How often do you upgrade to a new cell phone?

I tend to upgrade at the first availability regarding my contract.
You are available for all sorts of new offers when you re-up.

Yeah my plan is every two years.

Technically I upgrade every two years when my contract gets renewed, but in reality I am still using my first phone. What can I say? I like it.

depends on your contract really normally 2 years.

I’ve been using the same plan for a while now. I’ve been with AT&T since my first cell phone.

As for upgrading the actual phone, now that I have the iPhone, I’m pretty sure I’ll just get the new iPhones when they come out. I don’t really see myself getting a different phone.

Depends on how much revenue your account generates. If you have a plan that’s $40 you’ll only be able to upgrade once every two years, if you’re on a higher plan that’s like $150 you can upgrade once a year.

i upgrade every year… i get something i had my eye on off of ebay or a friend and then wait till my contract is up… my first year i had the EnV then i got the LG Decoy and i bought my friends Blackberry Storm. Even though i am currently eligible for upgrade now, I’m waiting for the Motorola Shoules (android phone on Verizon!!!) or the Iphone possibly coming early January after ATT exclusivity ends.

Very rarely. I detest cell phone contracts, and accepting their hardware upgrades in the form of getting a free new phone usually means you are locked in to the contract for another four years.

I just switched from Rogers to PC Mobile which is a pay-as-you-go option on Bell’s lines. That entailed buying a new phone from them, so I guess you could count that as an upgrade.

I guess I would view things differently if I had to sign up for four yrs but here in the US two yrs is the norm.

But those who don’t take advantage of the upgrades are basically subsidizing other folks phones according to something I read in Consumer Reports. The reason they can offer free or lower cost phones is because the cost is built into the monthly charge Somewhere between $7–12 of each monthly bill is for the cost of the phone. However if you renew your contract ( or just continue on without a contract) the monthly amt stays the same. Therefore that $7–12 just goes into the company’s pockets to pay for someone elses phone.

If understand someone liking the phone they have and being reluctant to change. But there’s no law that says you can’t take the free phone that your contract earns you can’t be sold on Craigslist or Ebay while you continue using the one you like. :)

That’s what I would do since there isn’t the option to reduce my monthly fee as they aren’t going to be that upfront about things. I just dislike having to put any more money in their pockets than I absolutely have to.

Since I currently have the regular 3G iPhone I’ll probably go for the upgrade but maybe not.

I’ve had the same phone for almost two years now of course with some replacements during that time period Before that, I kept getting the same phone from ebay, because I liked the texting feature…it was one of those nifty texting phones that no one else had at the time. I usually find a phone I like, and stick with it for a while.
We might be switching providers, so I’ll definitely need a new phone.

I’m the same as @casheroo. It seems like one calamity or another is always happening to my phones, so I buy most of them used on ebay, and thank my lucky stars I have Tmobile, and thus a SIM card now. It’s SO much easier.

I get a free one once a year from my provider, I always pick a decent Nokia with a camera and the simplest possible menus.

I LOVE my phone. Even though my contract was up for renewal for another 2 years (when I’m eligible for a new phone) in July, I wouldn’t consider giving this one up. If it breaks or starts to crap out on me, I’ll go get another one. So my answer is every two years if I don’t like my phone or every two plus some if I like the phone I have at the time.

I got my Nokia 6215i in late 06 (October, I believe) and haven’t upgraded since. I do most of my communication through the computer, I really don’t care about phone tech. I can text and call just fine.

@Buttonstc – While I never seem to use my new phones, I do collect them from the company. That doesn’t mean they just sit somewhere gathering dust. My son has a very high rate of phone destruction so he often ends up with my new phone, while I keep my beloved older phone, which still works just fine. He hates that because I always go for the “free” phone so it doesn’t do anything really cool. It is generally just a phone and sometimes a camera.

when the first one breaks.

My plan is every 18 months , but they allow you to upgrade 4 months before hand .

When my current phone craps out.

I have had the same old cell phone for over ten years. yes, that’s right 10 years.
Maybe 12 I can’t remember.
It’s one of those old Nokias that looks like the phone you might have in your house.
It still works and I don’t use it a lot. I have never renewed my contract. I started out with NPI, and it was sold to someone else, and then some one else and now I have ATT sending me my bill. I still pay the same thing every month that I did way back when. $23.60.
I’m happy with my plan but I would like a smaller phone. (it embarrasses my kids when I use it)
Obviously I won’t be able to replace the battery when it dies, and it is starting to not hold a charge very long.
My phone has a SIM card, so I’m hoping to find an affordable new or used unlocked phone and just put my SIM card in it.
I think that will work, won’t it?

@Buttonstc really, do you think I am subsidizing other peoples’ free new phones? I don’t like the thought of that. Could I do better than I am now with my low monthly no contract rate?

@wilma

All I know is what the article from Consumer Reports laid out. Since I don’t know all the details of what exactly you are getting for that monthly amt. ( like how many minutes per month does that amount get you) I can’t speak with any specificity to your particular situation.

Also, did the company initially provide you with the phone or lower the normal retail cost in exchange for signing up?

If they did, then the cost of that subsidy they provided was figured into your monthly amount. However, once you fulfilled your obligation to them, I’ll bet they didn’t lower your monthly bill, did they?

I guess, speaking for myself only, once my two year contract is fulfilled I will sign another one and get whatever they offer to entice me because it’s already figured into my monthly bill. But since they don’t really have any interest in acknowledging exactly how much that is and offering me a refund, I’m going to get something for it even if I’ll just turn around and sell it on craigs list :)