iPhone Activation Issues

[vpatl]

Strum,

What they told you is not true. Although they cannot fix your activation that failed rightaway, they sure can push your activation through thru other means.

Pl do what kemper28 did above. Go to your nearest AT&T store and have them start you up with new SIM.

[D1G1T4L]

So they erased my account and I started from scratch. This time, I didn't port any numbers -- I'll do that *after* I'm set up with some temporary new numbers. The first phone activated in about an hour and a half. The number they gave me is in another state, but I'll be switching soon anyway. I'm afraid the second phone will have some problems as I attempted a parallel activation, but at least I'm enjoying the first iPhone!!!!

It is BEAUTIFUL and WORTH THE HASSLE and that's saying a bunch!! BTW, I did not have to switch SIM cards as was suggested by many.

Congrats Mactarkus and hope your port goes well. Think that first time I saw the main screen I totally forgot all the pain I went through.

[the_ron]

My activation finally went through this afternoon. The rep took down the two numbers from the front iPhone screen and twenty minutes later it was active with my number transferred completely! Just keep trying everybody and hopefully you will get through.

[PrudentAzn]

My activation finally went through this afternoon. The rep took down the two numbers from the front iPhone screen and twenty minutes later it was active with my number transferred completely! Just keep trying everybody and hopefully you will get through.

What phone did U dial, cant go to the ATT Store obviosly because its like 1:30 AM here lol!!!

[PrudentAzn]

You know, I was very surprised... I thought that I would be waiting on hold for a long time the three times I called... but someone picked up right away.

Earlier in the thread I said to try a hard reset and reconnecting. But I said the hard reset was holding the home button 12 seconds. Apparently, it's not.. it's holding the sleep button and home button at the same time for several seconds. You'll know there's a reset when you see the Apple logo again.

So unplug the iphone and try it.... see what happens.
I did that thing u told me THANK U SO MUCH IT WORKED... I didnt even need to go to the store and get a SIM card!!!!:D :D :D

[TheSlush]

In my particular case...

VERDICT: Glitch with Number Porting Across Regions
WHO'S GUILTY: AT&T, NOT Apple
CAN YOU BELIEVE IT: AT&T is blaming everything on an imaginary iTunes crash on Friday.
ADVICE: Don't sit and wait. You must call to find out what the problem is.

My story:

I am a new AT&T customer, porting a number from Cincinnati Bell. Since I set up my Cincinnati Bell wireless account years ago, I have moved from Cincinnati to New York City. Therefore during the iTunes activation process, my porting number's area code did not match my new usage address' zip code. This change of regions was the problem, as AT&T's software puts all porting requests on hold if the number is attempting to enter a different region than it originated.

This glitch is also detailed in this AppleInsider post (http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/07/06/30/how_to_port_ineligible_mobile_numbers_to_att_and_iphone.html), but at first I didn't think it applied to me because -- unlike that post's author -- I was never notified that my "number is ineligible for porting," nor was my activation ever cancelled.

So after receiving my "requires additional time to complete" iTunes screen and my "Processing Activation" AT&T email, I thought I was in sit-and-wait hell like everyone else, but at least being slowly processed. Apparently not. Here in detail is the painful process I went through to discover what I've learned. Hopefully it might help someone else navigate this maddening cluster%$#@:

1.) FOR THE FIRST 36 HOURS: Waited patiently for activation.

2.) FOR THE NEXT 2 HOURS: Called AT&T iPhone Activation Support, 1-877-800-3701 (pressed #3), and waited on hold for 1.5 hours. Eventually got a perky AT&T iPhone Activation rep who checked my activation request order via my six-digit order number from the email. She put me on hold while she did some stuff. She kept coming back, making sure I was still holding. Said there were a couple of system errors she was correcting, was consulting a manager. Came back and said everything was ready except for a problem porting my existing number, so she had to transfer me to the AT&T Porting Department.

4.) NEXT 45 MIN: Talked to AT&T Porting Dept. rep who could not help me in any way because apparently no general AT&T account had yet been officially created for me, even though I had initiated the iPhone activation process. So to him, I didn't even exist yet. He was at a loss, and began to assume that maybe my activation was in a bottleneck on Apple's end.

5.) NEXT 30 MIN: AT&T port guy kept me on the line and we called Apple Support, 1-800-694-7466, and waited on hold for 15 minutes. Got an Apple rep who denied all responsibility, claiming that until my activation is complete and I start syncing, it's all out of Apple's hands. I tend to think he's probably right.

