That's what I was worried about (and haven't yet spent the time researching), and even more worried if AT&T decides to make this their norm
Right now my price including subsidy is even cheaper than these new prices which in theory don't include the subsidy. Single device users like me are probably in the minority, but if they try to force me into anything like this I'd be taking advantage of the non-contract to go to Verizon.
Asshats
Are people really this stupid? Buying a device outright should save you money versus a contract, plus if you get f'ed over you can switch carriers.
If they get rid of the subsidies expect phone prices to fall as they see declining sales for $650 phones. Plus maybe people will stop ditching good phones after 2 years which will push them to improve the software more and rely less on hardware to resolve problems.
Not only that, but with the change to VoLTE we'll see a larger variety of devices and compatibility between networks, so we'll likely see more value prospects like the Moto X and Moto G, the Nexus lines, those low end Nokia phones, and maybe Amazon devices.
And, like people pointed out, they're already going to let you spread out the cost, so its going to end up pretty much the same as before (only now the ETF fee is finishing buying the phone outright).
Yes.I have a question.
A friend is on the normal 2yr contract with 15 months in.
He has 4 lines. Can he just switch over to the value ??
No.Is there a penalty ?
No. But make sure he bears in mind that, if he does this, he's trading his subsidy for the lower per month price. When he goes to get a new phone it will need to be on Next or purchased outright to keep the $15/mo line fee. If he gets a subsidized device, it will jump back up to $40/mo.Does he need to sign up for NEXT ?
It's not that straightforward. Buying a device outright now and using AIO costs $55/month. I pay $69 / month for AT&T ($40 + $25 data + $10 texts + corp discount). I save $15 / month by going to AIO but if I sell an iPhone for $650, I pretty much get out ahead a little by staying on AT&T. Plus, no speed caps on AT&T. Now if you're arguing StraightTalk, I end up saving there although I have to consider the ST nightmares and worse customer service. I don't think it's a clear no brainer here.
In the case of AT&T's new BYOD, $15 / month vs. $40 / month is a solid $25 / month savings. So yes it's definitely a savings over 2 years. In fact they're being pretty generous here. I would've though they would be making a desperate grab for cash and only providing minor discounts for BYOD customers, but to me this is a pretty damn good deal.
Also $650 phones are not the product of subsidies. These phones run for $650 in Europe and Asia where plenty of people buy devices outright.
As for VoLTE, I think people are getting too confident here. Verizon's going to keep CDMA alive for a while, so who knows when you'll truly be able to BYOD on Verizon. I've been saying this since I got a cell phone in 2002, but CDMA is like the devil for BYOD. I'll believe it when I see it, but it's been more than 10 years since I've avoided CDMA, and I certainly enjoy the device freedom advantage for some time more.
Even if you could BYOD today, what the hell would you bring? You would have to bring a Verizon stamped device today anyway because there are no international devices available for Verizon. The only exception is probably the iPhone. Plus, considering Verizon won't even sell you a device outright at their store, it's not clear what you can even really activate.
It's not that straightforward. Buying a device outright now and using AIO costs $55/month. I pay $69 / month for AT&T ($40 + $25 data + $10 texts + corp discount). I save $15 / month by going to AIO but if I sell an iPhone for $650, I pretty much get out ahead a little by staying on AT&T. Plus, no speed caps on AT&T. Now if you're arguing StraightTalk, I end up saving there although I have to consider the ST nightmares and worse customer service. I don't think it's a clear no brainer here.
In the case of AT&T's new BYOD, $15 / month vs. $40 / month is a solid $25 / month savings. So yes it's definitely a savings over 2 years. In fact they're being pretty generous here. I would've though they would be making a desperate grab for cash and only providing minor discounts for BYOD customers, but to me this is a pretty damn good deal.
Also $650 phones are not the product of subsidies. These phones run for $650 in Europe and Asia where plenty of people buy devices outright.
As for VoLTE, I think people are getting too confident here. Verizon's going to keep CDMA alive for a while, so who knows when you'll truly be able to BYOD on Verizon. I've been saying this since I got a cell phone in 2002, but CDMA is like the devil for BYOD. I'll believe it when I see it, but it's been more than 10 years since I've avoided CDMA, and I certainly enjoy the device freedom advantage for some time more.
Even if you could BYOD today, what the hell would you bring? You would have to bring a Verizon stamped device today anyway because there are no international devices available for Verizon. The only exception is probably the iPhone. Plus, considering Verizon won't even sell you a device outright at their store, it's not clear what you can even really activate.
Right. I'm a single line user too. I think the best plan may be almost to just find a second user and get on the 10gb share plan for $130?
