Verizon iPhone 4 activation steps buggy but functional

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
Activation of the new CDMA iPhone 4 on Verizon Wireless hasn't run into show-stopper problems, but the process is still working through some initial growing pains.



Apart from existing Verizon users who could pre-order starting February 3, users who want an Verizon iPhone have been trickling onto the carrier's network over just the past week. Orders via mail just began arriving yesterday.



Activation is usually a simple matter of plugging the device into iTunes, but when we plugged in a new model to transfer service from AT&T, there was an initial error message stating "carrier activation is delayed."



The iTunes alert said, "while your iPhone can be used over Wi-Fi, the carrier activation had been delayed. Please wait a few minutes, then dial *228 Optino 1 to automatically program your phone. If the delay continues, your in store Specialist can contact Verizon's Credit Order and Operations Support (COOS) helpline to identify and resolve the cause of the delay."



Calling the number from the new phone subsequently resulted in a prompt activation, although iTunes displayed a "your session has timed out" warning page, with a dangerous looking hyperlink offering to "re-enter ALUnbrick." That page was replaced with one simply reading "echo."



After detaching and replugging the now working phone, iTunes correctly offered to restore settings from our backup of the previous model.







Verizon network not falling down yet



The influx of new iPhones on Verizon's network hasn't yet registered as a blip on the carrier's performance, according to a report by Compuware Gomez, published by Gigaom.



The firm compared the first four days of iPhone availability, February 10-13, with its week prior benchmark of Verizon's expected performance in web browsing and page load times. It concluded, "We?re just four days in, but our measurements show that real-world data users on Verizon Wireless are experiencing no noticeable performance degradation due to the influx of new iPhone users on the network."



The firm estimates that there are already 500,000 to 700,000 iPhones on Verizon's network, a relatively small number of devices that are spread across the country. Verizon may experience more troubles managing traffic if the 1.5 million new iPhones expected by Gene Munster to hit its network this quarter materialize. Initial sales have been described as "healthy but not 'blowout.'"



However, the carrier has expressed confidence that it will be able to accommodate both a widespread upgrade of its existing customers and a switchers from other carriers. In contrast, AT&T became the subject of lawsuits in 2008 after the release of the iPhone 3G highlighted its weak coverage.



AT&T strikes back



Meanwhile, AT&T has stepped up its marketing to counter Verizon's iPhone, initially positioning its network as being faster than Verizon's, with spokesman Larry Solomon saying, "The iPhone is built for speed, but that's not what you get with a CDMA iPhone. I'm not sure iPhone users are ready for life in the slow lane."



The company then began advertising the unique ability of its network to handle voice and mobile data at once, something Verizon can't do, in a spot that depicted a man scrambling to make online reservations while assuring his wife on the phone that he hadn't forgotten their anniversary. Because he was at work, the spot raised the question of why he wouldn't simply be accessing data over WiFi were he using a Verizon iPhone.



AT&T appears to have changed its focus in its latest ad, which promotes the low cost, $49 iPhone 3GS from 2009, something Verizon can't offer.



Comments

  • Reply 1 of 12
    archosarchos Posts: 152member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by allmypeople View Post


    Gotta do better than 500-700k. Com'on APPL/VZ! lol



    5-7 TIMES the launch of the brand new Palm Pre or EVO 4G, by an old phone model, is pretty good. Even at that estimate, it still beat WP7's global launch. LuLz
  • Reply 2 of 12
    The real problems begin after you activate the iPhone on Verizon:



    No more talk and internet at the same time.

    Slower speeds.

    Conference calls limited to 3 callers (absurd!).

    No ability to SWAP between calls.

    No ability to DROP individual calls.



    My friend just got the Verizon model. He hates it when I show him how I can talk and surf at the same time!
  • Reply 3 of 12
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    ...dial *228 Optino 1...



    Perhaps you got an Italian or some other latin american message (or maybe your spell checker just didn't catch that it should have been Option)? LMAO
  • Reply 4 of 12
    Not so amazing when you think in most countries you can get the iPhone 4 for free with a contract.
  • Reply 5 of 12
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by noexpectations View Post


    The real problems begin after you activate the iPhone on Verizon:



    No more talk and internet at the same time.

    Slower speeds.

    Conference calls limited to 3 callers (absurd!).

    No ability to SWAP between calls.

    No ability to DROP individual calls.



    My friend just got the Verizon model. He hates it when I show him how I can talk and surf at the same time!



    Unlike my AT&T iPhone, my Verizon iPhone has the ability to complete a phone call and not timeout constantly when browsing the internet in a major metropolitan area.



    I never thought I'd say this, but it's good to be back on Verizon \
  • Reply 6 of 12
    http://labs.chitika.com/iZone/ says Verizon IPhones are already 1/20th AT&T's count, so that's about 2 mil ?
  • Reply 7 of 12
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by allmypeople View Post


    Gotta do better than 500-700k. Com'on APPL/VZ! lol



    It's not a shock. A major market for the phone are existing iPhone users. Many of whom are under contracts with a high ETF. So unless their reception totally blows, they are going to wait for the contract to end or at least until the ETF is more reasonable
  • Reply 8 of 12
    archosarchos Posts: 152member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by gauravchak View Post


    http://labs.chitika.com/iZone/ says Verizon IPhones are already 1/20th AT&T's count, so that's about 2 mil ?



    Actually, 15 M AT&T iPhone subscribers * 4.6/95.4 = ~700,000 active iPhones on Verizon



    That's active users. Most people who ordered online are just getting theirs. And some people are not going to show up in third party ad network stats.



    That does indicate that launch day was around initial estimates.
  • Reply 9 of 12
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by noexpectations View Post


    The real problems begin after you activate the iPhone on Verizon:



    No more talk and internet at the same time.

    Slower speeds.

    Conference calls limited to 3 callers (absurd!).

    No ability to SWAP between calls.

    No ability to DROP individual calls.



    My friend just got the Verizon model. He hates it when I show him how I can talk and surf at the same time!



    The problem with AT&T is that ability to drop individual calls without warning.



    In all seriousness, while most of the HS*PA-based features you mention appeal to you and I they just aren?t deal breakers for Verizon users. Once Verizon gets decent coverage and devices with LTE and these features become commonplace it will be fun to watch as these features on the iPhone since 2008 will become features Verizon users won?t consider going without.
  • Reply 10 of 12
    I've been using mine for just over a week, and I can't say that any of the listed negatives are causing any frustration for me.



    It is funny how people get competitive over something as ridiculous as phone service, innit? Its almost as bad as people fighting about sports. No wait. Its worse.



    People need to quit flapping their arms about all this.
  • Reply 11 of 12
    I've been a Verizon customer for several months now, and to me, having a strong, consistent data connection is more important to me than phone calls. My AT&T iPhone dropouts occurred, sure, but what frustrated me most was constantly switching to the EDGE network and dramatically slowing down my speeds. AT&T can brag about the speed of their network all they want, but speed doesn't matter if you consistently keep dropping out of 3G.



    I'll have to look into some of the multiple calls issues, but honestly, it hasn't bothered me that much. I'm usually near wifi all day, so I'm able to talk and surf at the same time most of the time. Since I don't carry long conversations on the phone, I'm patient enough to wait before I can use 3G data again.



    If those features are really important to you, all the more reason to stay with AT&T. For me, Verizon's coverage is much better where I live, and the trade offs are reasonable enough for me to want to stay. Loving the Droid X ^_^.
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