DEAD END, EVERYONE CLUELESS, MUST START PROCESS OVER.

6.) NEXT 30 MIN: Called AT&T iPhone Activation Support AGAIN (pressed #3), and waited on hold for 15 minutes. Got another rep, explained my situation thus far. She informed me that apparently my activation order had been placed "on hold." She then checked to see whether an account had been created for me, and had to check two different systems before she found it. She then discovered that the problem was with my porting area code not matching my new address. She said I'd have to call AT&T Customer Care to authorize the cross-regional port to New York.

7.) NEXT HOUR: Called AT&T Customer Care, 1-800-331-0500, and waited on hold for 15 minutes. Got a Customer Care rep who eventually figured out that authorizing a port to New York wasn't the solution. Apparently, it doesn't matter where I live, as long as I'm using AT&T's network. She suggested fixing this logjam by making my area code simply match my address in my account, and forget about where I "really" live. Therefore, the New York address would simply have to be deleted from my account. BUT, she said Customer Care was not able to do this; she would have to transfer me to New Accounts to set it up.

8.) NEXT 45 MIN: Transferred to a New Accounts rep, who thought I had just called to open a new AT&T account from scratch and knew nothing about my existing iPhone activation order. She pretty much put up the wall as soon as she heard me say the word "iPhone." Couldn't help me. Transferred me BACK TO SQUARE ONE.

9.) NEXT 15 MIN: Transferred BACK to AT&T iPhone Activation Support AGAIN. Told the rep my story. This incredulous rep basically ripped all the previous reps, telling me I had been transferred all over the place unnecessarily. Buuuuuuut, he'd have to transfer me too: back to Customer Care to fix my address, who IS able to do this after all. But he promised me that I wouldn't have to be transferred any more after that! LOfrigginL.

10.) NEXT 15 MIN: Transferred BACK to Customer Care AGAIN. Friendly rep changed my address, so New York was out, Cincinnati was in! She said this should fix the delay problem. She said I should be up and running within a couple of hours. If not, call back AT&T iPhone Activation Support... AGAIN.

2 hours later... no activation...

11.) NEXT HOUR: Called AT&T iPhone Activation Support AGAIN (Pressed #1 this time), and waited on hold, again. After an hour had passed, someone picked up the phone and HUNG UP ON ME.:mad:

12.) Called AT&T iPhone Activation Support AGAIN, this time from 2 LINES (Pressed #1 on one, #3 on the other). Eventually #1 picked up first. Talked to the 9TH REP OF THE DAY. Yadda yadda, my tale of woe, yadda yadda. She informed me that actually no, my New York info was NOT eliminated, it was still there. So now SHE would change the address for me. (My guess: they had killed New York in my general AT&T account, but not in my specific iPhone Activation order.) Meanwhile, she noticed that my account is marked "arrears, " which means I must still have an outstanding debt or bill to my old carrier Cincinnati Bell!!!!!!! And until it's paid, they won't release my number to port. WHAT??? First of all, I've talked to NINE reps today, and no one noticed this until now??????? But more importantly, my old account shows NO OUTSTANDING ACCOUNT BALANCE!! So the "arrears" status was patently false. She then kept me on hold for the next hour, checking in every few minutes to apologize about the wait. Eventually, she said that the "floor staff" had just confirmed to her that MY NUMBER IS SUDDENLY INELIGIBLE FOR PORTING after all, and that I had no choice but to ABANDON MY EXISTING NUMBER AND START ALL OVER WITH A NEW NUMBER!!! "So, yeah, um, sorry sir."

Started to think I was getting punk'd, and Ashton was going to pop out at any second.

13.) NEXT HOUR: I just about BLEW MY LID, saying this was absolutely unacceptable, this was the first time I had heard this in the entire process. I demanded to speak to a supervisor or manager. Once I got the supervisor, named Angel, she again combed over my account's status and said she finally found out what was going on. Excellent. FINALLY. Apparently my "market code" did not match the "biller" that was processing my order. So again, this was smelling like an Ohio-vs-NY issue. So she basically had to redo everything for me for Ohio. She placed me on hold for a while, kept checking in on me, consulted another manager, and asked to verify my driver's license expiration date, of all things. (Huh? I guess that came on the scene once had given my Social Security Number back at the begininng of the process?) She eventually said that during the activation process my credit had already been run in New York, but since everything had to now be Ohioized, they'd have to run my credit again in Ohio. Then, she had to call two different Customer Care numbers AGAIN with me on the line to change my rate plan from a New York market code (called "Care") to an Ohio market code (called "Intelligent 3") so that she could run my account through her biller. After a few more tweaks and checks, she said I'd be up and running in 20 minutes. She told me to keep my iPhone powered off for those 20 minutes, then turn it back on, dock it, and I should be activated!!!!!!!

