The iPhone 3G launch hasn't been without it's problems.
-The overloaded iTunes system has brought activation to a crawl.
-AT&T stores are selling out the device in two hours in some places leaving those in line without a shiny new toy.
-Apple Store employees stuck on hold with AT&T employees.
-Customers who've been allowed to leave with un-activated iPhones are having issues with the iPhone itself not working correctly.
-AT&T account issues you learn about after standing in line for a few hours.
Yeah, it's been a tough day. While standing in line for an iPhone, at the Apple Store, I learned that I had to go to an AT&T store to get an iPhone because of an account discount issue. At that point, all the AT&T stores in the area had sold out of iPhones. It's not that big of a deal to me, but I could see how someone could get mighty upset at the situation.
Have a story of iPhone woe? Drop it in the comments. Think of it as a virtual therapy session.
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StoneCRM114
July 13, 2008 at 9:32am
but this all sounds like AT&T (like any cell phone company would since there's no regulation on these a-holes) being the true monster. If they had just kept activation like the OG iPhone, I bet that would have cut the problems in half. As much as I actually need an iPhone for my business (all of my close clients use Macs as do I) I beginning to think I ought to just wait for another year to see if the iPhone will be available through another company. Maybe then a little healthy compition would make our lives easier!
Emmett The Crab
July 13, 2008 at 2:24am
I don't know what to do. All I wanted to do was keep the new iPhone for myself, and give my old one to my wife, and add her as a second line. I went to the AT&T store, and they switched the sim cards around for me, and gave me my new 3G iPhone, activated and everything. They said my wife and I could activate hers at home using iTunes.
We tried this, and ended up reactivating the old phone with my number. Then the new phone got de-activated. Now they both have no service. I erased them both, and am trying to get service on mine, and I just can't get it to work. It updates from a backup, and comes out with no service over and over. Can anyone help!
MojaveNC
July 12, 2008 at 12:11am
Step 1. Sign up for AT&T and get a crappy phone a year ago because you eventually plan on buying iPhone.
Step 2. See Stevenote and get totally stoked about buying a $199 iPhone on July 11.
Step 3. Salivate for weeks.
Step 4. Be told by multiple AT&T representatives that you don't qualify for an iPhone for $199 — ha ha! — because you signed up for service a year ago.
Step 5. Sulk. Weep. Consider canceling contract.
XMAN
July 14, 2008 at 1:43am
I have been a Verizon customer for going on 8 years now. Been very UN satisfied with their service to say the least. My contract with Verizon was up June 26th this year so I decided rather than to renew my contract, I wanted the iPhone so bad that I was going to finally make the swith to AT&T. YAYYYYY
I called customer service and told them my intentions...I wanted to sign up NOW so that I did not have to sign another 2 year with Verizon, but the iPhone would not be available until July 11th and I wanted to make sure that I would be able to upgrade...
After doing her research she said all I would have to do is get a temporary phone, and then when the iPhone came out I would simply walk into the store and turn that phone in and be handed my brand new iPhone...
Well that day came and first of all I had issues because they ran out of iPhones and asked us in the middle of the line to head home, or we could do "direct fulfillment" so I opted to wait in line because I had alreade been there for hours...and that is a WHOLE other story...
Anyway, they tell me that since I am an existing customer that I have to pay full retail and they tell me it would be $399 for the iPhone. I was instantly ticked...and I was like "I only need the 8Gig though...and the guy said "That is for the 8Gig".
I then explained to him what customer service assured me would happen when the iPhone came out and he said..."Sir, you are not a NEW customer" even though I was WAY before my 30 days. My 30 days to exchange this phone is up on the 24th of July! So being within my 30 days, technically I am still a new customer... "Well not to qualify for the iPhone" "I could upgrade you to something similar" he said. I asked him what phone on the market did he actually think was even CLOSE to the iPhone...
His answer....drumroll please..."The Palm Centro" he said. Yes like I want a BlackBerry knock off in my pocket when I have dreamed of the iPhone for over a year!!!!
Needless to say I have a meeting today (Monday) with the manager of the store to discuss my situation and if I do not hear what I want to hear I am going to take this as high as I have to and even cost jobs if I can because I will be royally ticked!
I will say this though...I really think that Apple should at LEAST have 2-3 more options for carriers because this monopoly is making AT&T act all stupid and powerful!
We are APple users....not idiots!
::XMAN::
StoneCRM114
July 12, 2008 at 8:53am
I read your article (well done!) and I'm in the same boat, but when I checked my eligibility, they told me I could get it at the discounted price on the 20th of this month. That marks the first year of my 2 year contract. Were you not told the same thing? It doesn't sound like they're going to have any new iPhones until then anyway, and I won't be able to get mine until next month so it's not a big deal for me.
MojaveNC
July 12, 2008 at 5:53pm
I'll be eligible on Dec. 29.
The cheapest option I have – assuming AT&T doesn't change the policy – is to have my wife get an iPhone on a new contract then cancel my service for $175. This is pathetic.
Sacrifice
July 12, 2008 at 7:15am
I'd love to read your article, but neither Safari or IE would open the link. I think Maclife took it down?
Anyway, let me get this straight, you expected AT&T to do something nice for a loyal customer??? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
The Devil doesn't comprehend "loyalty". I said it before, I'll say it again-
The iPhone is FLAWED. But not the phone itself, it's flawed by the deal Apple made with AT&T. We all might as well start calling it the AT&T iPhone.
