Upgrading to iphone 3g at apple stores

Hi, i would just like to ask people to post their experience because i believe there has been a policy changed but im not sure if this is localized to my area or is it nationally.

I recently went into an apple store and tried to upgrade one of my current AT&T lines to purchase an iphone 3g. The line is not available for an upgrade.

My first attempt, i asked for assistance from a sales associate but was denied and he stated the reason was that the policy has changed and any upgrades to existing accounts involving iphones must be done directly through att either at a corporate store or over the phone. I kept persisting stating that i had already spent the time to come here and asked them to just try to do it. another associate tried to help but while processing it on the small handheld, it said i was not eligible for an upgrade and there was no option to upgrade even at the full retail price.

My second attempt was similar. they tried to help but while processing it on the small handheld, it said i was not eligible for an upgrade and there was no option to upgrade even at the full retail price once again.

i tried one more time but the result was the same. The sales associate said each time upgrades needed to be done through att.

I live in southern california and theres a lot of people buying iphones lately - and i mean a lot; to the point where the length of lines was like when the iphone 3g were first released and people were arriving 1.5 hours before the stores opened to get in line.

Just wanted to see if anyone had a similar experience lately. This basically occurred around the 20th of january.

The people at the Apple stores have always had very little control over AT&T accounts. If you already have an iPhone, then they can help you. If you want do open a new account, then they can do that too. Anything else, they always have problems with.

If you're still in a contract, then you might not be eligible for the upgrade/new account pricing. Go to an AT&T store, they can do just about anything for you as long as you push hard enough.