AT&T Says iPhone Upgraders Can Keep Existing Contract and Phone Number

Chicago Tribune blogger Scott Kleinberg has the scoop on upgrading iPhones. Yesterday we posted that many people were finding their contracts automatically extended to a full two years when activating new, 16GB iPhones on their existing accounts. It turns out that this is a bug. ITunes does indeed tell you that you've signed up for another two years, but this is immediately corrected on the back end to take into account your existing term.

From AT&T:

Because of a quirk in the iPhones activation process, you will be asked to sign a new two-year contract when you upgrade to the new 16 GB model. However, that new contract will be automatically backdated to the start date of the 8 GB phone. So, your original two-year contract will not extend beyond two years. We are going to make sure that our reps communicate this better so customers don't come away confused.

AT&T SAYS: Absolutely no contract extension required for 16 GB iPhone upgrade [Chicago Tribune - Thanks Scott!]