Develop Bugs

[Q] New cunning plan for cheapest G2?

I wanted to run this by people before I attempted to pull it off. I've been reading several stories of how others found ways to save at least $100 dollars on new phones.
Costco is offering the G2 for $49.99 on a 2 year contract. Apparently, the Wireless Advocates don't implement their own ETF correct? So the only ETF is T-Mobile's $200! and since I'm in California, I'd hafta wait 30 days to surpass the "Buyer's Remorse" period, supposedly right?
I have one question first. Is it really mandatory to exercise "Buyer's Remorse" if you terminated your contract before the 30 day time period? You couldn't refuse to exercise that (for lack of a better word) "right"? So I can try to avoid paying the first month's bill...
Either way, here is my plan. I order the phone (with texting service removed lol)
Once it arrives, I call to ask the phone unlocked because I plan on visiting Mexico a week for thanksgiving (that's my story). I return with phone stolen or lost. Now, at this point, 30 days will have not passed. So I call T-mo n tell them my sad story. I'll "try" to plead for a replacement but I obviously expect them to say that I'll need to pay full price to replace the phone. I'll furiously refuse n have the plan and everything else cancelled, of course leaving me to pay the ETF
What does anyone think or have to say about this? If I can avoid paying the first month's bill, awesome. That'll be $250 for a brand new, unlocked G2! if not, that's $104 more. Still cheaper. Opinions please?

...or you could just be an honest customer and, you know, pay for the phone like us non-scammers do. Seriously. It's people like you that cause businesses to be so restrictive in their policies. If you were selling a product and people were scamming you out of said products, would you just shrug it off?
*end slight rage*

Perhaps a plan for an even cheaper g2?
1) Buy Mercedes, with insurance.
2) Have friend "borrow" Mercedes.
3) Report Mercedes stolen.
4) With insurance money, buy g2.
Net cost = $-49500, plus a free Mercedes for your friend.
Also options: buy house for heavily inflated price, burn down house, collect money.

Well, if the phone were only offered to buy for about... let's say... $250, and able to be used on at&t, I'd have nothing to complain about... but thanks for your input...

Really, i mean REALLY??? Agree with the "why not be honest". Many of us work for what we have and if we cant afford it.... well, we DON'T get it. Why is it so easy for people to steal nowadays?
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App

Dream Reality Syndrome said:
Well, if the phone were only offered to buy for about... let's say... $250, and able to be used on at&t, I'd have nothing to complain about... but thanks for your input...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay. So if I want an iPhone 4, instead of paying full price for the phone, I'll just commit illegal(?) acts and scam AT&T out of one and get it unlocked.
That's the point of exclusivity; not everyone has access to it. And that's also the point of... you know... unsubsidized costs. So manufacturers can profit.

yes, ok. i apologize for my misconceptions...
i'm sorry everyone. i won't go through with it

lol i say go for it

Dream Reality Syndrome said:
yes, ok. i apologize for my misconceptions...
i'm sorry everyone. i won't go through with it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That a boy! Plus I don't think you can unlock the phone for the first 30-some days anyhow. Tried unlocking a new blackberry through T-Mobile once and instead of getting the unlock code I got an email saying I have to wait x amount of days first.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App

The only dishonest thing the OP wanted to do was avoid paying for the first month's service. Otherwise he is just canceling a contract while adhering to the terms of that contract.
The reason this allows him to get the phone cheaper is because he can get it at a deeply discounted price and that price + penalties don't add up to the cost of buying the phone unlocked. Can't blame him for finding a chink in their armor.
You don't have to lie about anything, just get the phone then cancel the contract after a month.

Anomaly said:
The only dishonest thing the OP wanted to do was avoid paying for the first month's service. Otherwise he is just canceling a contract while adhering to the terms of that contract.
The reason this allows him to get the phone cheaper is because he can get it at a deeply discounted price and that price + penalties don't add up to the cost of buying the phone unlocked. Can't blame him for finding a chink in their armor.
You don't have to lie about anything, just get the phone then cancel the contract after a month.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately when you cancel from buyers remorse you have to return the device.... he said he would lie and say it got stolen which is stealing..... sorry try again....
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App

Isn't that what I just said? That the only dishonest thing about it was trying to get out of the contract before the one month was up so that he could avoid paying for one month's service?
After the buyer's remorse period, he doesn't have to return the device, he just pays the early termination fee. He wanted to trick them out of getting the device back during that period so that he could avoid paying for one month service and still keep the device, which is precisely what I said was dishonest about the whole scenario.

