Buying an iPhone: Two store process?

Section: The Apple Store employee seemed very nervous as he approached me, yesterday. I’d been standing in line for nearly three hours, as had everyone else, and he was about to tell me I couldn’t upgrade my wife’s Nokia phone to an iPhone 3G. After he tried to give me the reason, I told him, “Are you sure? Because I went to an AT&T store on Sunday, and the guy said since her Nokia line is already on my Family Talk plan, I could switch her to the iPhone, but would have to pay extra for the data plan.” The employee said they’re not equipped to do that at the Apple store, to which I replied. “Well, that’s my fault for not confirming it, so I won’t freak out on you.” The employee was relieved. He glanced at the line behind me, and sighed, “Thank you.” I felt bad for the guy. Waiting three hours for a phone, half of which were spent standing in the mid-day sun on a 90° day, will set anyone to boiling. Tell that person after the wait that he can’t get the phone, and you’ve got an explosive situation on your hands. I get why Apple’s doing the whole in-store iPhone 3G activation thing, but I don’t get why they didn’t have more 1 to 3 people at a time activating phones. I also don’t get why the Apple employees, a week after the launch, still aren’t better trained on how to handle anything but the most basic activations. And considering that they aren’t, I don’t get why Apple isn’t sending more phones to AT&T...because that’s where I had to go to complete my iPhone set-up. This is what I needed to do: I have a 1st gen iPhone sharing minutes and text messaging with my wife’s Nokia on AT&T’s Family Talk plan. I’m the primary account holder, and wanted to keep my iPhone while upgrading my wife’s Nokia to the iPhone 3G. The AT&T dude said this wouldn’t be a problem. Apple said it was. Apparently, they had an AT&T rep in the back of the store, and he said my wife’s line couldn’t be upgraded. No reason was provided, the Apple employees were too busy to keep bugging him for one, and they wouldn’t let me talk to the guy. But, what I could do is upgrade my iPhone and give my wife the old one. Fine, except my wife really didn’t want the old one, and I did. 3G network aside, I prefer the look and feel of the old iPhone in every way. I’d been in line for three hours, though, and wasn’t about to leave empty handed. Fine. I upgraded my line, and figured I’d either end up using the new phone, or my wife and I would just swap numbers. On the way home, though, I passed the AT&T store I’d visited earlier that week. The same employee was there, so I explained the situation. “No problem,” he said. “Bring in all three phones.” I did, and here’s what happened. The AT&T rep took the SIM card from my wife’s Nokia and put it in the new iPhone. He did something on the computer to switch the account with HQ, and now my wife’s information was on the iPhone 3G. Because that phone had been activated at the Apple store, it was all set and working right there with her number. I’m not sure what he did online with my account, if anything, but said I’d have to reactivate my old iPhone with iTunes. The original SIM card could probably stay in place, but he gave me the new SIM out of the iPhone 3G just to be sure. Back home, I connected the iPhone to the computer, and it behaved as if it was brand new. Not good, since it wasn’t recognizing my account. So, I swapped out the SIM card with the new one I’d set up in the iPhone 3G at the Apple Store, and it knew my name and number. I used this to reactive the old phone through iTunes (much as when I originally bought it), told it I need the $20/month data plan, and received an e-mail 10 minutes later stating everything was set. So, despite Apple’s claims to the contrary, I was able to upgrade my wife to the iPhone 3G while retaining my account on my original iPhone...I just needed AT&T’s help to do it. If you don’t have an AT&T store near you, no worries. You can handle the SIM swapping on your own, then get on the phone with AT&T customer service. Now, not everyone will have the success I did, I’m sure. The iPhone 3G upgrade mess flows deep and wide, with variables the Apple employees aren’t trained to work around. It’s not safe to assume you can always do what Apple tells you and just fix it later, but you need not give up on getting the iPhone 3G, either. Call AT&T or visit a store before you go to Apple, and tell them what you want your set-up to be. If they say it’s possible (you may want to get that in writing, just to be safe) and Apple says it’s not, don’t panic. Get the phone, activate it, and head straight to AT&T to make it all work. Just be sure to plan on taking the whole day off, and don’t do it when it’s 90° outside. Oh, and try to be nice to the Apple Store employees. None of them wanted this, and trust me; they want you to get your iPhone more than you want it yourself. The sooner you’ve got it, the sooner you’re out of the store, and the sooner they can get back to selling iPods and Dora the Explorer games. Full Story » | Written by Kirk Hiner for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Notes from our experience activating iPhone 3G at Apple retail

