Between the Lines

Larry Dignan, Andrew Nusca and Rachel King

iPhone 4 pre-orders plagued by AT&T problems

By | June 15, 2010, 11:01am PDT

Summary: Apple started taking pre-orders today for the new iPhone 4 - well, it tried. It should come as no surprise that AT&T service problems plagued the process.

How does AT&T even manage to stay in business?

Starting today, users can start pre-ordering the new iPhone 4, but as a post on Gizmodo - with multiple updates - points out, the pre-order process is too much for AT&T to handle. Then again, given how it’s handled its shortcomings on the service side, this really should come as no surprise.

Also see: AT&T melts down again; will Apple ever learn?

And this isn’t even one single problem. Consider some of the horror stories that some folks are sending into the site:

  • Online orders being confirmed as successful, only to receive an email from AT&T saying the order encountered an error.
  • Credit cards being charged multiple times - but the order still not processing.
  • Orders that are confirmed as being successful but then that even the pre-order process is too much for AT&T to handle.
  • Security breaches where customers are gaining access to the accounts of others.
  • Orders that have taken three hours to process.
  • AT&T problems leading to similar problems on Apple’s site.
  • AT&T stores shutting down completely - the whole store - because of pre-order problems.

At this point - three years since Apple first released the iPhone on an exclusive basis with AT&T - one might think that Apple would recognize what a bad business move it is to stayed tied to AT&T as its exclusive service provider.

Once again, let’s hear it for being an Android-Verizon customer.

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RE: iPhone 4 pre-orders plagued by AT&T problems
skywin 26th Oct
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@mrlinux These are the comparisons that have been going on for nearly 2 years now (since the Diamond came out). iPhone 4 isn't out yet so it isn't relevant. Besides, while it might be a tiny sliver thinner, it still takes up far more room in the pocket. Try fitting an 8.5X11 piece of paper in your pocket without folding it. You can't do it even though the paper is thin, thin, thin!

I'm LAUGHING at the stupidity of an iPhone owner calling anything else a brick considering that the iPhone isn't a small phone either. Like I said, it's all relative and you would have realized that if your vision weren't so impaired from Apple's RDF. iPhone is a brick. Deal with it. friv yeni oyunlar oyunlar kral oyun
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The AT&T bashing is really getting old and childish. No one can cope with the iPhone otaku, not even Verizon. I can wait for the lemming stampede to die down.
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Maybe no
jgpeters Updated - 15th Jun 2010
@Texas8412 The whole fault lies with Apple for choosing to go with a single provider. Yes, Verizon by itself would probably struggle too, but if there were four providers we wouldn't be seeing any of this. And just to be clear I am planning on upgrading to iPhone 4 but Apple's practices here leave me unhappy with them.
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RE: iPhone 4 pre-orders plagued by AT&T problems
ryan.connelly@... 15th Jun 2010
@Texas8412 It's not childish. If you can't even process orders, it's completely ridiculous. How can we trust a company's network if they can't even do something easy like processing an order? The security breach recently is just another sign of a poorly run company too large for their own good.
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MULTIPLE carriers = able to handle it....
regardless at&t sucks.....
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what ever u all do. DONT bash BP that would be childish.......
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what is way past OLD is the fact that ATT sucks and they are doing nothing to get better. You cannot under any circumstances rely on AT&T to make calls on an iPhone. PERIOD. I live in DC and travel all over the country. AT&T sucks. AT&T doesn't work. It is a travesty that I have to pay AT&T over $200 per month and cannot make or keep calls. Not in DC, not in NY, not in Phili, not in San Francisco. The iPhone is not a phone n AT&T; it is a handheld computer.
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@mpk20874 "not in Phili"

Actually, it is a travesty to spell Philly as if it was some kind of microbe.
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@mpk20874
The iPhone 4 pre-orders were plagued with an incredible mess of mis-payments, wrong account information, and overall bad juju. Yesterday Gizmodo readers sent the infamous blog details (rather, complaints) of the day???s events. It became an incredible security issue, as people ended up logging into others accounts ??? which allowed customers to purchase, change, or update information in their name. What???s worse is that of the customer???s who were successful, some were overcharged for their orders, or others had completely screwed up order information ranging from the wrong phone to weird plans
Orlando Real Estate
Apple's preordering system for the iPhone 4 appeared overloaded or broken on Tuesday with many complaining they were locked out from ordering the phone online in advance of its June 24 launch. Thousands of those that visited Apple's preorder page at Apple.com received the message "There was an error processing your request".
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Purchased 2 HTC EVO phones on Sprint Family plan plus basic flip phone for mom. All 3 phones got contacts sync'd from old phones and out of store in 48 minutes.

Been saying for 2 years Apple needs to end exclusive deal and sell iPhone on Verizon and Sprint. NOW!! AT&T is doing it NO favors! At least not enough to be worth it.