Get a phone on contract and cancel

Hey guys, me, my mom and dad just switched to t mobile. i Have some money, so i bought the gnote 2 with EIP (we're on the value plan) but my parents came over with their att gs2's.
My dad really wants the gs3 so i'm trying to figure out the cheapest way to do it. If he does the EIP, he'll pay 170ish down, and then 20 dollars a month for two years, so thats 170 +400. but he wouldnt have to put so much down now, it would come out to like 220 with tax.
I could try and get it on craigslist for like 350... I mean technically tmobile would let him add insurance to it as long as its a tmobile phone even if its used, i think. I'm considering this.
My real question is this, Could i buy it on contract, under my name (my actual phone is under my moms family plan) for like 50 dollars in best buy now, and i dont think thats with a rebate, and then cancel the contract and keep the phone? If i add that up, Its 50, plus 50 for the tax i think, 35 for the activation fee if i cant get that waived, and the 200 early termination fee. thats about 3-335. of course i'll have to pay for some service, so, will that be prorated? then it can be as low as 30-40 extra dollars which brings the total to like 370, or even if i have to pay the full month of service, thats like 400... thats much better than 550 plus tax.... even if there is a rebate which i wouldnt get back because ill be cancelling, maybe it would come to 500 total....
does anyone have any info on this?

mottyengel said:
Hey guys, me, my mom and dad just switched to t mobile. i Have some money, so i bought the gnote 2 with EIP (we're on the value plan) but my parents came over with their att gs2's.
My dad really wants the gs3 so i'm trying to figure out the cheapest way to do it. If he does the EIP, he'll pay 170ish down, and then 20 dollars a month for two years, so thats 170 +400. but he wouldnt have to put so much down now, it would come out to like 220 with tax.
I could try and get it on craigslist for like 350... I mean technically tmobile would let him add insurance to it as long as its a tmobile phone even if its used, i think. I'm considering this.
My real question is this, Could i buy it on contract, under my name (my actual phone is under my moms family plan) for like 50 dollars in best buy now, and i dont think thats with a rebate, and then cancel the contract and keep the phone? If i add that up, Its 50, plus 50 for the tax i think, 35 for the activation fee if i cant get that waived, and the 200 early termination fee. thats about 3-335. of course i'll have to pay for some service, so, will that be prorated? then it can be as low as 30-40 extra dollars which brings the total to like 370, or even if i have to pay the full month of service, thats like 400... thats much better than 550 plus tax.... even if there is a rebate which i wouldnt get back because ill be cancelling, maybe it would come to 500 total....
does anyone have any info on this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One thing. If you sign up for a plan at best buy or anywhere where you are either signing a contract or getting a new account. You can't just cancel and keep the phone. They will not cancel you unless you return the phone. Id you don't they will charge you for the full price plus who knows what else. If your parents can unlock their phones through art and they can be used on tmobiles service is do that and save some money. Or have them sell their att phones to help with the downpayme t of the sgs3. Just some advice.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

monkeypaws said:
One thing. If you sign up for a plan at best buy or anywhere where you are either signing a contract or getting a new account. You can't just cancel and keep the phone. They will not cancel you unless you return the phone. Id you don't they will charge you for the full price plus who knows what else. If your parents can unlock their phones through art and they can be used on tmobiles service is do that and save some money. Or have them sell their att phones to help with the downpayme t of the sgs3. Just some advice.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hmmm but that doiesnt sound right to me...we all just left att and cancelled our contracts and went to tmobile.. and we all bought our phones at best buy, my father in may of last year, and me and my mom in february, and we just had to pay the cancellation fees, are you saying that tmobile is different? I mean, maybe they wont let me cancel untill after the 14 days... or maybe they wont prorate and make me pay for the full month... but youre saying theyll make me pay for the full retail? AND the cancellation fee??

mottyengel said:
hmmm but that doiesnt sound right to me...we all just left att and cancelled our contracts and went to tmobile.. and we all bought our phones at best buy, my father in may of last year, and me and my mom in february, and we just had to pay the cancellation fees, are you saying that tmobile is different? I mean, maybe they wont let me cancel untill after the 14 days... or maybe they wont prorate and make me pay for the full month... but youre saying theyll make me pay for the full retail? AND the cancellation fee??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry. I guess I made you confused. I meant if you were to cancel within the 14 days you'd have to return the phone for a full refund. After the 14 days you can cancel and keep whatever phones you got. Now if you were to choose the value plans and get on the eip for 20 months and then cancelled after 14 days, ypud he billed for the remaining payments that are left on your bill. I hope that helps. If not maybe I read your question wrong.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

Even if you cancel your account on the value plan, you're going to end up paying the full price of the phone no matter what.
They're going to just overlook the remaining fees on a 500+ dollar device.
monkeypaws had the best solutions for you.
Unlock the devices so you can use them on T-Mobile.
Or sell them, they should fetch around $200 on Craigslist depending on the condition and accessories. Or possibly more on eBay.
You would easily be able to pay the down payment on the GS3's with that.
If your dad thinks that the down payment is too much, then i'd recommend waiting it out for a little while.
T-Mobile may have a random sale and you'll be able to get the GS3 for cheap(er).
I remember doing that and being able to pick up a GS3 for something like $99.

