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jujusf's profile

Teacher

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23 Messages

Tuesday, May 16th, 2017 4:22 AM

DO NOT buy your iphone 7 at AT&T

Hello Community,

 

just a head's up, DO NOT buy your iphone 7, like me at AT&T. Why? Read on.

 

I will just talk about the iphone 7 32GB, but I own a 7 plus 64GB and the same applies.

 

When AT&T offers you a "discounted" iphone on your new line, beware. I found out first that the purchase price, $649, or 24 payments of 27$, which is ..exactly the same as Apple list price, but with the added contractual commitment. The price on the apple website is $649, for an UNLOCKED phone, which means you can use this phone on AT&T but also any other carrier (if you want to change carrier later, or travel abroad and want to use a local sim card, it will come handy).

 

But the biggest r*off is on the protection plan. Basically, apple care plus covers all damages for the phone and cost you $129 for 2 years, or essentially 5$ a month. AT&T, through his partner Asurion, offers a "great" protection plan for...$9 a month. They tell you one great advantage is that for a reduced cost, the local technicians will come to your home and repair the phone on-site for usual damages (cracked screen being the most common)....Well , let's see, with Apple care you pay $29 for a cracked screen repair, $129 with no apple care. For iphone 6 and 6s, the in house repair for cracked screen is charged...$89 deductible. But for iphone 7, Insurion is not qualified (yet?) for iphone 7 repairs, so the only choice is to repair yourself outside of AT&T protection plan (why take an insurance then???) , or pay $225 for a brand new device exchange....Great deal!! Even if iphone 7 was covered by AT&T, how can a 89$ deductible and $9 a month be a good deal when full price repair is $129 at Apple with no insurance???

 

Do the math people....AT&T always sounds good when you are at a store. They end up being a r*off most of the time. The only advantage seems to be the installed payment. Well you can get that on amazon or many other places too, including Apple themselves..

 

Conclusion: If you are on AT&T get a 7 unlocked at apple and get apple care plus if you want coverage. MUCH better deal than AT&T. Did I mention you can change carrier when you want then?

 

Jul

Teacher

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23 Messages

7 years ago

Also if you want to speak about telling people don't buy their phone at AT&T that's very selfish. People earn their living by selling those phones. And many do it honest and kindly. That'd be like you going to get service and not tipping the waiter, it's how they go home to feed their families. That enough should be a shame for you. I don't know where you work, but if you had or have a service job I'm sure you would feel some type of way knowing that someone out there is trying to take away how you provide for your family or keep a roof over your head.

Well in my case, I am not working for Apple, AT&T, a reseller of AT&T, an insurer or any business related to those. It think it is rather incredible that AT&T could not offer repairs under warranty for the mainstream device of the moment, the iphone 7. I think it is incredible that AT&T stores seem to ignore (or lie about) this issue, or even most staff of Insurion. I think it is incredible that AT&T advertises "reduced price against 2 years commitment", when in fact there is no reduced price from Apple list price....

 

My hope to make everyone happy is that AT&T would do the right thing, and offer a warranty service that matches what they advertize for all their devices (including iphone7), as well as be much more transparent to the consumers about the pros and cons of buying the device under a plan with them... Can we agree on that?

 

Employee

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3.5K Messages

7 years ago

Seems to me like someone didn't read through the insurance terms and conditions fully. Deductible applies to every insurance product in America. Health, car, home, renters, flood, phone insurance....

 

AppleCare does not cover lost or stolen phones either. So every user has to weigh the pros and cons and pick what works for them. Every bit on info about the Mobile Protection Pack and phone insurance is available to everyone before they sign up for anything. It's not the carrier's fault if someone isn't reading the fine print. Yes AppleCare will replace a battery or fix a broken screen. It won't replace a phone that is lost or stolen. 

Employee

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3.5K Messages

7 years ago

Oh and Apple covers WARRANTY on their devices from DAY ONE. AT&T has nothing to do with Apple warranty or providing warranty service on a new Apple device. Not even sure why you're mentioning the carrier when it comes to Apple warranty. Not their responsibility.

Teacher

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23 Messages

7 years ago

Seems to me like someone didn't read through the insurance terms and conditions fully. Deductible applies to every insurance product in America. Health, car, home, renters, flood, phone insurance....

 

I think you are missing the point yourself. I fully understand what a deductible is and that all insurance products have deductible. Also, I am not confusing Apple warranty with AT&T insurance, but did compare Apple care plus ( a separate extension of warranty one can buy with Apple) against your own protection plan.

