AT&T Raises Phone Activation Fee Another $5, Now Charges $25

Megalith

24-bit/48kHz
Staff member
Joined
Aug 20, 2006
Messages
13,000
Let’s take bets on how high AT&T is willing to go in gouging its customers. The phone activation fee is now officially $10 higher than what it was in its inception. What is really notable is that it didn’t even take 12 months for another increase; the last bump happened only in April ’16.

...in July 2015, AT&T started charging a $15 activation fee to customers who don't sign two-year contracts. (AT&T also raised the activation/upgrade fee for contract customers from $40 to $45 in July 2015.) The activation fee for non-contract customers was raised from $15 to $20 in April 2016 and was just raised again to $25, PhoneScoop reported today. The $25 fee is charged for new activations or upgrades when customers purchase devices on installment agreements, AT&T says. Customers who bring their own phone to the network are charged the $25 fee when they activate a new line of service, but not when they upgrade phones on an existing line. "We are making a minor adjustment to our activation and upgrade fees. The change is effective today," AT&T told Ars.
 
They also just raised my old unlimited plan 5 more bucks a month. Im about to just say screw it and go to that 45 dollar a month you get at walmart.
 
They also just raised my old unlimited plan 5 more bucks a month. Im about to just say screw it and go to that 45 dollar a month you get at walmart.

I went to cricket about a year ago. AT&T service. 5 lines $100, 3.5gb of data each line/month (data is limited to 8mb/s so not full 4g).

Been fairly happy especially since my Verizon bill for 4 people (2 with data) was $150+.

The data throttling can be an issue if you do a lot of streaming... but I don't so I don't notice it.

Texts every once in a while are delayed as well...

Overall I am happy to live with the shortcomings since I believe the price for multiple lines is great.
 
They also just raised my old unlimited plan 5 more bucks a month. Im about to just say screw it and go to that 45 dollar a month you get at walmart.
Mine too, but it's still not high enough to switch plans yet.
 
How do you even put up with this bullshit? With all the hardware and infrastructure, and you're paying out the arse for entry-level services... o_O

Where does all the money go?
 
  • Like
Reactions: rat
like this
They waive it if you give them a hard time.

A while back it was cheaper with my work discount to get ATT then an MVNO, after spending 45 minutes setting with the sales rep discussing everything they say, the final thing is the Activation fees. I told them, "nevermind, I don't pay activation fees", and started to leave the store. They waived it immediately.
 
How do you even put up with this bullshit? With all the hardware and infrastructure, and you're paying out the arse for entry-level services... o_O

Where does all the money go?

Profits, stock price, and the CEOs salary.
 
Love my Project Fi -- 35 bucks a month with 1GB of LTE data... prorated overage and refunds on your next bill if you don't use whatever amount of data you paid for.

AT&T and Verizon are both shitty companies.... I've had experience with both. Don't care how good their network is, nothing is worth that much assrape.
 
They waive it if you give them a hard time.

A while back it was cheaper with my work discount to get ATT then an MVNO, after spending 45 minutes setting with the sales rep discussing everything they say, the final thing is the Activation fees. I told them, "nevermind, I don't pay activation fees", and started to leave the store. They waived it immediately.
And that's what everyone needs to do. And if you're an existing customer, tell them you're going to change to another carrier. Then I'd call retentions and see what they'll do. if they won't fix it, leave. Churn is an important metric with Wireless companies.
 
And that's what everyone needs to do. And if you're an existing customer, tell them you're going to change to another carrier. Then I'd call retentions and see what they'll do. if they won't fix it, leave. Churn is an important metric with Wireless companies.

Doesn't always work. Where I work we are not paid on commission and we don't have any options for waiving the activation fee. When someone does that to us we tell them to have a nice day, nothing else we can do. We get more than you would think come back an hour or two later. Our phones are cheaper by a bigger margin than the activation fee.
 
Doesn't always work. Where I work we are not paid on commission and we don't have any options for waiving the activation fee. When someone does that to us we tell them to have a nice day, nothing else we can do. We get more than you would think come back an hour or two later. Our phones are cheaper by a bigger margin than the activation fee.
I don't know what carrier you work for. I just did a quick look and it appears all of the major Wireless providers (including AT&T) pay commission and the regional carrier I worked for did too. If you're at some MVNO, that's fine, but for the big guys, I'd be shocked if they're indifferent about churn. It costs a company way more than 25 bucks to get a new customer.
 
They also just raised my old unlimited plan 5 more bucks a month. Im about to just say screw it and go to that 45 dollar a month you get at walmart.

