WTF is it with wireless carriers now days!?

[Blackpony]

Me and the wife went to an AT&T store yesterday to see about upgrading her broken I-Phone 4s. Well it seems they have changed how they do upgrades. To get her a new I-Phone 5S we could either pay $27 a month for 24 months with approved credit and just finish out our current contract (which ends next february) or pay $449 and sign a new 2 year contract. Oh and our monthly service price remains the same. WTF happened to $99 and 2 year contract for a new phone???

Decided to check out T-Mobile since they advertise they will pay your contract cancellation fees. They were a bit cheaper, at $25 a month per phone plus $100 a month for unlimited everything and 6gb shared 4g internet. So basically $150 a month for both of us to get new I-Phone 5S, until the phones are paid off then its only $100 a month. No contract, cancel when ever you want but you will still have to pay the remainder balance of the phone itself.

WTF is it with carriers these days??

End rant

[BoostedD1]

You pay for the phone in the long run... regardless of how they sweeten it up for you. Its a game on wording...

[Barbie]

I believe you can still get the deal you are talking about but you have to be eligible (at the end of your current contract) this new way is designed to get people to upgrade constantly and get more $$ out of people. They make you turn in your old phone on top of paying $$ per month for your new phone. My current 2 yr contract is up in about 2 wks and I'm planning on getting the new iphone (soon to be announced) I expect to pay $199-$299 and renew my contract as I always have

[GrayStangGT]

I got a Verizon 5s 32G for $150 with my last renewal.

[dcs13]

Buy a phone and get the Straight talk plan. $45 a month unlimited, no contract.

[46Tbird]

I walked in to Best Buy and got a Galaxy S4 for $1 and extended my (expired 15 days ago) contract for two years. I've got an ancient unlimited data AT&T plan so it all worked out okay for me.

[Blackpony]

Damn I guess they just don't like us. We currently have unlimited talk and text with 4gb shared data for $120 a month. Those were the options to upgrade they gave us. Said the days of $99 phones with new contracts are over. Checked Verizon and they are terribly expensive. Similar plan with 5S 16g was going to cost us $160 a month plus taxes and fees then we would have to pay $99 per phone plus taxes and fees with a 2 year contract.

[abecx]

Just get tmobile unlimited, all they do is limit your bandwidth past 1GB.

And why is it the carriers fault if you can't afford it. You act like this is a supposed to be some sort of public service.

[Blackpony]

Never said I cannot afford it, just curious as to why they changed. If you are a new customer, you can get a new phone for 199 plus 2 years, but someone that has been with then for 10+ years has to pay 449 plus a 2 year contract??

Hell it is a public service, just ask obama.

[2011GT]

They didn't change. The top tier phone costs upwards of $700. You can go to tMobile and get a cheaper phone for probably less then $100. You gotta pay to play.

I'm a cheap fuck and have tMobile and I just use hand me down phones from my in laws that use AT&T. Seems to be a good service and it's also cheaper then all the big carriers. I had Verizon but I was paying almost double. And for what?

[Aceman85turbo]

tmobile has galaxy light's for $100, they do everything you would need to do.

[YALE]

Just get tmobile unlimited, all they do is limit your bandwidth past 1GB.

And why is it the carriers fault if you can't afford it. You act like this is a supposed to be some sort of public service.

Because cartel pricing.

[dcs13]

If you really wanna save some cash, get an oBama phone...

[SMKR]

If you really want to save money, go back to a landline

[Cooter]

They didn't change. The top tier phone costs upwards of $700. You can go to tMobile and get a cheaper phone for probably less then $100. You gotta pay to play.

I'm a cheap fuck and have tMobile and I just use hand me down phones from my in laws that use AT&T. Seems to be a good service and it's also cheaper then all the big carriers. I had Verizon but I was paying almost double. And for what?

I loved tMO when I had it back in the day! cheap as shit and did everything I needed it to.

but once we moved to the new place, Verizon had the best signal. I couldn't even place a phone call with tMo, never mind get any sort of data.

I will admit to being spoiled by Verizon's coverage map, but I do miss the cost of Tmobile