 

While it is certainly true that I did not read the fine print of the insurance before buying it, by now, I fully read and understand the insurance. And I want to tell the community to NOT sign up for this insurance, or at least not sign up believing they are getting something they dont.

 

Concerning the deductible, there are 2 kinds of deductible with Insurion. If your phone is repaired at home by a technician, the deductible for recent devices is $89. The ONLY other option is a device exchange, and the deductible for an iphone 7 is..$225 for that option. Yet, again the important information that I was never told when proposed to insure my iphone 7 is that Insurion, and therefore AT&T does NOT offer the repair option for iphone 7.  

 

Therefore, I stand by my statement. 

- AT&T advertises all those options for their insurance services, without anywhere mentioning the restrictions for iphone 7. Do you think it would be useful to explicitly exclude iphone 7 from this $89 screen repair service, given it is the mainstream device today, and screen crack represent a very high percentage of claims (in fact the picture used on the protection plan advertising is a cracked screen, misleading isn't it...)?  See this:

https://protectioncenter.att.com/content/asurion/attmdpp/en/protection-plans.html

 

- AT&T store employees never informed me that, unlike another device, if I had the smallest repair on my iphone 7, I would incur a $225 deductible, making this insurance really only valuable for theft and loss.

 

- This insurance at $10/month with a deductible of $225 for a screen repair (the most common claim) is just not a good deal when the full price of screen repair at Apple is $129 with no insurance or $29 with Apple care. See this:

https://support.apple.com/iphone/repair/screen-damage

 

 

So, I am not complaining there is a deductible, I understand every insurance product carries a deductible, but  just that the deductible at 1.8x the full price of repair at Apple for screen crack makes no sense. The deductible is also approx 1/3rd of the full price device, which is a very very high ratio.

 

 

Concerning my other issue on the device purchase again AT&T is committing you to 2 year service for the privilege of buying th phone..at list price ...while telling you you are getting a great deal.

 

So, I read everything by now ...At the time of purchase I was told i was buying an iphone 7 at a discounted price against a 2 year service commitment, and that I was buying insurance with a great in home repair service. Both of those statements are factually untrue, and I think future buyers should know as they consider switching to an iphone 7 with AT&T.

 

Best,

Jul

 

 

Employee

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3.5K Messages

7 years ago

If you'd read the insurance information available to everyone you'd have known the only options are screen repair or replacement. You can say whatever you want about "I wasn't told this or that" but the bottom line is that lack of independent research is no one's fault but your own. What devices can have screen repair are listed. The image of the cracked screen is a generic phone. It's a stock image. Doesn't represent anything. 

 

https://www.att.com/offers/device-protection.html

 

And once again, you can't replace a lost phone with AppleCare. That pretty much ends the discussion about any comparisons. 

 

AT&T Next is rather clear too. Not sure why you're hung up on someone saying discounted because all the info is available with independent research and information gathering. It's MSRP at a 0% interest rate.

 

https://www.att.com/shop/wireless/next.html 

Teacher

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23 Messages

7 years ago

David,

 

you seem to have a listening (or reading in this case) problem. I understand you work for AT&T and it hurts you to read my post.

It does not make it less accurate, and my advice potentially valuable to future buyers of iphone 7.

 

The page I linked, like the page you link shows a cracked screen to advertise the protection plan.

it does not mention anywhere that AT&T protection plan does NOT repair cracked screens for iphone 7. They offer you exchange your device for $225, while, again, Apple (and many other repair services) offer repair of crack screens for $129, or 40% cheaper than the deductible for the AT&T protection plan. The reason again, which I found out today, after a painful hour call with Insurion is that Insurion is not certified to repair iphone 7 by Apple and therefore will not offer this option. For all other phones, the in house repair is charged $89 for cracked screen, so it becomes a somewhat valuable option. But again, please read my posts. This option iS NOT AVAILABLE FOR IPHONE 7, making the AT&T insurance plan particularly unattractive only for that particular phone, iphone 7, that happens to be the #1 smartphone at the moment...

 

So, it is not about "hear say". The documentation you point yourself, and the page from AT&T, along with what customers are told in the AT&T store is just inaccurate, and misleading. Read the page I pointed to, it says explicitly $89 deductible for screen repair. It says for selected regions and device, except for iphone 7 it is nowhere and there is no information at all enabling me to know iphone 7 is excluded from that option.

 

The zero percent financing is an advantage for purchase, but again comes with a lot of "baggage". your phone is locked to AT&T, and you are getting financing only as long as you stay with AT&T. Again, you can get an unlocked phone and 18 months interest free financing at Apple today. Certainly something to consider.

