I thought Lumia 900 was the new AT&T Hero Device, but...

[evilrobot]

I am 4 months out from a regular upgrade on my 2 wireless lines with AT&T. In the past, I've been eligible for an early upgrade so I decided to call in to check and see if I could get early upgrades on my lines to get the Lumia 900. AT&T told me that I am indeed eligible for an early upgrade, but only if I want to upgrade to iPhone 4S devices.

If the Lumia 900 is the new Hero device for AT&T, shouldn't they be pushing early upgrades for that and not the iPhone 4S? I don't understand why they would let me do an early upgrade for that, but not the Lumia.

 

[selfcreation]

sounds to me like you got a Iphone fan boy

try calling again maybe?? and the 900 is not out yet so obviously you cant get it yet.

and early ups might not work on pre-order ( they dont on my carrier : bell )

 

[evilrobot]

sounds to me like you got a Iphone fan boy

try calling again maybe?? and the 900 is not out yet so obviously you cant get it yet.

and early ups might not work on pre-order ( they dont on my carrier : bell )

I'm thinking about waiting until the 8th and then stopping by the store and see if they give me the same story. I'd really like to wait and get the white one, but I think I remember reading it will be online only.

 

[dkp23]

Never heard early upgrades as phone specific.

I know when i was eligible for upgrade and i went to order a samsung focus s, i checked my eligibility and it said that i was available for early upgrade to iphone 4s, but really, i was able to get an upgrade to any phone.

The rep is probably expecting you to want an iphone, or forced to sell one, or a sackrider.

 

[jake69]

not sure why at&t still pushing for the iphone...when they could have made more money selling other devices.

 

[evilrobot]

The rep is probably expecting you to want an iphone, or forced to sell one, or a sackrider.

I've never heard the term sackrider before Learned something new today.

 

[Dave Blake]

The phone hasn't been released yet try again next week after the release

 

[FriendOrDafoe]

I'd really like to wait and get the white one, but I think I remember reading it will be online only.

White will be in store only.

 

[dyne2199]

I am 4 months out from a regular upgrade on my 2 wireless lines with AT&T. In the past, I've been eligible for an early upgrade so I decided to call in to check and see if I could get early upgrades on my lines to get the Lumia 900. AT&T told me that I am indeed eligible for an early upgrade, but only if I want to upgrade to iPhone 4S devices.

If the Lumia 900 is the new Hero device for AT&T, shouldn't they be pushing early upgrades for that and not the iPhone 4S? I don't understand why they would let me do an early upgrade for that, but not the Lumia.

Try calling *639# from your phone, which is the AT&T Check Upgrade Eligibility number. If you're eligible for an upgrade subsidy, it will tell you. If you're only available for certain devices via another type of upgrade, it will specifically list those devices.

 

[bpgui]

Never heard early upgrades as phone specific.

I know when i was eligible for upgrade and i went to order a samsung focus s, i checked my eligibility and it said that i was available for early upgrade to iphone 4s, but really, i was able to get an upgrade to any phone.

The rep is probably expecting you to want an iphone, or forced to sell one, or a sackrider.

This is pretty common for AT&T. When I check upgrade eligibility on AT&T's website it always tells me the my wife's phone is available for an upgrade, but only to Iphone. Mine is available for for anything.

 

[evilrobot]

White will be in store only.

Cool, I will wait until they come out then and then stop by the store.

 

[evilrobot]

Try calling *639# from your phone, which is the AT&T Check Upgrade Eligibility number. If you're eligible for an upgrade subsidy, it will tell you. If you're only available for certain devices via another type of upgrade, it will specifically list those devices.

Thanks, I tried this out and it says my regular upgrade will be available in August but I can upgrade now to iPhone4S like the rep said. Hopefully after the 900 is released they'll add it as an early upgrade device, I'll pop into the store once the white version is released and see how it turns out.

 

[cdook]

Verizon is doing something similar too. My friend really wanted the Galaxy Nexus, but his contract isn't up for upgrade for another 4 months. He called Verizon several times and they weren't willing to give him a Galaxy Nexus, but they were willing to give him a 4S.

This says one of two things to me... The carriers have more iPhone inventory then they know what to do with. Or the iPhone isn't as valuable compared to the newer phones out there.

 

[anon(5335877)]

Verizon is doing something similar too. My friend really wanted the Galaxy Nexus, but his contract isn't up for upgrade for another 4 months. He called Verizon several times and they weren't willing to give him a Galaxy Nexus, but they were willing to give him a 4S.