khoikn said:
Even if you cancel your account on the value plan, you're going to end up paying the full price of the phone no matter what.
They're going to just overlook the remaining fees on a 500+ dollar device.
monkeypaws had the best solutions for you.
Unlock the devices so you can use them on T-Mobile.
Or sell them, they should fetch around $200 on Craigslist depending on the condition and accessories. Or possibly more on eBay.
You would easily be able to pay the down payment on the GS3's with that.
If your dad thinks that the down payment is too much, then i'd recommend waiting it out for a little while.
T-Mobile may have a random sale and you'll be able to get the GS3 for cheap(er).
I remember doing that and being able to pick up a GS3 for something like $99.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I said cancel I meant to sign up for a regular plan, and cancel and pay the early termination fee, not a value plan. But it doesnt seem like itll work anyway... if you cancel, then you need to pay the early termination fee and the full retail of the phone, each months payment towards your plan pays offsome of it so after like 10 months maybe itll be paid off... but I woukdnt be able to just cancel....

mottyengel said:
When I said cancel I meant to sign up for a regular plan, and cancel and pay the early termination fee, not a value plan. But it doesnt seem like itll work anyway... if you cancel, then you need to pay the early termination fee and the full retail of the phone, each months payment towards your plan pays offsome of it so after like 10 months maybe itll be paid off... but I woukdnt be able to just cancel....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for my misunderstanding.
What you're saying is true.
So, at this point, what are you planning to do?

I'll ask my friend if it's possible he works for tmobile I'm sure he would know
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

On any carrier, if you cancel your contract, you must pay full retail for your phone if not already paid off. Even on regular plans that aren't value plans. If people could do what you want to do, think about it, nobody would ever buy a phone on Craig's list and would buy the phone and sign the contract then immediately cancel. You pay less for a phone on contact because in your monthly payments you are paying off the phone. Yes even on the classic plan. That's why your monthly bills are more then the value pan.
If he wants the s3 then he well either need to pay full retail for it or you could get it on cl. I know in my area they go for 400+
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

I sold my previous phone and I was able to put more money down for my sgs3. I put down extra and my payments went from 20$ to 10$/mo.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

Yay I love fraud.

To me, what you're suggesting is like taking a crap on your friend's porch and smearing it all over.
Even if you could "get away with it" - do you think they're going to want to be your friend any more ? T-Mobile can make notes in your account - and they're going to know where that phone went. They could possibly take legal action against you if they really wanted to be spiteful (which, really, would be pretty fair if they found a way), or they could block the IMEI from their network - very simple for them and fraud seems to be the #1 reason they do so.
Sure, it might work out fine and the phone might continue to work - but is that really how you want to treat a company you want to continue to have a business relationship with ?
I guess it really comes down to if you're willing to basically steal - this isn't copying a file, it's manipulating your way to getting a piece of hardware by making a promise you never intended to keep. You'd basically be on the level of the dudes who bury $10 monthly charges in the T&C of sign ups and conveniently don't mention it anywhere else.
Just sell the S2 and get an S3. You'll likely end up paying less out of pocket even if you get the S3 new.

The day after celebrating what we are thankful for and I get up and read this nonsense. Sigh...
If you can't afford the phone, don't buy it. Pretty simple. Be thankful you have an old phone.

psykhotic said:
Yay I love fraud.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not fraud because it's not possible lol. It's just plain dumb. It's impossible.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

Pennycake said:
To me, what you're suggesting is like taking a crap on your friend's porch and smearing it all over.
Even if you could "get away with it" - do you think they're going to want to be your friend any more ? T-Mobile can make notes in your account - and they're going to know where that phone went. They could possibly take legal action against you if they really wanted to be spiteful (which, really, would be pretty fair if they found a way), or they could block the IMEI from their network - very simple for them and fraud seems to be the #1 reason they do so.
Sure, it might work out fine and the phone might continue to work - but is that really how you want to treat a company you want to continue to have a business relationship with ?
I guess it really comes down to if you're willing to basically steal - this isn't copying a file, it's manipulating your way to getting a piece of hardware by making a promise you never intended to keep. You'd basically be on the level of the dudes who bury $10 monthly charges in the T&C of sign ups and conveniently don't mention it anywhere else.
Just sell the S2 and get an S3. You'll likely end up paying less out of pocket even if you get the S3 new.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Id get angry at you but I guess my op wasn't very clear. I'm nit trying to get away with anything. Im not trying to steal a phone. What I was asking is, just like I am legally entitled to sign up for a contract and then cancel it and pay a 200 etf, or to cancel within 14 days and psy an early re stocking fee, would this be allowed as well. Because normally you wouldnt come out on top because on other carriers, the tef is alot more, most of the time expensive phones are alot even when you sign a contract and they msy make you psy for a month of service. I was just asking if they would allow you to keep the phone. You guys are just way to quick to blow up at me. Seriously. Anyway, the answer is no, so I bought him the phone with eip and its actually only 100 down now because of a sale. So, thanks everyone

This is exactly why regular customers like me who are looking to upgrade have to pay up front and then do mail in rebates, or even pay deposits...because they have to be cautious of people like you trying to cheat the system...just buy on on craigslist or something or why not just rob some random stranger since that is exactly the same thing...why not they have insurance right?.....jeez posts like this should probably be banned like cracked app threads are.

