'We're sorry:' Apple experiences numerous iPhone 6 preorder problems from crushing demand

Posted:
in iPhone edited September 2014
Just like every previous iPhone launch, Friday's kickoff for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus preorders was marred by a series of glitches, issues and errors that left a number of customers frustrated with Apple and its carrier partners' inability to keep up with overwhelming demand.




Readers who reached out to AppleInsider experienced a number of problems attempting to place their order for Apple's next-generation handsets on Friday. Things kicked off just after midnight Pacific, 3 a.m. Eastern, but initial customers were only able to access preorders via the iOS Apple Store app, and not through Apple's website on a traditional browser.

And while U.S. carriers AT&T, Verizon and Sprint were accepting preorders, customers could not buy a handset for T-Mobile, directly from the carrier or through Apple's website, for hours Friday morning. That also affected AT&T customers looking to buy a no-contract, no-subsidy unlocked handset compatible with AT&T's network.

Apple's issues connecting with carrier partners overnight led the company to give temporary reservation numbers to affected customers. Those people began receiving emails on Friday notifying them that they have 24 hours to complete their order, or they will lose their place in line for their purchase.

For those that did manage to get orders through, other problems occurred. A number of people indicated that their credit card rejected their new iPhone purchase after Apple placed a one-dollar authorization charge on the card in addition to the full cost of the phone.




Efforts to re-authorize the charge also proved problematic thanks to the crushing demand Apple's website and phone systems were experiencing. Attempts to visit the "Check Order Status" of Apple's online store returned an error page reading: "We're sorry. Something went wrong with your request. Please try again later."

Apple has told people with rejected credit cards that they have up to a week before the order will be canceled.

And Apple's default 1-800 number was experiencing similar problems, simply hanging up on callers attempting to check on an order after informing them that the company was experiencing "expectedly high call volumes." Those who could get through on Apple's toll-free number were met with extremely long wait times before reaching a customer service representative.




A number of AppleInsider readers also expressed frustration that they woke up overnight in an attempt to preorder the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus, but were unable to do so because of technical glitches. Then, when they woke up later Friday and made another attempt to purchase, they discovered that launch-day inventory is sold out, and new orders are scheduled to ship more than a month after Sept. 19.

One reader said they placed an order for a gold iPhone 6 Plus Friday morning and were quoted a shipping time of two to three weeks, but once they received their confirmation email, it indicated the unit would not ship for five to six weeks.

Of course, issues when attempting to preorder Apple's latest iPhone are nothing new, as every year the demand for the company's latest model only grows. Server meltdowns, error messages and technical glitches have become par for the course for Apple and its carrier partners once the flood gates open.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 198
    Wasn't it sometime earlier this year that Tim Cook reportedly told his staff that the percentage of iPhones sold via the Apple Stores was too low? Well, last night didn't help. I couldn't get my order in the Apple Store like I usually do so I went with the AT&T site.
  • Reply 2 of 198

    Too many people want the iPhone? Apple is obviously doomed.

  • Reply 3 of 198
    calicali Posts: 3,494member
    Ok well now we know what tomorrows Scamsung ad will be titled:

    "We could not complete your order."
  • Reply 4 of 198
    Apple is supposed to be the best technology company on the planet, yet they have never gotten LiveStreams right and they have never gotten preorders right. I'm being kind by not listing all the other things they've never gotten right!
  • Reply 5 of 198
    Too many people want the iPhone? Apple is obviously doomed.

    Oh, and "expectedly high call volumes"... Love it.
  • Reply 6 of 198
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    Between this and the live video stream screw up someone needs to be shown the door. Apple knew demand for these phones would be unprecedented. No excuse for people having such a difficult time ordering. Maybe take the $100M you spent giving people an album they didn't want and put it towards improving your web services. Or maybe Tim needs to hire an expert in this field to oversee Apple's cloud and web services.
  • Reply 7 of 198
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by scotty321 View Post



    Apple is supposed to be the best technology company on the planet, yet they have never gotten LiveStreams right and they have never gotten preorders right. I'm being kind by not listing all the other things they've never gotten right!

