Rogers/Fido iPhone 3GS Upgrade Policy Guide

By Ex on June 11th, 2009 137

Do you have an iPhone 3G with Rogers or Fido service?

Did you buy your iPhone 3G on or after July 11, 2008 from Rogers or Fido?

Do you want the new iPhone 3G “S” releasing June 19, 2009 from Rogers or Fido?

If you answer yes to all three of those questions, then below is a guide for you on how to upgrade to the iPhone 3G “S” with Rogers or Fido.

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The Contract

With either Rogers or Fido, you will need to sign up on a 3-year contract to be eligible for the iPhone 3G “S” and choose an available voice or voice and data plan. You can check out the available Rogers plans for June 2009 here.

To be eligible for the contract pricing below, you must have a 3 year voice plan that is $30.01 or higher, regardless of any data plan option (you don’t even need to buy a data plan to get the iPhone 3G “S”). The prices below will all reflect the requirement of a voice plan that is $30.01 or higher. If your voice plan is $30.00 or less, add $50 to the prices of the iPhone listed below.

The New Upgrade Policy

Back in March 2009 Rogers and Fido brought in a new policy that essentially said that if you have a Smartphone (Blackberry, iPhone, etc) on your account, you will not be able to upgrade to another Smartphone until you reach the 24 month (2 years) mark in your contract from your last upgrade/activation. Moreover, after 12 months in your contract from your last upgrade/activation, you can upgrade to a REGULAR CONSUMER phone (Nokia 5310, Nokia 6086, etc). In summary, dumbphones are every 12 months, smartphones every 24 months.

This changes absolutely everything for current Rogers/Fido customers.

Eligibility

New Rogers/Fido Customers

If you are a TOTALLY brand new customer to Rogers or Fido, once you have your 3 year contract plan chosen, the prices below are for NEW customers:

  • 16GB iPhone 3G “S” in Black or White – $199
  • 32GB iPhone 3G “S” in Black or White – $299

The next part is going to be confusing, so read carefully.

Current Rogers/Fido Customers using Smartphone Devices

If you are an existing Rogers/Fido customer and are going to be less than two years into your contract by the time the iPhone 3G “S” is released, then a few things happen here.

So according to the new upgrade policy, if you currently have a Smartphone (iPhone, Blackberry, etc) registered on your account, even if you did not buy it from Rogers but it is registered on your account, then you will NOT be able to upgrade to another Smartphone (iPhone 3G “S”) until you have reached the 24 month (2 year) mark in your contract since your last upgrade/activation. At that time, 2 years in, your pricing will look like this:

  • 16GB iPhone 3G “S” in Black or White – $199 or less
  • 32GB iPhone 3G “S” in Black or White – $299 or less

In other words, everyone that got the iPhone 3G on July 11, 2008, your next Smartphone upgrade will be available July 11, 2010, according to the upgrade policy.

However, do understand that when Rogers/Fido say you are “eligible” to upgrade, upgrading to a new smartphone (iPhone 3G “S”) may not actually be the case. You may be “eligible” to upgrade, but you may be only eligible for a non-smartphone, for example.

I’d like to take a moment and just say that the comments section below is now officially open for you to say whatever hate you have against Rogers/Fido.

Current Rogers/Fido Customers using non-Smartphone Devices

If you are an existing Rogers/Fido customer and are not using a smartphone device or a smartphone device is not registered on your account, you may upgrade to the iPhone 3G “S” so long as your account has reached atleast its 12 month mark since your last activation/upgrade.

At that time, 1 year in, your pricing will look like this:

  • 16GB iPhone 3G “S” in Black or White – $299 or less
  • 32GB iPhone 3G “S” in Black or White – $399 or less

The Old Policy

Before March 2009, the old policy was you could upgrade to ANY phone as soon as you have reached the 12 month (1 year) mark in your contract since your last upgrade/activation. Ofcourse, you pay a premium for the device because you would be only one year into the contract term. So for example, the price of upgrading to the iPhone 3G “S” under the old policy would look like this after 1 year into your contract term since your last upgrade/activation.

  • 16GB iPhone 3G “S” in Black or White – $299 or more
  • 32GB iPhone 3G “S” in Black or White – $399 or more

The reason you pay $100 more is because you are only 1 year into your contract term and your accumulated discounts are not high enough to enable promotional pricing.

