Don't have a cellphone yet in Canada? In that case when you get a new number, best to get a phone number from Saskatchewan, Manitoba or Quebec. Although you might pay a bit more in sales tax and 911 fees, you'll get better bang for your buck on the monthly plan.
You have a cellphone plan, but want a new phone? Now the ultimate question...to port or to upgrade... If you're currently on a no-term plan, then porting is fine if you're OK with the new provider's in-market plan. A BYOD plan that is grandfathered would most likely have to be repriced on an in-market plan. From experience, you'll get most retailer options with Robelus (Rogers, Bell, Telus) or their off-sets (Fido, Chatr, Virgin, Koodo). Choose PC Mobile and you'll be limited to getting your phone from Loblaw chain grocery stores, choose resellers like gas stations or Primus and you'll have even less options for where you can upgrade and what in-market phones are available.
I will admit that I've been rolling with lower priced phones, I don't have my home services bundled with one provider, so I have no advantage of going with the any Robelus brand. That being said, I've studied the Fido/Virgin/Koodo offers a bit more closely.
Koodo seems to be doing what most providers in the USofA are doing..."here's the BOYD mostly plan, then add your subsidy of $x for the phone"...as opposed to having set-priced plans to subsidize phones up to a certain amount. Only advantage with Koodo is that if you plan on using a high end phone, one that can last you well ever 2 years, once the subsidy of the phone is depleted, that portion of the monthly bill will kick off.
Fido and Virgin are although similar, Virgin seems to offer more monthly plan options. Fido's lowest tier plans on phone subsidies don't include data at the time of writing.
Best option plan-wise is to get a loyalty plan. Either with less than 12 months remaining on a phone subsidy term, or six months into a BYOD plan. Once on a loyalty plan, best to keep renewing it until something better comes up in-market.
Thinking of doing an early upgrade? It's certainly not a bad idea. Providers can credit up to $100 on the buy-out of your previous phone. Virgin/Bell might give you a hard time for it, but if the timing is right, keep calling until they agree to do it.
Where to upgrade? That's a good question. The carrier kiosks/stores (especially in malls) are the stingiest. They might throw in accessories if you haggle hard on a port. An upgrade is not considered a sale for them. The Source is the same way for Bell/Virgin. Wireless Wave/Tbooth &Wow Boutique will also only be a bit more generous on ports than upgrades, and their gift card promos are only for ports/new activations. To upgrade, best places to go are 3rd parties. PC Mobile Shop, BestBuy, maybe even Walmart or Costco. They'll likely sweep you off your feet with in-store gift cards, plus it won't be as painful to haggle on accessories.
For grey-market unlocked phones, Staples & Canada Computers have a great selection, followed by Walmart & BestBuy. No one will give you free accessories on a grey market phone, so it's often best to get the phone from the carrier, but through a 3rd party.
Now that you've upgraded your phone, what to do with the old one? Probably best not to trade it in. Unlock it at an online unlock code supplier that isn't shady. Expect to pay 10-25 for an unlock code. MobileXpressCanada is great, and to save on sales tax, you do have an Alberta shipping address, right? Seeing as the code is sent to your email address, really doesn't matter what the shipping address is.
Hope this helps.
You have a cellphone plan, but want a new phone? Now the ultimate question...to port or to upgrade... If you're currently on a no-term plan, then porting is fine if you're OK with the new provider's in-market plan. A BYOD plan that is grandfathered would most likely have to be repriced on an in-market plan. From experience, you'll get most retailer options with Robelus (Rogers, Bell, Telus) or their off-sets (Fido, Chatr, Virgin, Koodo). Choose PC Mobile and you'll be limited to getting your phone from Loblaw chain grocery stores, choose resellers like gas stations or Primus and you'll have even less options for where you can upgrade and what in-market phones are available.
I will admit that I've been rolling with lower priced phones, I don't have my home services bundled with one provider, so I have no advantage of going with the any Robelus brand. That being said, I've studied the Fido/Virgin/Koodo offers a bit more closely.
Koodo seems to be doing what most providers in the USofA are doing..."here's the BOYD mostly plan, then add your subsidy of $x for the phone"...as opposed to having set-priced plans to subsidize phones up to a certain amount. Only advantage with Koodo is that if you plan on using a high end phone, one that can last you well ever 2 years, once the subsidy of the phone is depleted, that portion of the monthly bill will kick off.
Fido and Virgin are although similar, Virgin seems to offer more monthly plan options. Fido's lowest tier plans on phone subsidies don't include data at the time of writing.
Best option plan-wise is to get a loyalty plan. Either with less than 12 months remaining on a phone subsidy term, or six months into a BYOD plan. Once on a loyalty plan, best to keep renewing it until something better comes up in-market.
Thinking of doing an early upgrade? It's certainly not a bad idea. Providers can credit up to $100 on the buy-out of your previous phone. Virgin/Bell might give you a hard time for it, but if the timing is right, keep calling until they agree to do it.
Where to upgrade? That's a good question. The carrier kiosks/stores (especially in malls) are the stingiest. They might throw in accessories if you haggle hard on a port. An upgrade is not considered a sale for them. The Source is the same way for Bell/Virgin. Wireless Wave/Tbooth &Wow Boutique will also only be a bit more generous on ports than upgrades, and their gift card promos are only for ports/new activations. To upgrade, best places to go are 3rd parties. PC Mobile Shop, BestBuy, maybe even Walmart or Costco. They'll likely sweep you off your feet with in-store gift cards, plus it won't be as painful to haggle on accessories.
For grey-market unlocked phones, Staples & Canada Computers have a great selection, followed by Walmart & BestBuy. No one will give you free accessories on a grey market phone, so it's often best to get the phone from the carrier, but through a 3rd party.
Now that you've upgraded your phone, what to do with the old one? Probably best not to trade it in. Unlock it at an online unlock code supplier that isn't shady. Expect to pay 10-25 for an unlock code. MobileXpressCanada is great, and to save on sales tax, you do have an Alberta shipping address, right? Seeing as the code is sent to your email address, really doesn't matter what the shipping address is.
Hope this helps.
