunk of change.
Also, when you get your FINAL bill from sprint, its much faster to scan it/take a picture of it, and upload it on the T-mobile site directly to them; if you take it to the store, and they send it in, it might add a few days/weeks to your approval and reciept of the MasterCard Gift card.
Mine took 4 weeks and one day to come to me after I scanned it in and uploaded it to them.
If you bring it to the store, and go that route, it takes 6-8 weeks.
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That's the kind of information that I was looking for. Thanks a lot for that. My sister has an old galaxy s2 that I could take in, keep my htc one, and then try and sell that on craigslist/ebay. Cool.

TriBeard said:
That's the kind of information that I was looking for. Thanks a lot for that. My sister has an old galaxy s2 that I could take in, keep my htc one, and then try and sell that on craigslist/ebay. Cool.
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you can call the tmobile store and ask them how much any phone might be worth, or, I think their website gives an approximate amount you would get on a trade in.
Obviously, you always get more selling a phone on ebay/Craiglist than you ever would on a trade in, but some folks dont want to bother selling them, and just trade it in and are done with it..
BTW, my wife and son traded their M7's in, and got 100 bucks each for them; when we bought them from Sprint, we only paid 49, so even trading them in we made a little $$ :good:

TriBeard said:
There are 4 lines on the account, and the oldest one in terms of an upgrade is from last july. When we were in the sprint store, we were working with a lady and the supervisor and when we brought up leaving for t-mobile or something since they weren't willing to do a whole lot of anything other than tell us to wait for a software patch, she said that we had "about 1300" in ETF fees. Did we really want to pay that instead of just deal with it for a while? I brought up the t-mobile buyout stuff, and that got her real quiet real fast. The way she said it really bothered me though. Just the smug implied "we've got you by the wallet for another year and half. deal with it"
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So if you were to cancel your whole account you'd get $1400 (350 x 4) alone just for the ETFs. It's $350 per line, not account.
I just traded my Nexus 5 in for the M8 today and they gave me $135. I cold have sold it to a company that buys them for $200, but oh well. I probably could have gotten a little more even if I cut out the middle man, but Nexus devices are already cheap enough as it is.

Well if they wanted to give me 120 or so I'd be tempted to just go ahead and trade them in. Just when I spoke with whoever it was on the online chat for t-mobile, they only were offering 85, which is significantly low that I would take the time and effort to sell one myself if I could.

Lol. Has anyone traded in a rooted device to t mobile? Just wondering if they check before I go through the hassle of unrooting 2 devices. I know somebody has. Lol.
Sent from my EVO using xda app-developers app

if its for a "jump" then dont bother, as long as it starts, thats all they care about.
as a matter of fact, I have also returned/replaced under warranty with them phones that were rooted, and once again, they didnt care one bit; I didnt tell them they were rooted, and they didnt ask, but there was no problem getting a replacement..

I work for tmobile. When you want your contract paid for you can pretty much trade in any phone in. It doesn't have to even turn on. Obviously if it doesn't then you won't get and trade in value but tmobile will still pay your efts as long as you do trade in a phone, buy a new phone and port in your number. They pay up to 5 lines per account.

Note 4 for $620?

This is a quote from T-Mob section
red_stripe05 said:
I have the same question about whether or not the AT&T Note 4 will work perfectly the same as a T-mobile version on the T-mobile network. I don't know why no one has mentioned how much cheaper it is to just go set up a new AT&T account to get the discount at Best Buy. You could buy it for $300 minus the $200 trade-in promotion + $70 in sales tax. So $170, then you have $40 activation + $60 for one month service + $350 ETF after 15 days, then get it unlocked. So the total out of pocket cost for the AT&T version is $620. Why would you buy the $750 T-mobile version, which would be $815 after sales tax. You save nearly $200 after all is said and done. Am I missing anything here? I haven't seen a single person mention doing this on this forum or over at androidcentral.
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Do you think this actually would work?
If this is doable, I'd be willing sacrifice on locked bootloader for this price...

EDIT: Nevermind.

Why wouldn't it work? Its a bit of a hassle, but really not that much work. If you read through the AT&T contract terms and their FAQ section, paying the ETF will allow you to unlock the phone. Like I said in the other forum, why is nobody mentioning this anywhere. Like someone else mentioned, the $200 Best Buy trade in promotion is still going and not just for preorders anymore. My math, if anything, is on the conservative side. The only pain is that you have to wait at least 15 days before paying the ETF and then requesting the unlock code from AT&T.
[email protected] said:
This is a quote from T-Mob section
Do you think this actually would work?
If this is doable, I'd be willing sacrifice on locked bootloader for this price...
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Well ****, I might do this. I'll wait to pull the trigger on the offer so the release of the Nexus 6 falls within the return period and if I do it I'll report back (thought I don't know if it'll be much help at that point).

