Why can't Nathan port out his number to an ATT Go-Phone and then port it back in so he can buy his 3GS? It only takes a couple hours, if that.

When you company is out-serviced by AT&T, you've got some serious problems.

That's the rub; since my ATT account was activated with my iPhone (i.e. I was not an ATT customer previously), returning my phone would cancel my account.

Now, there are some other hoops I could jump through (Plan A: Move my number back to my partner's Verizon plan and to my old RAZER, cancel ATT, return my iPhone, get my money back, wait a week then go and buy a new 3GS. Plan B: Get a goPhone, add it to my ATT account, return my iphone, switch the number to the goPhone, etc.) but the point is: I shouldn't have to. And those hoops aren't worth it.

@Pizza_Club: He'd probably be better off porting it out to another carrier's prepaid service.

I think there's also something like a "waiting period" where you have to be away from AT&T before you can open another account and be considered a new customer.

SIMPLE: Port out the number to verizon prepaid, cancel iphone contract, port back if you still want the new 3GS.

I'm curious if any of these issues will sour the relationship between AT&T and Apple. I'm a mac user, and I would love to have an iPhone, but I refuse to switch from Verizon to AT&T just because of a phone.

Besides, I'm sure that Apple will eventually end its exclusivity contract with AT&T, and Verizon will offer the iPhone.

I think it is funny how people cry and wine... Welcome to the Smart Phone world. This is nothing new at all. Think back to the Palm Treo 600 or 650. Or some of the first Windows Mobile devices. HIGH costs. and a new one that is twice as fast comes out a year later. The only difference is that the iPhone is obviously hugely popular, so much that all the news reels are talking about is this topic.

Welcome to the world of electronics. If we are going to cry and wine lets focus on the fact that text messaging plans are a joke if the phone has an unlimited data package. Literally. they are ripping us off. It is like selling someone a bus pass that is unlimited. But if you use it for only going from one stop to the closest stop you have to pay for a different type of pass.

[Irony Alert] Toad ya. [/Irony Alert]

@Darrone: I have to reluctantly give a hand to AT&T as of late. It was a rocky relationship in the beginning (one in which I wrote SEVERAL letters to corporate) but I think they're finally starting to take a hint. I'm not sure what sparked it, but customer service when I got the first gen iPhone a couple years ago compared to now is like night and day. Maybe they just have my account flagged?

@Real Cheese Flavor:
Yep 72 hours

Well, no surprise Apple is making and breaking their own market, with consumers are stuck getting hit. It's funny how such a controlling company (in regards to hardware, upgrades & service) has such a cult following that's so oblivious. I feel bad for some of my buddies and others who picked up a 3G not too long ago and are now stuck with either paying more to upgrade and/or can't even sell their phone for any more than $90.

I just recently left ATT and went to Sprint for the Palm Pre. Although I'm not a huge fan of Sprint, I'm not going to lie, their $99 plan is pretty good and the Pre is a really slick phone with a huge open source community behind it. And the phone is 4G ready, so you went get screwed with an unsuspecting update to phone hardware in the near future. You can port your number to Sprint and a year later port back to att if you want when the Pre goes GSM or when Apple releases iPhone 4G, or whatever they push at that point.

I'm a total Apple fangirl, but the lack of communication between Apple and AT&T throughout the entire life of the iPhone is a serious issue that is detering potential customers and losing current ones. I gave them some slack when the phone first came out but it's been years now. Seriously it's embarassing.

@Pizza_Club: That seems awfully fast. I'm trying to port my AT&T phone number to Callcentric (www.callcentric.com) so I can keep the number but not pay anything unless I use it. It's been 30 days and counting. Perhaps it's faster if it's a port to a prepaid AT&T phone, but AT&T is just confirming the reason I'm leaving them. Asshats.

@Pizza_Club: I think the issue here isn't various loopholes, it's a lack of synchronicity. Why is there a different policy depending on where you go and who you talk to when you're dealing with identical situations?

I just had a guy at an AT&T store tell me they're not currently doing swaps because they haven't received any word from AT&T about it.

