Skip to content


iPhone 3GS upgrade for cheaper

Being a true phone geek, I learned a little trick a few years back that I want to share with you. For years, AT&T/Cingular/AT&T have provided pretty decent phones every year. This doesn’t affect most of their customers, but those of use who like to upgrade every year need to try a new strategy out.

What I did a few years back is sign up for a family plan. On this family plan, I have two lines; one I use everyday and the other one. When it comes time to upgrade, all I have to do is swap my phone lines. Generally the under payed AT&T store folks are glad to help me out. I may pay a little more for a family plan, but not as much as you might think.

Now that the iPhone 3GS is out, it sounds like it is time to upgrade again. Most folks are a bit miffed due to fact their accounts aren’t eligible for an upgrade. I’m not having that problem right now, and I’ll be sure to get one on June 19 or pretty close after that.

Apple - iPhone - Buy iPhone.png

Good luck. Hopefully this mess will shorten the lines on opening day…most likely not.

Posted in Smarticus Says.

Tagged with .


16 Responses

Stay in touch with the conversation, subscribe to the RSS feed for comments on this post.

  1. Will says

    Do you keep the same number when you switch to the other line?

  2. bryanl says

    Sure do. I've had the same number for 5 years now at least.

  3. Dan says

    Nice hack do you just pay $10 a month for the unused plan?

  4. bryanl says

    Sure. Sometimes I give the phone to the kid to use.

  5. Russ says

    Does it show up as two separate lines? Or does the system just pick the one that's eligible?

  6. Bruno Miranda says

    An extra $10 per month for the extra line, plus the minimum family plan is $10 more expensive than the single plan. An extra $240 per year, not sure it is worth.

  7. JQ says

    I already have a family plan with 2 lines… we use both.. how can i make it work? for one line it tells me im not eligible for an upgrade until 8/22/09 and the other 01/16/10… what to do?

  8. Jonny Mack says

    Actually it should shorten them immensely, since the iPhone faithful ($700 before July 12) are the ones who camp out and stand in line. Hopefully, Apple gets what I sense is what it wants: out of its contract with one of its worst service suppliers: AT&T. There was passive-aggressive wording and stunts in the presentation at WWDC (watch it again) and an overall feeling that they were taking a jab at AT&T, while not, of course. I think Apple is expecting an uproar, even goading for one. Let's see what happens… ;-)

  9. phonejedi says

    I have a family plan. Two lines including one iphone 3g and both are not eligible for upgrade for a long time. I actually paid the early cancellation fee for Verizon on two phones in Dec to switch to iphone At and T in Jan 09 and now the new one is out! How can I make the line switch thing you discuss work for me? As of now they say I can add a line with cheaper 3gs pricing but there would be 3 phones sharing minutes.

  10. Jakyel Whatson says

    Good trick. I will have to visit the store soon looks like.

  11. peter says

    bryan, i knew this had to be possible but how exactly and at what point in the purchase process do you swap phone numbers to keep the same number between the old and new phones? thanks

  12. Jim jones says

    There is a problem,

    AT&T will charge you the MANDATORY $30/mo FOR A DATA PLAN… no way to get it without it…

    So $10/mo + $30/mo = 40×24= $960…. not worth it unless you really do have two people using and paying the lines…

  13. bryanl says

    I guess this is all moot. I have no will; I've already pre-purchased the phone, and hopefully it will arrive Friday.

  14. WebhostingSphere says

    I think it is worth it man!

  15. myphone says

    MY PHONE SHOP LIMITED
    Registered No.05702394
    25 SANDY WAY, YEADON,
    LEEDS, LS19 7EW UK.
    (+44)-703-597-2322

    ORDER
    INFORMATION :Minimum
    Order :1-10units
    Shipping Method :FedEx Dhl and UPS.
    Delivery Time : 24-48hrs Delivery To Your Door Step.

    MY PHONE SHOP LIMITED We are specialized in all brand new mobile phones like Samsung , Nokia , Qtek , Imate , Palm

    Treo ,Sony Ericsson , Sidekick , Nextel and many more,They are cheap and unlocked with 12 month international

    warranty.We sell them in Bulk and in Retails ,We shipped inconjunction with fedEx Express, they shipped within 48hrs

    to your door step. It is a Buy two and get one for free.

    We look forward in placing your Order with Us and giving you the most competent services as we are Using this Medium

    to Look For Buyers.

    APPLE IPHONE 3G 8GB:€170 euro
    APPLE IPHONE 3G 16GB:€200 euro
    APPLE IPHONE 3G S 32GB:€250 euro
    Apple Ipod 60Gb video €120 euro
    Apple Ipod 30Gb video €100 euro

    Blackberry:
    BlackBerry Bold 9000 — 160euro
    BlackBerry Curve 8320 — 145euro
    BlackBerry 8830 World Edition — 150euro

    HTC Touch Diamond — 200euro
    HTC Advantage X7500 ——- 210euro
    HTC S710 Smartphone — 180euro
    HP iPAQ rx5915 ——- 170euro
    HP iPAQ HW6945 GPS — 150euro

    Nokia N97 32gb…….€300 euro
    Nokia N96 16gb…… €250 euro
    Nokia 8800………. €200 euro
    Nokia 5800 Xpress Music…€180euro

    Sony PSP Giga Pack …………€80 euro
    Sony PSP Value Pack…………€90 euro
    Nintendo wii Console………..€150 euro
    Xbox 360 Platinum System ……€170 euro

    Microsoft Xbox 360 Core System. €175 euro
    Playstation 2………………€110 euro
    Playstation 3 (20 GB)……….€ 200 euro
    Playstation 3 (60 GB)……….€220 euro
    Playstation 3 (120 GB)……….€280 euro

    Toshiba Satellite 2.2GHz w/DVD/CDRW Laptop Computer:€550
    Toshiba Qosmio G25-AV513 Laptop:€700 euro
    Toshiba Satellite 2.0GHz Pentium M Laptop Computer:€650 euro

    Sony VAIO N110W 1.86GHz Core Solo Laptop:€550 euro
    Sony VAIO VGN-N220E/W Notebook:€450 euro
    Sony VAIO VGN-FJ290L1B Notebook:€500 euro
    Sony VAIO VGN-FS875P/H Notebook:€500 euro

    BONANZA:
    Buy 2 units and get 1 unit FREE.
    Buy 5 units and get 2 units FREE including shipping
    Buy 10 units and get 5 units FREE including shipping

    EMAIL:
    MY_PHONESHOP@YAHOO.COM
    MY_PHONESHOP@HOTMAIL.COM

    SKYPE:MY_PHONESHOP
    YM CHART ID:PHONE_DELIVERY

    MAKERTING DEPT.
    SALES MANAGER.
    Dhari Al Fares.
    (+44)-703-597-2322



Some HTML is OK

or, reply to this post via trackback.

blog comments powered by Disqus


Blog WebMastered by All in One Webmaster.