How does Note 7 recall affect upgrade eligibility?

@wolfkingenWhat you said  "Samsung would do a lot of good will if they announced a program for those of us who are in this position where we would be eligible for trade-in with no additional financial responsiblity as soon as the new Note 8s or S8's were available." was the point I was trying to get at.

All of the current phones available now or soon including the new LG and Google phones are downgrades to the amazing Note 7 we waited for. If I wanted a S7 Edge I would have bought it then! The S8 is the only comparable product. If I pick a S7 Edge now, then my next plan starts over and I miss getting the new release in Spring. I will commit to buying one, if they commit to letting me get one without penalty. That's why I would risk keeping my Note 7 until that trade in is an option. Then my only worry is Samsung remotely turning it off at any time.

I want to stay loyal to Samsung and AT&T, but I want the next Sammy phone option program.   

---

@LiveEstate wrote:

@wolfkingenWhat you said  "Samsung would do a lot of good will if they announced a program for those of us who are in this position where we would be eligible for trade-in with no additional financial responsiblity as soon as the new Note 8s or S8's were available." was the point I was trying to get at.

All of the current phones available now or soon including the new LG and Google phones are downgrades to the amazing Note 7 we waited for. If I wanted a S7 Edge I would have bought it then! The S8 is the only comparable product. If I pick a S7 Edge now, then my next plan starts over and I miss getting the new release in Spring. I will commit to buying one, if they commit to letting me get one without penalty. That's why I would risk keeping my Note 7 until that trade in is an option. Then my only worry is Samsung remotely turning it off at any time.

I want to stay loyal to Samsung and AT&T, but I want the next Sammy phone option program.   

---

Feel free to approach Samsung with that.  But it would be up to then to buy out your ATT Next installments.  

Why does no one seem to understand how Next installments works?  You are paying retail price on a phone divided into monthly payments.    Paying for the phone is not a "penalty".    You can still upgrade to the GS8 in March.   But you have to pay off the Next installments at least to the upgrade date.  

Maybe it's time to go completely like the Europeans buy phones.  Full price like prepaid.  

@dstonejr. 

They are already.   When installment plans were introduced, phone sales slowed down.  When ATT and Verizon dropped contracts,  sales of new phones dropped dramatically for all phones and all carriers.  

This was not only expected and predicted, it is welcomed.  Carriers have been subsidizing phones for years to their detriment.  

Lets look at T-mobile.   4 years ago their coverage map was about the size of Sprints.  Now it's closer to ATT's.  How?  They dumped contracts 4 years ago.  Relieving themselves of subsidies has allowed them to put capital into their network and are expanding at a rate neither ATT or Verizon could for its size.  

Manufacturers:

Apple is struggling to keep its sales figures up.  They boosted the iPhone 7 sales figure by sponsoring the $650 trade in offer in September.  

Heaven knows the number 2 brand has taken a beating this year.  

All manufacturers are forced to offer the best quality to tempt customers.  Picking up the new offers with freebies or sponsoring 2 for one offers.

We do NOT have to spend $650 +. 

The market is seeing more good, bargain priced phones for US carriers than ever.  In the past these phones were only sold in Europe.   I have purchased at least 8 phones in the past 2.5 years and none were from ATT.  

Amazon has several good phones for $200 or less.

ebay, gazelle, swappa are selling more each year.  

Where would I spend my time?  This forum is here to provide information.  Not to stroke egos.   Not to benefit ATT.  It's here for customers.  I have a strong sense of what is fair and right.  I realize that's a challenge for some people.

You are getting a full refund and $100 on top to stay with Samsung.  In March, you can sell the GS7 Edge for about 2/3 of its retail and buy the GS8 Edge.  I'm sure Samsung will sweeten the pot, but that is out of The control of the carriers.

It would be nice if Samsung made a gesture now, but we can't make them.  

I moved away from Samsung last year and bought a Nexus 6p, just sold it and ordered a Pixel.  

My husband and I are both still having to continue using our Notes 7s because even though Best Buy contacted AT&T and had them to reverse the upgrades for our lines, the eligibility has not been corrected to allow us to process a new upgrade for another phone.  I have been trying for days to get this sorted out, but I have not had any success so far.

@LiveEstate

I get what your saying.  My concern is if the recall ends before March you're out $850, rather than just $75.  The original offer of a $25 courtesy rebate is given to all customers no matter what phone they get.  The additional $75 is for sticking with Samsung.  

Returning the Note now guarantees you get your $850, tax and assesories refunded.  Don't know what the future olds yet.

Just cover yourself.