Originally Posted by
kataran Welcome to iMore
I'm also on Sprint and if you read the small print you will still have to pay the monthly lease fee and also have to turn in the device after a year as you will never own the device. Also the price they Advertise is for the 16GB model so you need to pay more for the larger storage device
Thanks for the welcome kataran.
Is your reply in reference to Apple's iPhone Upgrade Program or Sprint's iPhone Forever plan? Under the Apple plan there is no requirement to upgrade every year. Also, upgrading the phone is always the buyer's option to exercise, and in so doing you do have to turn in the "old" phone. If you opt not to upgrade the phone, then you continue to make the payments per the 24-month contract and you then will own the unlocked phone. I'm aware that the lease price is based on the phone's memory size.
I think I need to clarify the main objective of my OP: I want to get a new iPhone via the Apple Upgrade Program and I want to use the phone with a Cricket service plan instead of using one of the Big 4 carriers. However, if Apple insists that I activate the phone with one of the Big 4 carriers, then is it somehow possible later on (1-2 months) to cancel the Big 4 plan and begin using the phone on a Cricket plan? My assumption is that I could activate the new iPhone onto my existing month-to-month Sprint plan, then cancel the Sprint plan soon afterward and sign up with Cricket using the same iPhone - all to be done transparently under the iPhone Upgrade Plan.
I asked these questions via a phone call with an Apple rep, and the answers were pitifully vague and contradictory, and also in contradiction to the written plan and FAQs. The rep later admitted that I knew more about the upgrade plan than she did...not very impressive. Guess I wasn't speaking with the right Genius.