Database Users

[Q] How easy is to buy a Focus without a contract?

I will be traveling to the US in about a week, I want to buy a Focus and was wondering if I will be able to do it without having a contract with At&t..
I'm willing to pay the "No Commitment Pricing" of $500+taxes but I don't know what kind of requirements they impose to the actual purchase of a device in the store.
Anybody has info on this?

idloco said:
I will be traveling to the US in about a week, I want to buy a Focus and was wondering if I will be able to do it without having a contract with At&t..
I'm willing to pay the "No Commitment Pricing" of $500+taxes but I don't know what kind of requirements they impose to the actual purchase of a device in the store.
Anybody has info on this?
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Click to collapse
Your best bet is Best Buy if/when they get the phone, I think.
When I bought my Focus today in an official AT&T store, they mentioned I would have to purchase some sort of contract to "get the phone today". I didn't mind since I was planning to, but it felt to me like it was a necessity...

Anyone else have problems buying off contract? I used my upgrade on an iPhone 4 and wanted to buy this for the full retail price today.... Hopefully I don't run into any problems =/

I bought mine no contract with no hassle. I'm already an ATT customer and just asked to buy the phone without a contract.

chizzwhizz said:
I bought mine no contract with no hassle. I'm already an ATT customer and just asked to buy the phone without a contract.
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Same here, I was in and out in about 5 minutes.

Bizybone said:
Same here, I was in and out in about 5 minutes.
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phew... load off my mind. now i can sell off my samsung captivate without worrying the whole day if i did it for nothing. THANKS

I got the phone when the stores open in Columbus, OH on the 8th. There were 4 of us in line there. The other 3 were Microsoft employees. Two bought the focus, one the HTC. All bought them with NO contract. Infact I think one guy paid for all three of them lol. I'm pretty sure since you can order them online with no contract for $499.99 at ATT.com that a contract is not needed.

I walked in and out of a official att store with a focus.

Buy it @ at&t stores should be no problem at all. The biggest problem is to get it unlocked.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

You can't buy the Samsung Focus off contract currently. AT&T will sell it outright ($499 + tax), but they will only sell it to you if your an existing on-contract customer or you sign up (with a minimum term). I've already been to AT&T and tried, apparantly my money is not good enough there. I'm not sure how people in the US put up with this rubbish. Either way, the only way to get a Samsung Focus in the US at the moment is to sign up at AT&T.
I've also been to Best Buy, but they only stock the HTC Surround, which I won't buy due to it not having a microSD slot.

I'm currently an AT&T customer who just renewed my contract for another 2 years for the iphone 4. So they'll be able to sell me one full retail price, right?

www.expansys-usa.com

What about Amazon Wireless, I think you can buy there without a plan...
EDIT: I just confirm this, you can buy without a plan!

Most online site still need to verify your status with AT&T (at least that's the policy with Letstalk.com). Stores don't like to sell phones without contract because there is no money to be made (monthly service charges).

jaraya13 said:
What about Amazon Wireless, I think you can buy there without a plan...
EDIT: I just confirm this, you can buy without a plan!
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You can go elsewhere on the net as well. The problem is AT&T has the best price right now. Everyone else is a good 50-80 more expensive. I'd rather save the extra cash and grab a branded one...

bmstrong said:
You can go elsewhere on the net as well. The problem is AT&T has the best price right now. Everyone else is a good 50-80 more expensive. I'd rather save the extra cash and grab a branded one...
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Dude I meant the branded ones (AT&T), for example the HTC SURROUND AT&T BRANDED price is $460 or something like that. And I was able to go through all the checkout process, just that I didn't want to pay, hehehe

OK cool.. I hope there are Focus left when I´m there!

Amazon.com doesn't have Focus in stock. In fact, it only briefly showed up in like 10 seconds before it was sold out @ 11/8.

