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

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  • Reply 41 of 210
    chronsterchronster Posts: 1,894member
    It is a bit disappointing to get all excited over buying a product from someone then being told you can't because everyone else is trying to do the same thing.



    I mean, we literally can't give Apple our money quick enough for these things.
  • Reply 42 of 210
    Just got a call from my ATT rep. My order went through, and I got an email confirmation. I tried this morning to do it online through Apple first then ATT to no avail. Go to a brick and mortar store folks and try there, it was the only thing that worked for me.
  • Reply 43 of 210
    It looks like AT&T is finally addressing this problem. Just spotted this PRESS RELEASE on their site. I will be trying to get my phone in a few days.







    DALLAS, June 15 -- AT&T*, the U.S. smartphone leader, today announced it has ceased taking orders for iPhones today due to unprecedented demand, and will reopen its website tomorrow, June 16, at Midnight EDT.



    Customers can preorder during the next five days based on the last digit of their social security numbers, as follows: ?0-1? on June 16, ?2-3? on June 17, ?4-5? on June 18, ?6-7? on June 19, and ?8-9? on June 20.



    This process is required to manage the tremendous demand for the iPhone 4. During this time, customers will be limited to one phone order, but after June 21 additional phones may be ordered.



    AT&T is proud to offer the iPhone 4, the thinnest smartphone ever with all-new design, FaceTime video calling, Apple's stunning new Retina display, 5 megapixel camera and HD video recording. iPhone 4 will be available for a suggested retail price of $199 for the 16GB model and $299 for the 32GB model, in company retail stores and online at www.att.com/iphone, plus business channels, beginning June 24.



    "This will be a very exciting week for AT&T customers," said Ralph de la Vega, president and CEO, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. "By using social security numbers, we can handle the order traffic and make sure we're enabling our customers to access their favorite social networks and favorite business applications."



    "We know that people are eager to get iPhone 4, which is why we have moved to a more orderly process.?
  • Reply 44 of 210
    DALLAS, June 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AT&T*, the U.S. smartphone leader, today announced it has ceased taking orders for iPhones today due to unprecedented demand, and will reopen its website tomorrow, June 16, at Midnight EDT.



    Customers can preorder during the next five days based on the last digit of their social security numbers, as follows: ?0-1? on June 16, ?2-3? on June 17, ?4-5? on June 18, ?6-7? on June 19, and ?8-9? on June 20.



    This process is required to manage the tremendous demand for the iPhone 4. During this time, customers will be limited to one phone order, but after June 21 additional phones may be ordered.



    AT&T is proud to offer the iPhone 4, the thinnest smartphone ever with all-new design, FaceTime video calling, Apple's stunning new Retina display, 5 megapixel camera and HD video recording. iPhone 4 will be available for a suggested retail price of $199 for the 16GB model and $299 for the 32GB model, in company retail stores and online at www.att.com/iphone, plus business channels, beginning June 24.



    "This will be a very exciting week for AT&T customers," said Ralph de la Vega, president and CEO, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. "By using social security numbers, we can handle the order traffic and make sure we're enabling our customers to access their favorite social networks and favorite business applications."



    "We know that people are eager to get iPhone 4, which is why we have moved to a more orderly process.?
  • Reply 45 of 210
    foo2foo2 Posts: 1,077member
    At least in some communities, order on line and save a few % on local (not state) sales tax.
  • Reply 46 of 210
    mazda 3smazda 3s Posts: 1,613member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by iphonefan1968 View Post




    Customers can preorder during the next five days based on the last digit of their social security numbers, as follows: “0-1” on June 16, “2-3” on June 17, “4-5” on June 18, “6-7” on June 19, and “8-9” on June 20.



    WOOHOO for me... I guess
  • Reply 47 of 210
    ...but the AT&T and Apple sites just hang.



    No excuse for that. It's 2010. They've got server farms and processing power and skads of IT/dev talent, and they can't handle a couple million transactions? The high frequency traders on Wall Street - billions of shares traded a day - no doubt millions of transactions each day, week in and week out. Maybe they should outsource it to eBay next time. No excuse for this.



    And how hard can it be? It's a pre-order, ferchrissakes. Take the order, and sort out any checks you have to do later, if you have to. Contact the person via email if there's an issue found later. Shouldn't even need to do that, though.



    I have half a mind for emailing the Jobster himself...
  • Reply 48 of 210
    I just found out that if you use the iPhone ordering app that there is a "call Apple" button at one point that actually gets through to apple and bypasses the recording apologizing for the high call volume and not taking the call. After being on hold for 6 minutes a very friendly apple rep (Brad) answered. I of course said I want to pre order the new phone. He said that the ordering problem is with ATT and that he couldn't even put in a order right now. He did however take my name and phone number and assured me that he would personally call me back when AT&T's system was up and running again and process my order.
  • Reply 49 of 210
    AT&T - Wireless Order Confirmation



    Dear ,



    Thank you for your recent order. We value and appreciate your business. Your order has been reserved. At the

    point your order was placed, we authorized the funds to cover your purchase however, your credit card will not

    actually be charged until the order is shipped.



