While we may not think that the 4G iPhone is an enormous upgrade, it’s all about the cameras, and that’s specifically the area we’re hooked on. So for some 5 megapixel camera love (plus flash and HD video recording), the new iPhone has us interested. We bought the 3GS upon release, so we should be eligible for the discounted upgrade, but… we’re not.
We pre-ordered our iPhone 3GS to replace our 2G iPhone on T-Mobile, activating it on day one of 3GS availability. About half a year later, we converted our plan to a family plan, and then added a line for our girlfriend. There was also some hooplah about converting the plan to be region-free, since we both ported numbers from different area codes. During all this reshuffling, her phone somehow became the “primary” number on the account, which was inconsequential until today.
When we checked to see if our phone was eligible for the discounted upgrade, we were told it wasn’t, and that we would have to wait until February. The second line we added, however, even though activated half a year later, was already eligible, even though the reverse should be true. Apparently, AT&T can’t fix this in the system, because even if they switch the original phone back to be the primary, that switch alone causes a three-month penalty for future upgrades. So because AT&T didn’t set things up the way initially requested (presumably because it was easier for the salesperson who set up our second phone), I now can’t upgrade at the lowest cost possible. Why AT&T can’t simply swap upgrade eligibility between phones remains a mystery, considering that both phones are on the same plan, billed to the same person.
For us, this is a major complaint against AT&T, especially since the customer sales representative we spoke to today had major attitude when we politely addressed the issue and the reason for our dissatisfaction. This from a company we’ve defended from daily onslaught by other iPhone users. Thanks, AT&T. You have one more year from us, and then you better hope you’re still the only US iPhone carrier.