Apple's online, phone order systems struggle with iPhone 4 demand

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  • Reply 21 of 210
    Well, no luck. . . just decided to save myself one and go to the store and pick it up myself. As long as I show there on the 24th, I'm guaranteed to take one home.



    Good luck!
  • Reply 22 of 210
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by applestockholder View Post


    this is just plain bad. I wonder where the problem is, at Apple or at ATT, my bet is on ATT, they have a history of 'problematicness'...



    No, it is a very poorly designed process and web site, The process involves many pages and many separate client-server connections.



    Done properly, it would require 2 pages and 2 client-server interactions.



    It's a pre-order-- gather the data and book the pre-order. Acknowledge the booking immediately via email.



    Perform validation after the fact, then acknowledge the validated pre-order within 24 hours, via email.



    The buyer clicks a link, logs in, then: accepts the validated pre-order; resolves discrepancies (modifying previously captured data); or lets the pre-order expire.



    Bida-Bing, Bida-Boom!





    The way they do it now is like starting a NASCAR race, then after the first lap, make all the drivers go to the corner gas station for a smog check... a built-in disaster waiting to happen!



    .
  • Reply 23 of 210
    mkeathmkeath Posts: 60member
    Doesn't matter. The HTC Aria launch is going to dwarf the iPhone 4.
  • Reply 24 of 210
    Tried this morning via both the app and the online store. Neither worked. Tried the store just a few minutes ago with no luck, but the app worked straight away. Things seem to be unclogging...
  • Reply 25 of 210
    stevetimstevetim Posts: 482member
    giving up today ... i'll try tomorrow.
  • Reply 26 of 210
    I guess the problem is over at AT&T as well. I tried to pre-order a few times and the process is stuck at "Please wait while we access your AT&T account information".

    I tried to pre-order on AT&T's website and that failed as well. When I called AT&T, the phone rep claimed "oh, apple.com has been crashing the whole day".
  • Reply 27 of 210
    icarbonicarbon Posts: 196member
    The system at the AT&T store I went to was down to (remote store in Bloomington IN), they were doing paper orders, and said it was a system-wide failure.



    They also said that they'd had 20 customers so far as of 11AM, at least one of which ordered 10 phones.



    I suspect that this is going to be a record-breaking launch.
  • Reply 28 of 210
    timuscatimusca Posts: 123member
    I finally got a reservation! I used the new Apple Store app on my iPhone 3G and it accepted the reservation right away. Granted, this is just a reservation, not a preorder, but at least I'm getting somewhere.
  • Reply 28 of 210
    This is an 'effin joke. I've been trying unsuccessfully for three hours to try to pre-order the phone. Come on Apple/AT&T....get this figured out.
  • Reply 30 of 210
    nondualnondual Posts: 78member
    After exhausting all other methods, I placed the very first pre-order at the local Best Buy. 32G Black.



    We'll see what happens on the 24th, but I'm sufficiently prepared for a bad day.
  • Reply 31 of 210
    esummersesummers Posts: 953member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by estolinski View Post


    Hey ATT:



    Ummm, shouldn't we do upgrades BEFORE the launch guys? Just a thought. They should have been honest and posted a message stating that once again they dropped the proverbial ball.



    The billion dollar data center they just built was for launch!
  • Reply 32 of 210
    [QUOTE=masternav;1653360



    Seriously, repeating the same behavior over and over and expecting a different result is a sure sign of mental illness. [/QUOTE]



    You must live in a different world than I do. Trying repeatedly when trying to get through to radio stations to win stuff, buying just released concert tickets, or buying an iPhone, can very well be met with success. When I had Prince tickets in a small venue sharing a concert with less than 300 people, I did not feel insane, actually rewarded, and I do not anticipate that i would have felt insane if I had gotten trough earlier with my iPhone order, and was in line to pick up a new one...
  • Reply 33 of 210
    I tried earlier today to pre-order via Apple's online store with noi luck. I even tried to use the new Apple App... but it crashed!! (Hey Steve, didn't you just say that one of the reasons apps were not accepted was due to crashing... hmmmmmmm? )



    I eventually had pretty good luck at ATT's website. The order went through.



    Now... for the next round of waiting (June 24th, that is. )
  • Reply 34 of 210
    ghostface147ghostface147 Posts: 1,629member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Shivas Irons View Post


    This is an 'effin joke. I've been trying unsuccessfully for three hours to try to pre-order the phone. Come on Apple/AT&T....get this figured out.



    Agreed. However I wonder if some people are just clicking over and over just to crash their systems. You never know...
  • Reply 35 of 210
    esummersesummers Posts: 953member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by joebloggs View Post


    I suspect this is AT&T's failure. When I tried early this morning to go direct to the AT&T site, I just got an error message (not the "site upgrade" message shown in the article). Apple's web process seems to crash when checking the AT&T upgrade eligibility. I wonder if this will be the last straw for Jobs?



    For Apple to take over the order verification process?
  • Reply 36 of 210
    ktappektappe Posts: 823member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by kpluck View Post


    Quote:

    Demand for iPhone 4 was so high that Apple began rejecting callers from its 800-MY-APPLE number.



    Without knowing the capabilities of their phone system that is a useless metric.



    It's not a metric at all nor was it meant to be. It was merely an observable occurrence.
  • Reply 37 of 210
    mazda 3smazda 3s Posts: 1,613member
    I've been trying since 4AM this morning. I'm beyond pissed
  • Reply 38 of 210
    sf_dudesf_dude Posts: 14member
    I just received an email from ATT about my iPhone 4 order saying that the system could not verify some information and my order was cancelled. I entered everything correctly and even had a receipt with the confirmation.

    Cannot expect less from them.
  • Reply 39 of 210
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mazda 3s View Post


    I've been trying since 4AM this morning. I'm beyond pissed



    Since 5am here.
  • Reply 40 of 210
    I've tried ordering a replacement iPhone for myself AND a new iPhone account for my wife - neither seems to go through. After 4 hours over two hours of trying, I quite for a while. Considering the online store works fine for ordering Mac Mini and other hardware items, I have to conclude that the iPhone error is most certainly on AT&T's side.



    After waiting months for today - how can we be left with any feeling other than disappointment. Sucks.
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