I don't understand all this belly aching about upgrading to the newest Iphone unless a person is truly naive about cellphone companies and Apple practices. What ATT is doing with their upgrade policy is no different from what Sprint or Verizon is doing. You buy a phone, get a service,and if you happen to find a phone you like better a year from now, you will not get the discounted price of a new user. Anybody familiar with Apple, knows that they always refresh or tweak their products around June and sometimes in October. I always take that in consideration when purchasing an Ipod, or in the case last year buying the Iphone. I hesitated buying the Iphone over the summer, because of rumors of a possible upgrade to the 32g in October. Once the rumors proved false, I took the plunge fully knowing that if in 2009, I would have to pay regular price if I had to have the next iteration. As it turns out, there isn't enough new bells and whistles with the 3Gs for me to want to upgrade. So I am content to wait it out until 2010. I am not mad at ATT or Apple, I have the best smartphone in the world, why would I want anything else......

I have the original iPhone and I'm pretty sure I plan to give it at least another year, then buy the 3G S v2.

I do want nearly every feature on the 3G S that I don't have, except for the extra $500 in acquisition and service costs I'd pay over the next year. So I'll continue to poke around on Edge (which is fast enough for most things) while humoring myself with Google Map's vague ability to figure out where I am.

My point is that my current iPhone does 90% of what I want it to do most of the time and it's not worth $500 to me to get the last 10%.

The upgrade policies are not Apple's - they are AT&T's. Apple doesn't provide phone service. This is the way it has been on any carrier I have ever been on in two different countries and any carrier I know if in a lot more. You buy a subsidized phone, you sign a contract. You want to upgrade early, tough luck - pay the man and shut up.

If we'd all refuse to sign 2 year contracts in the first place rather than whining about it after the fact then maybe carriers would offer us better options. Don't sign a 2 year contract if you want a new phone every year. This doesn't relieve AT&T of their guilt however. There is no reason they can't offer a 1 year contract option for, say, $100 more. Then we could decide, up front, what kind of terms we want to commit to and for how long.

There is a real good chance that there will be a new iPhone around this time next year. If you get the new 3GS this year you won't be eligible for the new one when it comes out next year. If THAT is the phone you really want then don't sign a new contract this year.

Here's the consolation prize: If AT&T, Apple, or wherever else you got your phone from says they won't exchange your phone, ask about price matching and see if they'll just refund you the difference in the price drop. Sometimes they'll do it, because they're not losing so much in the long run. And they're secretly hoping you'll take the money they give you and apply it to the retail cost of the phone, which will make them money.

You know as much as I feel for everyone who bought a 3g and now can't upgrade at the reduced price this isn't a new development. Almost all cell phone companies have been doing this since forever. It sucks but unless you want to pay MSRP for a phone you are going to have to wait sometimes.

this is for the"sheep" or Apple fanboys... HA HA HA HA HA

give me a break now it is you must have the new piece of $h!t that they put in front of you....
all you iphone users deserve every bit of grief you get.
why do you have to have the "s" when you just bought the other one? do you think the "wannabe" Starbuck's drinking fool is going to look at you funny?
guess what we are laughing AT you not WITH you.

@waystland: Your comment adds nothing to the conversation except to point out the perceived failings of reasonable, intelligent people who are consumers, just like you. Why is it that you think everyone who likes Apple products or has an iPhone to be a sheep or a fanboy? I don't actually suffer any grief from only having a 3G and not the 3Gs. I might not be able to exchange my phone, and I'm not upset about it. Your assumptions about other Consumerist readers are unfounded and unwanted.

@pecan 3.14159265: Apple is refunding $100 to people who just bought a 3G, because of the price drop. And actually, I just got off the phone with my local store who told me that I could exchange a recently purchased 3G for a 3GS on the 19th, keep my number, and the price will be the subsidized-plan price.

@Michael Belisle: I'm in the exact same frame of mind. Plus I can't get over the ugly plastic backing of the 3G/3GS. I didn't like it for the iBook, I don't want it on my iPhone. The genius at Apple was SERIOUSLY attempting to hardsell me on them this weekend when getting my Powerbook (yes I'm oldschool) repaired, but looking at all the pros and cons there hasn't been a big enough reason yet for me to "upgrade".