killj0y said:
This is exactly why regular customers like me who are looking to upgrade have to pay up front and then do mail in rebates, or even pay deposits...because they have to be cautious of people like you trying to cheat the system...just buy on on craigslist or something or why not just rob some random stranger since that is exactly the same thing...why not they have insurance right?.....jeez posts like this should probably be banned like cracked app threads are.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude. Look at the post above yours. He clearly stated he wasnt tryong to cheat the system. He already got his dad the phone legit.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

monkeypaws said:
Dude. Look at the post above yours. He clearly stated he wasnt tryong to cheat the system. He already got his dad the phone legit.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I read that, I was just pointing out the wrongness of it. I'm not trying to defend the carriers but this is supposedly why they pull that sorta stuff and it is easy enough to believe when I see posts like this. Anyways no getting around it really, you can probably find a way to cheat the system but you get burned too. Plus don't they block the IMEI?

Maybe I misunderstood the OP, but if he was asking if he could start a contract, wait 14 days, cancel it, pay the ETF, and keep the phone, I don't see the problem. That's exactly the point of the ETF... so long as he pays it he hasn't done anything wrong as far as I can tell?
-Sent from my GS3 running CM10.-

Yes it will work. You have to wait til the return grace period is over before you cancel the contract. It's 14 or 30 days depends on where you live and where you get the phone from. Avoid getting phones with mail in rebates.
As long as you pay the ETF you are fulfilling your part of the contract
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

AT&T Next to Offer Option to Forgo Wireless Contra

ATT will begin offering wireless customers the option to forgo contracts and get more frequent upgrades if they pay full price for their smartphones, allowing the carrier to cut back on the profit-sapping cost of subsidizing devices like the iPhone.
ATT is beginning a program later this month for subscribers to buy their phones using a monthly financing plan that will add payments to their monthly bills. After a year, they will be allowed to trade in the device for a new one. Under the new option, called AT&T Next, there are no service contracts other than the financing commitment. It is available for tablets as well.
So for a $650/20 months we get almost $35 per month added to your bill. what do you guys think: is it worth it?

BTW unlimited data plans are still allowed on Next.

privatewarrior1 said:
ATT will begin offering wireless customers the option to forgo contracts and get more frequent upgrades if they pay full price for their smartphones, allowing the carrier to cut back on the profit-sapping cost of subsidizing devices like the iPhone.
ATT is beginning a program later this month for subscribers to buy their phones using a monthly financing plan that will add payments to their monthly bills. After a year, they will be allowed to trade in the device for a new one. Under the new option, called AT&T Next, there are no service contracts other than the financing commitment. It is available for tablets as well.
So for a $650/20 months we get almost $35 per month added to your bill. what do you guys think: is it worth it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm. I think I'd go for it.
I don't particularly care to wait two years for a new phone. I get tired of phones after 8 months.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using xda app-developers app

I've never had to wait 2 years for a phone upgrade; usually, after about 12 months, I have been able to call and ask nicely for an upgrade, so, I would NEVER go for this...ATT gets more than enough of our hard earned cash, why give them more???

So when you first buy a phone...you are paying a subsidized price, and that amount is "hidden" in your monthly fee...now they want you to pay another fee...then get a phone...then pay more on top of that?? Makes no sense to me. I'd rather buy a new phone outright on a no-interest credit card or something..shoot maybe even just save up for it. I've even wheeled and dealed my phones on Craigslist...Is business really that bad that carriers are trying to nickel and dime people for everything? 20 months was fine. Gave you time to make a choice on what you wanted instead of paying an arm and a leg when you get that itch to change. Oh well, to each their own. I definitely won't be taking advantage of this new option.

I guess ATT (and eventually Verizon) feel the need to come up with some new razzle dazzle to make people think they are getting something similar to what t-mobile is offering. You are correct, when you do the math, this new "special" program is nothing more than another way for ATT to take money out of your pocket.
Carriers ALWAYS try and nickle and dime the public out of every possible dollar they can, and most of these new "special" deals, aren't special for anyone except ATT executives, and stock holders...

privatewarrior1 said:
ATT will begin offering wireless customers the option to forgo contracts and get more frequent upgrades if they pay full price for their smartphones, allowing the carrier to cut back on the profit-sapping cost of subsidizing devices like the iPhone.
ATT is beginning a program later this month for subscribers to buy their phones using a monthly financing plan that will add payments to their monthly bills. After a year, they will be allowed to trade in the device for a new one. Under the new option, called AT&T Next, there are no service contracts other than the financing commitment. It is available for tablets as well.
So for a $650/20 months we get almost $35 per month added to your bill. what do you guys think: is it worth it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you paid $199 for note 2, one year later you sell the phone for $300 (min). then you spend $350 on another phone. total is 199+350=550
with new plan. one year you pay 650/20*12=390, second year you pay 390. total 780.
you know what you should do.

