Changes to Cell Phone upgrade costs when renewing contracts

[snowbird22154]

Just went to try to get a newer I Phone and now was told there are no more "free phones" with the 2 year renewal contracts. It appears you "now" have to pay the FULL price for the I phone $700+ as the days of "free with upgrade" are over with.

Wonder how long people will continue to pay full price for the I phone as maybe I need to go back to the cheap "flip phone" but then I wouldn't have all the Internet, weather, navigation, I cloud and other "apps"

Think I'll try to get on Welfare and "then"..... get a Free One !! :popcorn:

[joldnol]

change carrier....."Obama Phones" by the way are not i-phones and started under W's admin

[Xcuse]

I understand that Verizon has changed their policies and rates. You could use joldno's suggestion and try different carriers.

[yesi3putt2]

I highly recommend Republic Wireless..everything U want..no contract.inexpensive Motorola android phones

[The Buckeyes]

change carrier....."Obama Phones" by the way are not i-phones and started under W's admin

Obama phones or w phones...doesn't matter! The taxpayers in this country have to pay for their phones and contracts for themselves, why do they need to pay for someone else?

[jnieman]

I think many times those deals are available when a new Iphone comes out and they are trying to clear inventory on the previous Iphones. Possibly when a new Iphone comes out, try again. You can also buy refurbished phones sometimes on the ATT website.

[RickeyD]

These subsidies are coming to an end. Market penetration is approaching 90%, now that they have you hooked they don't have to help out anymore. I ain't falling for it though. I lived without one for 50 years, I can do without.

[Chatbrat]

For giggles I got a free phone(Obama phone) from the American Legion-no means test, no asset test, big shame-

[The Buckeyes]

These subsidies are coming to an end. Market penetration is approaching 90%, now that they have you hooked they don't have to help out anymore. I ain't falling for it though. I lived without one for 50 years, I can do without.

I might be a little confused with your answer. Have you lived without a phone for 50 years? If that avatar belongs to you.....you can afford it.

[CFrance]

change carrier....."Obama Phones" by the way are not i-phones and started under W's admin
Thank you.

[RickeyD]

I might be a little confused with your answer. Have you lived without a phone for 50 years? If that avatar belongs to you.....you can afford it.


A cell phone I don't need. I'm cheap, my company pays for my smart phone. In two years I'm outta here, ain't gonna need it.

[KeepingItReal]

For giggles I got a free phone(Obama phone) from the American Legion-no means test, no asset test, big shame-


Might want to rethink that.....apparently a lot of other people wanted some giggles too...but it doesn't end well.

From another thread...from Rick Nugent

Dear Friends,

There isn’t a whole lot of news to report this week that you all don’t already know about. I did want to make you aware of one thing that’s been a growing issue here recently. As many of you know, a portion of your monthly cell phone bill goes toward the so-called “Universal Service Fund”. That fund, among other things, provides cell phones to low-income families. When people talk about “Obamaphones”, that’s specifically what they are referring to.

To make a long story short, we’ve had a growing issue with the vendors who sell / provide these phones targeting veterans with a very misleading pitch. Outside one of our local VA outpatient clinics, a vendor sets up a booth. As veterans come in for appointments, they get roped into to signing up for what they think is a free phone for veterans. To be clear – there is no free phone for veterans program. In order for a veteran to qualify, he or she must be below the income threshold like everybody else.

So after these vets hand over their personal information and numbers, etc. they get a phone. Three months later, they get something in the mail saying they need to verify their income eligibility. The veteran tells the company, “but I make more than that” and the company says, “well you’ll have to pay up in that case or we’re going to disconnect your phone.”

When this happens, either the veteran has gotten used to this new phone and gotten rid of an old one, in which case they’ve been duped into purchasing a new phone. Or more likely, the phone is simply disconnected and discarded. The company who is compensated by the Universal Service Fund is making money coming and going. At least that’s our strong suspicion. Some company in the industry ran a very misleading campaign last year urging veterans (many of whose information they probably got at booths like the one I just described) to call and urge their representatives not to cut phone service for veterans. Our immediate reaction was, there is no such program. Low income veterans may well qualify for this program, but it’s very misleading to suggest to people this is a veteran-specific thing.

Over the next week, I’m going to be digging into this quite a bit and I will be reaching out to some of my colleagues to try to get a number of us working on a solution. The bottom line is, if you know any local veterans, please give them a heads up that this is happening. It ends up being a situation where some slick talking sales person misleads them into turning over important personal information for what ends up being nothing.

In any case, I don’t want to take up any more of your time this morning. I should have some more specifics to report on in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, if you have a minute, please feel free to drop me a line and let me know what’s on your mind.

Thanks again.

