Posted on 07/03/2007 8:01:44 PM PDT by angkor
iPhone Activation Disasters
Three hours after getting my hands on one, I am ready to drop the thing from the 44th floor of the New York Hilton.
I was so excited flying from my home in Halifax to New York this morning--I was getting an iPhone! But three hours after getting my hands on one, I am ready to drop the thing from the 44th floor of the New York Hilton--and I probably would if I was sure it would hit someone from AT&T. Earlier this week I transferred my Macworld business account to an individual account solely for the purpose of getting an iPhone--I had to since business plans don't qualify for the iPhone. I know for a fact that I'm not the only person who had to do this--and judging from the wait time I'm having on tech support, I'm not the only one having problems.
When I tried to activate my account, I got an error message that said my account couldn't be used with the iPhone. I called AT&T and explained the situation--the service-provider checked the account and said I definitely have a qualifying account. The tech support person checked all kinds of other things and said I should be all set to activate.
No go.
AT&T then said I had to call Apple; I was transferred to Apple iPhone tech support. After explaining the problem, the Apple tech support person asked me to wait while he read some documentation and advised me he would be gone for about four minutes. Four minutes later, we were disconnected without speaking further.
When you get an error activating, a special number comes up. I called it and a recording said they were having technical difficulties and couldn't help me right now and to please call back later.
I decided to call AT&T back again. The person I got said that my account was still listed as a business account--well, that can't be, I changed it. She said I needed to be transferred to another person who would definitely be able to help me.
I explained my problem to the new person who said that my account was most definitely an individual account, not a business account and they didn't know why I couldn't activate it. They needed to transfer me to someone who would be able to help me.
Starting to see a trend here? I explained my problem to the new person who said it could be a business account, and they needed to transfer me. Apparently a password was set on my account when it was transferred and they needed the password in order to check things further.
"But I didn't set a password on the account," I said. AT&T said, for security reasons, it couldn't do anything else until the password was removed.
"OK, remove the password," I said.
Nope, that had to be done at an AT&T retail store where I had to show ID. OK, there is one across the street from the Hilton on Avenue of the Americas in New York.
So, off I went. I explained the situation and said I needed my password removed. The clerk said the store wasn't doing anything but selling iPhones today and that if I needed anything else, I would have to come back tomorrow.
I left in a huff and called AT&T support back again. I explained the situation and they said they needed to--yes, smart readers--transfer me to someone that could help me.
I have been on tech support for a couple of hours, been hung up on once and have been transferred no less than 12 times so far.
And I'm still on hold with AT&T.
If I see that guy from the AT&T Store across the street, this phone is going out the window.
And I see that my colleague Dan Moren is having problems getting his iPhone to work as well. So, Macworld is currently 0-for-2 when it comes to working iPhones; hopefully, our West Coast editors will have better luck.
All well and good, but have you looked at the Consumer Reports or JD Power customer service ratings for AT&T, pre-iPhone?
In fact you can go to just about any site that reviews cellphones and you'll find tons of AT&T/Cingular horror stories.
I'm not anti-Apple, I'm just baffled that Jobs went with AT&T, which has a worse customer service rep than even Sprint. Sprint!!
That's saying a lot.
AT&T is the only IPhone carrier because they have put up a lot of their own money to get the IPhone up and running. IOW Apple made a large investment in it and so did AT&T. AT&T has provided lots of its cell phone expertise. I view it as a joint venture between the two though that seems to have a two year expiration date where IPhone will also be available on other cell phone providers
FWIW... If it was pre-2005 then it’s all new people. AT&T was bought out by Cingular. Which then was rebranded by AT&T when they bought BellSouth.
Chill, bro.
We took down Shamnesty last week, against all odds and with a huge amount of work.
Not till 2009. AT&T exclusive till then.
Apple's original preference was for Verizon... but they refused to make any changes in the voice mail. Essentially, if Apple had gone with them, one of the major improvements would have been missing. Cingular was willing to allow Apple to modify their servers to handle visual voice mail service. Ergo, they got the nod.
Actually, the Apple and AT&T agreement is a five year exclusive contract for iPhones in the US.
Ok, I heard 2 but I’ll admit I am only slightly alert to the AT&T/iPhone details.
Amen. I swore off of AT&T years ago. When they bought out Cingular I vowed to change service next time my contract is up. Hate 'em!
That'd be good. T-Mobile has excellent customer service and billing. I've been with them for 5 years now.
Verizon's also decent but CDMA. Sprint.... is a demonic force on the planet. AT&T/Cingular gave me their normal phone-bounce treatment last year when I was trying to get some answers about a deal they had.
I finally gave up all too much wasted time on hold, and then reading all too many negative reviews about them.
Not sure I'd buy an iPhone on its merits, but there's no way I'd go two years with AT&T.
Alpha nerds.
Sprint and Verizon aren't GSM networks. Sprint's billing service is torturous.
Who knows why they didn't go with T-Mobile. They're GSM, they have ace #1 customer service, and a decent customer base in the US *and* Europe. They probably would have cut Apple a better deal too.
That guy needs to hear one of my Dad’s speeches of living during the great depression.
Anytime somebody is hyped up to god stature in the media, watch out for the fall.
Do your research and read some other reviews like on cnet and PC Mag, etc. Also Google for JD Power and look at their cell company ratings.
I also had VoiceStream until I went on business to Richmond VA and discovered VS had *no* coverege there at all (Richmond is the capitol of Virginia).
Switched back to Verizon with my old StarTac (I'd been with them before), and then hated it when I went abroad for a few months and had to rent a Vodaphone GSM setup for emergencies and business calls.
Came back and looked at U.S GSM providers, and since T-Mobile had lit up Richmond by that time (and other improvements) I went back to them and have stayed there since.
In 2005 I was again overseas and came very close to buying a GlobalStar sat phone. That's the best solution of all.
I’ll take your advice, thanks. I had no other complaints except for the coverage. The phones they carry are the same or comparable to other companies’ so that’s never really been an issue. I’ll find something I like no matter which service I use.
I’m sure it’ll be difficult for the other companies to compete with the iPhone except that I would guess that other plans/rates/phones will go down in price. Already saw a few advertised specials.
I havae one. No problems activating less than 3 minutes.
Happy fourth all you freepers.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.