I thanked Angel immensely and even made her pur HER supervisor on the phone so I could tell him how helpful she had been in solving my problem.

Angel then put her original rep back on the phone, whom I had transfer me to Customer Care one last time so I could DEMAND THAT MY ACTIVATION FEE BE WAIVED. On hold. Got an agent. The Activation rep explained to the CC rep that they'd like to waive my activation fee for this customer's patience. He said he couldn't do it. I asked for a supervisor. He said hold on.

He came back, he held firm. He tried to BLAME EVERYTHING ON APPLE. He said that iTunes had crashed on Friday, and that Apple had issued a public apology about it. What?? No they didn't, buddy!! (I'm not living under a rock here, I am on MacRumors!!) He also tried to sympathize with me by saying that he himself had even bought an iPhone that wasn't activated yet. WHATEVER. I was furious. I then went into a 20-minute long absolute DIATRIBE, detailing my entire story (above) which describes precisely how it was AT&T'S TECHNICAL MISTAKES -- and subsequent ineptitude by many reps over several departments -- that were clearly at fault, not Apple. At the end of this, he had no further defense, and seeing that they would never get rid of me otherwise, they finally agreed to waive my activation fee.

So then, of course, after the phone did NOT activate in the 25 minutes as promised (big shocker)...

13.) NEXT 45 MIN: Called AT&T iPhone Activation Support YET AGAIN FOR THE FIFTH TIME (Pressed #3) and got a rep who told me they had just started a systems upgrade, so try calling back in a couple of hours. Are you KIDDING ME??? That has got to be THE ultimate masterpiece of bad timing. The only reason I have to even believe this is that it is now the middle of the freakin night!!!!!!!

And that brings us up to the present and I still do not have a working iPhone. I'm going to bed.

In my case, it's all AT&T's fault:

In summary, AT&T's idiotic software means that very normal information submitted during the activation process can SCREW YOU WITHOUT WARNING OR EXPLANATION.

Inept.
Insufficient.
Inexcusable.

This entire ordeal is a colossal disaster.

[TheSlush]

Earlier in the thread I said to try a hard reset and reconnecting. But I said the hard reset was holding the home button 12 seconds. Apparently, it's not.. it's holding the sleep button and home button at the same time for several seconds. You'll know there's a reset when you see the Apple logo again.

So unplug the iphone and try it.... see what happens.

This did not work for me, by the way.

[barnetda]

After waiting more than 70 hours and calling ATT 9 times for a total of hours I am now being told because i was stupid enough to book a holiday and leave the USA on Sunday my phone cannot now be activated until i return.
If tyhis is the case why didnt they tell me that when i called them for the 4th to 9th time from Europe??

Is this more BS ?

[welles13]

My situation is slightly different it seems to most on here:

I got the all-clear emails from Apple Saturday morning that everything was go and my phone was released from brick status. Wonderful! I could now use it, call people, text people, surf the web....

All seemed fine until I noticed that my old t-mobile phone was receiving replies to texts I had sent out, and was ringing when people were calling me. In short, it seemed as though my ported number from t-mobile was being shared over two phones. Multiple calls to useless call centers only resulted in me being told that everything was fine and that I had to wait 'longer'.

Yesterday an additional email arrived confirming that my mobile number transfer was complete, yet still no change -- everything incoming was going to my old phone. A complete and utter nightmare.

[gratzo]

If you are waiting for hours and days and continually told to wait, get a new SIM card, call up 1-866-907-3484, and check with the rep to see if you have the correct data plan and that your account is elligible for an iPhone (i.e. a non-business account). Then with the rep on the phone, insert your iPhone (now with a new SIM card) into the dock and go through the iTunes setup and/or follow the rep’s directions. The large problem seems to be that there is no “end task” button in AT&T’s system, so once you start the activation process and if you get “hung”, the only way to get out of it is to “manually restart” the process by getting a new SIM card and by using the AT&T rep on the phone as a coach when you activate through iTunes. Best of luck, and thank you all for your posts…overall it took me 72 hours from my first activation attempt to actually get the phone working.

