When your iPhone is eligible for an upgrade, it’s usually best to take advantage of it sooner rather than later so that you get the full value for your old iPhone. Most of the time your two-year-old iPhone will fetch enough to cover most if not the whole cost of the new model. You can read more about trading in your old iPhone here. This seemingly high resale price is because with most carriers your new iPhone doesn’t cost $200. It actually costs $650 but the larger share of that cost is subsidized by your monthly bill.
Side note for Montgomery County residents: I’ve been told that Best Buy in Wheaton is only able to accept iPhones that you purchased at that store because of county law. I’ve heard from others who have been successful at Radio Shack in Silver Spring in the past so I don’t know if this is a new law or maybe there are just consumer protection regulations that Best Buy doesn’t want to deal with. When going to a retail location be sure to call ahead and make sure that they are able to take your phone and that they have the phone that you want in stock.
So, how do you remind yourself when you are due for an upgrade? You could log into your carrier’s website or app (AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile), navigate around to find the information, and then put it in your calendar. But I’ve seen that date jump around, especially near the launch dates of new models, and at least with AT&T.
Instead, Apple’s Apple Store app can be configured to send you a push notification when you’re eligible. Strangely, it doesn’t tell you when that date will be, it just promises to let you know once the time has come or if it has already arrived. Download the app, tap the “More” button in the bottom right corner and choose “Notifications”. Turn Upgrade Notifications on and enter the required information. The last four of your social is referring to the billing name on the account, not necessarily the user of the phone. You can double check to make sure that notifications are turned on for the Apple Store app in the Settings app > Notification Center > Apple Store.