Upgrading early

[Deeee1]

i am currently using amd iphone 5c but am in desperate need of an upgrade. o2 tells me that i have £70 to pay then i can upgrade but must i upgrade directly from o2 or can i upgrade from carphone warehouse as they have cheaper tarrifs 

[MI5 · Accepted solution]

Once you pay off your device plan (if on refresh) or the remainder of your contract (if on a standard contract) you can upgrade anywhere you like.
However, the buy out cost may be more than £70 if you're not upgrading through O2 as they usually give a discount to upgrade early.

[Cleoriff]

Some info here http://www.o2.co.uk/help/pay-monthly/upgrading-your-pay-monthly-mobile

[Anonymous]

Carphone warehouse only lock you into standard 24 month contracts. You won't get Refresh through them

[Deeee1]

I don't mind about the refresh i would just like a new phone 

[Deeee1]

I do have a standard contract but i would just like to upgrade rather than cancel so i shouldnt need to pay too much. But if i upgrade would i be tied down to upgrading directly for o2 or do i have other optiona

[gmarkj]

the amount you need to pay depends on where you got your contract from.

if direct through o2 (as stated above) then the amount to pay is what is left of your device plan.

if you got it through a 3rd party (carphone warehouse, mobiles.co.uk, etc) then it would be however many months you have left multiplied by the basic monthly charge (so 3 months at £30 would be 3 x £30 = £90).

some points to consider before you get a new contract are coverage and cost - do o2 have the best coverage for you, and where is the best place to get the deal you are after.

if you keep the phone for less than the standard contract length (if you want a new phone sooner than 2 years) then refresh can work for you.

if you intend to keep the phone for about 2 years (or more) then you have a little more choice as you can get it from a 3rd party as above.

[MI5]

No you're not tied to o2 as I've already said but you still have to pay off what you owe to upgrade early.
If you want to upgrade through CPW go into their shop and they will tell you what the upgrade fee is.

[Deeee1]

Thank you

[gmarkj]

@MI5 - can CPW tell where you got the contract from, or do they just get you to check My o2?