This is a bit tricky.
Say for the Note 2 you paid 199 + locked into a contract. The price isn't actually subsidized into the cost of your monthly contract, rather the cost is the ASSURANCE that you'll be locked into a contract for 2 years. The amount of your monthly bill can go up/down obviously, and you won't find a line on your bill stating "monthly phone subsidized fee".
My take on this new program is that there will be a line listing the cost of your phone bundled into your monthly fee, without a contract locking you in for 2 years.
Difference is that if you're insane, you can get a different phone 12 months down the line, and split that new cost into your existing monthly bill. This allows you to theoretically have the cost of the new phone added onto the bill in addition to the cost of the old phone.
This isn't much of a deal if you're getting a high end smartphone at 6-700 bucks, but a pretty good deal if it's a lower end or less expensive phone.

vista1984 said:
you paid $199 for note 2, one year later you sell the phone for $300 (min). then you spend $350 on another phone. total is 199+350=550
with new plan. one year you pay 650/20*12=390, second year you pay 390. total 780.
you know what you should do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This here^^^^^^^
This is what AT&T stated:
The monthly installments will run between $15 and $50, depending on the phone, and are a function of evenly dividing the full retail price of the phone by 20 months.
By way of example, AT&T says, a Samsung Galaxy S4 in Next will cost $32 a month on top of your monthly service plan. You'll be able to trade it in and upgrade after 12 payments, or pay it off in full after 20 months. That's based on the full $639 purchase price of a 16GB model.
Just my 2¢®
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 2

vista1984 said:
you paid $199 for note 2, one year later you sell the phone for $300 (min). then you spend $350 on another phone. total is 199+350=550
with new plan. one year you pay 650/20*12=390, second year you pay 390. total 780.
you know what you should do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Slight correction. Second year you'd be paying 260, not 390. The split is over 20 months remember.

apallohadas said:
Slight correction. Second year you'd be paying 260, not 390. The split is over 20 months remember.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you get a new phone, the 20 months term will start over again. my calculation is based on the assumption that we buy new phone every year.

vista1984 said:
if you get a new phone, the 20 months term will start over again. my calculation is based on the assumption that we buy new phone every year.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm just guessing here, but I think that if you buy another phone right at the first 12 month point, they'll stack that with (on top of) the existing cost of the old phone. So you'll be paying monthly + old phone + new phone, instead of month + new phone.
If they give you a buyout amount to totally pay off the old phone, that might work better.
Another thing that we haven't really considered are the extra fee (if any) revolving around the extended cost of the phone. Is there a service fee for this 'loan'? I mean, that's what it is after all. It's like a mortgage for your phone.

apallohadas said:
I'm just guessing here, but I think that if you buy another phone right at the first 12 month point, they'll stack that with (on top of) the existing cost of the old phone. So you'll be paying monthly + old phone + new phone, instead of month + new phone.
If they give you a buyout amount to totally pay off the old phone, that might work better.
Another thing that we haven't really considered are the extra fee (if any) revolving around the extended cost of the phone. Is there a service fee for this 'loan'? I mean, that's what it is after all. It's like a mortgage for your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the new plan, my understanding is that when we have a new phone with this plan, we only need to pay for monthly phone payment, after one year, we can choose either keep the phone and pay for the remaining 8 months (after that the phone is yours), or, upgrade to a new phone and pay for the new phone's monthly payment again (20 months term reset).
so basically every 12 months you can upgrade with no cost, by keeping paying 650/20 each months. convenient for lazy people i think.
monthly service bill won't be affected (call+text+data).
yeah, there might be service fee for every upgrade too.

vista1984 said:
the new plan, my understanding is that when we have a new phone with this plan, we only need to pay for monthly phone payment, after one year, we can choose either keep the phone and pay for the remaining 8 months (after that the phone is yours), or, upgrade to a new phone and pay for the new phone's monthly payment again (20 months term reset).
so basically every 12 months you can upgrade with no cost, by keeping paying 650/20 each months. convenient for lazy people i think.
monthly service bill won't be affected (call+text+data).
yeah, there might be service fee for every upgrade too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought they said no upgrade fee.
Sent from the TermiNOTEr 2!

Bsmith0731 said:
I get tired of phones after 8 months.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Who doesn't man?

wase4711 said:
I've never had to wait 2 years for a phone upgrade; usually, after about 12 months, I have been able to call and ask nicely for an upgrade, so, I would NEVER go for this...ATT gets more than enough of our hard earned cash, why give them more???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
which department do you ask? and do you get any discounts on top of that?

privatewarrior1 said:
Who doesn't man?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll say.
I was getting tired of my note but I switched over to an aosp based rom and my excitement has been renewed, for how long, who knows.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using xda app-developers app

vista1984 said:
the new plan, my understanding is that when we have a new phone with this plan, we only need to pay for monthly phone payment, after one year, we can choose either keep the phone and pay for the remaining 8 months (after that the phone is yours), or, upgrade to a new phone and pay for the new phone's monthly payment again (20 months term reset).
so basically every 12 months you can upgrade with no cost, by keeping paying 650/20 each months. convenient for lazy people i think.
monthly service bill won't be affected (call+text+data).
yeah, there might be service fee for every upgrade too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well when you upgrade your line you have to do one of two things: either you trade in your old phone (I am assuming it should be in good condition otherwise they will charge you for it) or you can keep your phone and pay the balance left to pay it off.
ATT is marketing the deal like its doing us a favor saying they got rid of the $35 upgrade fee, yet they will charge us the same amount each month for the next 20.
I wonder how many will fall for this?