[paintgirl]

it took me 4 days to get it activated. turns out, you cant have this phone on a business account. can only be on a personal

[strum]

Well,

I made a mistake in my previous post... I believed ATT that my wife's Verizon number was completely ported, and I believed ATT when they told me that my wife's Verizon phone could no longer be working... but I didn't test their assumptions ( she was in night court at the time )

Well, my wife's Verizon phone still works this morning, so I guess the number isn't ported.

Now the dilemma... Return the iPhone or not... Verizon is great. I have FiOS TV, Landline phone, and internet with them, as well as Cell Phone. And their customer service is great. But I know with ATTs evil mojo, I know the second I walk out of the Apple Store after returning the iPhone, my wife's number will transfer to ATT... all part of their evil plan to piss me off.

I just don't know if I want to deal with ATT for 2 years... but the iPhone looks so cool. I have become fond of that picture of the earth, and that slider bar in case of emergencies... maybe I'll slide that over today...

[strum]

UPDATE...

Just received a call from ATT, I didn't even have to call them... The women was very professional and nice. She took my sim card number and IMEI number, and are moving things up to critical, and I should receive another call later today. She also confirmed that the person who told me my wife's phone would stop working was wrong... The number is ported, but the Verizon phone will keep working until the iPhone is activated... hopefully today.

So I assume SIM cards are one of the problems, and the reason people had success with switching SIM cards.

[jj28]

This is my first post...

Got the phone Saturday for my wife. Transferred number from Verizon, and I received the dreaded Activation requires additional time to complete...

I've been on the phone all day ping ponging from department to department in ATT, and to Apple Support as well. But Apple explained activation is totally on the ATT side, and there is nothing they can do...

Well our Verizon Cell no longer works so my wife is without a phone...

Most recently 9:30PM Eastern Monday, ATT said they were backlogged because they never expected so many activations. I asked if they could go in and specifically activate my wife's account... I told them my wife was an assistant district attorney, and that police officers and attorneys will be calling her tomorrow, and she needs her phone number back. Then ATT told me that the activation system is totally stopped and nothing is going through... it could take 20 more minutes or 24 hours... so they can't go in and push a single activation through...

I don't know what to believe... I just wish Verizon would have agreed to Steve Job's terms in the beginning...
That's bull. They probably can't add your data plan. That, or somone didn't think to change the status of your order, as simple as that.

[jj28]

I'd also like to say that we recieved zero training for this. We were told that we'd have to fix one of two issues; invalid addresses and invalid SSNs.

As it stands now we are expecting to resolve every kind of technical issue that arises during the activation process, and learning as we go along.

We didn't even know we'd be working with the iPhone until two days before launch.

[iWeight]

I waited for 4-5 days for the mysterious activation process that never came. My old phone stopped working almost immediately. Neither AT&T or Apple would accept any responsibility at all for this. They wouldn't even TRY to investigate the issue. As soon as you say "iPhone Activation" they clam up and say "keep waiting, could be days". Well it had been days and I was not going to wait any longer.

So finally, after reading suggestions in this thread and on the Apple forum, I went in to the local AT&T store and lied to them, saying that customer service told me to tell them to get a new SIM card.

I came home with the new SIM, connected to iTunes, said I was an existing customer and had an existing phone number (originally I ported from TMobile). I put in my TMobile phone number. I finished the rest of the registration normally.

My phone activated within 2 minutes.

Good job, AT&T and Apple. I've never felt so ripped off before.

[strum]

I may go get a SIM card later today or tomorrow as well... but will wait a little longer.

My wife's Verizon phone actually did stop receiving calls about an hour ago, unfortunately the iPhone still doesn't work. But at least someone pushed a button somewhere...

Now, when I call my wife's number it goes to an un-setup voicemail account I assume is ATT. At least tomorrow is a holiday, so she won't need her phone.

[Natalia81]

For those who have just bought their iPhones today (July 3rd or later), how has your activation process been? According to AT&T, "iPhone activation problems should be entirely resolved at this time" (found on the home page of macrumors).

I am looking at buying an iPhone, but don't want to be without a cell phone for days. I am currently on a normal family plan w/ AT&T. I was hoping that more recent new activation problems were solved.

[strum]

No email, no iPhone...

Decided to call ATT again... waited on hold as usual...

I'm now told that the data plan wasn't added to your account. She added it...