This says one of two things to me... The carriers have more iPhone inventory then they know what to do with. Or the iPhone isn't as valuable compared to the newer phones out there.

Why are they so intent on selling iPhones? I actually thought I read that some carriers make less, lose money, or have trouble making profits on iPhones because they're so expensive ($649 off contract) yet they still subsidize it to $199.

Plus, I thought Verizon wanted more people on LTE devices so their 3G network would be less congested. This doesn't make any sense.

 

[nascarnate326]

We got the same load of BS that we could early upgrade to a 4S but for a lumia she would have to wait for pay the early upgrade fee.

Um, how about ending the contract and selling this iPhone 4 on ebay then buying the lumia for the 100 that it should be.

 

[evilrobot]

We got the same load of BS that we could early upgrade to a 4S but for a lumia she would have to wait for pay the early upgrade fee.

Um, how about ending the contract and selling this iPhone 4 on ebay then buying the lumia for the 100 that it should be.

Here's what I think we're going to end up doing.

I don't care what my phone number is, so I'm going to add a third line to our account and the Lumia 900 from amazon for $49.99. I will use this new line as my number since it will have a 2 year contract. Then, I will remove all options from my current line so I only have to pay the $10 month extra line fee. Then we'll sell her iPhone 4S, activate the 900 on her line, activate my current phone (1st gen focus) on the new line, and in 4 months cancel my current line when the contract ends. Then I'll get a new phone on her line since it will be elgible for an upgrade then (hopefully a WP8 device), then do the old switcheroo again so that she ends up with the WP8 device and I'll get the lumia 900. I think with taxes on the unused line and upgrade fees it'll end up costing around $100-150 for the 900 that way, which beats the $450 out of contract price. Any flaws I'm not seeing with this plan?

 

[chrislyricist]

Maybe a couple flaws??

Here's what I think we're going to end up doing.

I don't care what my phone number is, so I'm going to add a third line to our account and the Lumia 900 from amazon for $49.99. I will use this new line as my number since it will have a 2 year contract. Then, I will remove all options from my current line so I only have to pay the $10 month extra line fee. Then we'll sell her iPhone 4S, activate the 900 on her line, activate my current phone (1st gen focus) on the new line, and in 4 months cancel my current line when the contract ends. Then I'll get a new phone on her line since it will be elgible for an upgrade then (hopefully a WP8 device), then do the old switcheroo again so that she ends up with the WP8 device and I'll get the lumia 900. I think with taxes on the unused line and upgrade fees it'll end up costing around $100-150 for the 900 that way, which beats the $450 out of contract price. Any flaws I'm not seeing with this plan?

There are quite a few flaws - First off, when you add a new line to your current contract you have to commit to another 2 years w/ them so, your older contract does not expire in 4 months (it will be renewed) Unless you are planning on putting this on a brand-new separate account you should be good to go. Next, when you opened your account did you buy a smart phone that required a data package? If so, you cannot remove those features from your current contract (they are required). Phone companies are now getting smarter about finding and closing the usual loop-holes. And i'm sure plenty of consumers will agree.

 

[selfcreation]

hmm when u add a new number/line it doesn't re-new all your lines... just make sure they dont re-new ... even if you have 10 lines on one account each line has their own INDIVIDUAL contract . make sure they dont cause if they do its illegal! unless yous specifically agree to re-new ALL the lines.

but you are right about having to keep a DATA plan for the full term of the contract if you originally got a smartphone.

 

[ninjaap]

Here's what I think we're going to end up doing.

I don't care what my phone number is, so I'm going to add a third line to our account and the Lumia 900 from amazon for $49.99. I will use this new line as my number since it will have a 2 year contract. Then, I will remove all options from my current line so I only have to pay the $10 month extra line fee. Then we'll sell her iPhone 4S, activate the 900 on her line, activate my current phone (1st gen focus) on the new line, and in 4 months cancel my current line when the contract ends. Then I'll get a new phone on her line since it will be elgible for an upgrade then (hopefully a WP8 device), then do the old switcheroo again so that she ends up with the WP8 device and I'll get the lumia 900. I think with taxes on the unused line and upgrade fees it'll end up costing around $100-150 for the 900 that way, which beats the $450 out of contract price. Any flaws I'm not seeing with this plan?

1. Amazon will charge you $250 if you do not activate the phone with the line you purchased it with.
2. If you activate the Focus, they will force you to add a data plan.