UPDATED: Existing iPhone 3G Customers have to pay$499 (8GB), $599 (16GB), or $699 (32GB)

AT&TThis could be bad news for AT&T Customers. At the bottom of this page at Apple’s site you will see prices for replacing an iPhone 3G. Hopefully this is not accurate or we are misunderstanding it…

For non-qualified customers, including existing AT&T customers who want to upgrade from another phone or replace an iPhone 3G, the price with a new two-year agreement is $499 (8GB), $599 (16GB), or $699 (32GB).

Thanks to our writer, JMCato for the tip!

I went to Apple’s website at buyiphone.apple.com to check my eligibility and here’s what I got:

picture-71

$299.00* — 8GB iPhone 3G (black)
$399.00* — 16GB iPhone 3G S (black or white)
$499.00* — 32GB iPhone 3G S (black or white)

I’ve been with AT&T since June 2007 when the first iPhone was released and bought the iPhone 3G for $199 in July of 2008.

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (No Ratings Yet)
Loading...

Comments

  1. I just called att and they told me I would have to pay $699.00. I have had my 3g since day one it came out. This is crap!!!! It is cheaper to drop your service and buy a new one. With that comes losing your phone number for up to a year. Wow what a let down. I guess I’ll just live with the 3G till i find one on craigslist!

    • With tmobile you can upgrade after 6 months. Unfortunately they are all crappy phones. It is clear AT&T is looking for new customers or give people looking to buy a palm pre an alternative. The pre us not a world phone and seeing what 3.0 has to offer I might get the iPhone. I don’t and will never switch to AT&T though.

  2. You would think Apple/AT&T would have learned about screwing over loyal customers after the price drop on the first gen iPhone. If this holds true they clearly have not learned anything.
    Is the thinking possibly they don’t want the market flooded with litely used gen 2 phones that could undercut the pricing of $99?

    See if this holds true, but if it does the backslash will overshadow the hype of the new phone.

  3. Ryan Brancheau says

    I called AT&T and they told me that you are normally eligible 18-20 months after your contract start. For example I bought my iPhone 3G in August of 2008. They told me that I could upgrade in April of 2010, 20 months from my contract start.

    • Dustin James says

      technically it is 3 months early.. unless you are the account holder then it is 4 months early.

  4. Man that is total crap!

  5. WOW that nails it for me bought mine in Sept last year, so I have to wait till next year I guess for the Iphone 4G LOL, DAmm that is really bad PR and no way to treat loyal customers WOW, Palm PRE and Blackberry will jump on this for sure
    WOW I am shocked!

  6. mfleigle says

    Check your AT&T account for upgradablity. I bought my iPhone 3G July 29 last year and can update for the discounted price. You can order the 3GS online and have it shipped to you on the 19th. I cannot seem to order mine yet since the site seems to be taking a beating

    • I went to the AT&T website and can only upgrade at full price. Purchased my 3G the day it came out last July.

    • mfleigle says

      @Thomas

      Well I just upgraded my 3G S for $299 (the 32gb model). I bought my 3G on July 29….

    • Dustin James says

      The reasoning is simple.. When you purchased your iPhone 3G you either payed the extra cost, or you upgraded someone else on your family plan to get the phone and then phone swapped…

      We do this at AT&T as long as the account holder/authorized user allows it.

  7. hmm. when i upgraded to 3G from the original, i just signed a new contract and got it for 299$

    i dont see why i cant just do that again, ill be on att for about 7 years but im okay with that :). plus i think its time that i flip flopped the color of my 3G <3

  8. just checked eligibility on apples site and i purchased iphone 3G day 1, it says i am eligible to pay 18 early upgrade fee and pay the 199 or 299 price point!!!

  9. As a valued AT&T customer, AT&T can offer you an early iPhone upgrade with a new 2-yr commitment and an $18 upgrade fee. You may qualify for a standard iPhone upgrade on 04/02/2010.

    * $299.00* — 8GB iPhone 3G (black)
    * $399.00* — 16GB iPhone 3G S (black or white)
    * $499.00* — 32GB iPhone 3G S (black or white)

    WOW this is just not right, for a loyal 10 year customer of ATT

    • on the website it’s now showing me the 3G S option now….

      I can only upgrade to 3G, maybe that means they are fixing it .

      if it is 699 it would be cheaper to bail out pay the 175 ETF and then just sign up again….which sounds really stupid on their part!

  10. I purchased my iPhone 3g on launch date last year. Here is what it says for me:

    As a valued AT&T customer, AT&T can offer you an early iPhone upgrade with a new 2-yr commitment and an $18 upgrade fee. You may qualify for a standard iPhone upgrade on 07/12/2009.

    * $299.00* — 8GB iPhone 3G (black)
    * $399.00* — 16GB iPhone 3G S (black or white)
    * $499.00* — 32GB iPhone 3G S (black or white)

    So, I am assuming that I just have to wait until 7/12/2009 to get the lower price. Let’s hope anyway.

  11. This is total BS!!!!

  12. On T-Mobile, alive and kicking. Looks like AT&T wants to reward me with a cheaper iPhone for unlocking and using another carrier for the past 2 years! Hillarious.

  13. Verizion must love this as in 2010 the IPHONE PRO 4 g will be released with a whole lot of feature and ATT will not have it. Rumors has that this next Gen. IPHONE will be called the ITABLET thus getting around and contract limits Apple may have with ATT—good bye ATT I hope you go BK

    • the itablet is not a phone haha, it’s a portable mac that would just look hilarious next to someones ear… haha

  14. I WILL GO TO VERIZON FOR THE IPHONE 4G IF I CANT GET THE 3GS AT A DISCOUNTED RATE WHEN I OWNED THE FIRST ORIGINAL AND 3G IPHONES THE DAY THEY CAME OUT.