Sacrifice
July 12, 2008 at 9:25am
I don't even know where to start...
Excellent piece. Again, Corporate America rears it's ugly head, and we line up like cows ready to give them whatever they want for the new toy.
Yeah, I know, a little off topic, but it's the underlying problem that led you to your situation.
AT&T will sell EVERY iPhone they can get out of Apple. Why give you a break, and lose some money, and give you the phone they can sell to Joe iSchmoe, who they'll get another year of contract out of? And what can you do? You're under contract, so if you want to take your business elsewhere, they'll get more of your money.
Not to mention the fact that you can then kiss your iPhone G'bye that way, since Apple has made sure that anybody who desires to own an iPhone not only pays Apple for the hardware, but also has no say or choice in who they pay for the service.
Apple, I'd love to give you my money for your excellent product, but I have moral issues with with AT&T's policies, and will not do business with them. So, I guess you miss out on my money.
I guess I should get out of the way for the next cow in line...
ebrainer1
July 11, 2008 at 6:35pm
I've been trying to update my iPod touch all day and i keep either getting error messages or even not getting anything and being redirected to the previous page. My firmware status has been flickering from current to old and i've got a bunch of apps on my computer that i can't use!!!!
DonkeyDan
July 11, 2008 at 5:57pm
No hurry to upgrade in East Texas:
http://www.lufkindailynews.com/hp/content/business/stories/2008/07/11/iphone.html
There is no AT&T 3G service here
XMAN
July 14, 2008 at 1:28am
Yes Donkey, 3G is not available anywhere until mid September other than some various cities where it is being tested. There are some spots in my area where the 3G will show up in my phone, but in most of the Country it will be like I said mid to late September.
::XMAN::
DonkeyDan
July 16, 2008 at 8:02pm
The point of the story was that in other cities in East Texas, 3G has been available SINCE LAST YEAR!
bigbowood
July 11, 2008 at 5:50pm
got in line at 6:30 this morning, got my phone around 8:30 (though i was a bit surprised that at&t didn't have any display models so i could see what the cosmetic differences were between black and white models)... they sent me home without activating it in store because of all the iTunes issues this morning
got home by 9am... then proceeded to refresh iTunes for 3+ hours until i could connect to activate my iPhone... once I did that iTunes must have crashed on their end because even though I was able to sync and use all the extra features of my phone, it still wouldn't get on at&t's network... i called at&t, they transferred me to 1-800-my-iphone, which automatically transferred me to at&t when i tried to get an operator on the phone! i finally got an at&t rep on the phone who told me iTunes had just come back up (which it had) and now my iPhone was working (yay)
cut to several hours later, as my battery was dying (to be fair, i've been on the thing all day playing with my new toy) iTunes kept turning itself on... i'd turn it off and walk a few feet and it would turn back on (it kept playing "Sexyback") Is this common when the battery is dying? Was it some sort of weird way of warning me I only had 10% left?
Loup407
July 11, 2008 at 5:31pm
went to the local AT&T store first thing this morning (in a suburb of Denver) the line wrapped around the building...as I had earlier upgraded the firmware on my "old" iPhone to 2.0; I figured I could wait a few days and wanted to avoid the bedlam at the Boulder Apple store.
At 3, I was driving past the AT&T store on an errand and noticed an empty parking lot; so I thought that the madness had subsided. Walked in and was told they were out of stock. "OK, I'll come back Monday"...I was then told they didn't expect more phones in until next Friday!
I'm hoping by mid-week I'll be able to walk into the Apple store and get one without much bother.
Activating my upgraded phone took a while, but after checking the Apple support forum; I was relieved that it wasn't "just me".
NAG
July 11, 2008 at 4:23pm
I left the store without activation and it took me about 2 hours to get it activated (plugging it in repeatedly).
At first my voicemail wasn't working but that was fixed in an hour.
Other than that it works fine.
benszymanski
July 11, 2008 at 4:00pm
It's now almost seven here in Toledo, and I still cannot update my iPod touch. Every fifteen minutes I get a different error message.
We have to pay AND wait. Yes I realize that Apple is getting kick-backs from ATT, but still...
Apple really screwed up with this launch. They probably should have had the buyer pay full price for the phone at the store, and when they went home and activated it the difference from full and subsidized price would have been instantly rebated.
Don't get me wrong, I completely expected today to be a big mess, but we're nearly twelve hours into the launch and things are still screwed up.
I shouldn't have to put up with this crap. I know several iPhone users who already have 2.0.
tkrueger
July 11, 2008 at 7:18pm
I am in Lambertville (just north into michigan) and i also have an iPod Touch. It's 10:15 and am still unable to upgrade (after trying to upgrade starting at 10:30 this morning). It's not just you. I love Apple, but come on, it's a bit ridiculous. 2.0! 2.0! 2.0! 2.0! 2.0! 2.0! 2.0! 2.0! 2.0! 2.0! 2.0! 2.0! 2.0! 2.0! 2.0!
tkrueger
July 11, 2008 at 11:08pm
it is 2:06 and I have FINALLY purchased the update for my iPod Touch and it is downloading!!!! YAY!!! That took long enough, now let's see how long the actual download goes.....
StoneCRM114
July 11, 2008 at 3:58pm
This is exactly why I didn't rush to get one today.
Well..... that and I didn't qualify for an upgrade until the 20th.....
OK! OK! I don't have the money right now either. Geezzzz! Give a guy a break. ;)
