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User profile for user: CharPatton
CharPatton Author
User level: Level 1
135 points

Buying a New iPhone without going into a Wireless Provider Store???

Hi:


Every-time I go into a wireless provider store to buy a new iPhone I feel like I'm buying a used car: pressure, sales pitches, complex deferred payment plans that I don't understand, etc. Thus,


  1. Can I buy a new iPhone from Apple directly and simply transfer the SIM card from the old phone to the new phone without getting AT&T involved? Will the new iPhone then just work seamlessly on my old AT&T plan?
  2. Can I then send my old iPhone X back to Apple for a rebate after transferring all the data from the old iPhone to the new iPhone?
  3. Is there any financial reason why I should go directly to the AT&T store and do one of their confusing installment plans? I'd prefer to pay "cash" but maybe AT&T is giving a big discount for some reason to do their installment plan? Will AT&T give more of a trade-in rebate than Apple for my old iPhone X?


Thanks much for any and all advice!


PS Wish to purchase a iPhone 12 Pro, but the dropdown list below doesn't include the new models.

iPhone 11 Pro Max

Posted on Jan 17, 2021 4:38 PM

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User profile for user: Lawrence Finch
Lawrence Finch
User level: Level 10
212,576 points

Jan 17, 2021 4:53 PM in response to CharPatton

You can buy an iPhone directly from Apple, and transfer your SIM card to the new phone. And yes, you can trade in your old phone after you receive your new phone. You will get an Apple gift card for the trade-in value. You can transfer the SIM; some carriers require a 5G compatible SIM, but I don’t think AT&T does. Even if they do you can set it up using the eSIM feature with a call to the carrier.


When you buy from Apple you can pay the full price, finance it through a carrier, or, if you have an Apple Card, you can pay it off over 12 months with no interest.


Carriers don’t really give a big cash discount; you pay pretty much the same thing for the phone by the end of the payoff period.

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Buying a New iPhone without going into a Wireless Provider Store???

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