My question has been, what if I still want to pay PART of the phone price up front... basically what I've done with my subsidized plan. I'm not even sure if they allow me to do that, but let's assume they do. So I pay $200 up front leaving $440 left to pay on the Next plan. That results in either $87 or $81.92 per month on Next 12 or 18 respectively... so I'd still be paying more than I am now, though not much, for some more data at my disposal.
Even then... sure you get more data than you may have now (5 gigs per person instead of 2-3) but overall you'd be paying more during the times you're paying for a phone. So you'd pay $65 per person vs. the $80 you pay now (I won't include discounts or taxes/fees for simplicity) if you brought your own device.
However, this becomes less than good when it's time to get a new phone. If you're one to buy used or something then it might be a good deal. If you're one to buy new and don't pay up front then you're doing the Next deal. Assuming a retail price of $640 (current price of a 16gig S4) then you're paying $32/month on the Next 12 program, or 24.62 on the Next 18. That makes the total price for one person to be $97 or $89.62 per month during the time you're paying off your phone (20 or 26 months respectively)
My question has been, what if I still want to pay PART of the phone price up front... basically what I've done with my subsidized plan. I'm not even sure if they allow me to do that, but let's assume they do. So I pay $200 up front leaving $440 left to pay on the Next plan. That results in either $87 or $81.92 per month on Next 12 or 18 respectively... so I'd still be paying more than I am now, though not much, for some more data at my disposal.
IMO this is a good plan if you have 3+ people involved, or if you have a habit of buying phones used anyway. Or at least older phones if not used.
edit: I should clarify that I pay $80/mo now because I'm on the cheap voice plan. If you pay for more minutes than this deal may be better for you.
BTW, this seems like an OT question but on T-mobile the 70$ unlimited plan, is it actually unlimited or does it throttle after like 5GB?
The TMobile Unlimited plan does not throttle. It is unlimited.
You should probably reconsider your TMobile move now. If you're paying $70/mo each, TMobile would run you $60/mo each for two unlimited plans. Up to you and your location/situation on if the $10/mo savings is worth the loss in coverage. You may also need to get a new phone when you move, so that cost would factor in as well.
Okay, I did some miscalculations, and I think I got the wrong base rates for the lower data tiers. Base rates are untouched since the December tier changes. The only thing that's changed is the BYOD and Next price changes, which makes the 10gb plan a lot more favorable.
For BYOD purposes, I've highlighted the shitty plans. Basically, if you even have 2 people in your plan, the 10gb already looks favorable. 3+ and you definitely need the 10gb and not a lower plan. Of course I'm assuming most people use 1-2gb of data, which would be pretty normal I think amongst smartphone users.
Red = obviously shitty plans, and yellow = questionable, as in the price is close enough you might as well upgrade to 10gb.
Also, why would you want to pay part of the phone up front? The way I see it is if you're non a Next 12 or 18 plan, you're paying 12/20 of the phone and then moving on. It's like you're renting the phone. If you pay $200 up front, and then pay for 12/20 of the $440, you end up paying more for in your 12 months to use that GS4.
$0 down: $32.50 / month. After 12 months, you've paid $390.
$200 down: $22.50 / month. After 12 months, you've paid $470
I hadn't really planned on making use of the early upgrade part of Next, because if I'm always paying for a phone (basically renting it) then I'm paying more than I am right now. I can sell my used devices after getting a new phone to recoup a decent amount of money, so I've been calculating for myself based on paying the full price of the phone at some point. I guess it would depend on how well that particular phone is holding its value to know if it would be worth it to sell privately and not trade-in to ATT.
My math on that would be:
iPhone 5S 32GB, initial upfront is $52 (tax). Then, 37.50/mo for 12 months. So, by the time you've traded it in, you've paid $502 of the $801 total. If you sold it on the second hand market, I wouldn't expect to get more than $400 for it, $350 would probably be an easy sell.
So you'd be paying it off with an extra $300, to turn around and make MAYBE $50-75 on it. I don't think it would be worth the effort for me. But, if you have another use for it, like putting it on a family members line or something, that could be worthwhile.
You guys seem to be making this awfully complicated. Look, if you step away from a traditional contract and subsidy, then you're paying full price for the phone, whether it's through Next, or all upfront at a store, etc. So it's in your best interest to find the best deal and just buy it. The best deal will never be through Next, it's going to cost you more. Get the Nexus 5 on the Play Store, or if you want something else, pick it up used on Swappa. When you're done with it, sell it on Swappa. This will always be cheapest.
After that, it's a matter of simply finding the cheapest plan. Again, this is not going to be through AT&T, not even the new 10 GB Mobile Share Value plan. Unless you're doing a family plan with 3 or more people, just use Straight Talk, Aio, or GoPhone if you want AT&T's network, or T-Mobile if you want theirs.