Sincerely,
Rich Nugent
Member of Congress

[rubicon]

Just went to try to get a newer I Phone and now was told there are no more "free phones" with the 2 year renewal contracts. It appears you "now" have to pay the FULL price for the I phone $700+ as the days of "free with upgrade" are over with.

Wonder how long people will continue to pay full price for the I phone as maybe I need to go back to the cheap "flip phone" but then I wouldn't have all the Internet, weather, navigation, I cloud and other "apps"

Think I'll try to get on Welfare and "then"..... get a Free One !! :popcorn:

Verizon just announced the end of their two year contracts with new customers. you will now pay full price for an IPhone and then select a plan for usage the more usage the higher the price

[Rango]

Try AT&T

[champion6]

Just went to try to get a newer I Phone and now was told there are no more "free phones" with the 2 year renewal contracts. It appears you "now" have to pay the FULL price for the I phone $700+ as the days of "free with upgrade" are over with. <snip>You didn't name the carrier, so it's hard to comment. BUT, I can't think of any carrier that has ever offered a current model iPhone for free. By not giving wholesale discounts to carriers, Apple has managed to protect its margins and profits.

[JoMar]

Personally the service is more important than the phone......Verizon fills that requirement. Since I keep a phone for at least two years, $7.00ish a week for a smart phone won't break me or most people.

[Uberschaf]

Good news,new iPhone 6s coming out in September.There will be lots of iPhone 6's on the used market.

[tuccillo]

I don't believe there were ever "free Phones", at least with AT&T. My last 2-year contract (now expired) had $15/month built into the monthly cellphone charge to pay for my iphone. This amounted to $360. The phone also had a $200 upfront charge so I actually paid $560 for the phone over 2 years. Once the 2 year contract was up, the monthly cellphone charge dropped by $15/month since the phone was now paid for. At this point I am treated as a BYOD. There is no free lunch. You are paying for the phone in one way or another.

Just went to try to get a newer I Phone and now was told there are no more "free phones" with the 2 year renewal contracts. It appears you "now" have to pay the FULL price for the I phone $700+ as the days of "free with upgrade" are over with.

Wonder how long people will continue to pay full price for the I phone as maybe I need to go back to the cheap "flip phone" but then I wouldn't have all the Internet, weather, navigation, I cloud and other "apps"

Think I'll try to get on Welfare and "then"..... get a Free One !! :popcorn:

[PennBF]

You can bet the farm that all of the Phone Companies will have this Term and Condition. I would guarantee that extended studies have been done by the Companies Business Case, Pricing, and Forecasting Departments to ensure this
will (a) improve their bottom lines and (b) open up additional business opportunities. In net incremental revenues and profits. We have over 350 complaints about Verizon service/performance reported to the POA and as I understand it they [Verizon] have not addressed these users to understand and fix their problems. This is really no difference than what is going on with the Drug Companies and most of the other companies. The need to carry more non contributing people (illegals, etc etc) has put a heavy burden on the Companies and that has led them to explore new and creative business practices which takes more spending discretion out of the JQ Public pockets. Now they are talking about a $15 minimum wage. That will drive more companies out of business and even larger taxes. When will the pyramid crumble. That is the critical question we should all be asking ourselves.:ho:

[Radioman41]

Consider buying a phone elsewhere. I recently purchased an Amazon Fire phone for $189 with a case and a year of Prime. It is unlocked and works on GSM networks (AT&T and T Mobile). It has 32 GB and is basically an android phone. So far I am very satisfied with it.

[billethkid]

Can one buy a Verizon compatible/capable smart phone from Best Buy (or anywhere else) and then just have it activated (replace existing phone) by Verizon?

[DangeloInspections]

This is an interesting thread. About 6 weeks ago I went to Verizon to get my wife a newer "Non-Smart" flip type phone, as this is what she was used to and wanted. She did not like to text or have internet access, (as like a smart phone) so a simple phone was what she wanted.

I would not have believed it but the girl there was able to upgrade her phone to a NEW iphone 6 for no cost. The phone was free. (yes, it is now a 2 year commitment, so like everyone else you are paying for it, but it was no additional money up front and it is NOT their EDGE plan...it was just the same as if I took their cheapest flip phone). My bill went down. I changed to a better plan than I had and now have a very good amount of shared data, unlimited text and minutes, etc. So now I have the iphone 6 plus and Apple watch, and she has the new iphone 6. I have since got my bill and all is just as I was promised. Crazy. I doubt I would be able to get the same deal if I walked into there again....I think it was a fluke.

My wife likes her new phone. She is now enjoying texting, facetime, etc. It ended up being cheaper than a cheap non smart flip phone.

Anyway, I seem to have a different opinion here about the phones. I have never liked the "subsidized" phone plans. It is like leasing a phone. For all these past years they were just taking the REAL cost of the phone, (around $600 for a smart phone), dividing it into your 2 year plan and you were paying for it anyway. THEN, if you kept your phone for over 2 years, you STILL kept paying for it.