He does not have to lose his number. All he has to do is return the phone and get the upgrade reversed and use a phone that he has or can borrow. Craig's List sells really cheap phones as well (fyi)

Just make sure that there are notes in the account of what he is doing.

Also the reason that one iphone is ready for upgrade and the other is not is because of how the billing reads. One line reads that is the main line (at whatever the family plan is... Lets say 2100 mins) and the other says that it is a secondary is 9.99. ATT rewards their heavy spenders with earlier upgrades.

I was a RSC for 3 years fyi

On a side note... I am not sure why you rush to buy the latest iPhone when you know that in 12 months they will have a new one. Deal with it!!!!! They have release the new iPhone on about the same day for 3 years

@mobomelter: Exactly. It's not a new development that if you bought a phone with a new contract or a contract extension, you're going to have to wait to upgrade, iPhone or not, or pay the full MSRP.
And it may also stink that one person is able to get the upgrade because they got their 3G on 5/9, but the person who got it the day before can't. AT&T had to pick some day as the cut-off, so regardless, some people are going to feel thoroughly screwed. It's pretty cool that AT&T is even going to do any of these exchanges at all, which is a notable step towards more positive customer relations.

"Leslie wrote us to say her husband bought their iPhones within a day of one another in July 2008, Leslie is allowed to get an upgrade on July 20, while her husband, who shares her minutes on a second line, has to wait until March 2010 to get a discount on a new phone."

This is NORMAL. AT&T allows accounts with more than $100/mo. of service charges on -a single line- to upgrade early. This is common in a family plan where stuff like family messaging and shared minutes are all on one line, but the data plans are on each separate line.

I don't understand what people don't get about this. If you want more frequent upgrade subsidies, pay for more services on a single line.

My understanding is that if you cancel your AT&T account (with the intention of immediately re-opening a new one) it won't work. AT&T imposes a 90 day waiting period before they will sign you up again.

I'm fully on ATT/Apple's side of this one. They don't "owe" you the new iphone. You bought a phone for a certain price with a certain contract, live with it. This kind of stuff happens all the time. You don't "deserve" to be given the new one at a great price, you got the last one at a good price. People demand / expect way too much sometimes and we put up with it for some reason.

I still don't understand how the upgrade polices are any different from any other phone on any carrier in the US? Even the second example of only one line being eligible on a two-line plan is the early upgrade option on family share lines. Verizon does the same thing.

Why do iPhone owners think they're special and should be exempt from the carriers upgrade policies? What does this say about AT&T if they cave to iPhone owners and give them discounted upgrades but not to owners of other phones?

@Rob Stevens: I had the same thing with Verizon. The primary line could upgrade early, but not the secondary line.

Very Simple Solution:
* If you have a 1st Gen iPhone, upgrade if you so desire
* If you have a 3G iPhone, just hang tight until you hit the 18 month mark and upgrade (or wait for the 4th gen phone). There are not that many new features in the 3GS that would warrant an upgrade at this point.
* If you have a 3G iPhone and for some strange reason feel like you need to upgrade to the 3GS, buy the phone on a new line, switch the SIM chips and give your "old" phone with the new SIM chip to a friend or family member.
* STOP WHINING. Guess what, in 11.5 months there will be a new iPhone that is even better than the 3GS. I hear that it comes equipped with a TSA approved light saber suitable for use on airplanes, and a projector to display a holographic image of Steve Jobs.

From a Happy iPhone 3G owner.

@Pizza_Club:

Because atleast for the previous 2 iPhones you could not port a GoPhone number over to a regular contract you had to get a completely new number or stay on GoPhone(which was not possible for the 3G)

I just got back from the AT&T store. At first they tried to hassle me because I bought the phone at the unsubsidized price ($399 to replace a stolen 3g) but they eventually honored it. I had to pay the full price (again 399) which will be refunded to me minus the restocking fee when I come to pick up the phone. By the way, I purchased mine at the Apple store. I think it depends on who you are dealing with.