What about remaining balance of phone is due when canceled?

[email protected] said:
What about remaining balance of phone is due when canceled?
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Doesn't apply when you sign a 2 year contract. You put 300 up front for the phone. You're "buying" it...not "leasing it with the option to buy" like with Next. The $350 ETF is to guarantee they recoup most of their money.
And people don't want the AT&T version because It's locked tight unlike the tmobile version (usually anyways)

So like I said, I was probably a little conservative with the ATT costs. IF you get the $200 Best Buy trade in promotion, there's also the possibility of getting the other $50 Best Buy Reward Members trade in promotion as well. The ETF will also likely by a little less since you have to have completed 1 month of service before you can cancel the contract. I'm also figuring the ETF had sales tax applied to it since the AT&T policy language quotes $325 as their base ETF. So really its possible you'd be looking at a total cost closer to $545.
Since I'm with T-mobile in their Jump program, my cost for getting the T-mobile version is $750+$67 tax = $817, and I'm having to pay $10/month for Jump. I think I'd rather just pay the $545 for the ATT version and stop paying for Jump, which has turned out to be a terrible deal. Right now my Note 3 has an EIP balance of $380 that gets wiped clean if I "Jump" to the Note 4. But with all the accessories I've bought for my Note 3 (extra Anker batteries, chargers, multiple cases, etc), and the fact its in perfect condition, I could easily get more than $380 if I were to sell it on Swappa. I really didn't do the math on Jump when I signed up. If I were to "Jump" to the Note 4, I'd be losing out on the $200 trade-in promotion, plus I'd be paying $10/month for Jump for at least another year before I get another good phone. Is it really worth $320+ to stick with the T-mobile "Jump" program for the next year? I don't think it makes sense unless you know you'll use the insurance component of Jump.

The other $50 promotion ended on the 18th.

i did this with att but instead of 1 phone i got 5 lines on my plan then canceled 3 (there's only 2 of us on my plan), so the other 3 went straight to ebay.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using XDA Free mobile app

And final question, does ATT allow more then one account per person? I already have one with unlimited plan..

[email protected] said:
And final question, does ATT allow more then one account per person? I already have one with unlimited plan..
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Yes I have two accounts with them.

Call AT&T Retentions for Note 4 deal!!!

After giving my T-Mobile Note 4 to my brother for his birthday, I tried to see if I could get a deal from Ma Bell themselves. I was successfully. They price matched the T-Mobile variant at $749.46. I did AT&T next at 12 month of $41.30, and received a credit on my bill for $77. Its not the greatest deal, but hey its better than nothing, right? Not too mention I plan on trading the device in after 12 months, so I will only have paid $418.
Just thought I'd share. Give it a shot, you have nothing to loose.

MattMJB0188 said:
After giving my T-Mobile Note 4 to my brother for his birthday, I tried to see if I could get a deal from Ma Bell themselves. I was successfully. They price matched the T-Mobile variant at $749.46. I did AT&T next at 12 month of $41.30, and received a credit on my bill for $77. Its not the greatest deal, but hey its better than nothing, right? Not too mention I plan on trading the device in after 12 months, so I will only have paid $418.
Just thought I'd share. Give it a shot, you have nothing to loose.
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Yep, I've gotten 3 free phones ($600), 4 contracts given an early upgrade by up to 6 months, and probably $1000 in bill discounts by calling them over the last 7 years being polite, nice, and just asking them if they can help with stuff. Not happy with the whole locked bootloader garbage but they've always hooked me up on that end. Just call and tell them what's up and ask them if they think this is possible because you like AT&T and at least want to give them a chance to keep a customer, unless you owe them money or have burned them in the past most of the time they'll do their best to give you what you want. Just be polite, funny, and nice is they key. I called once and talked to a lady from an Atlanta AT&T call center and we ended up talking about how amazing her fried chicken recipe was and how her kids/grand kids loved it and I got a free phone ($200 waved) and 5 months early on my upgrade. It's crazy but it works lol. Good luck

Clienterror said:
Yep, I've gotten 3 free phones ($600), 4 contracts given an early upgrade by up to 6 months, and probably $1000 in bill discounts by calling them over the last 7 years being polite, nice, and just asking them if they can help with stuff. Not happy with the whole locked bootloader garbage but they've always hooked me up on that end. Just call and tell them what's up and ask them if they think this is possible because you like AT&T and at least want to give them a chance to keep a customer, unless you owe them money or have burned them in the past most of the time they'll do their best to give you what you want. Just be polite, funny, and nice is they key. I called once and talked to a lady from an Atlanta AT&T call center and we ended up talking about how amazing her fried chicken recipe was and how her kids/grand kids loved it and I got a free phone ($200 waved) and 5 months early on my upgrade. It's crazy but it works lol. Good luck
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Exactly. I was very polite and thanked him. I mentioned how my bill has never been late and is always paid in full. I was actually quite lucky because they didn't have to do that.
While I'm all down for unlocked bootloaders and root, the truth is, I tinker with my phone too much then. Its gets tiring having to switch roms every week. So I think I'm just gonna do my own thing and call it a day. While I fully support those going to the T-Mobile route, I just found that too much of a hassle. That and very rude T-Mobile staff.

