T Mobile Early Termination Fee strategy

Matt

Administrator
Staff member
I've been considering a move to T Mobile from ATT since they offer voice over wifi. I also need a new phone because mine isn't shiny enough.

I was wondering if I was to upgrade to an iphone 6 or 6s with att then swap over to T Mobile there might be a bit of a bonus? Because I am out of contract with ATT getting a new 6/s would lock me in for 2 more years, with an ETF of $325. T Mobile will reimburse an ETF up to $350. They ask for a phone to be handed in at txf I believe...

So in theory... could I upgrade the phone, swap to T Mobile, then have an iphone 6 for $199 (entry level - perhaps there is a better resale one?) that I sell, and the spread between the $199 and the resale price subsidizes the purchase of a new phone on T-Mobile?

Thoughts?
 

JeffB

Level 2 Member
I've been considering a move to T Mobile from ATT since they offer voice over wifi. I also need a new phone because mine isn't shiny enough.

I was wondering if I was to upgrade to an iphone 6 or 6s with att then swap over to T Mobile there might be a bit of a bonus? Because I am out of contract with ATT getting a new 6/s would lock me in for 2 more years, with an ETF of $325. T Mobile will reimburse an ETF up to $350. They ask for a phone to be handed in at txf I believe...

So in theory... could I upgrade the phone, swap to T Mobile, then have an iphone 6 for $199 (entry level - perhaps there is a better resale one?) that I sell, and the spread between the $199 and the resale price subsidizes the purchase of a new phone on T-Mobile?

Thoughts?
I switched from Sprint to T-Mobile a few months ago. I was also off contract so there was no payoff available. The did give me a $100 on a 64gb iPhone6 though. I got this through their twitter support. The store did not offer anything. I don't think you will really benefit if you resign with ATT and then switch.

They just announced a new offer today so you might want to check that out.
 

nickelfish1

Level 2 Member
I just did this three weeks ago.
Except we paid $700 for the 6 that's so big it literally cramps my hand while I'm social mediaing. No ETF reimbursement. Dropped calls/no service sometimes. BUT! I got $10 off my new bill with the Amex offer.

PS: Hubs says mediaing isn't actually a word but he's wrong.
PPS: Clearly, we are the best life hackers/deal getters around.
 
Last edited:

henrygeorge

Level 2 Member
It's not unless you're getting a lesser phone on Tmo. You also have to factor in the $40 activation on ATT for new 2-year (I don't think Tmo will cover that as an "etf"), as well as the tax on the iPhone at ATT and the tax on a $400+ from Tmo.
 

Gleong

Level 2 Member
This is what I did when the iPhone 6+ was released in October 2014 and was no longer under a contract with ATT:

Purchased a Verizon iPhone 6+ at the Apple store as a new subscriber (ported my number from ATT). I chose to go to Verizon because their iPhones come unlocked. If I had upgraded with ATT, my iPhone would have been locked until I paid the ETF ~1 month later. After which I would have to submit an unlock request, which takes a few days to process. With the Verizon iPhone, I was able to use it the moment I switched to Tmobile.

After the 14 day return period, went to Tmobile and ported the line to them. In order qualify for the ETF reimbursement, Tmo requires you to trade in a phone (can be any old dumb phone), and purchase one phone from them (I purchased their cheapest phone for $30 + $10 for the SIM card). I sold this phone on ebay for ~$20 and called Tmobile customer service to refund the $10 SIM card fee since the store wouldn't let me use the SIM I bought for $0.01 when it was on sale online.

After receiving the final Verizon bill, I went to switch2tmobile.com and submitted it. The ETF reimbursement was mailed to me as gift card in January 2015.
 

Matt

Administrator
Staff member
This is what I did when the iPhone 6+ was released in October 2014 and was no longer under a contract with ATT:

Purchased a Verizon iPhone 6+ at the Apple store as a new subscriber (ported my number from ATT). I chose to go to Verizon because their iPhones come unlocked. If I had upgraded with ATT, my iPhone would have been locked until I paid the ETF ~1 month later. After which I would have to submit an unlock request, which takes a few days to process. With the Verizon iPhone, I was able to use it the moment I switched to Tmobile.

After the 14 day return period, went to Tmobile and ported the line to them. In order qualify for the ETF reimbursement, Tmo requires you to trade in a phone (can be any old dumb phone), and purchase one phone from them (I purchased their cheapest phone for $30 + $10 for the SIM card). I sold this phone on ebay for ~$20 and called Tmobile customer service to refund the $10 SIM card fee since the store wouldn't let me use the SIM I bought for $0.01 when it was on sale online.

