Already sweating an iPhone 4 upgrade? Ben Patterson has done a great job of explaining the ins and outs of upgrade pricing ($299 for the 32GB phone, with a new two-year contract), but how do you know if you’re eligible to upgrade or not?
As Ben notes, carriers will never explain the formula for deciding who gets an upgrade and who doesn’t (although AT&T has formally said that anyone with a 2010 upgrade date is eligible), so you’re largely left to your own devices to figure out if you get the preferred pricing or not.
You can delve into the AT&T website … or you can do it the easy way with this tip. If you’re an iPhone owner, you can find out easily if you’re eligible to upgrade by dialing *639# on your phone. Wait a few seconds and you’ll get a text message in response telling you if you can upgrade and if there are additional fees involved.
Intriguingly, the six-months-early rule is not set in stone, and some users are getting upgrade offers in advance. My upgrade date is in 2011 (more than six months away), but I was told in the text I can indeed upgrade early, provided I pay a token $18 upgrade fee. Other callers with similar upgrade dates are being told the $18 fee will be waived.
Remember, of course, that you’ll have to sign on for a new two-year contract if you want the discounted $299/$199 pricing.
Preorders begin June 15, and AT&T warns that stores will provide phones “on a first-come, first-served basis, and will accommodate as many customers as possible.”
Engadget has even more details here.
— Christopher Null is a technology writer for Yahoo! News.
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