Once you reached the 2 year mark in your contract since your last upgrade/activation, under the old policy, promotional pricing is usually granted and looks like this:

  • 16GB iPhone 3G “S” in Black or White – $199 or less
  • 32GB iPhone 3G “S” in Black or White – $299 or less

The Fix

There are 4 ways that this can be fixed or avoided.

One, Rogers/Fido get rid of this 24 month smartphone upgrade policy completely.

or Two, Rogers/Fido allow everyone to upgrade early to the iPhone 3G “S” so long as they are atleast 3 months into their contract term. They did this last year with the iPhone 3G in early August. So if this happens again, that means everyone who bought an iPhone 3G from Rogers/Fido may be able to upgrade to the iPhone 3G “S” when it is released.

In most cases, pricing in either of the two scenarios above for all existing contracted iPhone 3G/Smartphone customers will be as follows:

  • 16GB iPhone 3G “S” in Black or White – $199 or more
  • 32GB iPhone 3G “S” in Black or White – $299 or more

Or Three, Rogers tags the iPhone 3G “S” as a consumer device making it available to upgrade after 12 months instead of 24 months. Rogers tagged the iPhone 3G as a consumer device when it was released July 11, 2008 because you were able to get the iPhone 3G at promotional pricing on a voice-only contract plan and did not necessarily need a data plan, unless you wanted one (other Rogers smartphones must have a voice and data plan to be sold at all at promotional pricing, for example). I suspect a similar consumer device tagging situation with the iPhone 3G “S”.

Or Four, Rogers/Fido release the iPhone 3G “S” at a reasonable outright price and allows everyone to buy the device, even current contracted customers. At this point, Rogers/Fido have confirmed that they will be selling the iPhone 3G “S” on outright no contract pricing. Pricing for the 16GB iPhone 3G “S” will be $699 and the 32GB iPhone 3G “S” will be $799.

The Conclusion

So here is the somewhat good news. This “policy” seriously varies between customers. It is amazing how inconsistent Rogers/Fido policies are. The only way to truly find out your eligibility is to either call Rogers/Fido multiple times to find out or visit your local Rogers/Fido store.

In other words, YOU MAY GET THE IPHONE 3G “S” WHEN IT COMES OUT or soon after July 11, 2009, which is one year from when most of you bought your iPhone 3G. But then again, maybe not.

Just remember, that when Rogers/Fido say you are “eligible” to upgrade, upgrading to a new smartphone (iPhone 3G “S”) may not actually be the case. You may be “eligible” to upgrade, but you may be only eligible for a non-smartphone, for example.

So please, do yourself a favor and do not listen to other forums or anything telling you whatever. They cannot tell you your exact eligibility. Take what you have learned here today and call Rogers/Fido multiple times or visit a local Rogers/Fido store to find out your exact eligibility.

What You CAN Do

Well, there is only one thing you really can do and that is use your voice. So, we have started an online petition about this upgrade policy.

If you find this 24-month smartphone upgrade policy to be unfair, we have created two online petitions to hopefully fight the policy.

To sign the first petition, CLICK HERE (you’ll need to have or make a Twitter account).

To sign the second petition, CLICK HERE (no account required).

Please sign atleast one or both petitions. Every little bit helps.

—–

Note: The above guide does not take into effect Fido Dollars or any other Rogers pricing discounts because those vary by customer

Reports on iPhone news, reviews apps and accessories. Also an armed ninja with an iPhone 4S.

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  • http://www.iphoneincanada.ca/category/x1zeros-corner/ X1Zero

    Try $100

  • http://www.iphoneincanada.ca/category/x1zeros-corner/ X1Zero

    Where are you “looking”? The phone isnt even out yet.

    You add $50 to phone….

  • http://www.iphoneincanada.ca/category/x1zeros-corner/ X1Zero

    Try $100

  • http://www.iphoneincanada.ca/category/x1zeros-corner/ X1Zero

    Where are you “looking”? The phone isnt even out yet.

    You add $50 to phone….

  • Monty

    Thanks, that one didn’t make sense at all. Heck tethering is the only reason I’m getting the 6Gb data plan! At best I’m only using around 50-100Mb/month at the moment.

