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I am thinking about upgrade my Eris(version of the Hero) to either the Droid 2 or the Galaxy S for Verizon. However, I keeping reading that in November Verizon is going to be launched LTE, and I'm in one of those cities where a launch is planned. So, the question comes should I upgrade to one of those aforementioned phones or should I wait for LTE and accompanying Android phone to come out(in this case LTE/CDMA hybrid)?
LTE phones probably wont be out till late Q1 2011 if you can wait i would, if not do what i did.
i ended buying an EVO outright not to get into a contract so i can switch once the first Verizon Android LTE phones come out. then i can just sell the EVO on eBay.
I went to Best Buy to peruse this evening and checked out the HTC Inspire 4G - overall it's a pretty snappy phone and the 4.3" screen has me drooling along with the front camera, rear flash and the Sense UI that has grown so much from my good old days of HTC on Windows Mobile!!! Then I thought to myself, hmmmm, perhaps AT&T will let me get it!!!
I purchased the Captivate on July 15th, about three days ahead of the actual release date and I was beaming - until the woeful GPS and now the occasional rebooting if you look at it too hard issues came up, of course I stuck with it because originally they said the holy grail of 2.2 would be out by August, then the end of September, then after Turkey day then by Christmas...... and now it's almost March, almost seven months later to the date!!!
I've been a Bell South/Cingular/AT&T subscriber since 2000, now a little over 11 years, and thru those years I've had let's say about nine phones of my own not to include my wifes phone and then my kids as they grew up and I gave them phones via the family plan. Strangely enough when I upgraded my last phone (HTC Fuze) to the captivate they gave me the option to upgrade a year later which will be July 15th, they usually let me upgrade every year or so so I'm always fresh.
But after this second hassle with them about a Samsung smart phone (first was the BlackJack) I'm pretty done and ready to go back to old reliable HTC and call them up and demand that they give me an Inspire or I nip all my plans in the bud since they all expire this year with my phone being the last one to expire in July and moving over to T-Mobile or Verizon. I know I could get it and they would probably extend my contract another 6 months or so, and I've seen the specs on it and know that by mid summer it would be be beyond old hat since it's pretty much the Evo with GSM with new Sense UI. Or I could wait and see if they would give me the Infuse or the new Motorola but I'd hate to get any of those phones then see in July that the new HTC Super Duper or Samsung Galaxy S 2.5 come out then. Should I wait it out another five months with the Captivate, play the warranty return game till they offer me an alternative or just say" Yo AT&T, if you still want my business give me a Motorola!!!"
Right there with you. Got my Cappy in late July, now on my sixth. They offered to give me a different phone on the last two, but the closest to the Cap's specs were the x10 and iPhone 4. Hoping number six here holds out until the x12's or Atrix's come out. If they're not willing to budge on my terms when it inevitably dies (free and no-new-contract) then I'm paying the ETF and heading to sprint.
I'm planning on doing the same. Although chances are they will only change it (one time) to another phone that is refurbished. So it might take a while to jump on a new phone.
How did you manage to gets a one year contract with a phone upgrade? I wish I got that.I have a one year upgrade option but a t year contract that gets extended with every upgrade. The 300-500 is not worth the contract cancellation for me
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crystalhand said:
The 300-500 is not worth the contract cancellation for me
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True. But with all the bullsh*t that has came with this droid and having to take 5 phones to the post office to be shipped back (only to be refurb'd again and passed off to some other poor bastard)... a $200 ETF is like paying for the luxury of no longer putting up with AT&T. Every month another $20 less that I have to pay them, etc.
3 times warranty exchange of captivate for the sleep/charge death issue; and possibly account history.
As always, be soft, be patient, and be genuine.
I was told I could swap for a different phone in Dec last if the sleep death issue reoccurred (that was the 4th exchange in all -- once a battery and 3 times phone exchange).
Luckily, my captivate survived.
Im so tempted to just pay the ETF and jump to verizon.. its nice to see that att is getting some new android phones. Even though the htc phone has the lowest specs its so tempting because it will have aosp and 2.3 before the new samsung phone.....and unless motorola goes with an unlocked bootloader they will be in the same boat. Hardware specs don't mean much if the software isn't there
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Early upgrade pricing is $300 and most everyone will qualify for that. Sell your Captivate for $250-$300 on Craigslist and be done with it. It will be hard to get them to swap it. I tried.
gtg465x said:
Early upgrade pricing is $300 and most everyone will qualify for that. Sell your Captivate for $250-$300 on Craigslist and be done with it. It will be hard to get them to swap it. I tried.