When will good sense prevail?
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Weird, I used the Apple Store iPhone app and reserved my phone for pickup with zero problems.
I mean, C'mon! I understand slow response times. I understand unresponsive sites. I even understand busy phone lines. But my friend was just complaining about this to me. Been on the site since after 6AM and can't finish the transaction. Been on the phone and when he does get through, he's on hold for forever. He's gotten to the checkout several times to have the system spit him back out saying there was a problem.

Other users report being charged, sometimes multiple times and STILL not having a completed transaction for a phone.

Seriously, what do you need to hear to agree that AT&T is even more unprepared for this level of volume than other providers? They're closing ENTIRE STORES due to this issue! Need more?
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I love...
tonyhunterajh 15th Jun 2010
OS X, my iMac 20", my iPod Touch, Apple in general and I want to love the iPhone as well; but there ain't no way in hell I'm leaving Verizon for the iPhone! It's Droid time for me!
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I Had No Issues....Got Mine Preorered
itanalyst2010 15th Jun 2010
Took me all of less than 30 seconds.
Why are they waiting a week before we can download OS 4?
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@Gehawk

I am running iPhone OS 4 now. I am expected to allow it to fail, I will not rush to ZDNet and scream about it if has problems.

This is called testing.

Also many of the features are API changes that allow developers to make better Apps, without the new Apps this is going to be a let-down as for instance the multi-tasking that will make Skype more practical is useless until Skype updates their app to use it. Apple is giving the App developers time to get their new apps on the store.

Also all supporting software has to be ready to work with the new OS, this is being completed.

It's a case of getting everything ready and as tested as reasonable for the users, rather than bashing out an update.

Believe me you would not want to go through what a few of the Beta testers went through. Mostly it worked, but in a few cases there were issues, this is precisely why there are beta testers.

Now that Apple has moved out of beta, they are sensibly confirming it works.

Yes, it is frustrating to wait for anything new, but the alternative of releasing too early is worse.

This is not to say that there is ever a 100% guarantee that any software release will be perfect, and given the millions of people that will get the update, a very small chance of error still means some people will experience issues, such is probability.

I can't wait to hear the reports of those issues being blown out of proportion in the blogs, and maybe even by the reporters.

If it makes anyone in the US feel better, the carriers here are not much better. The carrier I use has definite service issues right now, and they are still better than the alternatives here. We don't have any exclusives on the iPhone here either, all carriers sell iPhones.
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This is not just an inconvenience to people trying to pre-order the iPhone...it has almost stopped our company from processing any orders with AT&T today.
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I know there's mass hysteria to order the new iPhone on the first day, but that's like buying a piece of software that is on version 1.0. There's going to be bugs. The phone won't even be here tomorrow. Do you think your geek cred will go up because you pre-ordered it on the first day available?
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I don't think it's geek creed
richardw66 Updated - 15th Jun 2010
@snelson66

As someone who got their first iPhone about 4 weeks ago:

I have to say that waiting so long to get one was a mistake.

If you do not have an iPhone or similar, then buying one would be a good idea.

I don't recommend buying technology on day 1 either, but Apple have a reputation lately for getting it right, so even I would get one straight away in this case.

Since there is an expectation that to get any new Apple device early on you either queue up, or pre-order or you wait for more stock, it is likely that pre-orders are not just for cred reasons.

I have already been told by one friend who is slightly anti-technology (or at least was until he got an iPhone, now he seems to be changing) that he is intending getting 3 of them straight away. I can assure you he does not do this to impress geeks. He may not pre-order, but he sees the need to get them without waiting or even looking at them.

The phone won't even be here tomorrow

The iPhone will still be here tomorrow - I assure you.

Apple product in my experience, and observations of those I know, has a working life of 5-10 years.

This I have to say also applies to the Sony-Ericsson K750i phone that I stopped using when I switched to iPhone.

Quality lasts.

Gimmicky and geeky toys become redundant when the next gimmicky and geeky toy comes out.

Yes, some users will buy a new one to keep with the latest, my point being that they do not need to. The old phones will get passed on and get more life.

If you are wondering, I will get one because I am developing Apps, so I got the 3GS because I needed one straight away, and will hand it on if/when I get a new one. This was planned for.

It is not like I feel the need for a new iPhone because my current one is in any way inadequate.

iPhone is not a gimmick - it is a communications tool, this is why it does not have the same feature count as some other phones, nor does it seek to compete on feature counts, nor IT fashions.

It has a feature set that is what Apple thinks is needed and they can get right, not what they can cobble together to look good in ZDNet articles, nor to fill in the 10 features that Jason O'Grady is whining that they do not have.

This is why the iPhone will survive past any Android model, core Android supporters will always be looking for the next big feature 'X' to show off or to play with.

Now who wants a nice new phone?

And why not pre-order it?

OK - some people do it for Geek cred, and some people just like shiny new things - they also are allowed to buy an iPhone.
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You people are numbnuts.
Robkhb 15th Jun 2010
AT&T pays Apple an insane amount of money to have the exclusive rights to the iPhone and now the iPad data. Last I checked, Apple can't even keep up with current demand much less the demand that would follow opening it up to all carriers. Everyone is complaining about what a hassle it is to preorder their shiny new phone and they are blaming AT&T and Apple and the easter bunny and whomever else - but you know what? They are still buying them. You REALLY want Apple to switch/open up to other carriers? Stop making the iPhone the best selling wireless device ever.