Not only have I had retention credit me to help out a bit. I had them upgrade my wifes line a year early and next day her a new 32gb white s4 before our honey moon last year for free.

I see Sprint has the Edge for $840 as opposed to ATT's whopping $945! Going to call Retentions later and see if they will price match. Thanks for the heads up OP.

Let us know if you were able to get one out of contract for less than full price! I tried 3 times already on phone and chat; retention was ready to let me cancel rather than give me anything to stay. I have always been extremely nice on the phone and usually get deals... but am not getting anything to lower the price of this phone.

bleuiko said:
Let us know if you were able to get one out of contract for less than full price! I tried 3 times already on phone and chat; retention was ready to let me cancel rather than give me anything to stay. I have always been extremely nice on the phone and usually get deals... but am not getting anything to lower the price of this phone.
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Technically this one out of contract as it was on AT&T Next's program. Instead of paying $825.99, they gave it to me for $749.46 (T-Mobile's note 4 price).

MattMJB0188 said:
After giving my T-Mobile Note 4 to my brother for his birthday, I tried to see if I could get a deal from Ma Bell themselves. I was successfully. They price matched the T-Mobile variant at $749.46. I did AT&T next at 12 month of $41.30, and received a credit on my bill for $77. Its not the greatest deal, but hey its better than nothing, right? Not too mention I plan on trading the device in after 12 months, so I will only have paid $418.
Just thought I'd share. Give it a shot, you have nothing to loose.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just called ATT and they gave me a $100 credit. Which is cool since the difference between the Sprint Note Edge and the ATT one is $105.00. So I guess that's the way they price match since they can't actually change the price of the phone?

Ghetto Geeksta said:
Just called ATT and they gave me a $100 credit. Which is cool since the difference between the Sprint Note Edge and the ATT one is $105.00. So I guess that's the way they price match since they can't actually change the price of the phone?
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Are you also on the Next plan? I have found that CSR shut down as soon as I tell them I want to buy it outright and not on Next.

Ghetto Geeksta said:
Just called ATT and they gave me a $100 credit. Which is cool since the difference between the Sprint Note Edge and the ATT one is $105.00. So I guess that's the way they price match since they can't actually change the price of the phone?
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Probably, either way you made out good with what you wanted one way or another ?

bleuiko said:
Are you also on the Next plan? I have found that CSR shut down as soon as I tell them I want to buy it outright and not on Next.
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Yes im on the Next plan, if you're buying it outright you should be able to find a good deal online. You may want to try back after you buy your phone.

Ghetto Geeksta said:
Yes im on the Next plan, if you're buying it outright you should be able to find a good deal online. You may want to try back after you buy your phone.
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Do you all know if you on Next plan and you payed off your phone and you want to get new device you have to trade phone you just payed off. Loose , loose on your end. Better is to buy phone some where else for lower price because on Next plan you will end up paying full price on phone and do not get phone. Info: http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/next.html#fbid=CUe4oUP4J4k

norbarb said:
Do you all know if you on Next plan and you payed off your phone and you want to get new device you have to trade phone you just payed off. Loose , loose on your end. Better is to buy phone some where else for lower price because on Next plan you will end up paying full price on phone and do not get phone. Info: http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/next.html#fbid=CUe4oUP4J4k
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You only trade in your phone if you want a new phone at 12 months. If you keep it 20 (making payments) the phone is yours to do whatever with. Also with my $25 a line discount it only ends up being $19 a month for my note 4 so I end up paying $380 over 20 months to own it free and clear vs $750 buying it outright.

Clienterror said:
You only trade in your phone if you want a new phone at 12 months. If you keep it 20 (making payments) the phone is yours to do whatever with. Also with my $25 a line discount it only ends up being $19 a month for my note 4 so I end up paying $380 over 20 months to own it free and clear vs $750 buying it outright.
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How did you ends up paying $19 a month ? if you choose 18 months Next plan payment you ends up paying $34.42 x 18 = $619 plus you need to trade your phone. $25 line discount is for access not for a phone. If you agree to 2-years contract you pay $15+$25(discount) =$40. I and my wife (accountant) calculate all options and best way is to get phone on some other side then on Next plan. You will ends up paying full price on phone whatever plan and phone you choose from At&t..