You go to Dell online and buy any phone on any carrier in the US and some unlocked Nokia's without a contract and in some cases the prices are pretty good...I have a Streak AND a Nokia N8 on the way lol. The Nokia (ugly pea green one) was actually only $450 compared to $550 most other places. If I don't like either one I may be joining the Focus owners club in a few weeks.

craiglist.. thats how i got mine// 400 bucks.. a week old

[Q] Unlocked version same as subdivided one?

Well I went at a best buy to see a demo model but they didn't have one so I asked questions and asked if there was a difference and the person said no.If you buy with a contract, they give you an unlocked one for $200 but without one they will sell it for $529.. This worries me as if they have an imei code or whatever you won't be able to use the 5.99 or $10 internet plan where tmobile will block it.. Is this true and do you think tmobile will block the cheaper "dumb phone" data plan? Thanks!!

Aaron Y. said:
Well I went at a best buy to see a demo model but they didn't have one so I asked questions and asked if there was a difference and the person said no.If you buy with a contract, they give you an unlocked one for $200 but without one they will sell it for $529.. This worries me as if they have an imei code or whatever you won't be able to use the 5.99 or $10 internet plan where tmobile will block it.. Is this true and do you think tmobile will block the cheaper "dumb phone" data plan? Thanks!!
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There is no difference in phones they are the same SKU but there are numerous threads about the T-zones plan, some say it works still some say it doesnt
do a quick search or check a couple pages back

I belive they're the same device. They're all unlocked. I don't remember which one, but Samsung, T-Mo or Google tweeted that the other day.
When I bought mine, without contract, it came out of the same stack of phones as the one the guy next to me who was on contract got his from.

Aaron Y. said:
Well I went at a best buy to see a demo model but they didn't have one so I asked questions and asked if there was a difference and the person said no.If you buy with a contract, they give you an unlocked one for $200 but without one they will sell it for $529.. This worries me as if they have an imei code or whatever you won't be able to use the 5.99 or $10 internet plan where tmobile will block it.. Is this true and do you think tmobile will block the cheaper "dumb phone" data plan? Thanks!!
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Click to collapse
The locked and unlocked phones are exactly the same. There is absolutely no difference between them. Dont listen to anyone who works for best buy.
If T-Mobile chooses to block Nexus S IMEIs from the t-zones or web2go data plans they will. Your contract would not prevent that.

The word is subsidized by the way.

In my case I bought an unlocked one in Bestbuy for $529.00 without a Plan. I have sim card from another carrier. When I installed it works for making calls but not Internet Data acces is available. I configure the APN and still doesn't work.
I did a test with a Rebelsimcard and then it works but just for a while and then it stops, it gets unregistered from the network. I removed the Rebelsimcard and it register but only for making calls. then if I wait a few minutes and then put again the rebelsimcard it start to works perfectly for while but it happens again.
Any ideas on what the problem it could be? How can I fix this permanetly?

Samsung Galaxy NOTE $300 AT&T 2yrs Contract..

As the title says Galaxy Note cost me $300 with 2yrs of AT&T contract, HOW? I upgraded my line for IPHONE 4S 16GB for $200, Sold it on Craigslist for $650 and add $100 more on top of $650 and bought GNOTE from Handtec.co.uk for $750. I think i got a good deal and most of Super phones that comes out these days cost $200-300 on a contract anyways. My Gnote is in transit and i am gonna receive it tomo via Fedex can't wait..... THANKs To HANDTEC for a great price and fast shipping.

I just bought a 4s and am doing the same thing but I'm waiting on the white Note to be released.

What about the micro sim for the iPhone? Or do you have another regular sim that you can use?
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium

Prozac69 said:
What about the micro sim for the iPhone? Or do you have another regular sim that you can use?
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium
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Micro-Sim to Sim adapters cost about a dollar on amazon.

While I appreciate the info, this thread title gave me false hope, lol.

Welcome to years ago & welcome to the Note club.

galaxy s2
Me too just did the same thing wit the galaxy s2 but I only got $450 for it.

