Has anyone dared to try this with AT&T?

[JR A]

I don't like AT&T. Period.

I love T-Mobile. In my region, LTE speeds are about the same as AT&T, if not faster due to less congestion.

So I got to thinking, "How can I get the G Pro on T-Mobile when TMo doesn't have the G Pro, at least not yet?"

Check the math:

AT&T price 2/yr contract for G Pro: $99
ETF: $350
Mobile Share plan with 6GB data: $125/ month
Total 24 month cost of ownership: $3,449

I thought, why not sign up a new 2 year contract; buy the G Pro for $99; turn around and cancel said contract and pay ETF; then pop in TMo SIM card which is $70/mo for Unlimited LTE.

$99 + $350 + $1,680 (which is 24 months of $70/mo) = $2,129

That's a savings of: $1,320 over the life of a 2 year contract, or in other words, $660 every year or $55 every month!!!

However you wanna look at it, I think someone should try this. I'm sure many tech geeks have done this ol' AT&T-TMobile-switcheroo, but I just wanted to bring it to everyone's attention if they haven't already.

Of course, you'll have to get the G Pro unlocked somehow, but the price of unlocking the phone is definitely worth it considering the daunting cost of staying with AT&T...



EDIT: I just realized AT&T's off contract "Month to Month" price for the G Pro has dropped down to $439. So you could actually save $10 by just buying it outright and unlocking it and going with TMo. But the concept still reigns true; this could be done with any phone and still get a great savings even if you do pay an ETF in order to leave AT&T.

 

[sixer]

I am in the process of doing this switch right now. I have unlocked my AT&T LG Optimus G Pro and tested it on the local LTE T-Mobile network with a friends sim card. The speeds are very good and I am looking forward to the savings also. Unlimited data will be a nice bonus also.

I've got a bunch phones on a family plan or I would have already made the switch. I was able to pick mine up for $79 (I've seen it for as low as $59) so the finances still make good sense for me to pay the ETF.

Good luck in you transition.

 

[JR A]

I am in the process of doing this switch right now. I have unlocked my AT&T LG Optimus G Pro and tested it on the local LTE T-Mobile network with a friends sim card. The speeds are very good and I am looking forward to the savings also. Unlimited data will be a nice bonus also.

I've got a bunch phones on a family plan or I would have already made the switch. I was able to pick mine up for $79 (I've seen it for as low as $59) so the finances still make good sense for me to pay the ETF.

Good luck in you transition.

It'd be even more interesting to see if someone signed up with AT&T and then cancel their contract in the same transaction.

I'd like to see the sales rep's face on that one

 

[natehoy]

I don't understand this term "dared". You are honoring a term of a contract - paying an Early Termination Fee to terminate early. AT&T should have no problem unlocking the phone for you. In fact, if you look through the forums here, there are a few people who did the exact same thing on launch day.

But it's probably less hassle and paperwork on the rep's end to simply buy the thing at the unlocked price. Bring your T-Mobile SIM so you can verify it is unlocked before you leave the store. AT&T is still making money on the sale of a phone, so they shouldn't get too uptight about that.

 

[onlyoneromeo]

this is kind of those you get what you pay for scenarios. tmoble is great in some areas but doesnt have anywhere near the coverage as att. if you dont mind having coverage in lots of places go for it.