Thinking about upgrading your AT&T device? Hope you have an extra $5 in your pocket.
Following in Verizon’s footsteps, AT&T this week nudged its upgrade fees north from the $15 it had been charging to $20.
According to the carrier’s website, the “one time” fee applies to the activation or upgrade of any device on AT&T’s Next plan, as well as to the activation of devices on installment agreements or the activation of Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) smartphones.
The move follows a similar uptick in fees at Verizon.
As reported by MacRumors, Verizon on Monday introduced a new $20 upgrade fee for all device payment and retail price phone upgrades. The fee also applies to customer iPhones that are part of the Upgrade Program at the Apple Store.
Verizon said the new fees will be charged at the point of sale when a purchase is made directly through Verizon or added to a customer’s bill when an upgraded device is purchased through an indirect seller.
In an internal memo, Verizon said the change would “help cover our increasing support costs associated with customers switching their devices.”
Verizon’s fee hike came on the heels of a promotion in which it offered to waive BYOD activation fees.
Even with the changes, however, Verizon and AT&T’s upgrade fees aren’t the worst in the game: Sprint currently charges $30 to $36 in upgrade fees.
Then again, they aren’t the best either. T-Mobile does not currently charge upgrade fees.