That's really all there is to it. Find cheapest phone, find cheapest plan. Don't jump through all the carriers' stupid hoops and pricing plans.
Correct, but it's a bit more complicated than it seems. One way to think of it with NEXT is it's a leasing program/trade-in program. You're paying 60% of the phone and then upgrading. You don't get to keep the phone. With BYOD you can sell off your device, and possibly for more than the 40% buyback (esp. iPhone). Presumably you can sell off your NEXT device too and keep paying it off. I wonder if there's a program to upgrade w/o trade in but continue payments on your old phone?You think you're making it simple, but you're not... you're simplifying to the point of being wrong
If you upgrade every 12 months on the Next plan you will NOT pay full price for the phone. You'd have 8 months of phone payments left before you paid the full price, but if you swap phones at 12 months you're no longer paying for the first phone, you're only paying for the new phone.
Wrong. If you pay for it all upfront at a store, you're paying full price for it. With the Next program, you're only paying about half of the full price, actually.You guys seem to be making this awfully complicated. Look, if you step away from a traditional contract and subsidy, then you're paying full price for the phone, whether it's through Next, or all upfront at a store, etc.
Sure.So it's in your best interest to find the best deal and just buy it.
That's not an absolute truth. It greatly depends on what device you want and how often you want to upgrade.The best deal will never be through Next, it's going to cost you more.
This will typically always be the cheapest route. But there are a lot of catches here. If you buy used off swappa, you won't typically be picking up the latest phone. It will probably be at least six months before it's worth buying it off swappa vs paying full price at a retail store for it.Get the Nexus 5 on the Play Store, or if you want something else, pick it up used on Swappa. When you're done with it, sell it on Swappa. This will always be cheapest.
If those plans offer what you want/need then more power to you. Honestly, if TMobile had decent AWS or PCS HSPA+ coverage in Charlotte and the surrounding area, I would be on the $30/mo 100m 5GB plan. It's perfect for me. But they don't and the reality is what it is. Everyone has to make the choice and make trade offs depending on what they want and what's available. If your Nexus 5 on Straight Talk serves you well and does everything you need then more power to you.After that, it's a matter of simply finding the cheapest plan. Again, this is not going to be through AT&T, not even the new 10 GB Mobile Share Value plan. Unless you're doing a family plan with 3 or more people, just use Straight Talk, Aio, or GoPhone if you want AT&T's network, or T-Mobile if you want theirs.
That's really all there is to it. Find cheapest phone, find cheapest plan. Don't jump through all the carriers' stupid hoops and pricing plans.
Just priced out both. for 3 lines, tmobile is $90 w/ unlimited calling, text, and 2 gigs of data for one device, 500 mb for others.
for ATT it's $130 for 200 text messages, 700 minutes of shared calling, and 2 gigabytes.
My contract w/ att just expired this month and I just ordered 2 sim cards from tmobile. thank god!
Correct, but it's a bit more complicated than it seems. One way to think of it with NEXT is it's a leasing program/trade-in program. You're paying 60% of the phone and then upgrading. You don't get to keep the phone. With BYOD you can sell off your device, and possibly for more than the 40% buyback (esp. iPhone). Presumably you can sell off your NEXT device too and keep paying it off. I wonder if there's a program to upgrade w/o trade in but continue payments on your old phone?
Where did you find those AT&T and TMobile plans? Presuming you're out of contract with AT&T and happy with your phones (which, I presume you are since you're not factoring in new phone costs for TMobile. Do your old AT&T phones support AWS HSPA+ for data? I hope so!) then the best plan on AT&T is $145 for unlimited minutes, texts and 10GB of shared data. TMobile is $100 for 1 line @ 2.5GB and the others at 500MB (60+30+10).
Did you mean to say two lines? You said three lines to begin with but then mentioned you only ordered 2 SIM's. That would be $90 on TMo and $120 on AT&T, which is more in line with your original post, but the original post is wrong regardless. Just want to clarify.
for tmobile, I am pricing out 3 lines. If you go to their website, price out 3 phones, two with basic 500mb and the third line w/ 2 gigs you will get $100/month. I will be moving my wife and my line from att to our father in law's plan to create a family plan. I have some company discount that brings it down to 90ish a month.
for ATT, I am quoting what I am paying now which is $125. for the 500 minute shared plan, 200 text messages per phone, and 2 gigs/grandfathered unlimited data. it's rape. and we already have a tmo SGS4 and tmo compatible iphone 5, so not pricing out any new phones here. we're willing to deal with partially shittier service to save $800 this year in recurring monthly cost. actually it's even more since we're splitting it 66% / 33% with our father in lawthat's almost how much i spent on a 55 inch plasma TV last year, to put it in perspective. or a plane ticket to hawaii