Apple support site issue preventing users from booking Genius Bar visits at Apple stores [...

Posted:
in General Discussion edited April 2018
A number of Apple customers are not able make appointments for the Genius Bar, with reports users unable to reserve a spot for support at their local Apple Retail outlet, a problem that Apple is working to fix as soon as possible. [Updated]

Apple support genius bar reservation booking


Reported by an AppleInsider reader identified as "Michael" and confirmed by AppleInsider's own tests, attempts to make an online reservation with the Genius Bar at an Apple Store are failing. Users are able to make appointments with an Apple Authorized Service Provider at this time, but not through Apple's main support channels.

An attempt to call Apple Support over the phone to arrange an appointment also failed for the reader, but was informed by support staff that this is being worked on internally.

When attempting to make a booking through Apple's support site, the option to find the nearest Apple Retail Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider comes up with a list of AASP locations, with no Apple Stores appearing on the list at all. AppleInsider found this to be the case in both the United States and the United Kingdom, suggesting it to be a general outage rather than specific to a region.

A source inside Apple corporate not authorized to speak on behalf of the company told AppleInsider the company is "aware of the problem" and it is a "temporary issue." No timescale was provided for the fix, but Apple anticipates getting the booking service running again today.

While the reservation system is down, the source advised stores are "fully aware" of what appointments are currently booked in for today, and will be providing support services as normal.

Update: As of 1:50pm eastern time, the booking system has been fixed, with Apple Stores now appearing in the map view.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 18
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    Steve would never have allowed this. Apple’s QA is down the tubes. Apple better get their act together and soon. I will never buy another Apple product because of this. Fire Tim Cook. Well, you know the routine. Same old same old.
    JanNLequality72521lordjohnwhorfinGG1shark5150
  • Reply 2 of 18
    Booking of support service isn’t available in Singapore as well. 
  • Reply 3 of 18
    JanNLJanNL Posts: 327member
    Fire Tim Cook, but don’t forget Eddy Cue 😉
  • Reply 4 of 18
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,801member
    lkrupp said:
    Steve would never have allowed this. Apple’s QA is down the tubes. Apple better get their act together and soon. I will never buy another Apple product because of this. Fire Tim Cook. Well, you know the routine. Same old same old.
    HAHAHA! As I was reading the article I was just thinking this and was gonna post this very same thing. Beat me to it! We joke, but there are people who are thinking this exact thing. 
  • Reply 5 of 18
    racerhomie3racerhomie3 Posts: 1,264member
    Wow . Very slow news day.
    equality72521
  • Reply 6 of 18
    BriKeiRayBriKeiRay Posts: 1unconfirmed, member
    Even before that it was almost impossible to make an appointment, now it appears that you can only make an appointment (before this glitch) for hardware issues not software issues, which undermines the real point of the Genius Bar. But I can understand the Genius Bar being overwhelmed like it is, because Apple doesn't hire the best onsite help. I've been sitting at the Genius Bar with my own issues and have overheard Apple employees fail to correct an issue, that I later helped the client solve.

    Anyone who has ever worked in a support environment knows that it is no easy task and the variety of client knowledge is ridiculous to the point of being absurd. But Apple has had ample time to see the challenges of support and they seem to be going the way of trying not to help, instead of making assistance better fit a client's experience. It is pointless to blame this on Cook or Apple's Management team since management  teams don't offer (or always understand) support. 

  • Reply 7 of 18
    tzeshantzeshan Posts: 2,351member
    Thanks for the news. I had this problem last night. My iPhone 7 Plus developed a strange screen problem. When my hand move over the front camera the screen will turn black. It will come back when the hand is away. I want to make an appointment with the genius bar. But i cannot make it. It makes me feel/think Apple is becoming stingy. 
  • Reply 8 of 18
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    At first I thought this was going to be how Apple has obfuscated access to the Genius Bar appointments.

