Customers shopping around for a good deal on an iPhone 5 might be a little confused if they’re checking out T-Mobile’s site: Clicking on the “Buy Now” button below the promo will garner one downpayment amount for the 16GB phone, $149.99, while choosing “Learn More” touts the phone for $50 cheaper at $99.99 upfront. So what gives? [More]
Turns Out That $99.99 Upfront Price For T-Mobile iPhone 5 Was Only A Monthlong Promo
By May 13, 2013
SquareTrade Hurls Samsung Galaxy S4 At The Ground, Probably Denies Own Claim
By April 30, 2013
Do you enjoy product reviews from our sibling publication Consumer Reports, but wish that there were more smashing? Do you love the classic “Will it Blend?” YouTube videos, but want to see items destroyed in more realistic situations? You’re in luck. The hard-working experts at extended warranty/protection plan provider SquareTrade conducted a publicity stunt series of tests on current top-of-the-line smartphones to see which was most likely to survive being dropped on a corner from shoulder height, dunked in water, and slid across a table. That last one is kind of anticlimactic. [More]
If You’re Looking For An iPhone 5, Consider Going No-Contract
By January 25, 2013
If you’re looking for an iPhone 5, do you want to pay an extra $450 now, or an extra $1000 over the next two years? Buying an unlocked phone and using a no-contract carrier can give you sticker shock initially, but you can save quite a bit of money in the long run. Our number-crunching colleagues down the hall at Consumer Reports looked into it, and found that if you can pay for your new phone itself out of pocket, going unlocked and contract-free is a much better deal. [More]
Best Buy Gave Me A Free iPhone. What Should I Do?
By January 15, 2013
After he had already picked up his iPhone 5, Edmund got received an e-mail from Best Buy reminding him to come get the phone that he had ordered. He didn’t think much of it until he received another e-mail telling him that his preorder was canceled…and then he got a refund of the purchase price of the phone that he allegedly didn’t pick up. He’s not about to take the phone back, but he wonders: is he obligated to even let Best Buy know? [More]
Straight Talk Wireless Introduces iPhone 5 With $45 Unlimited Everything: What’s The Catch?
By January 11, 2013
Starting today, you can go to your neighborhood Walmart store and pick up an iPhone 5 from Walmart’s own house-brand carrier, StraightTalk Wireless. With it you’ll get a $45 unlimited talk/text/data plan. Instead of a phone subsidy, you’ll be paying the unlocked-phone price for your handset: $649 for a 16GB iPhone 5. That’s the same price you’ll pay for an unlocked phone straight from Apple, but Walmart offers something extra: you can finance your purchase and pay $25 per month with no interest…for 26 months. [More]
iPhone 5 Case Does The Opposite Of What A Smartphone Case Is Supposed To Do
By December 10, 2012
Ilya just got a new iPhone 5, and a $35 case from Incase to go along with it. The problem is that the case sort of did the opposite of what protective phone cases are supposed to do: it damaged his phone, instead of protecting it from damage. [More]
AT&T Decides To Open Up FaceTime Over Cellular To More iPhone Users
By November 9, 2012
Facing criticism — and consumer complaints to the FCC — over its decision to limit the non-WiFi use of Apple’s FaceTime video chat app to customers who have shared data plans, AT&T announced yesterday that it will allow folks with the iPhone 5 (but without unlimited data plans) to use the app over its network. [More]
iPhone 5 Supplier Blames Design For Manufacturing Delays
By November 7, 2012
Since the first iPhone became a coveted, line-up-to-get-one device, Apple has been accused of deliberately creating shortages in order to fuel reports of retail sell-outs and clamoring customers. But the company that actually manufactures the iPhone 5 says that in this case, the device’s design is what is keeping it from some consumers. [More]
Sprint Stores Still Forcing Accessories On iPhone 5 Buyers
By November 5, 2012
The world’s initial bout of iPhone 5 fever has passed, so retailers have stopped playing tricks to take advantage of customers’ insatiable gadget lust, right? Well… no. Not Sprint. Like other readers and even our parent company’s own mystery shoppers, Daniel was told at a corporate-run Sprint store that if he wanted to go home with an iPhone 5, he also had to buy an accessories package. If he didn’t like it, he could go to Best Buy or a different store. [More]
AT&T iPhone 5 Customers Just Keep Gobbling Data
By October 25, 2012
Last week, we asked whether anyone out there in Consumerland had experienced their new iPhones downloading huge amounts of data when the phone wasn’t supposed to be using any data at all. Yes, having a mobile device that uses the faster LTE network means you can use more data faster, but that’s not supposed to happen while you’re connected to wifi. Or driving. Or asleep. [More]
iPhone 5 Data-Gobbling Bug Affects AT&T Customers, Too
By October 19, 2012