After receiving the final Verizon bill, I went to switch2tmobile.com and submitted it. The ETF reimbursement was mailed to me as gift card in January 2015.
Yeah, the part about the phone trade in was my angle on it too.

But were you able to use the Verizon phone on TMobile, or did you sell it? Sounds like you used it but I thought I heard that Tmobile had some funky setting in it regarding voice over wifi so you needed their version?
 

Gleong

Level 2 Member
Yes, I'm currently using the Verizon phone on Tmobile without any issues. I haven't used wifi calling myself and can't speak to that, but the option is available on my phone.
 

gilapoin21

Level 2 Member
I just switched from AT&T to T-Mo. Few things to note.
1. I didn't have to trade in an old phone. They just grab one from the back. YMMV.
2. The new phone has to be on AT&T network for 6 weeks before switching
3. AT&T phone (I have LG G3) is not compatible with T-Mo wifi calling.
 

Someone

Level 2 Member
Is wifi calling really any good?

Keep in mind that taxes on phones are state dependent (not just sales tax). You might be able to drive over the border and save.

I talked with the rep at the TMo kiosk in Costco, and there you get an accessory pack for free and the way they ring up the phone supposedly reduces taxes (at least here in Mass.)

I'm in a slightly different situation to Matt - I'm still rocking a vintage iPhone 3GS and it's been having more and more trouble finding the cellular network lately (it spontaneously goes from 5 bars and 3G down to 1 and edge, then spends 10+ minutes searching) , so I've been looking at picking up a 6 and moving it to TMo. My plan is complicated by the fact that I have a grandfathered unlimited data plan on AT&T and have 5 phones on my account. However the value of the unlimited data is quite limited when you can't connect to the network at all.
 

Someone

Level 2 Member
Ting's parent co rocks. I've had TCX stock for 10+ years and have talked with the CEO on multiple occasions (I'm in the domain industry and their original big product is OpenSRS). Only problem I have with Ting + Tmo is no data stash plus their data prices are higher than TMo's.
 

DL172

Level 2 Member
I'm in the same situation with Matt. I just Facebook messaged T-Mobile, to see if I can get any sort of unadvertised discount off an iPhone 6.

Pros

International free data even @ 2g is a no brainer for me, regardless of any extra outcome I can squeeze off them.
3300 AA miles for signing up

Cons

The cell phone signal is just not as good ATT. For example when I venture to parts of Roosevelt Island (NYC) , my ATT is at 5 bars but my friend's T-Mobile has no signal. I need another phone for business, so its no problem for me to have ATT & T-Mobile. According, to T-Mobile's website the service on Roosevelt Island is supposed to be at the top rate "excellent", so some real misleading advertising. If they are misleading about a part of New York City, I wonder what service is like in the rest of the country.
 

Matt

Administrator
Staff member
Is wifi calling really any good?
Technically, yes. And it should get better too. Some implementations of it are better than others. Personally I need something because with ATT at home I have poor coverage. One solution is a Femtocell, but I'd rather have Wifi as that has more 'range'. For example, if you were overseas on wifi you could call for free on TMobile.

Doing more research I see that ATT and Verizon should be rolling out Wifi in 2015, so I think I will hold a bit longer to see what they do. May well be part of the iPhone 6s/7 roll out this year.
 

satz

Level 2 Member
I did exactly what someone else mentioned previously in the thread. I upgraded 3 lines with AT&T to get 3 iPhone 6.

Waited 15 days (ended up waiting 1-2 months) to switch to T-Mobile. Make sure you switch ~1 week before the new billing cycle. AT&T does not pro-rate. So if you cancel 3 days into the month, you still will be charged for the whole month.

I traded in 3 dumb phones and was given a $1 credit for each. Had to buy their cheapest phones which were ~$50. They also charge ~$30 for nano sim cards + activation.

Sold the dumb phones for around $15-20 on ebay, so you don't get much out of these.

Wifi calls work pretty well with T-Mobile. They can also give you a free router (I think), that you can use at home to make calls over wifi. If you are in a big city, the network should work fine. If you are in a small city and/or in the middle of nowhere, the wifi calls are a MUST.

Free data (2G) abroad is AWESOME! Worked great in Canada, Italy, France, and China! So convenient to use for maps and emails. Also free texts and calls are 20c/min which is very reasonable but I'm able to use Skype instead.