norbarb said:
How did you ends up paying $19 a month ? if you choose 18 months Next plan payment you ends up paying $34.42 x 18 = $619 plus you need to trade your phone. $25 line discount is for access not for a phone. If you agree to 2-years contract you pay $15+$25(discount) =$40. I and my wife (accountant) calculate all options and best way is to get phone on some other side then on Next plan. You will ends up paying full price on phone whatever plan and phone you choose from At&t..
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I completely agree with you. Next is AT&T's way of charging you the same but making you feel better OR to get you to change phones all the time and give them the old phone back which they can sell for more. The best way is to get the phone out of contract and pay $15 a month under the "bring your own device" discount. My goal is to get the phone out of contract for less than the crazy $825.99 that AT&T is asking for.
Sample Calculation For All Options:
Note 4 out of contract ($825.99) + 2-yr of service with bring your own device discount ($15 x 24 mo) = $1185.99
Note 4 with Next 12 ($41.30 x 20 mo) + 2-yr of service with Next discount ($15 x 24 mo) = $1185.99
Note 4 with 2-yr contract ($299.99) + 2-yr of service with no discount ($40 x 24 mo) = $1259.99
Sample Calculation for Next 12 to make yourself feel better but not really:
Note 4 with Next 12 and service discount ($16.30 x 20 mo) + 2-yr of service with Next discount ($40 x 24 mo) = $1185.99
Let's also consider that you turn in your phone at 12 months like AT&T wants you to; you end up paying $495.60 out of pocket and end up with nothing. AT&T, on the other hand, has to pay for the rest of the bill for the device, which is $330.39. If they could sell the Note 4 in a year for more than $330.39, which of course they could, then they are making even more money of you. You may wish to argue that under the "make yourself feel better" option, you're only paying $16.30 a month so after one year you pay much less than $495.60; great deal, right? No, you just paid the rest under the service plan. AT&T will gladly take your money.

Not sure where your calculations came from but why are you adding the discount to the bill instead of subtracting. I pay 41.30 for next 12 on my note 4 but with my 25off discount i pay 16 a month for my phone. 16x12=192. After 12 months i would only need to pay 192 and then i can turn my phone in and get a new one with no penalties and if i keepy my phone i end up paying 320. The access discount is only appied when you are on the next plan or buy outright so it needs to be considered in your calculations because if you sign a contract your bill jumps +25. For 2 note 4s on next 12 plus 15gb family share with unlimited calling and text i only pay 180 a month. Just playing with the at&t cart i added 2 smartphones to the cart with 10gb share and on contract and the price is 180. I pay exactly what new customers pay but with the option to upgrade early.

Spawn026 said:
Not sure where your calculations came from but why are you adding the discount to the bill instead of subtracting. I pay 41.30 for next 12 on my note 4 but with my 25off discount i pay 16 a month for my phone. 16x12=192. After 12 months i would only need to pay 192 and then i can turn my phone in and get a new one with no penalties and if i keepy my phone i end up paying 320. The access discount is only appied when you are on the next plan or buy outright so it needs to be considered in your calculations because if you sign a contract your bill jumps +25. For 2 note 4s on next 12 plus 15gb family share with unlimited calling and text i only pay 180 a month. Just playing with the at&t cart i added 2 smartphones to the cart with 10gb share and on contract and the price is 180. I pay exactly what new customers pay but with the option to upgrade early.
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Next plan is created for people like you.

Clienterror said:
You only trade in your phone if you want a new phone at 12 months. If you keep it 20 (making payments) the phone is yours to do whatever with. Also with my $25 a line discount it only ends up being $19 a month for my note 4 so I end up paying $380 over 20 months to own it free and clear vs $750 buying it outright.
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Exactly. I plan on doing this.
Anyone else get a deal through retentions?

I did this, I was pissed the ATT version was more expensive than the Tmobile version. Called retentions and complained, they have me a $180 credit. I since sold the ATT version and got a Tmobile one anyway.

Spawn026 said:
Not sure where your calculations came from but why are you adding the discount to the bill instead of subtracting. I pay 41.30 for next 12 on my note 4 but with my 25off discount i pay 16 a month for my phone. 16x12=192. After 12 months i would only need to pay 192 and then i can turn my phone in and get a new one with no penalties and if i keepy my phone i end up paying 320. The access discount is only appied when you are on the next plan or buy outright so it needs to be considered in your calculations because if you sign a contract your bill jumps +25. For 2 note 4s on next 12 plus 15gb family share with unlimited calling and text i only pay 180 a month. Just playing with the at&t cart i added 2 smartphones to the cart with 10gb share and on contract and the price is 180. I pay exactly what new customers pay but with the option to upgrade early.
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Let me clear your mind. The $25 discount is for your line which they normally charge you $40. With the discount you pay $15 instead of $40. Your $41.30 payment stay the same no change what so ever.