EE no longer making it viable to consider upgrading

[Angelus]

Into the final month of my contract and whilst i had been holding out to see if EE would be stocking the new Xperia 1 VII, alas to no avail. So been using freetime to look at alternative phones (i've used sony phones since early 2000s).

Last week i got a lovely text from EE reminding me that i was into the final month of my contract and i could do nothing and be kept on my current plan for £70+pm. Excuse me EE but that price included the cost of my xperia 1V so i don't think so. Ive phoned to discuss options, but so far unimpressed at the offers, so i decided to look at other networks, now im likely to go for the S25 ultra, looking around and directly from alternative networks, i can get it for a better deal than anything EE offers, heck from vodaphone i could select the S25 ultra on a 24month plan this is for both phone and the ultra max xtra entertainment plan along with the galaxy watch ultra on a 3yr plan for cheaper than the full works plan just for the phone without even adding £10 pm for a galaxy 7 watch. 

For me the incentives to remain an EE customer are no longer in place, before BT bought them incentives to upgrade were great, now its just greed. Almost as bad as Virgin Media.

[Northerner]

Hi @Angelus 

A better option is to buy the handset separately from Samsung and then a SIM only contract which will be cheaper over less time and likely discounted with add ons. Anyone who still buys both from the carrier for over 2 years should expect to be paying more especially if they don't move.

Good luck with your new network.

Thanks 

[ee_user14]

Absolutely right to the previous reply - try buying your new phone from Samsung directly and drop your EE SIM to a SIM-only.

Otherwise make sure you test VodaFone using a PAYG SIM first. The online coverage maps are a basic guide but never tell the full picture.

[Angelus]

Whilst that may seems the most optimal way to deal with getting new phones and contracts, it's unfortunately not feasible for the vast majority. Laying out £1200+ on a premium phone upfront isn't viable. Maybe a few years back when they were £700 or so, but now they're more expensive than a good laptop. 

Setting a budget and trying to get the best value for money within that budget is the more efficient way, and showing that value for money appears to lye elsewhere is justifying my original post in that EE no longer provide a viable option or attempt to do enough to encourage customers to renew.

[Angelus]

I get for some, that may seems the better way, however for alot, it's simply not feasible to outlay £1200 upfront just for the handset, if that were the case I'd be straight onto the Sony website and preordering my preferred phone the Xperia 1 VII then switching to a SIM contract, as I've said I've had to look for alternatives and it's opened my eyes a little at EEs increasing prices and better value for money deals elsewhere and I used the alternative phone(S25 ultra) as an example.

[ee_user14]

FYI you've basically posted the same reply twice!