IPhone Upgrade Eligibility Question

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Level 1

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IPhone Upgrade Eligibility Question

My old iPhone 3G has finally died (a collision accident that popped the screen and forced it into white screen mode. I have no way of fixing this, and if there is a solution involving the home and sleep buttons, I have no luck because the latter button is in disrepair.

I lived with a phone with broken pixels and the aforementioned broken skeep button so that I would be able to save my At&T upgrade for the next iPhone. I require a phone now though. Would I lose my upgrade offer if I were to replace my phone temporarily with a free iPhone 3GS? It is extremely important that I know as soon as possible.

I'm looking forward to responses.

Thank you.

iPhone 3G, iOS 3.1.3

Posted on Jul 21, 2012 4:01 PM

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Answer 1

Jul 21, 2012 4:28 PM in response to synchronizer

Yes, you would lose your upgrade because "free" isn't really free. It is a 2 year commitment to a new contract. Buy a used phone on ebay instead. Or pay Apple $149 for an out of warranty replacement.

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Answer 2

synchronizer Author

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Jul 21, 2012 4:34 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

Is there not anything I can do?

Also, can I salvage some photographs i took with the phone that were not transferred to any of my computers?

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Answer 3

Jul 21, 2012 4:40 PM in response to synchronizer

If you can't back up the phone then the photos are lost.

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Answer 4

synchronizer Author

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Jul 21, 2012 4:43 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

It's stuck on a white screen and refuses to connect to my computer. I think it's in "panic mode". Can't I salvage the photos from the phone via hard drive or something?

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Answer 5

Jul 21, 2012 4:44 PM in response to synchronizer

No. There is no "hard drive" in the phone. It is all solid state memory.

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Answer 6

synchronizer Author

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Jul 21, 2012 4:46 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

Okay, then what does the white screen mean? normally the solution would be to hold the sleep and home buttons together for a hard reset, but one of the two is non-functioning. It's probably a mechanical problem though, so if I were to take the phone to a store, would there be some chance of bring the phone back to life?

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Answer 7

Jul 21, 2012 4:46 PM in response to synchronizer

Very unlikely that there is anything that can be done for it.

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Answer 8

synchronizer Author

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Jul 21, 2012 4:56 PM in response to synchronizer

I have connected my phone to my computer before, but haven't specifically synchronized any of the photographs. The phone itself has been backed up many times though. Are any of those back-ups of some use to me?

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Answer 9

Jul 21, 2012 5:05 PM in response to synchronizer

All photos in the Camera Roll taken before the last backup will be in that backup.

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Answer 10

synchronizer Author

Level 1

5 points

Jul 21, 2012 5:08 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

All right, thank you. It looks like that all of my data is safe at the moment. It's in dormancy of course.

It looks like there's no way for me to wait for the iPhone 5 then, after all of this time waiting. I find it rather unfortunately that I can't get a temporary replacement somehow.

Anyway, how do I back-up the back-up so I don't accidentally overwrite it with something else?

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Answer 11

deggie

Level 10

167,537 points

Jul 21, 2012 5:09 PM in response to synchronizer

Back up your computer and it will back it up.

Go on eBay or craigslist and you should be able to buy a used iPhone 3G or 3Gs for much less than the $149 out-of-warranty replacement cost.

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Answer 12

synchronizer Author

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Jul 21, 2012 5:15 PM in response to deggie

I was referring to the file directory that holds the actual back-up file,

(EDIT: I found it.)but anyway, thanks for all of your advice.

If I purchase a used phone, then how would I configure it with my account by myself? I'm sure that this is a misconception of mine, but doesn't transferring information like this require the intervention of the cellular carrier?

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Answer 13

deggie

Level 10

167,537 points

Jul 21, 2012 5:26 PM in response to synchronizer

You take the SIM out of your current iPhone and put it in the used iPhone that you buy then Restore it from Backup on your computer.

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Answer 14

synchronizer Author

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Jul 21, 2012 5:28 PM in response to synchronizer

Okay then, thank you very much for your help!

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Answer 15

Jul 21, 2012 5:28 PM in response to synchronizer

I know with Verizon you can log on to your account from your computer and activate any compatible phone. If AT&T doesn't have such a service, you'd just need to either take the used phone to an AT&T store or call their customer service and have them activate the phone.

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