When can I upgrade my contract phone?

A new contract usually means a shiny new phone, new features, more minutes, texts and data, special offers, it’s all very exciting, but that’s at the start, what about when your contract is coming to an end. With carriers pushing long-term tariffs, users keep a smartphone for around two years, but in an ever-changing industry such as mobile technology, two-years can be the difference between cutting edge and electronic dinosaur.

One of the most commonly asked questions surrounding the end of a mobile contract is when can a user upgrade? You might want to continue your current plan, but that doesn’t mean you have to keep your ageing smartphone, so how do you know when you can upgrade? 

O2

According to an O2 spokesperson, customer upgrade dates vary according to the monthly tariff they’re connected to. You can upgrade one, three or six months early depending on the contract length and price. You’ll have to contact O2 customer service to find out exactly when your upgrade is due as it seems there are a number of variable at work with its system.

Orange

On Orange you can upgrade your phone when you’re in the final 45 days of your contract. At the same time, you’re also offered the opportunity to change or upgrade your allowances too.

Orange offer the ‘Orange Early Upgrade’ scheme, which gives customers the ability to upgrade their handset after just six months, pay the remainder of their current contract with a 25% discount on remaining monthly payments and at the same time, choose their next plan of they so wish.

Three

Provided you’re up-to-date with your tariffs monthly payments, you can upgrade your Three handset within the last 30 days of your contract or anytime after your contract has finished. You’ll need a My3 account to log in and register for an upgrade which you can do online by heading to the ‘Upgrade Now’ section.

T-Mobile

Customers can upgrade from the final month before their contract ends, whatever their handset. Also as a variation on Orange’s scheme, the carrier also offers a flexible renewal service where customers can upgrade their handset within the final six months of their plan. If you take them up on this offer, the remaining months are then added to the new plan you’d be taking out in the process. This scheme doesn’t apply to the iPhone.

Vodafone

Vodafone states you can upgrade from the final 75 days proceeding the end of your contract.