I do the same but with two galaxy s II

Was going to do the same thing but in the end, straight talk at $45 a month unlimited comes out cheaper over the 2 year run (saving $40 a month every single month), if I get booted for too much data, than I will do this

Galaxy note from India
Will the Galaxy note from India work for ATT?
specs are as follows:
Band GSM&EDGE Band 850/900/1,800/1,900
3G Band 850/900/1,900/2,100
Network&Data GPRS 850/900/1,800/1,900
EDGE 850/900/1,800/1,900
3G HSPA+ 21Mbps
Regional Availability Global
Any information will be highly helpful.
thanks

Yes the galaxy Note from India will work with AT&T.
At&T uses band 850 and 1900 for 3G network.

I thought the Note may come out on ATT officially before end of the year with LTE support. Why not just wait another 1-2 months and see what happens.

gordec said:
I thought the Note may come out on ATT officially before end of the year with LTE support. Why not just wait another 1-2 months and see what happens.
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I highly, highly doubt it. But if it does, I can always sell my current one and use the money to buy the AT&T version. Unless AT&T's version is crappier, in which case I'll simply be glad I enjoyed my Note for all of that time before AT&T got around to releasing one, and also appreciate how much better my international version is.
For people waiting to "cash in" their 24 month upgrade credit, the smart way to do it is to buy the most valuable for resale phone at the time (unfortunately usually an iphone) and sell it, saving the money for the phone they actually want. No point in waiting for the phone you actually want to be released unless you know it's coming soon and the resale value's high enough that with ebay/paypal fees included it wouldn't make more sense to go the other iroute.

Thoughts?
maxh said:
I highly, highly doubt it. But if it does, I can always sell my current one and use the money to buy the AT&T version. Unless AT&T's version is crappier, in which case I'll simply be glad I enjoyed my Note for all of that time before AT&T got around to releasing one, and also appreciate how much better my international version is.
For people waiting to "cash in" their 24 month upgrade credit, the smart way to do it is to buy the most valuable for resale phone at the time (unfortunately usually an iphone) and sell it, saving the money for the phone they actually want. No point in waiting for the phone you actually want to be released unless you know it's coming soon and the resale value's high enough that with ebay/paypal fees included it wouldn't make more sense to go the other iroute.
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I saw this and thought it would be good to post.
http://www.examiner.com/gadgets-in-...xy-note-could-make-its-way-on-at-t-early-2012
I'm on AT&T myself and might just wait and see what happens. If it doesn't come to AT&T, I could still always choose the UK version...and maybe the price would even come down a bit.
I'm using the Dell Streak right now. I love it, so I really don't mind waiting a bit.

mha1021 or anyone here, Can someone please, please tell me how to get a an iphone 4s with a 2 year contract to get the discount but instead activate a galaxy note instead? Perhaps i missed the details but I live in Long Island NY and at&t is not selling the iphone 4s without activating it. Am i supposed to buy it, activate the iphone and then use the sim card with the note? Is the iphone then locked or imei not cleared and not sell-able? My goal is to get a 2 year contract using the galaxy note, but purchase the iphone on the 2 year contract at $200 and then sell it to offset the cost of the note.

andrewmxda said:
mha1021 or anyone here, Can someone please, please tell me how to get a an iphone 4s with a 2 year contract to get the discount but instead activate a galaxy note instead? Perhaps i missed the details but I live in Long Island NY and at&t is not selling the iphone 4s without activating it. Am i supposed to buy it, activate the iphone and then use the sim card with the note? Is the iphone then locked or imei not cleared and not sell-able? My goal is to get a 2 year contract using the galaxy note, but purchase the iphone on the 2 year contract at $200 and then sell it to offset the cost of the note.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go to an Apple Store & tell them you want to use your upgrade but dont activate it there.