Straight Talk is okay and their coverage improves all the time and speeds aren't bad either, but pray you never have to call customer support for anything. I'd rather deal with Sprint, Version, or ATT CS than Straight Talk.
 
I am just waiting for the bill to get high enough. Once it gets high enough, it is time to retire cell phones.
 
I finally bought my very first smart phone around the summer of last year, and chose Patriot Mobile as my service provider because it donates a percentage of its proceeds to conservative groups. I'm fairly certain that its plans aren't the cheapest around, but at least I'm sending a message to the other carriers that I don't approve of the social justice causes upon which they lavish millions of dollars.
 
People willingly overpaid this shit from the start. When a company gets stupid money for nothing, they want even more, and they have the spare money to write the rules to keep it that way.
 
I finally bought my very first smart phone around the summer of last year, and chose Patriot Mobile as my service provider because it donates a percentage of its proceeds to conservative groups. I'm fairly certain that its plans aren't the cheapest around, but at least I'm sending a message to the other carriers that I don't approve of the social justice causes upon which they lavish millions of dollars.


first smart phone? in 2016? dayummmm!!!!
 
I finally bought my very first smart phone around the summer of last year, and chose Patriot Mobile as my service provider because it donates a percentage of its proceeds to conservative groups. I'm fairly certain that its plans aren't the cheapest around, but at least I'm sending a message to the other carriers that I don't approve of the social justice causes upon which they lavish millions of dollars.
You mean the ones that Patriot Mobile pays to use their towers? I guess you still support those social justice causes after all.
 
Huh? What is a "Phone activation"? aren't they GSM/LTE? Don't you just put your sim card in your new phone?
 
You mean the ones that Patriot Mobile pays to use their towers? I guess you still support those social justice causes after all.

I'm sure those monolithic liberal corporations would rather have none of my money go to organizations that oppose them. Have to start somewhere, and patronizing a conservative MVNO suffices for now.
 
first smart phone? in 2016? dayummmm!!!!

I was getting by on a landline for years, but found the costs escalating while the bare-bones service's quality remained static at best. Switching to a mobile phone was quite a change for someone like me, but I'm glad I did, as I do like using it as an authenticator for online accounts, and I especially like using it to monitor local doppler radar feeds during thunderstorms, when my desktop and modem/router are completely unplugged in order to spare their delicate components from electrical damage.
 
I'm sure those monolithic liberal corporations would rather have none of my money go to organizations that oppose them. Have to start somewhere, and patronizing a conservative MVNO suffices for now.
You could always directly donate to the causes you choose, rather than someone profiting off of your brand of patriotism with some clever marketing...but hey whatever floats your boat.
 
You could always directly donate to the causes you choose, rather than someone profiting off of your brand of patriotism with some clever marketing...but hey whatever floats your boat.

You implying that the only MVNOs should be liberal ones?
 
They also just raised my old unlimited plan 5 more bucks a month. Im about to just say screw it and go to that 45 dollar a month you get at walmart.
I have the Straight Talk (wal mart) service.

I'm not a very heavy user, but for me, it's basically unlimited, and works the same as AT&T. My buddy recently switched to Google's Fi service, and he says that's even better, and cheaper.
 
I went to cricket about a year ago. AT&T service. 5 lines $100, 3.5gb of data each line/month (data is limited to 8mb/s so not full 4g).

...
Overall I am happy to live with the shortcomings since I believe the price for multiple lines is great.


Wait, what? My cricket 5 line plan for $100 only gives 2.5 Gb/line per month. are your lines on the $40/month plan?
The total savings/month is $100 max as shown on their plan page. So, 5 lines * $40 = $200
Subtract $100 group discount = $100/month

So, i'd assume you are on the same 2.5 GB plan for $40. Was that 3.5Gb you typed a mistake?
 
How do you even put up with this bullshit? With all the hardware and infrastructure, and you're paying out the arse for entry-level services... o_O

Where does all the money go?

Lobbying. Why spend profits on innovation when you can spend a couple percent on putting puppets like Ajit Pai etc in charge and then pocket the rest instead?
 
You implying that the only MVNOs should be liberal ones?
Implying that AT&T and Verizon don't give crap one way or the other. They support things that support their bottom line. IF they give to liberal causes, it's because that's where the money is. It's not different than 20 years ago when ABC dumped Ellen, because she came out as gay. They didn't give fuck about it, but it was better for their bottom line to dump her. If it happened today, they wouldn't have dumped her.