     

    And no other company on the planet has these kind of preorders.

     

    Millions and millions of orders all coming in at once is just maybe too much to handle.

  • Reply 8 of 198
    rob55rob55 Posts: 1,291member

    Got through this morning (08:30 ET) with no problem whatsoever (via Safari on my MBP).

  • Reply 9 of 198
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Apple ][ View Post

     

     

    And no other company on the planet has these kind of preorders.

     

    Millions and millions of orders all coming in at once is just maybe too much to handle.


     it was Scumshit doing a DOS attack 

  • Reply 10 of 198
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Apple ][ View Post

     

     

    And no other company on the planet has these kind of preorders.

     

    Millions and millions of orders all coming in at once is just maybe too much to handleAgreed


    Agreed

  • Reply 11 of 198
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by scotty321 View Post



    Apple is supposed to be the best technology company on the planet, yet they have never gotten LiveStreams right and they have never gotten preorders right. I'm being kind by not listing all the other things they've never gotten right!

    no other company has so many people watching or ordering its products, you fool

  • Reply 12 of 198
    scotty321 wrote: »
    Apple is supposed to be the best technology company on the planet, yet they have never gotten LiveStreams right and they have never gotten preorders right. I'm being kind by not listing all the other things they've never gotten right!

    Never gotten live streams right? Forgive me, as you must be a new Apple fan, but every live stream I've watched with the exception of the last one, has gone well. Please stop the FUD campaign. Thank you.

    -The Rest of Us
  • Reply 13 of 198
    nkhmnkhm Posts: 928member
    Why apologise?. People need to learn some patience. There is a capacity to any system. Try again later, stupid spoiled self-entitled people with first world problems. It's a mobile phone, not medicine or your next meal.

    Get a grip.

    When did we lose the civilised art of waiting our turn?
  • Reply 14 of 198
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Paul94544 View Post

     

    No other company on the planet has this number of customers/orders


    Yes, that is what I meant. I should have written it better.

     

    Same thing goes for the stream. The chinese talking was inexcusable and that person should be fired, but I can understand if there were a few hiccups with the stream, due to the insane demand.

     

    It's not like people are tuning in to watch a Scamsung event! A 56k modem would be able to handle that.

     

    Can you imagine how many people tuned into the last Apple stream? It was everybody, on all continents, Apple fans, Fandroids, everybody.

  • Reply 15 of 198
    nkhmnkhm Posts: 928member
    scotty321 wrote: »
    Apple is supposed to be the best technology company on the planet, yet they have never gotten LiveStreams right and they have never gotten preorders right. I'm being kind by not listing all the other things they've never gotten right!

    What a stupid comment. Apple are one of the best tech companies on the planet. The worlds internet infrastructure has a limited capacity however. Is that really so hard to understand?

    And to address your second point, having watched every live stream, this is the first time I had issues, it was inhuman, I had to wait a couple of hours and watch it later. It really was the end of my world. /s
  • Reply 16 of 198
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by michaeloftroy View Post



    Forgive me, as you must be a new Apple fan, but every live stream I've watched with the exception of the last one, has gone well.

     

    That is true. I don't remember any major issues with any prior live streams!

     

    Hell, I remember live streaming a few Apple events more than a decade ago on my G4 tower, and even those live events were problem free!

  • Reply 17 of 198
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by cali View Post



    Ok well now we know what tomorrows Scamsung ad will be titled:



    "We could not complete your order."

    Latest News: Large quantities of Galaxy phones spotted in re-cycle depots 

  • Reply 18 of 198

    ?Pay would solve this problem! :D

  • Reply 19 of 198
    Apple only has to have their site ready to handle a billion users at once a few times a year and they don't even get that right. *shakes head*
  • Reply 20 of 198
    I actually logged in to my At&t account at 1:58 central and it asked me if I wanted to upgrade. I said you bet and the iPhone 6 popped right up. I was done with a confirmation email by 2:02am. I couldn't believe it. I've waited in line numerous times and thought this would be just as annoying. I was like wow, that's it. Sounds like I was very lucky. I was back in bed by 2:05 with a smile on my face.
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