  • Monty

    Thanks, that one didn’t make sense at all. Heck tethering is the only reason I’m getting the 6Gb data plan! At best I’m only using around 50-100Mb/month at the moment.

  • Monty

    X1Zero: [or anyone who knows]

    Last year Rogers’ advertising gave the impression that you had to physically activate the iPhone in-store at the time of purchase, so I lined up outside a store for hours only to find I was two spots behind the last iPhone they had, then I moved to another store that had more stock only to find all they had left were white 16Gb versions. Then, much to my chagrin I found out that you could order over the phone for FedEx delivery within days! The in-store activation being a myth. So, my question is what time can you start phoning to order the new iPhone for delivery on release day? Midnight?

  • Monty

    X1Zero: [or anyone who knows]

    Last year Rogers’ advertising gave the impression that you had to physically activate the iPhone in-store at the time of purchase, so I lined up outside a store for hours only to find I was two spots behind the last iPhone they had, then I moved to another store that had more stock only to find all they had left were white 16Gb versions. Then, much to my chagrin I found out that you could order over the phone for FedEx delivery within days! The in-store activation being a myth. So, my question is what time can you start phoning to order the new iPhone for delivery on release day? Midnight?

  • X1Zero

    There are two types of “activation” needed.

    First is the account activation or upgrade that Rogers does in order to give you the iPhone. This is done either in store or over the phone, depending on where you get it from.

    Second is the iTunes activation that bypasses the iPhone emergency screen. This is done by simply plugging the iPhone into iTunes for a few seconds. This will be done for you if you go into a store or do it yourself if you order over the phone.

    If you are in store and dont want anyone touching the phone, just say you will activate it through iTunes yourself. They wont even take the plastic off the box because the information they need for account activation is on the back.

    In terms of ordering, you can start at 6:30AM the day of the release. At this time, (as far as I have seen), you cannot pre-order. In any case, the phone lines will be very tied up that morning with support calls so I recommend going early in store.

  • X1Zero

    There are two types of “activation” needed.

    First is the account activation or upgrade that Rogers does in order to give you the iPhone. This is done either in store or over the phone, depending on where you get it from.

    Second is the iTunes activation that bypasses the iPhone emergency screen. This is done by simply plugging the iPhone into iTunes for a few seconds. This will be done for you if you go into a store or do it yourself if you order over the phone.

    If you are in store and dont want anyone touching the phone, just say you will activate it through iTunes yourself. They wont even take the plastic off the box because the information they need for account activation is on the back.

    In terms of ordering, you can start at 6:30AM the day of the release. At this time, (as far as I have seen), you cannot pre-order. In any case, the phone lines will be very tied up that morning with support calls so I recommend going early in store.

  • babyrocky1

    What I did when my contract was up was figure out what I wanted then said I want this if you cannot offer it to me I will take my services elsewhere – I also went as far as going to customer relations (the step just b4 closing account) They gave me a wicked deal and a phone (this was b4 the iphone though lol) But you are in the power seat now because you can cancel or stay… Use your power Rogers Does lol

  • babyrocky1

    What I did when my contract was up was figure out what I wanted then said I want this if you cannot offer it to me I will take my services elsewhere – I also went as far as going to customer relations (the step just b4 closing account) They gave me a wicked deal and a phone (this was b4 the iphone though lol) But you are in the power seat now because you can cancel or stay… Use your power Rogers Does lol

  • drea

    Lost my Iphone (which I’ve had for only 1 month) last night and spent over an hour on the phone with fido today with absolutely no resolution. They apparently cannot sell the iphone without a contract & since I renewed my contract last month when I got the phone, I’m basically screwed. Amazing. Thanks Fido/Rogers!

  • drea

    Lost my Iphone (which I’ve had for only 1 month) last night and spent over an hour on the phone with fido today with absolutely no resolution. They apparently cannot sell the iphone without a contract & since I renewed my contract last month when I got the phone, I’m basically screwed. Amazing. Thanks Fido/Rogers!

  • Monty

    Check your policies for your credit card and/or household insurance. One or the other may cover lost property.Some credit cards cover you for loss of whatever you purchase for a period of time after purchase. Most household insurance will cover articles that are lost/stolen. Respectfully, Fido has no obligation to replace something you lost.