andrewmxda said:
mha1021 or anyone here, Can someone please, please tell me how to get a an iphone 4s with a 2 year contract to get the discount but instead activate a galaxy note instead? Perhaps i missed the details but I live in Long Island NY and at&t is not selling the iphone 4s without activating it. Am i supposed to buy it, activate the iphone and then use the sim card with the note? Is the iphone then locked or imei not cleared and not sell-able? My goal is to get a 2 year contract using the galaxy note, but purchase the iphone on the 2 year contract at $200 and then sell it to offset the cost of the note.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It doesn't hurt anything to activate the sim card in the iphone then take it out and use it in the Note. You may have to put it in a dumbphone before the Note if you want to call in and have them switch you to the $15 unlimited dumbphone data, or you may be able to just call them, give them the Note's IMEI, and tell them it's a dumbphone (insert brand/name of dumbphone here.)
But if you want the iphone unopened/unactivated (maybe it sells for more? I don't know), you can purchase it through apple in a store or on their website, using your upgrade for the $200 price, then when it gets to the apple store tell them not to open or activate it.

Thank you Max, I do not have an upgrade as I am not an at&t customer. I am planning of going under my gf's family plan so I was looking to get a new 2 year contract under that plan. (Does that matter?) I am OK with paying all of the family plan rates and am not looking to get unlimited via other means. My main problem is I was lead to believe via many posts (not here) that getting an iphone 4s with the 2 year discount was easy and I could then sell it. at&t will not sell an iphone 4s here in LI without activating it. So, is activation what I have to do or are there other options where I could get a boxed iphone 4s (legally) and activate my note instead? However, this is another important question... If I activate a brand new iphone 4s, what do I have to do to make this phone sell-able? at&t said that I had to keep the iphone for 6 months. How do they know? Is the imei locked? Do I have to unlock it via other means or can someone just add this phone to their plan? I wish at&t was more forthcoming. I do not see why there is a problem here since I am buying the 2 year contract in the first place.

CHANGE THE THREAD TITLE.
OP IS NOTHING NEW. FEEL BAD YOU JUST REALIZED SOMETHING PEOPLE HAVE BEEN DOING FOR YEARS.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium

Only problem is no insurance through ATT if you have an accident. You can buy a year online for $60 from a 3rd party though.

I want a Note 3

This is for my wife and she will accept no other.
Presently, I am mired in trying to get one from Sprint to work but I am not optimistic, so.
Where can I buy one that would work on one of the inexpensive networks. I am not keen on paying full price and a slightly used model is acceptable.
Say U/L voice and text with 500mb to 1 GB data for $40.00 per month with no contract ?
The Sprint MVNOs like ChitChat, PagePlus, and Ting have the service but they won't support the Note 3.
Any suggestions ?

If you want cheaper why not buy a S4 or Note 2? They are still great phones.
Edit:
I did t read your post properly sorry. Bought mine from Amazon, no contract. Try ebay or cRaiglist. Good luck

xdm9mm said:
If you want cheaper why not buy a S4 or Note 2? They are still great phones.
Edit:
I did t read your post properly sorry. Bought mine from Amazon, no contract. Try ebay or cRaiglist. Good luck
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I did buy one from Ebay and it is impossible to get it to work on anything other than a Sprint family plan at $55 per month.
How did you get yours to work and with what provider ?

Is your wife hot ?
Sent from my N9005

Hextejas said:
I did buy one from Ebay and it is impossible to get it to work on anything other than a Sprint family plan at $55 per month.
How did you get yours to work and with what provider ?
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The carriers only allow the higher tariff's on Bring Your Own Phone subscription.

Oh, Canada! Note 4 in the Great White

Ok, so who's spotted the Note 4 yet? Best Buy and Future Shop both list it in their flyer, but you call the store and they don't have a clue
Expansys.ca doesn't have pricing or delivery dates yet.
Anyone else find this elusive beast?

