Filed under: iPhone
Do you plan to cancel your 3G service tomorrow?
Ah how time passes quickly. Just one short month ago, the iPhone 3G went on sale. Many of you camped out on line just so you could buy one of those sweet units. And tomorrow, if memory serves, will be the first day that you can cancel service, pay your early termination fee, prorate your monthly bill, and still keep your iPhone.
Why would you want to do that? Canceling after a full month of service allows you to keep a free and clear iPhone. Cancel before that time, and AT&T theoretically wants your iPhone back. Think about what a contract-free 3G gives you. It can be pwned and used with pretty much any AT&T SIM, including those ultra-cheap Pay As You Go cards that offer $20-for-thirty-day 3G data plans.
Are any of you going to do this? Are you ready to detach your unit from those expensive iPhone-only plans? Or are you pretty happy with the service, price and features that you already have? Let us know in the comments what you've decided, especially if you've been waiting for tomorrow's 3G iDay to cancel.
Source of the 30 day confusion: "To cancel service within the first 30 days, the customer must return their equipment to the place of purchase (no exceptions). If the customer cancels service after 30 days, they will be charged the ETF. The customer is not required to return the device to cancel after 30 days."
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
required said 5:32PM on 8-11-2008
Yes because I always cancel what I do not have.
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(01) said 7:41PM on 8-11-2008
errr...I'm not sure how you think that. I can't cancel my cable service without ever having signed up for it. At best, I'm continuing not to use it.
Zyber said 5:33PM on 8-11-2008
I can't cancel yet, and I'm not planning to.
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the lowly peon said 7:51PM on 8-11-2008
yes! I'm loving in china where 80mb cost roughly $8, and minutes and SMS are practically free. it's not a great data service, but ease of use (from the payment side) is great.
not to mention that I've had nothing but bad luck with AT&T for the last while. I'm glad to be free of anyone's grasp
Bender Bending Rodriguez said 5:38PM on 8-11-2008
You could have cancelled your plan immediately anytime in that first month. All you had to do is tell them the device was broken and pay the cancelation fee. As of tomorrow you'll be going into a 2nd month of payment. Why do that?
I have purchased four 16GB iPhones from AT&T and Apple Stores in the past month. I am using one, have sold 2 on eBay (I vividly disclosed they were still locked to AT&T), and I'm still holding onto one that I'd like to sell unlocked as soon I can. One I sold on eBay was completely unopened as the Apple Store allowed me to activate it at my own will.
These were all purchased under my own account as a single user. According to AT&T I have *really* bad luck with phones.
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Alex said 6:49PM on 8-11-2008
I was thinking about doing exactly that. What happens after you cancel your service, is the phone still active sans service? And how convincing did you have to be about the phone?
mentalsticks said 7:53PM on 8-11-2008
That's, er, fraud, you know.
Bender Bending Rodriguez said 7:59PM on 8-11-2008
@ Alex,
Depends how you do it, but your phone won't be active if you cancel the account.
@ mentalsticks,
Not according to AT&T. I have abided by all their rules. I could say I don't like the white one and want a black one instead or different capacity version or say that it has a scratch on the back. It doesn't matter as i have the right to to cancel any AT&T account for $175.
John said 8:26PM on 8-11-2008
I'm pretty sure you're full of it, because when you cancel multiple lines that fast, at&t will ban you from making any new activations.
Even if you're a brand new customer, cancel, you cannot sign up for another at&t account for 18 months.
fishbert said 8:43PM on 8-11-2008
You don't have to tell them it's broken... because nothing in the TOS says you have to wait 30 days to cancel your service and keep the phone.
"You may cancel service within 30 days from the activation date to avoid the early termination fee of $175."
This text is off a RETURNS POLICY, and is only telling you how to avoid the termination fee... if you want to RETURN the phone. It is not talking about service cancellation in general.
From the actual Terms of Service: "An early termination fee of $175 applies if service is terminated before the end of the contract term. ... If phone is returned within 30 days in like-new condition with all components, early termination fee will be waived."
http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-service/legal/plan-terms.jsp#iPhone
I'm not an Erica-basher (like some seem to be), but this is a complete non-story.
Bender Bending Rodriguez said 8:49PM on 8-11-2008
@ John,
You are correct on the early termination rules, but that isn't what I did. I just told them it was broken and got a new one for the $499 rate instead of $399 for a 16GB model. I choose not to clarify as the price is about the same and I didn't want to be confusing, but apparently that happened anyway. Though the price is $200 more instead of the $175 for the cancelation there is no reactivation fee so it's slightly cheaper than having to pay $36. The end result is still the same as I have a 16GB iPhone for $500 free and clear.
mentalsticks said 10:08PM on 8-11-2008
@Bender B
When you're telling them your iPhone's broken when it isn't, then you are committing fraud. Whether you "choose to clarify" or not.
3-7 years over here.
Bender Bending Rodriguez said 10:18PM on 8-11-2008
Perhaps shady or unethical, but not fraudulent. It was just a convenient excuse to get a new phone but I broke no state or federal laws. Lying may be a sin, but it's not a crime unless in a court of law or on an official police investigation or the sort.
Ben Wright said 12:37AM on 8-12-2008
Your lack of integrity is truly praiseworthy.
Bender Bending Rodriguez said 5:43PM on 8-11-2008
But why would one want to cancel and still use AT&T. Do they other plans that will save you more $16/month over the current plan?
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sam said 9:26PM on 8-11-2008
I can tell you that I pay $60 a month before my corporate discount for everything you get for the more expensive iphone contract (including unlimited 3g data). My price after discount is ~$45/mo. I'd be paying nearly twice as much if I switched to the iPhone for the same thing I have now.
emil said 5:47PM on 8-11-2008
I don't understand the point of this post. Why would you cancel your contract? So you can hax0r your iphone? Grow up.
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mike said 6:34PM on 8-11-2008
No, man! Like Erica says in the article, you can pay "as you go" $20 a month for 3g coverage. That's twice what AT&T regularly charges! You'd be crazy NOT to do this!
Erica, your "I don't use my iPhone as a phone" usage scenario is not at all common. People who buy iPhones.. NEED PHONES. Otherwise they'd just be buying an iPod Touch, amirite? Well, except for you. But I'm guessing you're too crafty for that, right?
Dave said 7:45PM on 8-11-2008
I have a first gen. iPhone. I have it unlocked and jailbroken and I do not have it on a contract/monthly/whatever plan.
It may be a small number, but there are others who, like Erica, want the features of an iPhone without the monthly costs that go with it.
I'm using a prepaid plan right now and pay less than $10 CAD per month. I'm very happy with this setup and my iPhone.
Tony said 5:47PM on 8-11-2008
OK so you get your 16gb iphone for $550. Then you have to pay for service somehow for another year or two before upgrading. You have to pay for the call plan (pay as you go call plans are *expensive* if you use them more than a little), and unlimited data.. (and as a non-current iphone user you won't get the upgrade price on the iphone 'super 4G' either).
Why bother?
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