  • Monty

    Check your policies for your credit card and/or household insurance. One or the other may cover lost property.Some credit cards cover you for loss of whatever you purchase for a period of time after purchase. Most household insurance will cover articles that are lost/stolen. Respectfully, Fido has no obligation to replace something you lost.

  • Teen Wolf

    if I add a second line, what is the absolute cheapest monthly plan I can sign up for and get the iPhone 32gb for 299?

  • Teen Wolf

    if I add a second line, what is the absolute cheapest monthly plan I can sign up for and get the iPhone 32gb for 299?

  • X1Zero

    At this time, $35

  • X1Zero

    At this time, $35

  • Monty

    I have to disagree. Lining up in store is only worthwhile if you’re a sucker for punishment, enjoy risking disappointment and absolutely have to have the new iPhone instantly. As I said, I lined up at two different stores last year, the first ran out of stock before me and the second didn’t have any of the model I wanted by the time they got to me. Phoning in and getting exactly what you want within days is a much more realistic approach. My sanity is more important to me than instant gratification.

  • Monty

    I have to disagree. Lining up in store is only worthwhile if you’re a sucker for punishment, enjoy risking disappointment and absolutely have to have the new iPhone instantly. As I said, I lined up at two different stores last year, the first ran out of stock before me and the second didn’t have any of the model I wanted by the time they got to me. Phoning in and getting exactly what you want within days is a much more realistic approach. My sanity is more important to me than instant gratification.

  • kokuou

    Would the store employees attempt to force you into a data plan, or refuse to sell the phone to you at the promo price if you refuse to take the data plan?

    I’m in a situation where I’m getting the phone on one of the numbers on my accounts and using for my main number, but I was told that I’ll have to get and then cancel the data plan on the non-main number, incur a $100 early termination fee for the data plan, and then re-add the data plan to my main account.

  • kokuou

    Would the store employees attempt to force you into a data plan, or refuse to sell the phone to you at the promo price if you refuse to take the data plan?

    I’m in a situation where I’m getting the phone on one of the numbers on my accounts and using for my main number, but I was told that I’ll have to get and then cancel the data plan on the non-main number, incur a $100 early termination fee for the data plan, and then re-add the data plan to my main account.

  • kokuou

    Sorry, I should mention that I’m with Fido, if that makes a difference.

  • kokuou

    Sorry, I should mention that I’m with Fido, if that makes a difference.

  • X1Zero

    As long as your voice plan is above $30.01, you will get promo pricing.

    Yes, store reps can absolutely refuse to sell it to you if you don’t get a data plan. The practice is heavily frowned upon but many store reps would rather save an iPhone for someone who will help them reach both their voice and data targets.

  • X1Zero

    As long as your voice plan is above $30.01, you will get promo pricing.

    Yes, store reps can absolutely refuse to sell it to you if you don’t get a data plan. The practice is heavily frowned upon but many store reps would rather save an iPhone for someone who will help them reach both their voice and data targets.

  • Gozzo

    if i buy the new iphone 3g S from rogers .would i be able to use it world wide outsde Canada.
    would it be factory unlocked or still have to use a rogers sim card

  • Gozzo

    if i buy the new iphone 3g S from rogers .would i be able to use it world wide outsde Canada.
    would it be factory unlocked or still have to use a rogers sim card

  • Natas_tmc

    Well I took this bit of info in to my Fido store and they told me to stick it. Not only that they say this website is misrepresenting their policy. Help I need a link to a fido site that states these rules or policy in order to get my upgrade.

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  • allanHoss

    I can't wait for Telus and Bell to come out with the iPhone next month. This will hopefully allow for greater competition which means better plans. Rogers is nothing but a rip off organization, I will pay whatever I have too to get out of their contract. They will no longer be ripping me off.

  • Frank

    Or he could've walked to the nearest payphone or store and asked to use the phone there….

  • Watever

    F the “R” and move over to the “T” or “B”
    LOL

  • Watever

    F the “R” and move over to the “T” or “B”
    LOL

  • Anonymous

    You can’t find pay-phones anywhere though.

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