Josh doesn’t think that he’s using any more data with his new iPhone 5 than with his previous iPhone 4. In fact, he should be using less, because he isn’t streaming music anymore. Only that’s not the case. His phone gobbled 5 GB of data in only 22 days. He has an unlimited plan, but getting through 5 GB means he would be throttled for the rest of the month. Just like Verizon’s customer service, AT&T tried to convince Josh that he was using more data because he was using it faster on the LTE network. While that might be the case for some less savvy customers, Josh is an experienced smartphone owner and knows how to manage data. [More]
Verizon’s iPhone 5 Math: Using The Same Amount Of Data Faster Counts As More Data
By October 17, 2012
We keep hearing about a wi-fi bug that leads to iPhone 5 owners racking up huge data bills when they thought they weren’t on the mobile data network. When Matt contacted Verizon about it, the ever-helpful customer service representative told him that it was just because the iPhone 5 is a 4G LTE device. This is probably the cause of many data complaints that new smartphone users have, but isn’t the case for Matt. He says that he hasn’t changed his browsing habits: using the same amount of data in a shorter amount of time doesn’t mean that he uses more data. At least, not according to the math that everyone except Verizon uses. [More]
For Hours Of Frustration And Weeks Without iPhone 5 Mobile Data, Sprint Offers $10
By October 11, 2012
Who gets to buy an iPhone 5? You may remember reader Luke, who wrote in to back up our Consumer Reports colleagues’ account that Sprint stores were requiring customers to buy an accessory bundle if they wanted to get their hands on the shiny new gadget. After a mixup in activating the two phones he eventually bought (from the Apple Store, with no unwanted bundles, thank you very much) Luke’s data connection wouldn’t work. Sprint’s apology for two data-less weeks? A $10 credit on his bill. [More]
Verizon Tells Us ‘Upgrade Fee’ Is To Pay For iPhone Instruction Classes, Store Kiosks
By October 11, 2012
Yes, mobile phone companies charge fees that seem kind of arbitrary, but Dan and his wife were under the impression that customer service representatives weren’t left to just make up the reasons why. Then they dealt with Verizon, which claimed that the $30 upgrade fee they were going to charge his wife to upgrade to an iPhone 5 not only couldn’t be waived as usual, but that the fee was to cover a sort of “how to use your new phone” class for iPhone users and in-store kiosk repair. Perhaps, in a global sense, this is why the company needs the $30, but the explanation sounded wacky to Dan and Mrs. Dan. They tried to find someone reasonable higher up the corporate food chain, but there was no such reasonable person. [More]
Your Shiny New iPhone 5 Might Take A While To Ship Due To Its Easily Scratched Case
By October 11, 2012
Say what you want about iPhones, but when a new one comes out, plenty of people want one as quick as they can get their hot little hands on’em. But you might have to be sitting on your hot hands a little while longer. The reason there’s such a sluggish shipping pattern could be partly because of the pretty pretty aluminum Apple chose for the iPhone 5′s cases. It’s pretty, yes, but it’s also very scratchable, and now Apple is trying to deal with that issue. [More]
Lose Your iPhone 5 Charger And You’ll Be Stuck With Expensive, Pretty Brick
By October 9, 2012
We mentioned months ago when it was first rumored that the iPhone 5 would replace the iPhone’s now-familiar 30-pin connector with a smaller, but still proprietary connector, that this could cause problems for people whose accessories were all of the old 30-pin type. And here we have the story of Consumerist reader Nick, who lost the charger for his iPhone 5 and is now staring at a very pretty device that he has no way of charging. [More]
Apple: If You’re Seeing Purple Haze In iPhone 5 Photos, Hold Your Phone At Another Angle
By October 8, 2012
As with many tech products, Apple’s had a few bumps in this latest iPhone rollout. First there was the whole Apple maps issue, and now some users are reporting a purple haze showing up in photos taken with their iPhone 5 cameras. But hey, at least Apple is offering some advice on how to avoid the haze. Because no one wants purple haze on all their pictures and if you do, there’s probably an app for that. [More]
We Switched To Verizon For Better Coverage, Just Got Dropped Calls And Terribleness
By October 8, 2012
Jonathan and his roommate both ditched AT&T at the same time in favor of Verizon. They’ve experienced years of spotty coverage and dropped calls nearly everywhere they went, and wanted Verizon’s famed ubiquitous rock-solid coverage. They brought home their new iPhones and discovered that instead of vastly superior coverage, they had incredibly craptastic coverage and even more dropped calls. Verizon representatives told them that was weird… their area is supposed to have great coverage. When Jonathan tried to wrangle a free femtocell out of Verizon for their trouble, Verizon wouldn’t budge. His roommate fled back to the less terrible coverage of AT&T, but Jonathan hasn’t made that leap. [More]