Welcome to capitalism. And the point that others are making is that you're paying AT&T, Sprint, Verizon and/or T-Mobile either way. If you're paying more, then you're wasting money that you could give directly to whatever cause you support. You can be certain that only a small percentage of what you pay over the other carriers is going to conservative causes. It's a gimmick.

I wouldn't be shocked if the owners didn't give a rats ass about conservative causes, they just figured out that people like you would pay them more if they give a few percent to "conservative" causes, which they more htan make up from the increased price they're charging you.
If it costs more, you should use someone else and donate the difference to the causes you care about. If it doesn't cost more, then you made a good move.
 
Implying that AT&T and Verizon don't give crap one way or the other. They support things that support their bottom line. IF they give to liberal causes, it's because that's where the money is. It's not different than 20 years ago when ABC dumped Ellen, because she came out as gay. They didn't give fuck about it, but it was better for their bottom line to dump her. If it happened today, they wouldn't have dumped her.

Welcome to capitalism. And the point that others are making is that you're paying AT&T, Sprint, Verizon and/or T-Mobile either way. If you're paying more, then you're wasting money that you could give directly to whatever cause you support. You can be certain that only a small percentage of what you pay over the other carriers is going to conservative causes. It's a gimmick.

I wouldn't be shocked if the owners didn't give a rats ass about conservative causes, they just figured out that people like you would pay them more if they give a few percent to "conservative" causes, which they more htan make up from the increased price they're charging you.
If it costs more, you should use someone else and donate the difference to the causes you care about. If it doesn't cost more, then you made a good move.

ABC cancelled Ellen more than a year after The Puppy Episode not because she revealed her sexual deviancy, but rather because of declining ratings. The major telecommunications companies (particularly AT&T) contribute to and endorse liberal causes (it's not a matter of "IF" they do), and despite that the rank and file namblacrats still hate them for making obscene profits. Seems to me they'd save a lot more money if they didn't bother wasting money on such pandering, but I guess the financial repercussions of not complying with the implicit liberal shakedown are costlier.

In the face of such predominant political trends is one lone MVNO that distinguishes itself from the rest by supporting unpopular conservative organizations. Unlike liberals, I don't claim to have ESP, so I'll give Patriot Mobile the benefit of the doubt and assume that it is genuinely conservative and not motivated to support conservative principles that appear to be increasingly unpopular by greed. If the money is in liberal causes, then a greedy company would align itself with that political proclivity or at least try to pass as neutral.
 
ABC cancelled Ellen more than a year after The Puppy Episode not because she revealed her sexual deviancy, but rather because of declining ratings. The major telecommunications companies (particularly AT&T) contribute to and endorse liberal causes (it's not a matter of "IF" they do), and despite that the rank and file namblacrats still hate them for making obscene profits. Seems to me they'd save a lot more money if they didn't bother wasting money on such pandering, but I guess the financial repercussions of not complying with the implicit liberal shakedown are costlier.

In the face of such predominant political trends is one lone MVNO that distinguishes itself from the rest by supporting unpopular conservative organizations. Unlike liberals, I don't claim to have ESP, so I'll give Patriot Mobile the benefit of the doubt and assume that it is genuinely conservative and not motivated to support conservative principles that appear to be increasingly unpopular by greed. If the money is in liberal causes, then a greedy company would align itself with that political proclivity or at least try to pass as neutral.
Whatever. You'd do better by getting the best deal and giving money directly to these causes, but if you prefer lining some companies pockets, then go for it. You can be sure that if it costs 5 bucks more than Cricket (for example), that 5 bucks ain't going to the American Enterprise Institute (or whatever organization it is that you hope they're giving money to). More than likely they're giving said causes 50 cents or a buck. Deadly Ramon -$5.00. Random cause +.50 Patriot + 4.50.
 
Wait, what? My cricket 5 line plan for $100 only gives 2.5 Gb/line per month. are your lines on the $40/month plan?
The total savings/month is $100 max as shown on their plan page. So, 5 lines * $40 = $200
Subtract $100 group discount = $100/month

So, i'd assume you are on the same 2.5 GB plan for $40. Was that 3.5Gb you typed a mistake?

When's the last time you checked their plans? I was on a solo 5GB/mo plan for $45 but they ran a promotion around Xmas and I was able to upgrade to 8GB/mo for the same price.
 
I don't know what carrier you work for. I just did a quick look and it appears all of the major Wireless providers (including AT&T) pay commission and the regional carrier I worked for did too. If you're at some MVNO, that's fine, but for the big guys, I'd be shocked if they're indifferent about churn. It costs a company way more than 25 bucks to get a new customer.
I work for Walmart. Not many other choices around here for a job with full benefits.
 
Back
Top