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The Inspire is available for $400 with no contract. I'd rather do that than pay $300 for an upgrade and be locked in for 2 more years.
Same boat.... random shutdowns, etc. On my 5th or 6th phone. I have device support center near my house, so swapping them out it easy, but irritating. When I called yesterday, they said I could swap it for an Inspire, but only when the warranty center received refurbished units, which could take 30-90 days. I doubt it will take that long. I do not see them issuing new Inspires to anybody with a problem at 31+ days. I would have to guess they will have refurbs within 30 days, but who knows. Anybody know how long it takes for AT&T to start getting refurbs?
I'm also curious to know if i can do this. I bought a Captivate refurbished, and already got a replacement because of random shut down issues. Maybe i'll give AT&T a call tomorrow and see what I can do, anyone think people interested in this idea have a decent chance as long as we're reasonable to the AT&T rep we speak to?
Tried. Didn't work : /
It's good to know I'm not the only person thinking about the trade out, seeing as how the Inspire 4G is marked monetarily lower than the Captivate but of the same calibur I'm sure that it will be a refurb option really soon. The only thing I dread about going through the warranty process is initially getting back Captivate refurbs that have bigger issues than mine over and over again until AT&T finally gives in and lets me choose another phone of the same calibur which is why I haven't sent mine in for the GPS, media scan of dread and shutdown while charging/rebooting troubles but now that they are becoming more frequent that it's becoming unbearable.
Buying an Inspire straight out or having AT&T extend my contract for another year isn't an option I'm willing to take, that would get me stuck with an inspire until spring 2012 at the least - no thanks I saw what became of the Aria.
The simple fact is the the issues with this phone should have been addressed and resolved a long time ago and we shouldn't have to put on a custom rom to get it to a state that it should have been that way out the box, custom roms should be for fun and enhancements to an already good product not band aids to fix flaws that the manufacturer or carrier wont acknowledge and respond to.
Hopefully in a few weeks once people start going through the Inspire's the option to choose a refurbished Inspire 4G as a swap for a Captivate will become available, either that or the official 2.2 comes out then I'll stick with the captivate until summer, after that AT&T better come correct with the android updates and some stunning hardware or I'll be jumping ship to T-Mobile.
Wow, I didn't realize the captivate was having so many issues...5th and 6th phones? My god.
I got my phone in August and its running like a champ with Darky 9.2.
johnnie5000 said:
true. But with all the bullsh*t that has came with this droid and having to take 5 phones to the post office to be shipped back (only to be refurb'd again and passed off to some other poor bastard)... A $200 etf is like paying for the luxury of no longer putting up with at&t. Every month another $20 less that i have to pay them, etc.
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IT'S NOT A DROID! @[email protected]##%@#$%^#$%^
xreflection said:
Wow, I didn't realize the captivate was having so many issues...5th and 6th phones? My god.
I got my phone in August and its running like a champ with Darky 9.2.
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it's true. granted, i've only gone through one phone, but i did have the random shutdown problem, and at first i wasn't bothered by it. it quickly became the most annoying problem ever by occurring more frequently.
I am still skeptical about the whole 4G network with AT&T especially being such crappy coverage service already with their supposed upgraded 3G network. If they said they finally completed their 3G network upgrade and provide this kind of horrible coverage quality, I can't even begin to imagine how their supposed 4G network speeds are as well as the coverage it will support. If i was to get a 4G AT&T phone, I would wait at least half a year to a year to really see how they push their network out onto the market.
I talked to an AT&T rep last night and I think I am goinh to jack the upgrade on one of my kids' line and get the Inspire 4G. I got it for my wife and it was the bomb.
The rep told me the exception upgrade for the Inspire is 199.
I originally posted this in the Inspire 4g General forum:
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I bought the Captivate day 1 in June after all the hype only to be disappointed like many users. I called AT&T customer service about an hour ago and was online with a rep within 10 minutes. I very calmly explained my issues with the Captivate (GPS, rebooting randomly) and asked to be given an early upgrade. Without so much as a question the rep told me he would approve it through his supervisor. It took me less than 30 minutes to have a full upgrade ready whenever I want to use it. That will be in about an hour when I go pick up the Inspire.
TL;DR: If you want to upgrade from your Captivate but stay with AT&T, it is trivially easy to get the full upgrade price.
