Smartphone contracts typically tie you in for two years, but with new phones launching all the time that can feel like a long commitment, so with that in mind EE has just launched ‘Upgrade Anytime’ plans, which, well, let you upgrade anytime.
The upgrade is free if you trade in your existing phone and are at least 12 months into your existing contract, but you can upgrade at any point from 15 days into your plan onwards, you’ll just have to pay a fee of £200 in the first six months or £100 between months six and twelve.
If your current phone is damaged or you don’t want to trade it in you can still take advantage of upgrade anytime, but you’ll have to pay an additional fee when you upgrade, which varies depending on what device you have, as well as when you choose to upgrade or how damaged it is.
You might already be eligible
You don’t need to take out a new plan to use upgrade anytime, but it’s only available on EE Max plans (which also give you access to the BT Sport app, EE’s fastest speeds and free roaming in regions beyond the EU).
It’s also currently only available for a handful of phones, specifically the Google Pixel 2, Google Pixel 2 XL, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X, Samsung Galaxy S9, Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus, Samsung Galaxy Note 9, Samsung Galaxy S8 and Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus, but presumably more phones will be added over time.
The iPhone XS, iPhone XS Plus and iPhone 9 are all rumored to launch next week, so keep an eye out for these potentially being added soon.
Other things to note are that you have to upgrade to another 24-month plan with the same or higher monthly payments, and that if you’re in the last 45 days of your contract then you can upgrade as normal, with no cost and without having to trade in your current handset.
EE’s Upgrade Anytime initiative follows other recent plans at EE and elsewhere which aim to give customers more flexibility.
EE itself recently rolled out Flex Plans for example, which let you change your tariff from month to month, while O2 recently improved its Refresh plans by letting customers completely tailor the length and monthly cost, as well as being able to alter allowances on a month-by-month basis.