    Order Details:



    Order Transaction Number: XX (this number appears at the bottom of your original sales receipt)



    Shipping Zip Code: XXXXX







    Item Name

    Item

    Number

    Quantity Ordered



    FREIGHT

    88868

    1



    Your order will be shipped as soon as possible. You will receive an email as soon as your order is shipped. Please

    note that the email will contain the shipment tracking number for your convenience. In addition, you may check

    the status of your order at any time at our website by clicking here or by calling our automated system at

    1-877-782-8870. Please see order details above.



    Thank you again for choosing AT&T.



    Sincerely,

    AT&T



    -This is the email I just got after leaving my information with a rep at my local ATT cellular store.
  • Reply 50 of 210
    mazda 3smazda 3s Posts: 1,613member
    Hey, why was iphonefan1968's post deleted?
  • Reply 51 of 210
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AllNamesAreTaken View Post


    ...but the AT&T and Apple sites just hang.



    No excuse for that. It's 2010. They've got server farms and processing power and skads of IT/dev talent, and they can't handle a couple million transactions? The high frequency traders on Wall Street - billions of shares traded a day - no doubt millions of transactions each day, week in and week out. Maybe they should outsource it to eBay next time. No excuse for this.



    And how hard can it be? It's a pre-order, ferchrissakes. Take the order, and sort out any checks you have to do later, if you have to. Contact the person via email if there's an issue found later. Shouldn't even need to do that, though.



    I have half a mind for emailing the Jobster himself...



    And his reply would be..."It's a magical pre-order process, be patient...But turn off your WI-FI to help us out...Thanks"...hehe



    I agree...You would think by now they would have this stuff sorted out and be ready for it by now. Then again, you can't predict demand but the technology is there to handle these kinds of loads...my guess is, something is seriously broke in the system that wasn't anticipated at all...But in the end, I guess it's a good problem to have...
  • Reply 52 of 210
    beltsbearbeltsbear Posts: 314member
    My order when through. The pages took about five mins each to load so it took almost a half hour to do.
  • Reply 53 of 210
    logicallogical Posts: 11member
    Rather than upgrade existing account, choose "add a new line." Then "Reserve." Then choose a zip code of the apple store you're going to pick up from, and submit. Then you enter your apple id/password, submit, and there you have it. I did this at 12:30 EST. An apple rep in our local Apple Store assisted me with this.



    The key is that there's no interface with AT&T (obviously not running Xraid). This whole fiasco is the fault of AT&T.
  • Reply 54 of 210
    s4mb4s4mb4 Posts: 267member
    i went over the the local AT&T store and ordered one for delivery to my house. took about 15 minutes.
  • Reply 55 of 210
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mazda 3s View Post


    Hey, why was iphonefan1968's post deleted?



    I suspect he was trolling. I didn't see that "press release" he posted anywhere else, and people are still going through the pre-order process successfully.
  • Reply 56 of 210
    Does not seem to effect UK but then none of my operators (O2 and orange) has the facilities to pre-order the phone (not that I know of). Apple Store UK online only has the PAYG phone for £499~ to pre-order.



    OTH, I checked my eligibility last night and it says I can have an early upgrade (from the original end of contract date of 15 Jan 2011) for a £120.00 fee. And if I recycle my iphone 3GS I could get that for £208.00 which mean if I do an early upgrade, I could get a profit (or extra money I should say) of £108.00 but then I would be committing to another 18m contract (minimum term) and a lost of unlimited data from October this year. Thinking of upgrading my Orange's RAZR3 for the iPhone 4 if it is the better deal.
  • Reply 57 of 210
    nondualnondual Posts: 78member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mazda 3s View Post


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



    Since 4AM here too.



    I tried everything. Called the AT&T Store...they said 'Sure, come and pre-order' - but by the time I get there half an hour later, the system had crashed.



    In desperation, I went to the Best Buy about a block away. No one was there for iPhone - in fact, I was the very first pre-order over there. Got a '1' on my receipt...and I'll be at BB bright and early on the 24th (right after work). I figure they must get at least SOME iPhones....in which case, I should be set!



    If not, I'll wait a few weeks and get a white one.
  • Reply 58 of 210
    daylove22daylove22 Posts: 215member
    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.



    It is not At&t I cannot get past the pre-order page at apple.com before it even check your eligibility.

    Totally unprepared? Apple is a computer manufacturer not a food company how can't they have hardware in place to handle this???
  • Reply 59 of 210
    stokessdstokessd Posts: 103member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    An influx of customers attempting to preorder the next-generation iPhone resulted in issues with Apple's online store and forced the company to temporarily reject callers to its 800 number on Tuesday.





    I call bullshit on this one. "Temporarily" implies that the phones are open again. I've been trying off and on for the past 7 hours and the phones appear to be permanently closed.
  • Reply 60 of 210
    chris_cachris_ca Posts: 2,543member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by anantksundaram View Post


    At one level, it is a great 'problem' to have.



    At another level, it is deeply embarrassing for Apple and ATT.



    Not at all.

    With people standing in line for a simple pre-order, it gets news headlines and others (who are oblivious to the iPhone/Apple) will have to see what all the fuss is about and a percentage of those will jump also.
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