Need Iphone for DS14 out of contract...best place to buy?

[2mickeys1minnie]

My DS14 needs a new cellphone (his is cracked) and a new ipod touch (also cracked sigh). I would like to get him the Iphone but we aren't set to renew our At&t contract until August. Where is the best place to buy an Iphone? Apple? Also, what can I expect as far as monthly fees go. We currently have a family plan...DH and I have blackberry torches but we only pay 9.99/per month for DS's current samsung phone. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!! TIA

 

[drp4video]

Many times AT&T will let you get out of your contract early if you buy a new phone and sign up for a new 2 year contract. I will be doing this with my daughter as well We both have the BB Torch, but she want's the new iphone as she doesn't like the torch since she says it doesn't work well (note that mine works fine because I don't drop mine several times a day)

 

[girli565]

Have you looked into a place that repairs cracked screens? My cousin did this with his iPhone and it looks like new. You can also get the touch repaired as well. it's much cheaper than replacing one out of contract.

 

[elcodfish]

if your son is good with tools you can buy a screen on ebay and replace it yourself. It takes 1 to 2 hours but costs less than $5

 

[MickeyHereWeCome!]

I've had no luck getting the upgrade price early. Although a bit of a hassle, I had to close a line and then add a line to get ds an iPhone last year.

Other than that, check on ebay and craigslist to see if you can find a used one. I'm going to have to go that route, since I plan to upgrade my iPhone mid-December, and hope to sell my 4 to pay for my 4s. I've never had a problem doing this. If you aren't due for an upgrade to your line, you'll end up spending quite a bit more buying a new one anywhere.

Good luck.

 

[rock_doctor]

Have you looked into a place that repairs cracked screens? My cousin did this with his iPhone and it looks like new. You can also get the touch repaired as well. it's much cheaper than replacing one out of contract.

There are tons of kits out there to replace the screen plus videos on how to do it. I would just replace the glass, probably would cost less then $20... We have a student at our High School that is doing it for $10.... With that said, ebay...for a new/used phone. Just deactivate the old one and turn on the new one. You should be able to do this w/o having to change your contract or plan. Especially with a new phone coming out every couple months you should be able to get a used one fairly easy.

 

[girli565]

There are tons of kits out there to replace the screen plus videos on how to do it. I would just replace the glass, probably would cost less then $20... We have a student at our High School that is doing it for $10.... With that said, ebay...for a new/used phone. Just deactivate the old one and turn on the new one. You should be able to do this w/o having to change your contract or plan. Especially with a new phone coming out every couple months you should be able to get a used one fairly easy.

I didn't know they sell kits! That's awesome. I love youtube, it has a how to for everything!

 

[limace]

This is going to be a very expensive present :/ I you have to buy a phone out of contract-hundreds of dollars there, even used on eBay-plus about $70 a month for your data and phone plan. If your son has a history of damaging electronics might want to go with a cheap phone and an iPod repair-or else invest another $160 in an Otterbox case and a squaretrade warranty. My 14 year old would love one, but between the cost and the fact I'm not thrilled at the idea of her having 24/7 unsupervised Internet access, she's out of luck.

 

[momto2inKC]

I've had no luck getting the upgrade price early. Although a bit of a hassle, I had to close a line and then add a line to get ds an iPhone last year.

Other than that, check on ebay and craigslist to see if you can find a used one. I'm going to have to go that route, since I plan to upgrade my iPhone mid-December, and hope to sell my 4 to pay for my 4s. I've never had a problem doing this. If you aren't due for an upgrade to your line, you'll end up spending quite a bit more buying a new one anywhere.

Good luck.

We've also had no luck getting an early upgrade. We just tried last week. They wouldn't do an early upgrade on any of our 4 lines, 1 in which is eligible in 6 weeks We ended up adding a line so my dh could get a replacement iPhone without having to pay $400. We'll just cancel his other line when his contract is up.

 

[MickeyHereWeCome!]

We've also had no luck getting an early upgrade. We just tried last week. They wouldn't do an early upgrade on any of our 4 lines, 1 in which is eligible in 6 weeks We ended up adding a line so my dh could get a replacement iPhone without having to pay $400. We'll just cancel his other line when his contract is up.

I did get AT&T to budge by a few weeks today! Dd wants one for Christmas. Her line isn't eligible until the 16th. That's too close for comfort for me, especially since I've heard about how the 4s isn't in stock ! I went into the AT&T store and the salesman told me that they could do an upgrade on the 1st of the month you were due. That makes me MUCH happier and less stressed about getting her only "must have" gift item. I'll be heading in on Thursday to get the last gift on my list!!

 

[2mickeys1minnie]

UPDATE....thanks for the info everyone DH and I went to the At&t store nearby this afternoon and they let us upgrade early with no problem. We got the new IP4S for $199 for my son for Christmas. He will be thrilled!! I bought the Otterbox Defender case to keep the iphone safe lol. I'm very happy!!

 

[Anne34]

UPDATE....thanks for the info everyone DH and I went to the At&t store nearby this afternoon and they let us upgrade early with no problem. We got the new IP4S for $199 for my son for Christmas. He will be thrilled!! I bought the Otterbox Defender case to keep the iphone safe lol. I'm very happy!!

I just ordered one for my DS16 also!! Our store was out of the 16g and said I should have it in less than a week. Thanks to this thread I went to the store early & will definitely have his big gift in hand by Christmas!!

 

[love2disney]

Also get a squaretrade warranty which covers all drops spill etc. They have a 35% sale till today so its pretty cheap. They repair or replace!