privatewarrior1 said:
which department do you ask? and do you get any discounts on top of that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I ask for retention, since they can make decisions no other department can...
the last 2 early upgrades I got were for 2 Gnote2's; one was about 4 months ago, and then the other one was about 1 month ago; I was less than 12 months in on both of these phone contracts when I called.
The first one I got for 299, less 6 months of unlimited texting credit(180 dollars, so the net was 119. They waived the activation fee on that one...
The most recent one,was 199, about a month ago, and they did charge me activation, but I called when the bill came and asked them to waive it, and they did!
The only take away from this is that you need to ask for an early upgrade, and if you are a good customer,(I have 3 lines,) ALWAYS pay your bill on time, and dont ask for all sorts of crazy stuff, there is a very good chance you can get an upgrade after 8-12 months...the "sales" department, usually cant do these kinds of things, thats why you have to get to retention....

apallohadas said:
I'm just guessing here, but I think that if you buy another phone right at the first 12 month point, they'll stack that with (on top of) the existing cost of the old phone. So you'll be paying monthly + old phone + new phone, instead of month + new phone.
If they give you a buyout amount to totally pay off the old phone, that might work better.
Another thing that we haven't really considered are the extra fee (if any) revolving around the extended cost of the phone. Is there a service fee for this 'loan'? I mean, that's what it is after all. It's like a mortgage for your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correction: when you get a new phone after 12 months, you trade in old phone buy new phone and start over. The old phone bill is canceled. With Att Next, you no longer own the phone, it's a "lease phone". The tricky part is now rooting and unlocked bootloader will be difficult decisions because the phone must be in good satisfactory condition on all levels
Sent from my GT-N8013 using Tapatalk 2

Deals on an off-contract HTC One?

Anyone know of any tips or tricks?
I'm stuck on a GSIII I re-upped my contract to on 12/2012.. they say I'm stuck until 12/2014.
Need an HTC One badly, but not $650 badly..

dbornack said:
Anyone know of any tips or tricks?
I'm stuck on a GSIII I re-upped my contract to on 12/2012.. they say I'm stuck until 12/2014.
Need an HTC One badly, but not $650 badly..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well you can sell your GS III here http://swappa.com/buy/samsung-galaxy-s-iii-verizon/us then buy the htc one off contract for full price.

+1
Sell your sg3 on swappa save up and pay difference for an HTC one on swappa. It's a great site.

If you don't mind spending a little extra each month you can do what I did, I just added a line and I'm fine paying the extra 40 a month.
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using xda premium

Got mine on swappa for $540
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Tapatalk 2

Not too bad of a deal, but I had already planned on claiming a refurb replacement on the GSIII, and selling it for $250.. But I'm talking like.. no additional cost. Like, tips on how to con my way into an early upgrade with Verizon..

Kiyuubi said:
If you don't mind spending a little extra each month you can do what I did, I just added a line and I'm fine paying the extra 40 a month.
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
An extra $40 a month!! $960 for the phone over the contract term. I would not be ok with that. Can you still add lines if you have grandfathered family share plans?
EDIT: Why don't you swap a dumbphone on there to at least lower your costs?

I can sell you mine. Accessories in box are still unopened. No scratches dings or blemishes. $500
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Tapatalk 2

dbornack said:
Not too bad of a deal, but I had already planned on claiming a refurb replacement on the GSIII, and selling it for $250.. But I'm talking like.. no additional cost. Like, tips on how to con my way into an early upgrade with Verizon..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not going to happen.
Since they have you and you no longer have unlimited to bargain with, it's a "pay to play" game.
You could always switch to the edge or maybe the "max" plan for phone leasing and upgrades.
Don't know what else.

dbornack said:
Not too bad of a deal, but I had already planned on claiming a refurb replacement on the GSIII, and selling it for $250.. But I'm talking like.. no additional cost. Like, tips on how to con my way into an early upgrade with Verizon..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You just got a new phone 9 months ago. They hurt a lot of feelings when they stopped giving upgrades at 22 months. And they stood firm on the 24 month upgrade pricing.
What incentive do they have to give you a discount after only 9 months? They already have you legally trapped for another 15 months. You would owe THEM an early termination fee. They hold all the cards here. You leave.. they make money. You stay... they make money. They give you a new upgrade... they lose money.
Your only out is to do what the rest have recommended. Buy it outright at full retail, or from Swappa. OR add a line and use that line's new equipment for yourself. I know several people who do that. And then just use those line's upgrades when they roll around. I'd just sell the GSIII and pay for an gently used one on Swappa.

one4thewings said:
They give you a new upgrade... they lose money.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wrong, they re-up me for two years and keep me as a customer that much longer. Hardware is a commodity. No one makes money on hardware except when people pay full price on it before their upgrade.
I'm willing to bet the money they make on continuing to keep me is more than the money made on hardware if the upgrade me every 9-12 months except in my case, where I went and did that and ended up with a phone that sucks at pictures. Looks like I'm gonna just return it and live with GS3
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using xda app-developers app