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Also, the OP says that the Inspire has a front-facing camera, but it does not. Just FYI.
I did it. Love it. Such a better out of the box experience.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
I just got my Captivate from AT&T in December, and I am pretty much unsatisfied with it. I was wondering if any of you here got an early upgrade to an Inspire 4G for just the $99 and $18 activation? No early upgrade fee's? Thank you!
I did. I complained and they gave me a full early upgrade and waived the activation fee. Not only that but they had a $50 off deal going on so I walked out with mine paying $53
Over the phone or AT&T store?
I complained and they said they set up the upgrade for me, I went to the store on release day and it was a clusterfarq. So a few hours later I had my phone. Then a customer service rep called me from corpo and I complained again and got a $20 credit on my account
Good luck
I went to the AT&T Store, and the guys there were very unhelpful. They just turned me down saying "we can't do anything about it."
What exactly did you say?
I received an early upgrade but I was exactly 22 days away from my official upgrade date, which was March 8. I contacted customer service on the phone and threatened them with Big Red and HTC Thunderbolt ( Verizon ) because I have 4 lines and all on recently renewed contract and they put in "special instructions" into the system for when I went to an AT&T Store.
The employee checked and I was eligible . HTC Inspire was mine for 105$
sheanzyy said:
I received an early upgrade but I was exactly 22 days away from my official upgrade date, which was March 8. I contacted customer service on the phone and threatened them with Big Red and HTC Thunderbolt ( Verizon ) because I have 4 lines and all on recently renewed contract and they put in "special instructions" into the system for when I went to an AT&T Store.
The employee checked and I was eligible . HTC Inspire was mine for 105$
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But you were 22 days away. I am 2 years away, just got the captivate recently.
I was wondering if it's possible to early upgrade now like I read some people did.
I got upgraded for no fee today. I don't know if it helped that I knew the assistant manager. Just a coincidence I went to high school with the guy. Such a big difference in this phone compared to my Sony Ericsson Xperia X10. It is worth the try to get an early upgrade!
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
droe411 said:
I got upgraded for no fee today. I don't know if it helped that I knew the assistant manager. Just a coincidence I went to high school with the guy. Such a big difference in this phone compared to my Sony Ericsson Xperia X10. It is worth the try to get an early upgrade!
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
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Can he help me?? AT&T screwed me. They said the cheapest I can get it is $470 early upgrade, and he would take $200 from the bill. Still very high... I am pissed off. I threatened to change to Verizon, but nothing. Even higher level support didn't have the "authority" to change the prices for loyal customers for the past 7 or so years. SMH.
x986123 said:
Can he help me?? AT&T screwed me. They said the cheapest I can get it is $470 early upgrade, and he would take $200 from the bill. Still very high... I am pissed off. I threatened to change to Verizon, but nothing. Even higher level support didn't have the "authority" to change the prices for loyal customers for the past 7 or so years. SMH.
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How would it be $470? The non-commitment pricing of this phone is 399.99 the most you would pay even in California where the tax is applied to the full retail value of the phone would be $435.
Sell the Captivate. Get $200 for it. Then buy the phone for the early upgrade price of $299.99. Still only pay $99 for it.
x986123 said:
I just got my Captivate from AT&T in December, and I am pretty much unsatisfied with it. I was wondering if any of you here got an early upgrade to an Inspire 4G for just the $99 and $18 activation? No early upgrade fee's? Thank you!
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No offence but you kept it past it's 30 day return policy. It's not AT&T's fault that you suddenly want a new phone a few months later. If you really want it, dish out the $399. That's not too bad.
It's like buying a new car and a few months later deciding on you wanted a Honda instead of a Ford.
We all make choices in life. You made one....now live with it.
Att can not do upgrades over the phone if you are not within 4 months of upgrading. You can't do it in store unless you are so many days from upgrading. Nothing they can do about it.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
x986123 said:
I just got my Captivate from AT&T in December, and I am pretty much unsatisfied with it. I was wondering if any of you here got an early upgrade to an Inspire 4G for just the $99 and $18 activation? No early upgrade fee's? Thank you!