  15. I waited in line and got mine on the day it came out and this is what I was told:

    I can pay:

    $599.00* — 16GB iPhone 3G S (black or white)
    $699.00* — 32GB iPhone 3G S (black or white)

    Or…

    On 07/12/2009, you may qualify for a standard iPhone upgrade.

    …ok so I have to wait an extra 23 days to save $200…no brainer. I still have to wait in line to get my daughter one. It’ll be a new line so she gets hers for normal price Daddy has to wait.

  16. Review iPhone pricing.
    As an existing customer, you qualify for the following iPhone pricing: You’ll be able to choose the iPhone you want a little later in the process.
    $99.00* — 8GB iPhone 3G (black)
    $199.00* — 16GB iPhone 3G S (black or white)
    $299.00* — 32GB iPhone 3G S (black or white)

    This is the info I got. I have a 8gig 3G now.

    • ummm…. yea that doesnt make any sense

    • WHAT?!? how long have you been with at & t?

    • I have been with ATT for 4 years I think. I had the 2g phone and Apple replaced it with a 3g due issues I was having. They did not restart my agreement I am guessing. So my 18 months is based on the 2g I bet.

  17. Review iPhone pricing.

    As a valued AT&T customer, AT&T can offer you an early iPhone upgrade with a new 2-yr commitment and an $18 upgrade fee. You may qualify for a standard iPhone upgrade on 03/29/2010.

    * $299.00* — 8GB iPhone 3G (black)
    * $399.00* — 16GB iPhone 3G S (black or white)
    * $499.00* — 32GB iPhone 3G S (black or white)

    I got my iphone 3g on july 09

    • 20 months compared to the 12 in the picture, something is definintely wrong. did you have the 2g iphone before this (if so, when did you get it?/if not, were you on att before the iphones, if yes, when did you sign your first contract?)

  18. I have a 3G and I’m eligible for upgrade.. How come I can’t get the $499 price?? I didn’t upgrade or sign a contract on my # for the 3G… BS!!!

  19. why do people have different “standard iphone upgrade” dates? some people have them as late as 2010, yet on this form, it is july 12th, 2009 (1 full year after the 3g release). people that bought on july 11th last year are having random dates, also. seems like app doesn’t have a method to this madness, and if there actually is, someone want to eleborate why they are so different?

  20. I like my 3G, I’m not upgrading. I also like that it’s jailbroken, it has cut, copy, and paste (hClipboard), a video recorder (Cycorder), landscape texting and the ability to send a text message from within any app (iRealSMS), if I want tethering — which I don’t, Cydia has an app for that.
    I would like MMS, but I have learned to live without it for the last 2 years, a couple more months won’t kill me. 3G speeds are far better than Edge, and 3G S speeds are not fully developed yet, so why pay more for this feature?
    Voice commands sound cool and could very easily be a useful feature but should be added in the general update, along with video recording — which Saurik proved is nothing more than software (Cycorder); Or Apple, could just sell these features as individual upgrades via iTunes to those that want them, this way they would still keep a loyal fan base happy and make a few bucks in the process.
    While Apple and AT&T sorts these things out I’m going to continue on with many of these features already in daily use.

  21. Well the way I see it, Apple should see a serious decrease in lines on June 19th. I personally don’t believe the new enhancements in the 3gS are enough to drag away new customers from other carriers. The vast majority of people waiting in lines would have been 3g owners. I know everyone that I have talked tooPlans on downloading 3.0 and keeping their current phones. AT&T will probably lose some
    Customers as well. Apple will only be able to blame At&t for the drop in first week sales. I hope they smartin’ up before next week.

  22. You have to understand that it has nothing to do with loyalty. At&t can only give the phone out to customers for the discounted cost because they are eligible to upgrade. It is just like any other phone that they sell. They can’t continuously offer the brand new phones at the discounted cost to customers who aren’t eligible or they lose money.

  23. Well, after an hour and a half on the phone with AT&T I figured out why I have to pay to $599 and other’s only have to pay $399 for the iPhone 3GS upgrade!

    After intense digging, a lady at AT&T said I wasn’t eligible because I had already upgraded my iPhone 3G to ANOTHER iPhone 3G?! I told her NO, no way, I only have one, and why would I want to do that anyway? Ding, Ding, Ding….I did a RETAIL SWAP at the Apple Store on my iPhone 2 days later because my original 3G had a green tinted screen.

    EVERY iPhone 3G that was RETAIL SWAPPED at an Apple Store is appearing as if it was already early upgraded, thus making all of those customer’s ineligible for the lower early upgrade cost! The lady on the phone said that I (and every other person that retail swapped their 3G iPhone at an Apple store) will have to go through a lengthy override the day the 3GS is released!

  24. I just got off the phone with ATT and was told to goto an ATT store to buy the 3GS and ask for a manager to to give me an exception override and sell me the 3GS for the same price as new customers. I was told that this can only be done at an ATT store and not at Apple…. I hope they make the right customer service decision!

  25. Just love the new 32gb iPhone. Ultimate gadget for me. Nice post.

Trackbacks

  1. […] Excerpt from: Existing iPhone 3G Customers have to pay$499 (8GB), $599 (16GB … […]