We stood inline at a local Apple retail store early this morning to experience the first-day iPhone 3G launch and new activation process. What follows is a comprehensive set of notes covering the process for those customers who'll be picking up their...

iPhone 3G launch day: Appletell at the Apple Store

Section: Apple News, Retail & Apple Store, iPhone + Communications, iPhoneAppletell contributor Josh Holat may not have been in an iPhone line since last Friday, but he’s at the Mayfair Wisconsin Apple Store now, waiting for his chance to get his hands on the iPhone 3G. As he updates us, we’ll update you, complete with photos and box opening coverage. 6:52 a.m. - I’m in line right now. There are about 5 people before me. We were by the wrong door, so a security guard escorted us to he right one. More updates to come. 7:15 a.m. - The line is consistently getting larger. I’m 6th of about 30. There are a couple returnees from last year telling some good stories. The store is playing music and I can see the large iPhone display. A lot of the people have first gen iPhones. 7:37 a.m. - They have handed out cards about the new iPhone. There are Apple sales people walking around the line answering questions and handing out water. 7:48 a.m. - We are about to be let in. More to come. Full Story » | Written by Josh Holat for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Apple pulls iPhone support from Canada Apple Stores

Section: Apple, Apple News, Retail & Apple Store, iPhone + Communications, Carriers Sunday, we reported that Apple would be diverting shipment of the iPhone 3G from Canada to Europe as a slap on the wrist to Rogers Communications over their ridiculous rate plans. Now, that slap has become a punch in the gut. Apple Insider is reporting that Canadian Apple Stores will not be selling or activating or marketing or supporting or apparently even acknowledging the iPhone’s very existence. Rogers will still be able to sell the iPhone and gouge its customers, but they’ll get no marketing help from Apple, Inc. Apple is giving Rogers the corporate equivalent of the silent treatment. Apple Insider suspects the reaction may have stemmed from the Ruined iPhone online petition—which has now been signed by over 50,000 potential customers—created in response to Rogers’ 3-year contracts that require a minimum monthly payment of $60 for just 150 minutes, 75 text messages, and 400MB of data. Apple’s statement regarding the plan is simply, “We have nothing to do with the service plans. Those are Rogers’ plans.” From the report: Apple’s knee-jerk reaction is believed to have been further stimulated by public outrage on the part of Canadian consumers following the release of the local pricing plans. Always concerned with its image, the iPhone maker has watched nearly 50,000 of its loyal customers sign an anti-Rogers petition at ruinediphone.com, which has in turn sparked hundreds of potentially damaging reports on the matter by bloggers and members of the mainstream media. For its part, Rogers in official statements has attempted to justify the cost of its service and data plans by arguing that the “majority” of international iPhone carriers have capped data. As such, a spokesperson said Rogers believes its plans to be better than those of Orange France, for example, which include a 500MB ‘reasonable use’ limit versus the 2GB maximum on the top-tier Canadian iPhone plan that fetches $115 per month. I suspect there’s more to it than just an online petition, however. Despite Apple Insiders’ claim, Apple has a history of ignoring such petitions (as they should, really), and they’ve never been overly concerned with public image. Regardless, something weird is going in Canada, and I’m curious to see how this plays out. Via [Apple Insider] Full Story » | Written by Kirk Hiner for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Does Apple need to come clean about the 3G iPhone prices?

I was in the Apple Store this weekend picking up my 3rd set of replacement iPhone earbuds (I gotta start checking my pants before washing them). As the Apple Store dude “checked me out” (meaning rang up my purchases, not mentally undressed me with his eyes) he noticed the earbuds and struck up a [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Does Apple need to come clean about the 3G iPhone prices?", url: "http://macenstein.com/default/archives/1479" });

Apple sends the wrong signal to iPhone customers

Sure, mistakes dogged Friday’s iPhone launch. But a bigger mistake would be to not acknowledge those problems and thank early adopters for their patience.