EP2008 said:
Ok, so who's spotted the Note 4 yet? Best Buy and Future Shop both list it in their flyer, but you call the store and they don't have a clue
Expansys.ca doesn't have pricing or delivery dates yet.
Anyone else find this elusive beast?
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waiting to it too....i"ve checked through the web...and found that note 4 is sheduled for oct 3...however it probably just for pre-order only......since its expected for mid-october in U.S.. guess it gonna be around the same here too!!!

zxaz said:
waiting to it too....i"ve checked through the web...and found that note 4 is sheduled for oct 3...however it probably just for pre-order only......since its expected for mid-october in U.S.. guess it gonna be around the same here too!!!
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Oct 3rd for Canada? I don't think so. Most of the rest of the world still has it scheduled for mid-October. I think we'll be lucky to get it then.
Futureshop this morning and the guy I spoke to said that they won't even have display models on show until the day before launch - he said they even did that for the iphone 6's.

Hey guys, I work at a telecom company in Canada and we have a launch date for the Gear Live on october 2nd. We usually launch the watch with a smartphone so I am assuming that the release date will be on the 2nd or 3rd.

duykhang524 said:
Hey guys, I work at a telecom company in Canada and we have a launch date for the Gear Live on october 2nd. We usually launch the watch with a smartphone so I am assuming that the release date will be on the 2nd or 3rd.
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This would be awesome, but still seems like speculation. Crossing my fingers though ?

Just got an email from Expansys.ca about my pre-order... $849 for the Note 4... I think that's too high and I may hold off on it. When US carriers are selling it outright for $649, I just can't bring myself to paying $850.
Has anyone else found better prices?

Well... things escalated quickly.
They said the Note 4 would be shipping no later than this Thursday (Oct 2nd), but when they confirmed my order, it ended up being CDN$933 + shipping and tax, which put it close to $1100. I don't feel that any phone is worth that much. I cancelled my order and will be holding off for now.

Expansys is now showing the pre-order price of 999.99! Way too much!

greatg said:
Expansys is now showing the pre-order price of 999.99! Way too much!
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That's pretty outrageous. I'm looking back at my Note 2's invoice and I paid $800 form them with express shipping and taxes included - two years ago. There's no justification for such a high price on the Note 4. But I have a feeling that they've artificially inflated that price - once it's in retail stores, they'll drop it quickly. I was just hoping to get it sooner, but not for a few hundred dollars more!

Can we just purchase in the USA and unlock here?
Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

Be careful
I strongly suggest you make sure the model supports the LTE frequencies here in Canada.
The canadian model is sm-n910w8 and that's the one to get.
The Expansys one is probably the sm-n910s which is the international model and therefore LTE will be limited and not even work in the USA (AT&T).
Just get one from the big 3 (telus, rogers and bell).
You must get it with a plan but that doesn't matter, just go through with it and cancel 5 seconds after. You will NOT pay cancelling fees. Then you unlock the phone with whatever service you want.

gqman69 said:
Just get one from the big 3 (telus, rogers and bell).
You must get it with a plan but that doesn't matter, just go through with it and cancel 5 seconds after. You will NOT pay cancelling fees. Then you unlock the phone with whatever service you want.
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Click to collapse
I'm interested in getting the phone outright through Bell. Do you always have to get it with a plan? What a hassle. I'm use to buying unlocked phones, so this makes no sense to me. LOL

gqman69 said:
I strongly suggest you make sure the model supports the LTE frequencies here in Canada.
The canadian model is sm-n910w8 and that's the one to get.
The Expansys one is probably the sm-n910s which is the international model and therefore LTE will be limited and not even work in the USA (AT&T).
Just get one from the big 3 (telus, rogers and bell).
You must get it with a plan but that doesn't matter, just go through with it and cancel 5 seconds after. You will NOT pay cancelling fees. Then you unlock the phone with whatever service you want.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
just be aware.....
in fact the sm-n900a and 900t wich are at&t and T-Mobile variant gonna work perfectly here...my former optimus g pro wich only at&t brought this model in north America was working perfectly on robellus since these carrier are using the same frequency....except for the newly 700mhz here in Canada wich in U.S.A they use already since awhile...personally I"m gonna wait for the 900w8 since they should be invailable in same time...
in fact the T-Mobile variant is even better since it would work on wind and videotron......
EP2008 said:
I'm interested in getting the phone outright through Bell. Do you always have to get it with a plan? What a hassle. I'm use to buying unlocked phones, so this makes no sense to me. LOL
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if you are already with bell...and want to keep your plan...you just have to buy it outright....however if your not with them...you"ll have to go with them with a plan... otherwise they will not sale you the phone...samething with any provider by the way....

