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Question

Are phones no longer subsidized?

by Nov 22, 2015 8:30PM PST

I'm not real savvy as regards mobile carrier's business models nowadays. I'm on AT&T. I've had a Lumia 920 for a few years. Today I went in to a local store thinking I could simply trade it in for a new 950 with maybe a small service fee. I was told that given the plan I'm on, I'm not eligible to trade in my phone. Basically I was told that trading in a phone for a nominal fee and inexpensive (subsidized) phones are a thing of the past. The salesperson offered to sell me a Lumia 950 for the full retail price of $598, and that I could pay it off in installments added to my monthly bill; or sign a new two-year contract at $149, and still have to pay off the phone. Can someone tell me is this truly the new business model for buying phones? I may have been misled at some point in the last year or so when AT&T offered to reduce my monthy bill. I suspect what happened is that I ended up with a plan that doesn't allow trading phones. Are people really spending $600 on unsubsidized phones? Thanks.

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3 Posts
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Clarification Request
Also- what plan precisely are you on now?
by Pepe7 Nov 23, 2015 1:04PM PST

That will let us know why you weren't eligible for a 2 yr upgrade. ( The 2 yr fee is $45/flat, btw.)
This does not mean trading it in, but simply replacing it with something else. Trading them was eons ago(!)

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Answer
It depends on your plan, and where you went
by Nov 23, 2015 1:01PM PST

My *current* understanding is that ATT still does 2 year upgrades at corporate owned locations, and online only. No longer are the Best Buy, etc. points of sale options for this type of nominal upgrade w/ $45 fee.

Why bother with a store when you can logon to att.com, using the online account manager to see your instant upgrade options? Plus, you will have access to a small selection of certified like new handsets that are usually not sold in stores but only online. Same upgrade fee, etc. but the convenience of not having to get the stupid sales pitch of the in store folks.

If you want more specifics, feel free to ask but I feel the issue is straightforward if you stick to their OLAM and know what you want, etc.

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Answer
It had to happen.
by Forum moderator Nov 23, 2015 1:45PM PST

Let me trot out a cheap phone that should not be subsidized. My son has this one.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YR23KL8 is almost always under 140 dollars. There are other phones in this price range that are scaring the heck out of the industry.

As to trading phones I had no problem slipping in the GSM SIM and changing the settings to the carrier.

But let's shop for unlocked Windows Phones. http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=unlocked+phones+windows&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=47689053770&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7354162389048924757&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_37n080p1xd_b finds them and 600 bucks is very high.

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