Upgrade

Are you eligible for an iPhone 6 upgrade? Here is how to find out

Sébastien Page ∙ September 10, 2014

Every year it is the same scenario: Apple unveils a new iPhone, and we all start wondering what we're financially able to afford. The question on everybody's lips then becomes "am I eligible for an upgrade?" If you bought your device 2 years ago, then chances are you are already eligible for an upgrade. If you're not sure what your current status is, we have a way for you to check if you're going to be able to pick up the iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus at the subsidized price, or if you'll have to break that piggy bank you've been preciously keeping on your dresser for the past 15 years.

Apple kicks off in-store iPhone upgrade event

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 17, 2018

As rumored earlier in the week, Apple has kicked off a new in-store iPhone upgrade program today. The company has put up signs and other marketing materials in its retail stores, and has begun emailing customers with older model handsets.

The purpose of the event is to get those who still have an iPhone 4 or iPhone 4s into a 5s or 5c, as Apple attempts to move remaining stock ahead of the fall's anticipated refresh. The company has even upped its trade-in offers to sweeten the deal...

T-Mobile making changes to its ‘Jump’ upgrade program this month

Cody Lee ∙ February 16, 2014

TmoNews is reporting that T-Mobile plans to make some changes to its early upgrade program 'Jump' in the near future. The site says that the carrier will soon get rid of the 6 month waiting period, essentially allowing customers to upgrade their devices as often as they want.

But don't get too excited yet. In addition to eliminating its equipment upgrade waiting periods, T-Mobile is also going to raise the amount that customers have to pay off before they can trade in their device for a new one to 50%, or half of their old handset's full retail price...

Verizon will honor weekend upgrade orders with unlimited data

Cody Lee ∙ October 1, 2013

Over the weekend, a number of Verizon customers reported that they were able to upgrade to the iPhone 5s (and other handsets) without losing their grandfathered unlimited data plan—something the carrier put a stop to last summer.

As we expected, this was the result of a software glitch, and Verizon fixed it first thing Monday morning. But here's something we didn't see coming: the company says it will honor the orders and let customers keep their unlimited plans...

Some Verizon customers reportedly able to upgrade without losing unlimited data

Cody Lee ∙ September 29, 2013

Last summer, Verizon put an end to grandfathered unlimited data plans by forcing customers to move to one of their new Share Everything plans when they upgraded their smartphone at the subsidized price.

But within the last few days, several VZW customers have reported that they were able to upgrade to one of the new iPhone models either online or at a third-party retailer without losing their unlimited data...

Consumer Reports weighs in on device upgrade plans

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

Earlier this week, we took a comparative look at the various new device upgrade plans that carriers have introduced over the last several days. There's T-Mobile's 'Jump' plan, AT&T Next, and Verizon's 'Edge' program.

After crunching some numbers, we found that T-Mobile's offering was the better of the three, as it doesn't include device subsidy costs in its rate plans. And it looks like Consumer Reports, who did its own math, agrees...

Verizon CFO says the carrier won’t change plan pricing after Edge launch

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Verizon joined AT&T and T-Mobile yesterday by introducing a new upgrade program called Verizon Edge. Similar to the other two carriers' offerings, the plan involves customers paying a monthly fee in exchange for the ability to upgrade their device earlier.

After crunching some numbers, we found T-Mobile's program to be the best deal, due to the fact that it separates equipment and service charges. And some folks were hoping Verizon would follow suit here, but CFO Fran Shammo says don't count on it...

AT&T introduces new ‘AT&T Next’ device upgrade program

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Well that didn't take very long. Just hours after a report surfaced regarding Verizon's plan for a new device upgrade program, AT&T announced a new upgrade plan of its own. It's called 'AT&T Next,' and its description sounds awfully familiar.

The AT&T Next program will allow subscribers to purchase a new smartphone or tablet every twelve months with no activation, upgrade or financing fees. The catch is, they'll have to make monthly payments equal to 1/20th the device's retail cost...

AT&T pushes upgrade waiting period back to 24 months

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 11, 2018

When Verizon makes a major plan or policy change, AT&T is typically right behind it. And vice versa. It happened with share everything plans, and the phasing out of unlimited data. There's like an unwritten rule or something.

So it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that just two months after Verizon took away its 20-month upgrades, AT&T has followed suit. Folks on two-year contracts will now have to wait the full 24 months before upgrading...

How to “steal” an upgrade from someone else on your wireless plan

Jeff Benjamin ∙ September 18, 2012

Many of you have likely ran into this conundrum: Someone on your wireless plan is eligible for an upgrade, but couldn't care less about upgrading their phone. With this in mind, you'd like to use their upgrade to upgrade your phone.

I actually encountered this issue myself, but I wasn't quite sure how to proceed with it. If I upgraded my wife's phone, but planned to take her upgrade to use for myself, how would I get a Nano SIM card containing my information, and not hers?

This wouldn't be much of an issue if the iPhone 5 used the same Micro SIM as the iPhone 4S, otherwise, I'd just swap out my Micro SIM into the iPhone 5. But since the iPhone 5 uses a brand new SIM card, this obviously presents a problem.

How do you go about handling the issue? As it turns out, if you're an AT&T customer, it's probably a lot easier than you might have expected...

An iPhone 5 upgrade for on-contract AT&T customers might be really expensive

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated November 12, 2018

So, you want to upgrade your current phone to the iPhone 5? The first step you need to take, is to see whether or not you qualify for a fully subsidized upgrade with no penalty.

AT&T makes this process particularly easy, all you have to do is dial *NEW# (*639#), and you will receive a text message laying out your eligibility. For Verizon users, Big Red has provided a website that you can go to to verify your upgradability, or you can dial #874.

In the past, AT&T has let users who are only partially through an existing contract to upgrade without any penalties. Whether or not they plan on doing this with the iPhone 5 remains to be seen, but from what I've seen thus far, it's not looking entirely promising.

Sprint Offering Good Customers Early Upgrades

Cody Lee ∙ Updated September 11, 2017

Sprint on-contract subscribers that are hoping to get themselves or someone special an iPhone for the holidays might be in luck. It seems as though the carrier is offering some of its customers the opportunity to upgrade early.

Popular Sprint blog SprintFeed has obtained an internal memo from the cell phone provider that explains the limited time early-upgrade promotion...