I would much rather pay for a phone completely up front competitively and then just pay less for a no contract plan that suits my needs. It is more straight forward, easier and honest. No smoke and mirrors.

What people do not seem to understand is that these phones were never free...even the one I just got my wife. Usually you pay like $200 up front for an iphone, and the rest is in your bill, (about $400 divided into 24 payments). If you kept the phone longer, you kept paying that payment. With the phone I got my wife, I did not have to pay that $200. It was a good deal.

That being said, how much better would it be to just buy the phone up front and have NO phone payments....your cellphone plan would just be for the plan, with no contracts, hidden phone costs, etc.

If that is what they are heading towards I am all for it.

Respectfully, Frank

[TV MAN]

Yep Frank You are on the money. By the way I see that Sprit has ads running that will upgrade your iphone when ever you want for no additional cost. But I bet you need to buy the first one. Someting to consider if you are looking at iphones.

[biker1]

Your experience with Verizon was not true with ATT. Once our 2-year contract expired, the monthly charges dropped by $15/month since I had finished paying off the iphone. Now, I did have to call them to make this happen. With ATT, you used to be able to get a minimal iphone for no money upfront. The larger capacity iphone carried an upfront cost to make up for the higher cost (the $15/month charge was fixed regardless of the flavour of iphone). I agree that I think buying the phone upfront makes more sense.

This is an interesting thread. About 6 weeks ago I went to Verizon to get my wife a newer "Non-Smart" flip type phone, as this is what she was used to and wanted. She did not like to text or have internet access, (as like a smart phone) so a simple phone was what she wanted.

I would not have believed it but the girl there was able to upgrade her phone to a NEW iphone 6 for no cost. The phone was free. (yes, it is now a 2 year commitment, so like everyone else you are paying for it, but it was no additional money up front and it is NOT their EDGE plan...it was just the same as if I took their cheapest flip phone). My bill went down. I changed to a better plan than I had and now have a very good amount of shared data, unlimited text and minutes, etc. So now I have the iphone 6 plus and Apple watch, and she has the new iphone 6. I have since got my bill and all is just as I was promised. Crazy. I doubt I would be able to get the same deal if I walked into there again....I think it was a fluke.

My wife likes her new phone. She is now enjoying texting, facetime, etc. It ended up being cheaper than a cheap non smart flip phone.

Anyway, I seem to have a different opinion here about the phones. I have never liked the "subsidized" phone plans. It is like leasing a phone. For all these past years they were just taking the REAL cost of the phone, (around $600 for a smart phone), dividing it into your 2 year plan and you were paying for it anyway. THEN, if you kept your phone for over 2 years, you STILL kept paying for it.

I would much rather pay for a phone completely up front competitively and then just pay less for a no contract plan that suits my needs. It is more straight forward, easier and honest. No smoke and mirrors.

What people do not seem to understand is that these phones were never free...even the one I just got my wife. Usually you pay like $200 up front for an iphone, and the rest is in your bill, (about $400 divided into 24 payments). If you kept the phone longer, you kept paying that payment. With the phone I got my wife, I did not have to pay that $200. It was a good deal.

That being said, how much better would it be to just buy the phone up front and have NO phone payments....your cellphone plan would just be for the plan, with no contracts, hidden phone costs, etc.

If that is what they are heading towards I am all for it.

Respectfully, Frank

[pauld315]

A lot of the cellular companies have changed in the past year or so to a no contract model. Verizon is one of the latest to do so. Essentially, there is no longer a 2 year commitment from you to maintain their service and, in turn, they no longer subsidize the cost of the phone either fully or partially. Most of them will allow you to "finance" the purchase price f the phone by adding the cost of the phone divided by 24 months to your bill until it is paid off. They have lowered the price of their monthly service with these plans to take into consideration that they are no longer paying anything towards the purchase of your new phone.

[ffresh]

Can one buy a Verizon compatible/capable smart phone from Best Buy (or anywhere else) and then just have it activated (replace existing phone) by Verizon?


YES
I've gotten phones for my wife & me on Ebay for several years. You just dial *228 and activate the phone yourself

[larcha]

I highly recommend Republic Wireless..everything U want..no contract.inexpensive Motorola android phones
I agree. We have a Moto X from Republic Wireless. It switches to WiFi for phone calls and data whenever possible. They are now offering a rebate if you use less data.

[Flatlander]

I moved from ATT to Consumer Cellular about a year ago. You can buy whatever phone suits your needs from an iPhone to a $25 phone and pay for the phone up front or over several months. Actual air time and data charges are very cheap, the service is outstanding and you can change your plan any time without penalty. Might be work a look.