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I talked with AT&T about this as well. I got my refurbed Captivate in October. To qualify for for the exception upgrade, you need to wait 6 months. For me that is April around my birthday. They told me the cost to get the phone them would be whatever the 2 year contract price is for the phone plus $100.00. I have had this confirmed multiple times. I am hoping with the Atrix coming out and other potential offering with FFC and dual processors, that the two year price for the Captivate will plummet and I can get it cheaper as those other things do not matter to me.
uhmump95 said:
I talked with AT&T about this as well. I got my refurbed Captivate in October. To qualify for for the exception upgrade, you need to wait 6 months. For me that is April around my birthday. They told me the cost to get the phone them would be whatever the 2 year contract price is for the phone plus $100.00. I have had this confirmed multiple times. I am hoping with the Atrix coming out and other potential offering with FFC and dual processors, that the two year price for the Captivate will plummet and I can get it cheaper as those other things do not matter to me.
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Actually that is incorrect. Early upgrade on a Data device is 2 yr pricing plus $200.
Non smart phones it's 2 yr pricing plus $75.
I am sorry they gave your wrong information.
So basically you guys are saying I'm screwed. Yeah, was afraid of that. Hope someone wants to trade an Inspire for my Captivate. Maybe convince someone who isn't a techy at school. Haha.
Wow, sooooo many diff experiences. I purchased my Captivate and renewed my contract in August. I went to the At&t store on launch day perpared to pay $399 for it as we have a Corp. account. The rep told me if he would give me an early upgrade by starting my contract from that day. By doing this I was able to get it for $299 which was fine by me. 6 months for a $100 sounded like a deal to me. He said I would be eligible for upgrade again in 20 months and kept my unlimited data. Honestly, one of better experiences I had with them in the past 7 years.
I still think you should sell the cap on the market here for about $200(or more) take the $200 off and end up paying $70~ out of pocket... In my opinion the inspire is well worth it.
r_3 said:
I still think you should sell the cap on the market here for about $200(or more) take the $200 off and end up paying $70~ out of pocket... In my opinion the inspire is well worth it.
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They sell on eBay for around $300. Maybe I should try there...
Just thought I'd pop in here and share my experience with switching from the Captivate to the Inspire.
I have only been an AT&T customer since August 2010. I have a couple of calls to ATT Customer service in my record where they documented my unhappiness with the GPS and lack of Froyo updates. When @samsungjohn came to the Captivate portal and stirred the pot with Samsung's PR stunt I had finally had enough I called 611 again and was polite, and nicely explained to the CSR my complaints with the Captivate. I asked if there was ANYTHING that they could do to move me into another phone, I never mentioned wanting to cancel my account or raised my voice in any way. The CSR told me that he understood my frustration and he had heard similar complaints before.
He was able to put a $150 dollar credit on my account and I was able to sell my Captivate for $200 so I walked out of a Corporate AT&T store with my Inspire at a net cost of $50 to me.
Maybe I got lucky, or maybe AT&T is hearing from a LOT of people like me and is losing customers, I don't know.
Just thought I'd share.
gunnyman said:
Just thought I'd pop in here and share my experience with switching from the Captivate to the Inspire.
I have only been an AT&T customer since August 2010. I have a couple of calls to ATT Customer service in my record where they documented my unhappiness with the GPS and lack of Froyo updates. When @samsungjohn came to the Captivate portal and stirred the pot with Samsung's PR stunt I had finally had enough I called 611 again and was polite, and nicely explained to the CSR my complaints with the Captivate. I asked if there was ANYTHING that they could do to move me into another phone, I never mentioned wanting to cancel my account or raised my voice in any way. The CSR told me that he understood my frustration and he had heard similar complaints before.
He was able to put a $150 dollar credit on my account and I was able to sell my Captivate for $200 so I walked out of a Corporate AT&T store with my Inspire at a net cost of $50 to me.
Maybe I got lucky, or maybe AT&T is hearing from a LOT of people like me and is losing customers, I don't know.
Just thought I'd share.
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And maybe the highlighted part was the real reason. At any rate, congrats on the early upgrade. I'm lovin this device more and more.
Hey, I am in a pickle, i dont know weather to get the infuse 4g now, or wait for the nexus prime or what ever new smartphones that is coming out soon
I just ordered a refurbished Infuse to use at the mean time of waiting for $19. Will definitely return when new stuffs coming within a month.
Did you get it from Rogers, if so how do you return it after a month because i thought their was a policy that you have 15 days or 30 min of talk time?
So quick question. I have a Iphone 5 under contract in AT&T from April 26th. I might go for the HTC one or S4 in the Future, like in the upcoming months. How long before we can use a early upgrade?( I am talking about the one with the extra $250 that you pay for getting a different phone).
Thanks