    Wow . Very slow news day.
    This isn't a fluff piece about a puppy being friends with a kitten. This is an important service for those that use Apple's products and services.
  • Reply 9 of 18
    tzeshan said:
    Thanks for the news. I had this problem last night. My iPhone 7 Plus developed a strange screen problem. When my hand move over the front camera the screen will turn black. It will come back when the hand is away. I want to make an appointment with the genius bar. But i cannot make it. It makes me feel/think Apple is becoming stingy. 
    You're holding it wrong. Keep your hand away from the front camera.
  • Reply 10 of 18
    Sw1ftC0d3rSw1ftC0d3r Posts: 1unconfirmed, member
    tzeshan said:
    Thanks for the news. I had this problem last night. My iPhone 7 Plus developed a strange screen problem. When my hand move over the front camera the screen will turn black. It will come back when the hand is away. I want to make an appointment with the genius bar. But i cannot make it. It makes me feel/think Apple is becoming stingy. 
    The problem is the way in which the ambient light sensor works. If your hand goes in front of it, it thinks it's sitting on a table, which you'll notice is a feature that the phone doesn't light up when sat on a table or in your pocket because the light sensor is covered. So you probably have a glitchy software bug, which activates that feature even when unlocked, or an overactive ambient sensor.
  • Reply 11 of 18
    Tim Cook should be demoted to a Genius support guy telephone tech specialist for iPad Mini!
    hammeroftruth
  • Reply 12 of 18
    tzeshantzeshan Posts: 2,351member
    tzeshan said:
    Thanks for the news. I had this problem last night. My iPhone 7 Plus developed a strange screen problem. When my hand move over the front camera the screen will turn black. It will come back when the hand is away. I want to make an appointment with the genius bar. But i cannot make it. It makes me feel/think Apple is becoming stingy. 
    The problem is the way in which the ambient light sensor works. If your hand goes in front of it, it thinks it's sitting on a table, which you'll notice is a feature that the phone doesn't light up when sat on a table or in your pocket because the light sensor is covered. So you probably have a glitchy software bug, which activates that feature even when unlocked, or an overactive ambient sensor.
    Let me say it more clear. If the finger is over the front camera about one inch high the screen will turn black. By the way, I have not repaired the screen by a third party that could damage the ambient light sensor like AI reported last week. 
  • Reply 13 of 18
    wooliewoolie Posts: 34member
    It is incredibly difficult to get a genius bar appointment even when the process works...  You have to go through a complex process to find anybody in the Apple customer support process to make an appointment...   It is totally ridiculous...   The reason I became an Apple fan was the easy & terrific help I use to receive at the Genius Bar...  The Genius Bar people are still great, but getting there is near impossible...
  • Reply 14 of 18
    anomeanome Posts: 1,533member
    macxpress said:
    lkrupp said:
    Steve would never have allowed this. Apple’s QA is down the tubes. Apple better get their act together and soon. I will never buy another Apple product because of this. Fire Tim Cook. Well, you know the routine. Same old same old.
    HAHAHA! As I was reading the article I was just thinking this and was gonna post this very same thing. Beat me to it! We joke, but there are people who are thinking this exact thing. 
    In fairness, many of them don't really see the two things as related, they just want another excuse to push their "Fire Tim Cook, Steve Wouldn't Have Allowed This, Bring Back Guy Kawasaki!" agenda.
  • Reply 15 of 18
    tzeshan said:
    tzeshan said:
    Thanks for the news. I had this problem last night. My iPhone 7 Plus developed a strange screen problem. When my hand move over the front camera the screen will turn black. It will come back when the hand is away. I want to make an appointment with the genius bar. But i cannot make it. It makes me feel/think Apple is becoming stingy. 
    The problem is the way in which the ambient light sensor works. If your hand goes in front of it, it thinks it's sitting on a table, which you'll notice is a feature that the phone doesn't light up when sat on a table or in your pocket because the light sensor is covered. So you probably have a glitchy software bug, which activates that feature even when unlocked, or an overactive ambient sensor.
    Let me say it more clear. If the finger is over the front camera about one inch high the screen will turn black. By the way, I have not repaired the screen by a third party that could damage the ambient light sensor like AI reported last week. 
    They can run diagnostics on your phone and see if the proximity sensor is bad. If it is they can replace the display. 
  • Reply 16 of 18
    Around here it will be over a week before the effects of the outage are even noticed. The earliest appointment available at any Apple Store in the region is a week from tomorrow.
  • Reply 17 of 18
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,858administrator
    Around here it will be over a week before the effects of the outage are even noticed. The earliest appointment available at any Apple Store in the region is a week from tomorrow.
    I'd be surprised if there's any visible effect at the genius bars at all.
  • Reply 18 of 18
    Around here it will be over a week before the effects of the outage are even noticed. The earliest appointment available at any Apple Store in the region is a week from tomorrow.
    I'd be surprised if there's any visible effect at the genius bars at all.
    You're right. I was just taking a shot at the level of service I'm experiencing from Apple lately. The last few months have been uncharacteristically poor.
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