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AT&T Raises Smartphone Upgrade Pricing From $15 to $20 to Match Verizon's New Fee

Starting last year, AT&T began charging a $15 activation fee (http://www.macrumors.com/2015/07/22/att-activation-fee-rising-to-45/) for customers who wanted to upgrade to a new smartphone purchased outright or through an AT&T Next plan, and as of yesterday, that fee has been increased from $15 to $20.





As Droid Life (http://www.droid-life.com/2016/04/06/att-wastes-no-time-matching-verizons-new-20-upgrade-fee/) noticed yesterday, AT&T updated its wireless activation and upgrade fees document (http://www.att.com/esupport/article.html#!/wireless/KM1008601) to reflect the new $20 pricing on April 6, matching Verizon's recently implemented fee.





<img src="(http://cdn.macrumors.com/article-new/2015/05/ATT-Logo-800x400.jpg)" alt="ATT Logo" width="550" height="150" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-449941" />


On Monday, Verizon started charging $20 (http://www.macrumors.com/2016/03/31/verizon-20-dollar-smartphone-upgrade-fee/) for activating smartphones purchased through an installment plan or at full retail price, $5 less than AT&T was charging at the time. Less than two days later, AT&T raised its prices to $20.





AT&T customers who bring a phone to the AT&T network, purchase a phone using AT&T Next, or purchase a device through Apple's Device Upgrade program will need to pay the one-time activation fee as outlined below. Customers with a two-year contract will need to pay the standard $45 fee, which has not changed.

Wireless activation and upgrade fees,1 are one time fees that may be added to your first or next AT&T bill.


- Activation and upgrade fees for smartphones with AT&T Next - Activation and upgrade fees are $20 per smartphone added or upgraded with AT&T Next.


- Activation fees for installment agreements and bring your own devices - The fee is $20.


- Activation and upgrade fees for two year agreement - Fees are $45. Note: Two year agreements are available only on select devices.

As Ars Technica (http://arstechnica.com/business/2016/04/att-and-verizon-wireless-now-charging-20-device-upgrade-fees/) points out, AT&T doesn't provide any explanation or justification for the fee that it charges on its website, nor does it give an explanation for the price increase. In a leaked document (http://www.macrumors.com/2016/03/31/verizon-20-dollar-smartphone-upgrade-fee/) we shared last week, Verizon said its own fee was to cover "increasing support costs associated with customers switching their devices."





Of the four major carriers in the United States, T-Mobile is the only carrier that does not charge an upgrade or activation fee. AT&T and Verizon both charge $20, while Sprint charges a fee of up to $36 per device (https://m.sprint.com/mobile/landings/phoneoptions/#!/).

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Source: AT&amp;T Raises Smartphone Upgrade Pricing From $15 to $20 to Match Verizon's New Fee (http://www.macrumors.com/2016/04/07/att-raises-smartphone-upgrade-pricing-from-15-to-20-to-match-verizons-new-fee/)