@Rachacha: All of your points are perfectly valid reasons...I've been calling around to see if I can exchange the two iPhones we have because we're just curious to see if we could. We love our phones, and if we can switch, very awesome. If not, we still love our phones and we're okay with keeping them.

I think the problem a lot of people have is that they think iPhone users are whining - some of them are whining, some of them are just curious to see whether they can (in essence) get more for their money. There's nothing wrong with that, as long as you're aware that no one owes you a thing.

Everyone knows that a new iPhone comes out every summer. I don't understand the call for action and the complaining, it's not a secret that they'll be a better one announced a month after this May grace period AT&T is offering.

If you bought an iPhone in May or June, it's your fault. If you got one as a gift in May, you should have held off and not opened it.

It's not secret that there is a new iPhone announced and released every summer. Customers need to use some common sense before they complain about the evil that is Apple and AT&T.

I have a Blackberry on ATT. Is there someway to legally play the system here and buy a subsidized iPhone (3G or 3GS when available) on a new account, move it to a new prepaid account, cancel the new monthly account, cancel the new prepaid (just stop buying minutes I guess), and just use it as an iTouch?

Can anyone tell me my options for any generation iPhone on a GoPhone plan (1), and especially if I can port my existing GoPhone account with a $200+ balance (2).

"Draconian upgrade policies, thy name be Apple."

IT'S NOT AN UPGRADE

really?
REALLY??????
all this sturm and drang over a phone.
Stop your crying.
you signed up for 2 years you get 2 years.
it is a phone.
att, let these cry babies upgrade but do like the bad car dealers and payday lenders and mortgage lenders do, roll the outstanding balance into their new contract in BIG BOLD CRY BABY LETTERS so there is no misunderstanding when the next phone is released in january 2010. and they want to upgrade then too.

btw, I'm a 1st gen iphone owner and while I can upgrade and may upgrade I am fully aware that it will require 2 years of commitment, just like upgrading has required for untold years on att and verizon.

btw, you're getting the 3.0 software for free so it's not like you're being let out the refresh entirely.

I've freakin' had it with AT&T. I went to reserve the iPhone on Monday, and paid it in full. Since then they have decided to charge my debit card account multiple extra times, thus resulting in tons of overdraft fees. I went to the AT&T store this morning, and after waiting an hour for someone to see me, I was told there was nothing they could do. I ended up just canceling my order, as it was the only way they were able to refund the fraudulent charges. No phone is worth this hassle!

@pecan 3.14159265:
i work for Rogers here in Canada, i see it all the time.

I went to the gas station the other day, and this other guy had a newer car than me, so I asked the attendant if he would upgrade my car, and he said mean things and hurt my feelings.

But seriously, are people not able to buy the new iPhone at regular price if their contract isn't up? Or are they just complaining that somebody else won't pay for it?

This is how Apple operates. You bought too early? Too bad.

When I was in the market for a laptop, my girlfriend was a manager there. I knew there were Intel Macbooks on the way because a friend searched the SKU at the retail store in which he worked. However, when I tried to go there, they denied it and tried to get me to buy a iBook. A week later, the Macbooks debuted.

As far as a "customer serice" company goes, I can't imagine a more scumbag thing to do. Does a company worried about its customers defend itself by saying things like (the salesperson @ the apple store) "well, if people knew about the new products, we couldnt' sell the old products!"

What's the bid deal? Why can't people wait for till the end of their contract to get a new Iphone? If you were to buy the iphone by itself without a service contract the price would be around 600 dollars, that mean ATT paid a big portion of the cost of the phone. And people who bought a phone last year are complaining because they don't want to make good on their agreement.

You have two options: 1. wait till your contract renews or 2. Pay full Price

leslie is the main line on the account. if the main line is above 80$, the upgrade comes sooner. also, over time they get more money off of phones... excluding iphone.

she should be glad she's getting a deal, not mad that her husband is not.

further, he cannot port his number away and then back again expecting a discount. he'll be slapped with an etf an activation fee when he tries to come back to att.

-att rsc (one of the good ones that you people never seem to get!!!!)

@prag: The phone people realy want is whichever is newest :).

@pecan 3.14159265: Well said.