Switch Up PreOrder?

[mobilemandan]

Quick question for the O2 mods here who know about Switch Up. 

what’s the situation upgrading using the service to a phone that’s on preorder?

So say when the S23 Ultra becomes available to preorder and I go in store to do this and use Switch Up will I have to return my existing phone on that day to process the preorder or only when it arrives?

I know a normal upgrade you can do and it adds the EUF to what you pay but on switch up you give the phone back and won’t let you upgrade online normally it just says you have the switching service so go into store. 

cheers 

[MI5]

@mobilemandan 

What we know is here Guide: Introducing O2 Switch Up. Swap phones whenever you want! 

If it doesn't answer the question, we'd need to call in @Chris_K to help.

[Breanna]

Definitely an interesting one @mobilemandan!

Hopefully @Chris_K can shed some light on this 🔍💡

[Chris_K]

Hey all - sorry for the delay but I've been recovering from covid (and still am, unfortunately).

Just wanted to pop in to say Switch Up, at least currently, doesn't work for pre-orders. If I could direct your attention to this section from our Switch Up FAQ's:

How does Switch Up work?

It’s automatically included with a Plus Plan at no extra cost, or you can add it to a Custom Plan as a Bolt On for an additional monthly cost.

Once you’ve got Switch Up, you’ll need to head to an O2 store and hand back your current phone, which we’ll check over to make sure it’s in good enough nick. If it is, we’ll take it away to be refurbished and settle your plan for you – meaning you won’t have to pay the rest of your plan off. We’ll then start you on a new Plus Plan or Custom Plan for whichever new phone you pick.

So you know, Switch Up isn’t available on our sim only plans.

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So yeah, just to clarify the 'process' - in order to switch up to a new device, the device you want needs to be in stock as the swap all happens at the same time. You hand your old device back, it gets checked over and if it's all good, you'll get set up on a fresh plan with your new device.

[viridis]

I asked in store about this and the gist of it was.

They need the imei barcode to scan in to physically complete the switch.

So nope, day 1+ it must be

[Eagle1]

I was excited about Switch Up but not as much now given how the process works. O2 stores had to wait months for the latest iphone 14 pro max to come into store physically and even when that happened it was mainly the 128gb versions. For 512gb and 1TB you almost certainly need to order online. What baffles me here is that the target consumers for this service are your geeks and techies who usually go for the latest; if the latest and best phones can’t find it’s way to stores (and you can’t preorder) what’s the point? 

[pgn]

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@Eagle1 wrote:

I was excited about Switch Up but not as much now given how the process works. O2 stores had to wait months for the latest iphone 14 pro max to come into store physically and even when that happened it was mainly the 128gb versions. For 512gb and 1TB you almost certainly need to order online. What baffles me here is that the target consumers for this service are your geeks and techies who usually go for the latest; if the latest and best phones can’t find it’s way to stores (and you can’t preorder) what’s the point? 

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A valid point - but if O2 cannot get stock of a particular phone as early as the manufacturer's own outlets (as in Apple's case recently where stock was simply unavailable anywhere due to production delays), then your only option is to go the outlet route.

Switch Up is clearly marketed as an O2 "in-store" product, so walk in with your current phone, some photo id, and Switch Up active on your contract, scan the shelves, pick whatever takes your fancy, and walk out with a bright, shiny, new phone - granted, maybe not the latest model, though, within the constraints of O2's available stock, supply chain and stock management system!

[techietechtek]

Hi Chris,

Could you confirm if it is now possible to upgrade to a device on preorder?

I saw another community post about new T&C's 

Under section 11.

"Where available to you and if applicable, in the event your chosen handset device is not currently available (e.g. it is out of stock or in a pre-order state), we may allow you to take out your new O2 Refresh contract before you receive the new device, whilst retaining your current device, until the new device is available. If so, the following rules will apply:

When we receive your device, we will check that it satissifies our terms and conditions;

If your existing device meets the condition criteria in accordance with these terms and conditions (and remains to do so once received by us), we will pay off and close your existing contract upon its safe receipt;

If your existing device does not meet the condition criteria in accordance with these terms and conditions, whether at the initial grading stage or the condition has subsequently changed once it is received by us, we will not close your existing contract. You will subsequently be provided with a choice either to:

(i) If within the 14 day change of mind period, back out of and close your new contract , therefore choosing to continue with your existing device in accordance with the terms of your existing contract (although note that your existing device plan and airtime plan will have delinked as a result of initiating the new contract purchase and will therefore be capable of being cancelled separately moving forwards); or

(ii) continue with the transaction, which will be processed via our standard upgrade and O2 Recycle journeys instead (the terms and conditions of which can be found at O2 Recycle | Mobile Terms and Conditions | O2), whereby we will provide a value for your device and credit this to your existing contract (subject to the relevant terms and conditions, including without limitation the requirement to pay early upgrade charges as well as any further payments to make up any deficit between your remaining contract balance and the quote provided in respect of your existing device, if applicable);"

Another user chimed in with...

"So this is possible, went in to today to swap my Google Pixel for the S23U earlier today.

Pretty straight forward, they pre-ordered the phone for me after I paid a refundable £50 deposit. They'll refund the £50 back to my card when I collect the phone on 17/02 (as long as it comes in on time).

All I need to do is make sure that I keep the current phone in the same condition it was when I did the switch-out."

Could you confirm that this is a company wide rule on O2 Switch up?

Thanks.