Peter, that sux... Kind of negates all thos nickles you saved on making change... Wow.... Mike in Kuwait
Here's the poop and options: I can buy a new 8g iPhone for $199 and simply open a new contract for two years. If I do this, there will be no termination fee for my existing account. If I decide to get a different phone, all I pay is a $175 early termination fee for the existing account and start a new contract with a new plan. It seems that the rules are fairly customer friendly and I'm good with that.
Next time, set this up on your iPhone and it will tell you where it is every 5 seconds. http://www.instamapper.com/overview.html If you had this already installed on the lost phone and on a second cell phone, then you could have used the 2nd phone as a GPS locator device for the lost phone (by comparing the detailed Lat/Long coordinates on the two internet map displays as you walked toward the lost phone's area). I've never used InstaMapper, so I'm not sure if it is the best option for this sort of thing or not.
Did you happen to buy it with a Amex Card... If so you should have 1 year warranty just call them up, tell them it was lost and they will refund your money. Then have ATT reactive the same number on a new sim and you are off to the races. Some higher level Visa cards have an extended warranty as well - check if you bought it with a credit union or gold card - worth a look. Most people forget about the great Amex coverage... I try and buy everything with it, lost, stolen, broken - they typically treat me better than the manufactures do with broken items.
I don't know how it works, but my guess is they will make you pay a cancellation fee and a new contract.
You could just buy another Iphone on ebay or amazon then take it into AT&T and they'll configure a new sim card for it.
UPDATE: I bought Chelsea a new iPhone last night. It was $199, as I qualified for that price, so everyone is happy. I still do not like the fact that there is no insurance offered. Maybe somebody can start a biz to cover that! I did use my AMX for the purchase, as mentioned prior so if it's lost again, I'll see how well AMX will (or may) take care of a lost or stolen claim.
I want an iPhone but the fragile glass screen (seen a couple break) and no water resistance (no buttons, should be easy to do) are deal breakers for me.
My wife got a cingular blackberry 8525 a while ago and the very first day she had it dropped it in the pool. LOL. Not water proof.
+1. I spilled a Propel on my BB while driving a few months ago. Thought I caught it pretty quickly and being near a gas station, I hit it with the air hose, but it was toast ASAP!
While the whole program scares me, the software that allows friends to locate where you are would have come in very handy here. Unless it is emerged in snow somewhere. But still worth turning on if you are out somewhere.
Check this one out. I was standing on the diving board talking on the phone. Hung up put the phone in my pocket and jumped into the pool. I swam around for 20 minutes before I realized what I did. Idiot!
......and one time, at band camp, I was on the phone in the jacuzzi, actually being extra careful to keep it dry and the steam killed it.
I think it's bs that insurance isn't offered on the iPhone...one of the many reasons I wouldn't get one. My BlackBerry curve was stolen a week and a half after I got it. I left it on for a day (just in case someone honest found it) and watched my account online to make sure calls weren't being placed. Luckily, I pay the $5/mo. for insurance. I was able to suspend the service (with billing) and I reported it stolen through the insurance co. Now the ESN# is on the stolen list and I was told that no one will be able to activate it on another account, although I'm sure there's a crooked way. I got a refurb that was a POS, complained, and they sent me a brand new one. There was a $50 fee...not too shabby. This was all through Verizon.
I got a call this morning that the iPhone was found. It was located in the snow, under the staircase where Chelsea fell and lost it. I'll pick it up over the weekend when the guy (who found it) returns home. He said it did not power up, probably because the stand-by battery life ran out. My thinking is that since it was in frozen snow since lost, absorbtion of water may not be a factor. Any guesses on if this phone will work after a warm up and a good charge?
Put it in some rice to be sure to drain any moisture. How did the guy know who to call if the phone did not power up?
I like the rice idea. The guy who found the phone was the guy who worked at the ski area who gave Chelsea and her friend a ride the day the phone was lost (At his house).