Swappa! bought a new one myself for $480. works perfectly and just send it out for s-off in fact

dbornack said:
Wrong, they re-up me for two years and keep me as a customer that much longer. Hardware is a commodity. No one makes money on hardware except when people pay full price on it before their upgrade.
I'm willing to bet the money they make on continuing to keep me is more than the money made on hardware if the upgrade me every 9-12 months except in my case, where I went and did that and ended up with a phone that sucks at pictures. Looks like I'm gonna just return it and live with GS3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, don't get me wrong. I hope it works for you. But the logic there is flawed. The "that much longer" they keep you is only 9 months longer than they would have had you anyway. Of course they are making money on the hardware, no matter if they give it to you or you pay full price from them for it. But that's not the point. The point is that they have you under contract.
Imagine you cut lawn for work. You have a giant lawn mowing business. You're making crazy money. A man asks you to mow his lawn for the next year. You estimate the job, pitch it. He's good. He signs the contract. After you mow his lawn for a month he says, "I want you to start mowing my neighbors lawn too. No extra cost. I'm paying you good. Just when you reach the end of my plot, keep going. It's only an extra 3 acres." Are you really going to add a whole new lawn to the job just because he says so and insists that's what it's going to take to keep his business? You have him in a legal bind. You are guaranteed the contract amount OR a early termination fee. The other is just his promise that he'll sign with you next year. You don't NEED his contract. Your business is steadily growing. And what is his word worth? He told you that he was happy with you mowing his lawn and now he's tacked this new condition on. There are no guarantees that even if you mow his neighbor's lawn that he'll resign with you next season.
Again, I hope it works for you but unless some local mom and pop shop wants to manipulate the system for you in some way, I don't see it happening. And if you work directly with Verizon, I really don't see it happening. Sincerely hope I'm wrong here... but business is business. And business, for Verizon, is good.

Pretty good analogy there, but to lay it out in more mathmatical terms, when you got your s3, you probably paid $99 for it, for the sake of argument though, lets say you paid the full $200. Most VZW retailer's cost on an S3 is around 600. That's $400 they lost selling you that one phone. Now, analysts have broken down costs of the cell networks, and found that you're paying around $20 extra a month for the discount you got on the phone. You've had the phone 9 months at $20 a month, or $180. That means Verizon is still down $220. Why would they let you resign and take ANOTHER loss on a phone for a customer who has a perfectly working phone? No, its not "customer loyalty" or any of that nonsense, its you not understanding that phones are an expensive piece of hardware.

g3 trade in value only $139

just checked the trade in value of the g3 on the tmobile site. comes up showing $139 which is a dollar less than the g2.

ya its not very popular...sadly i bought mine with that in mine. was like if i ever have to sell this, or trade it in...i wont get anything back llol

DaMagicTicket said:
just checked the trade in value of the g3 on the tmobile site. comes up showing $139 which is a dollar less than the g2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Atleast we got unlocked bootloaders to change things up, but thats pretty bad for a 700 phone that just came out.

For ****s and giggles, I looked at eBay and they're only going for around 400. Not saying I want to get rid of the G3, but looking to leave my options open. I'm not taking a 300 dollar hit on a month old phone though.

Well at least you'd get more than on a trade-in, lol. I do wish it was more popular though. I've resisted any phone with on screen navbars for quite awhile, but after giving in and trying the G3, it's been a breath of fresh air and I'm loving it.

velasco3m said:
Well at least you'd get more than on a trade-in, lol. I do wish it was more popular though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not completely unpopular, either. Just development is stalled because LG were bastards and locked the bootloader for everyone but us. People just don't want to put in the effort for one unlocked carrier.
Sent from my LG-D851 using Tapatalk

It's not completely unpopular, either. Just development is stalled because LG were bastards and locked the bootloader for everyone but us. People just don't want to put in the effort for one unlocked carrier.
It's definitely not LG that locked the bootloader. That blame belongs to the carrier.

People on swappa are getting around 400-500
Tmobile store offered me 150. I laughed

bkeaver said:
People on swappa are getting around 400-500
Tmobile store offered me 150. I laughed
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Swappa is freaking awesome.. Sold my gs5 there within 15 minutes of posting
LG G3

In on the jump program so meh

CheesyNutz said:
In on the jump program so meh
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
how do you "meh.." that's what they will give you for it if you jump!. You would be way better off selling it on Swappa or craigslist. Come on Cheesynutz don't be like that.

zone23 said:
how do you "meh.." that's what they will give you for it if you jump!. You would be way better off selling it on Swappa or craigslist. Come on Cheesynutz don't be like that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Jump! Gives you half back of what ever you paid, as long as you paid in the other half when you go to use Jump. So if he paid $700 he gets $350 back as long as he has at least $350 paid in on it. I paid $598 for mine so when I have $299 paid in I get $299 trade in on it. Of course you'll ALWAYS get more selling it privately. But if you value convenience over getting top dollar then Jump is great.