By the way, I had no problem ordering mine this morning.
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RE: iPhone 4 pre-orders plagued by AT&T problems
grbell780@... Updated - 15th Jun 2010
Existing customers were told that they didn't have to change their voice/data plans. However, there is no option to keep your existing plan for the new 2-year contract term despite the fact that they have instructions "To keep your existing rate plan and select different
features, click Use Existing." There isn't anything to click. You can only choose a new VOice & Data plan, forcing existing customers with Unlimited Data to downgrade if they want to pre-order... seems very shady to me!
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@grbell780@...

I was told I can keep mine too when I pre-ordered from Best Buy. I hope that is the case even though my average data usage is always under 500Meg/Month for the past 2 years or so.
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I heard that the iphone designers preferred to run on the CDMA network of verison/sprint because of higher data speeds but the power consumption of the CDMA chipsets exceeded their budget and had to go with the GSM chip set and the (ATT) network.
@chsmith@... Perhaps they did. More likely, with CDMA not being the standard in most countries, Apple wanted to maximise sales and chose GSM, since it's more widely used.
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No problem here
bobiroc 15th Jun 2010
went to best buy when they opened at 10am and was in and out in 10 minutes. I love how you focus on AT&T and insinuate that their order problems caused the order problems at apple.com. The ordering from Apple you can do without a plan but you need to activate it from AT&T.

Also I had a Apple Fangirl friend that went to the local apple store and they had problems with their in house system too and the line was a half mile long she said (I am sure that is an exaggeration of course)

Not that I am dismissing AT&T having some fault in this but I have to say could you be any more biased?
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What happened...
techboy_z 15th Jun 2010
...to the thumbs-down button on articles? The very non-objective comment at the end is a dead giveaway: if objective, it would have read "...let's hear it for being a non-AT&T customer...", not "let's hear it for being an Android/Verizon customer."

Ax to grind?!
I went to the AT&T store and pre-ordered without a problem. I wish everyone would get off a Verizon's nuts. The iPhone is the most popular invention I can remember and frankly no carrier or consumer products company could pull off such a roll out without any issues. I would bet my last $ that Verizon would experience the same issues as AT&T if they had the iPhone, but they don't...all carriers suck depending on who you ask.
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I dumped my Verizon Smart phone the day after thanksgiving in 08 and got a 3G. At that time I had enough with the Verizon Customer service and glitches in separating 2 accounts into single accounts earlier that year. They never did eliminate the other name on the account but for billing it was separated. Then Verizon would not lower the data price to match AT&T. I made my apple appointment and got the phone. But as luck would have it because I had pre applied there was another glitch that AT&T fixed about 3 hours later. Keep in mind I started off at an Apple store and finished @ AT&T. But Apple had called the AT&T store for me. There was another issue grabbing an existing Vonage # for the cell phone too. Sure it was a busy shopping day but they fixed the situation that day?. Needless to say I wasn?t giving up the Verizion account until early January so any potential issues could be fixed or If I didn?t like the iphone I could cancel the whole thing. I?ve never had another problem. The service is great here and I?ve never dropped a call.

Last year the 3GS came out I waited a few weeks and checked the apple store stock and went and got one. It was $399 without a contract and I sold the old phone on ebay for $340. Now I?ve been interested in getting a 3g ipad, and want to go to an apple store and put one to the test. BUT now I can?t easily check to see if they even have any ipads in stock to buy. So apple?s not so perfect in my mind either.

Well yesterday I made a decision to have some fun with the pre-order scenario. It was the first time I ever did a preorder. LOL My goal was to pre order thru the apple site. So I checked apple and AT&T on and off from 12am to 3am est. I used two browsers too. I like Firefox for visiting Apple. It?s faster?. No such luck? The pre order sites were not enabled yet. Right there is a some of the problem. I feel the sites might have been able to absorb some of the load back at midnight.

Anyway at 7:30est Apple and AT&T were working on ie but apple was not working on Firefox yet. But in 45 minutes I was unable to get a phone @ Apple?s site. You could get so far and loose it or hang and loose it. I gave it another shot at 8:45 in firefox @ Apple and managed to get the items in the cart and upon a few more tries I was able to pay for the phone and a ?bumper?. If it wasn?t for the items staying in the cart I would have given up.
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PS the Apple confirmation email came 10 hours later
Without reliable phone service the Iphone is like a beautiful BMW without an engine.
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Apple's preordering system for the iPhone 4 appeared overloaded or broken with many complaining they were locked out from ordering the phone online in advance of its June 24 launch. Thousands of those that visited Apple's preorder page at Apple.com received the message "There was an error processing your request. Please try again later," at around 5:45pm ET. Similar error messages were being coughed up from AT&T's preordering page.
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