zxaz said:
if you are already with bell...and want to keep your plan...you just have to buy it outright....however if your not with them...you"ll have to go with them with a plan... otherwise they will not sale you the phone...samething with any provider by the way....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm with Virgin, but they are basically Bell, so whatever Bell sells will work with Virgin - I really just want to avoid signing up for a plan, cancelling, and all that nonsense. I just want to buy and phone and set it up.
If Bell won't sell the phone, what are my options? Go with an unlocked non-Canadian LTE model?

EP2008 said:
I'm with Virgin, but they are basically Bell, so whatever Bell sells will work with Virgin - I really just want to avoid signing up for a plan, cancelling, and all that nonsense. I just want to buy and phone and set it up.
If Bell won't sell the phone, what are my options? Go with an unlocked non-Canadian LTE model?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
virgin didn't sell the note 3...and it gonna probably the same with the note 4....your best bet is either your buy a U.S variant (at&t or tmo) or the Canadians variant 900w8 wich is the same then the 900a (at&t variant) on kijiji ad or ebay.....the us variant gonna cost about the same here with the custom fee and shipping+currency....

zxaz said:
virgin didn't sell the note 3...and it gonna probably the same with the note 4....your best bet is either your buy a U.S variant (at&t or tmo) or the Canadians variant 900w8 wich is the same then the 900a (at&t variant) on kijiji ad or ebay.....the us variant gonna cost about the same here with the custom fee and shipping+currency....
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Click to collapse
Hmm. Never heard of getting an AT&T or T-mobile phone from the states and using it up here. I don't really feel comfortable with that, since it would likely be a pain to get warranty service for it, no?

EP2008 said:
Hmm. Never heard of getting an AT&T or T-mobile phone from the states and using it up here. I don't really feel comfortable with that, since it would likely be a pain to get warranty service for it, no?
Click to expand...
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if you worry about the warranty issue...then buy a Canadians variant.....my last two phone where u.s variant and didn't have any problem with them....and they where rooted of course....it depend how much your a geek? lolllll

EP2008 said:
I'm with Virgin, but they are basically Bell, so whatever Bell sells will work with Virgin - I really just want to avoid signing up for a plan, cancelling, and all that nonsense. I just want to buy and phone and set it up.
If Bell won't sell the phone, what are my options? Go with an unlocked non-Canadian LTE model?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm also with Virgin and I have a great plan which I don't want to loose.
None of the providers will sell you the Note 4 but like I said, use them, get a plan and cancel it.
Bonus: it kinda pisses them off, I like to tell them to their faces that's what I'm doing.

gqman69 said:
I'm also with Virgin and I have a great plan which I don't want to loose.
None of the providers will sell you the Note 4 but like I said, use them, get a plan and cancel it.
Bonus: it kinda pisses them off, I like to tell them to their faces that's what I'm doing.
Click to expand...
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So you go on a month-to-month plan (to get the phone outright), then cancel the plan right on the spot and keep the phone? LOL Do you lose anything? Like an activation fee or your first month payment for the plan?

EP2008 said:
So you go on a month-to-month plan (to get the phone outright), then cancel the plan right on the spot and keep the phone? LOL Do you lose anything? Like an activation fee or your first month payment for the plan?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, there are no activation fees, but yes you will have to pay the first month. It's a small price to pay for getting the phone asap. Also, Telus will sell it for around 900$ and if you think about it, expansys is asking 1000$ + shipping, so it's not really that bad of a hit.
I blame Samsung, I want to give them my money but they don't make it easy.
However, their stunned stupid face, when I unlocked my Note 2 right in front of them while someone was explaining the "plan" is priceless (remember the menu unlock thing...).