 

Best,

Jul

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ACE - Expert

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16.5K Messages

7 years ago


@jujusf wrote:

When AT&T offers you a "discounted" iphone on your new line, beware. I found out first that the purchase price, $649, or 24 payments of 27$, which is ..exactly the same. 

  We're does it say it's discounted

 

 

But the biggest ripoff is on the warranty. Basically, apple care plus covers all damages for the phone and cost you $129 for 2 years, or essentially 5$ a month. AT&T, through his partner Asurion, offers a "great" warranty for...$10 a month. They tell you one great advantage is that for a reduced cost, the local technicians will come to your home and repair the phone on-site for usual damages (cracked screen being the most common)....

Come to your HOME? Where does it say that?

 

Well , let's see, with Apple care you pay $29 for a cracked screen repair, $129 with no apple care. For iphone 6 and 6s, the in house repair for cracked screen is charged...$89 deductible. But for iphone 7, Insurion is not qualified (yet?) for iphone 7 repairs, so the only choice is to repair yourself outside of AT&T warranty (why take an insurance then???) , or pay $225 for a brand new device exchange....Great deal!! Even if iphone 7 was covered by AT&T, how can a 89$ deductible and $10 a month be a good deal when full price repair is $129 at Apple with no insurance???

That $29 is only the screen. Larger repairs cost more. (While Assurion has a fixed price).

 

Do the math people....AT&T always sounds good when you are at a store. They end up being a r*off most of the time. The only advantage seems to be the installed payment. Well you can get that on amazon or many other places too, including Apple themselves..

While I disagree with some of the facts above. I do prefer AppleCare+ to Assurion, I buy AppleCare+ 

 

But if you're apt to lose or have your phone stolen, AppleCare provides nothing. 

 

Conclusion: If you are on AT&T get a 7 unlocked at apple and get apple care plus if you want coverage. MUCH better deal than AT&T. Did I mention you can change carrier when you want then?


If you're someone who gets a new iPhone at Apple every two years and gets AppleCare+, you can get the Apple Every Year program and pay monthly for the phone and the AppleCare+ and upgrade every year  for the same as the two year price, so it's kind of a bonus to do it that way...

 

 

ACE - Sage

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116.6K Messages

7 years ago

I also feel the need to poke holes...

1.   ATT does NOT sell phones at a discount, nor are they advertised that way.  "Contracts" are gone.

ATT sells at the same price as Apple and both have payment plans.  

2.   I agree and advise customers to buy the unlocked version from Apple directly.  Why anyone would buy a full priced phone with less connectivity and inferior chip set makes no sense. 

3.  Apple care plus is an extended warranty with "oops" protection.  It does not cover lost or stolen.  Considering iPhone are the most stolen smartphone, it's a risk not to have this coverage and Apple knows it, which is why they don't offer it, and why the price is lower than Asurion.  Square trade offers a similar price and similar coverage.  

4.   Apple care plus charges a deductible for "damage due to handling".  Only warranty is no charge.

5.   Asurion has declining deductible.  The $225 deductible is reduced in 6 months and again to 50% off after 12 months.   

6.  I do not use insurance.  We are not prone to losing or breaking phones.  In 20 years and many phones, only one lost, one chewed by a puppy and one quit working.  Still saved over $5,000 in premiums alone.  

7.  Asurion is the only provider that covers mobile completely , and is the provider all carriers use.  It's a monopoly in my opinion, but the coverage is not required.  

8.   Sometimes it works out.  A friend of mine took the Mobile protection pack.  She recently paid $66 deductible and got a check for $1,500 to replace her Mac Pro Air (or whatever they call the Apple tiny laptop).  While it didn't cover the full replacement cost, it was significant toward the cost.

In summary, while I agree with the title statement, it isn't for the reasons you wrote as some of your premise is incorrect.  

 

ACE - Expert

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64.7K Messages

7 years ago

You may have come to the right conclusion but for all the wrong reasons.

- No one sells iphones at a discount. ATT's price is the same as everyone else.

- Insurance is optional and has nothing to do with where you purchase your phone. You could buy it anywhere and still sign up for insurance. You can buy AppleCare regardless of where you purchase the phone too.

- The ATT version of the iphone is locked to ATT regardless of where you buy it. Obviously, ATT only sells the ATT version but it would still be locked if you bought the ATT version from Apple or anywhere else. If you want to say don't buy the ATT version, fine but all your other reasons for not buying from ATT are irrelevant.

New Member

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25.7K Messages

7 years ago

@jujusf I just want to point out it's ASSURION, not INSURION. You've gotten the name wrong literally every single time in this thread
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