Takes about 6 weeks after submitting your final bill to receive your ETF reimbursement via prepaid card. Got my $1,030 prepaid card and liquidated via RB at Target.
 

DL172

Level 2 Member
I did exactly what someone else mentioned previously in the thread. I upgraded 3 lines with AT&T to get 3 iPhone 6.

Waited 15 days (ended up waiting 1-2 months) to switch to T-Mobile. Make sure you switch ~1 week before the new billing cycle. AT&T does not pro-rate. So if you cancel 3 days into the month, you still will be charged for the whole month.

I traded in 3 dumb phones and was given a $1 credit for each. Had to buy their cheapest phones which were ~$50. They also charge ~$30 for nano sim cards + activation.

Sold the dumb phones for around $15-20 on ebay, so you don't get much out of these.

Wifi calls work pretty well with T-Mobile. They can also give you a free router (I think), that you can use at home to make calls over wifi. If you are in a big city, the network should work fine. If you are in a small city and/or in the middle of nowhere, the wifi calls are a MUST.

Free data (2G) abroad is AWESOME! Worked great in Canada, Italy, France, and China! So convenient to use for maps and emails. Also free texts and calls are 20c/min which is very reasonable but I'm able to use Skype instead.

Takes about 6 weeks after submitting your final bill to receive your ETF reimbursement via prepaid card. Got my $1,030 prepaid card and liquidated via RB at Target.
Thanks for the tips. By the way, are you able to use Skype over 2G abroad for voice calls? Either way, 20c/min is still a great feature and for most people would be more reasonable than buying and dealing with the hassle of acquiring a local sim.
 

satz

Level 2 Member
Thanks for the tips. By the way, are you able to use Skype over 2G abroad for voice calls? Either way, 20c/min is still a great feature and for most people would be more reasonable than buying and dealing with the hassle of acquiring a local sim.
For the most part yes and for a quick conversation yes. In China, Skype over 2G did not work that well.

I could not be happier with switching. Besides getting 3 new iPhones for cheap, my bill was lowered by more than half. I hated AT&T for nickeling and diming me.
 

DL172

Level 2 Member
For the most part yes and for a quick conversation yes. In China, Skype over 2G did not work that well.

I could not be happier with switching. Besides getting 3 new iPhones for cheap, my bill was lowered by more than half. I hated AT&T for nickeling and diming me.
So there is no issue that the phone you have with AT&T is an iPhone 6, but you are sending in a cheap phone? Any issues about getting the iPhone 6 on to T-Mobile, if they think you have an old phone?
 
Last edited:

satz

Level 2 Member
So there is no issue that the phone you have with AT&T is an iPhone 6, but you are sending in a cheap phone? Any issues about getting the iPhone 6 on to T-Mobile, if they think you have an old phone?
No issues:
1) When you pay your ETF, you can put an unlock request that AT&T has to grant you. So the caveat is that you won't be able to use your new phone until you get a bill from AT&T, pay the ETF, and then AT&T unlocks the phone. So that can take a few days to 1-2 weeks.
2) T-Mobile sales rep get a commission when they sign you up (I heard that somewhere). So they have a strong incentive to sign you up and they don't care about the phone you are trading in.
 

DL172

Level 2 Member
No issues:
1) When you pay your ETF, you can put an unlock request that AT&T has to grant you. So the caveat is that you won't be able to use your new phone until you get a bill from AT&T, pay the ETF, and then AT&T unlocks the phone. So that can take a few days to 1-2 weeks.
2) T-Mobile sales rep get a commission when they sign you up (I heard that somewhere). So they have a strong incentive to sign you up and they don't care about the phone you are trading in.
Got it. Yes, they do get a commission. Thanks!
 

Someone

Level 2 Member
Data Point re Unlocking: Signed up for TMo online Saturday night. Submitted the unlock request for my wife's phone a few minutes later and got the code and instructions earlier today (Monday). It says we need the TMo sim in hand to do the unlock, so I'll find out how it goes in a few days when it gets here.
 

henrygeorge

Level 2 Member
Did you make the switch? If I were you, I'd be pumped about Project Fi (unless you are too heavily invested into the Apple ecosystem).
 

Yeshu

Level 2 Member
Did you make the switch? If I were you, I'd be pumped about Project Fi (unless you are too heavily invested into the Apple ecosystem).
dude, I can't wait for Project Fi...sadly, I don't have a nexus 6...I have the next best thing though- a second gen moto X!

Speaking of ETFs, I want to get out of ATT UVerse contract without having to pay the ETF...any ideas, folks?
 
Top