stevessvt said:
Jump! Gives you half back of what ever you paid, as long as you paid in the other half when you go to use Jump. So if he paid $700 he gets $350 back as long as he has at least $350 paid in on it. I paid $598 for mine so when I have $299 paid in I get $299 trade in on it. Of course you'll ALWAYS get more selling it privately. But if value convenience of getting top dollar then Jump is great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well that sounds like a better deal.

stevessvt said:
Jump! Gives you half back of what ever you paid, as long as you paid in the other half when you go to use Jump. So if he paid $700 he gets $350 back as long as he has at least $350 paid in on it. I paid $598 for mine so when I have $299 paid in I get $299 trade in on it. Of course you'll ALWAYS get more selling it privately. But if value convenience of getting top dollar then Jump is great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dont think thats quite how it works.
i think you get $299 via jump for the $598 phone plus watever the value of the trade in is $139. So lets say you want a new phone after two months, you would owe $548 left on the phone but you'll get $438 via jump and still owe tmobile $110 to pay off the phone.
Lets say you get an s5 for $610 and switch after two months. You owe $560 but you would get $305 + $300 trade in credit via jump. So tmobile would owe you $45 credit towards a new phone.
So basically you lose $160 worth of the g3 value after 2 months vs the g5 only being $5 + taxes in both cases.

DaMagicTicket said:
I dont think thats quite how it works.
i think you get $299 via jump for the $598 phone plus watever the value of the trade in is $139. So lets say you want a new phone after two months, you would owe $548 left on the phone but you'll get $438 via jump and still owe tmobile $110 to pay off the phone.
Lets say you get an s5 for $610 and switch after two months. You owe $560 but you would get $305 + $300 trade in credit via jump. So tmobile would owe you $45 credit towards a new phone.
So basically you lose $160 worth of the g3 value after 2 months vs the g5 only being $5 + taxes in both cases.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope. I've used jump 3 times now. It works exactly as I described. But yes at the start of jump you do need to pay the taxes on the full price of the phone up front.
---------- Post added at 09:50 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:41 AM ----------
Also I forgot to add that it costs you $10/month for Jump. But that include's insurance too, which would cost $8/month on its own.

stevessvt said:
Jump! Gives you half back of what ever you paid, as long as you paid in the other half when you go to use Jump. So if he paid $700 he gets $350 back as long as he has at least $350 paid in on it. I paid $598 for mine so when I have $299 paid in I get $299 trade in on it. Of course you'll ALWAYS get more selling it privately. But if you value convenience over getting top dollar then Jump is great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think T-Mobile paid my $480 balance off my Flex Jumping to the G3 which I think is more then what I could have got if I sold it. Two different Jump programs though. I'm on the original and wife is on the new one. Not exactly sure the difference but the 1st Jump program is better. I'll probably use my wife's Jump on my next phone. hehe Like you said Jump saves the hassle of selling your phone. I hate the crazy craigslist peeps and sucks getting low balled on the web.

I do know the original Jump you had to pay some money down on the device itself, where now its 0 down, except for taxes. Im not sure of the details of the first Jump plan, I came in right after the second version started.

well i have the latest one during the summers saving specials and used on the galaxy avant that i got for $100. only payed 1 month + the jump and took it to the tmobile store and got $130 credit for which i used to buy the g2 on sale which i swapped for a g3.

I've been on JUMP! since it first came out. The original program (which I am on) allows you to jump twice per year, and they wipe whatever is remaining on your EIP. The first time you use it needs to be at least 6 months from the purchase date, but the 2nd jump can be any time after that. What you pay down on the device originally depends on your credit. For example, I paid $0 down on my S5 (taxes paid up front), and jumped 2 months later to the G3. T-Mobile wiped the remaining EIP on my S5, which was $602. The "new" JUMP! program requires you to pay off 50% of your EIP before you can upgrade, then they wipe the remaining 50%.

Towle said:
I've been on JUMP! since it first came out. The original program (which I am on) allows you to jump twice per year, and they wipe whatever is remaining on your EIP. The first time you use it needs to be at least 6 months from the purchase date, but the 2nd jump can be any time after that. What you pay down on the device originally depends on your credit. For example, I paid $0 down on my S5 (taxes paid up front), and jumped 2 months later to the G3. T-Mobile wiped the remaining EIP on my S5, which was $602. The "new" JUMP! program requires you to pay off 50% of your EIP before you can upgrade, then they wipe the remaining 50%.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is how my JUMP is as well. I paid nothing up front on my Note 3 when I joined T-Mobile. I jumped to the G3 in July, with 0 down, and they paid the rest of the balance on my Note 3. I can now JUMP again whenever I want to. The only thing I'm not clear on is when I can JUMP a 3rd time. Say I JUMP to the Note 4 in October, do I just need to wait until my "2nd year" starts on T-Mobile to JUMP again? I'm really glad I got in on the original JUMP program because the new one doesn't seem that great to me.
But, yeah that trade in value seems really low to me. I got just under $100 for my Nexus 4 when I originally joined T-Mobile in Jan.