Just because you're eligible for a phone upgrade doesn’t mean you need to do it. This can be especially enticing when new devices are announced like the iPhone 16 or Pixel 9. But, skipping your phone upgrade can save you serious money, allowing you to take advantage of competitive cell phone plan deals once it's fully paid off.
Read on to learn the pros and cons of holding on to your device, when the best time to buy a phone is, as well as an overview of how early upgrades work.
How Early Upgrades Work
Let’s say you buy a brand new phone on an 18 or 24-month payment plan with a $24 per month repayment. After 12 months of payments, your carrier tells you that you’re eligible for an early upgrade.
You decide to do it, so you turn in your year-old phone that you have paid $288 towards (12 months at $24 per month) and get a brand new phone. You then sign another 18 or 24-month device contract and start your payments all over again.
When you turned in your “old” phone after a year, you lost all the equity you built—i.e., the $288 already paid towards owning your phone. Plus, when you entered into yet another phone repayment contract, cutting yourself off from potential deals you could be getting from other carriers once your phone was fully paid off. You can't jump carriers unless your device balance is at zero. However, since the best time to buy a phone is near when a new model comes out, you might be tempted to upgrade, whether with your current carrier or a different one.
The big 3 carriers offer early upgrade programs, and the terms are almost identical. AT&T customers can upgrade early once the device is 50% paid off. Verizon requires you to have the phone for 30 days and have it 50% paid off. And T-Mobile's JUMP! program allows you to upgrade your phone after paying off 50% of the total cost of your phone.
Cons of Early Upgrades
It's typically not worth upgrading your phone every year. Some reasons not to do so include:
- Loss of the equity you’ve built up in your phone with all the repayments you've made
- Extended contractual obligation to your carrier
- Additional cost of phone insurance (on average, an extra $12 per month) since your phone needs to be of very good quality when you turn it in for an upgrade
Pros of Owning Your Phone
- Lower cell phone bills without device repayments
- The ability to take your phone to a wide variety of other carriers to take advantage of great deals
- The luxury of having a "just in case" phone in the event you decide pick up a new device and not sell your old one
WhistleOut Phone Finder
If you're dead set on picking up a new device, make sure to use WhistleOut's awesome phone finder. It enables you to browse through hundreds of phones and compare their costs on dozens of carriers.
Chris Holmes
Staff Writer
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