OK now it should all work... I tried it and the same old nothing. After 4 days, they decide my SIM card is faulty and I should go back to the ATT store and get a new SIM card.

I tell them I have no idea where an ATT store is, and if I can go to the Apple store and get a SIM card. YES she says.

I call the Apple Store and NO we don't have SIM cards...
Why not, you are selling these phones?
Because they come inside the phone.
Thanks for nothing Genie's Ass.
Well, all I can tell you is to make an appointment at the Genie's Ass Bar and we can replace the phone.
Smart Business Model there Genie's Ass, I'll be right over so you can restock a used $600 phone, instead of giving me a 50 cent SIM card.

[TheSlush]

Can't believe it. They finally ironed out all my kinks in my situation, slooooowly. But I'm finally activated. This thing is gorgeous, and it does seem to hypnotize you into forgetting all about the AT&T headaches you had.

[strum]

Wife went to Apple Store with my Pro Care card...
They gave her a hard time about moving to the front of the Genius line with the Pro Care card... ( As soon as they sell you the Pro Care card, they forget that was one of the main things they promised if you buy the card)

When she got to see the Genius, she told her that some Genie's Ass at your store told us to exchange the phone... The Genius said ( exact quote ) What a moron! ... and then gave my wife directions to the closest ATT Store. I guess this really was a genius...

They were rude at the ATT store, but exchanged the SIM.

Wife got home, and I went to take care of things, and saw we finally received that email I've been waiting 4 days for.... but now I've exchanged the SIM card!!!!!! Ouch.

I plug in the phone, and it's back to the original Start Up Page, but now I realize my account is already transferred to ATT, and I don't even know the account number... so how can I do this.... I call once again.

ATT was exceptionally polite and very friendly as was I. They had me just read them the new SIM card number and after about an hour with them trying everything under the sun, and two more transfers... things may be fixed.

I'm now waiting for another email...

[Derald Lary]

For those who have just bought their iPhones today (July 3rd or later), how has your activation process been? According to AT&T, "iPhone activation problems should be entirely resolved at this time" (found on the home page of macrumors).

I am looking at buying an iPhone, but don't want to be without a cell phone for days. I am currently on a normal family plan w/ AT&T. I was hoping that more recent new activation problems were solved.

This morning, 3 July, I was activated in 4 minutes and fully synced with my .mac account (G-5 and MacBookPro) in another 5. Wireless connection fine, edge for email (my .mac email connected itself and downloaded messages including the two from apple) a pleasant suprise. The only problem, I still can't get rid of the weather from Cupertino. I can get my city but it will not replace Cupertino as default. Phone exceeded expectations.
Of course I knew how to replace Cupertino. I also have added the IPhone to my Land Cruiser via BlueTooth. No big deal

[Thriller Jesus]

http://xxlbbq.blogspot.com/2007/07/how-to-activate-your-iphone-without-any.html

[kevinwiz]

my iphone was up and running sunday evening but it took untili this morning to get the phone number i wanted. an 88 hour ordeal!

[avkills]

Jesus, people are still having activation problems.

Strum, when you get a new SIM card at an At&t store, they are suppose to read something off of it with a scanner, so they should have updated your account with the new SIM right away.

I received a new SIM and activated my phone at the store on my laptop, I was lucky, as the Deli two stores down has free WiFi. The new SIM took about 1 minute to activate. I did not cancel my previous activation.

I really do believe that "someone's *cough* Apple or At&t *cough*" server crashed and lost a whole bunch of the activation info, hence the 40+ hour wait times for some.

-mark

[cybernaut]

I had a problem with my activation. My phone was working, and I could access the Internet through WiFi, but I couldn’t make and receive phone calls. I had to spend hours over phone with AT&T and Apple customer support. I spoke with at least 10 different representatives and most of them had no idea why my phone was not working. I was told to hook up my iPhone to a computer and wait for 48-72 hours; to go to Apple store and ask a Mac Genius for help; to send my phone back to Apple and change a SIM card… I've used all possible troubleshooting techniques described in the iPhone User Guide.

Luckily, I’ve decided to call AT&T Customer Service at 1-877-419-4500. I’ve received this number in email with my activation confirmation. Finally, one of the customer support representatives was able to help me. He performed different troubleshooting tricks: sent me updates, verified phone information including the SIM card number, and, at last, he found that my personal information wasn’t properly entered at one of their databases. He restored it and instantly my cell signal bars appeared along with AT&T and E (EDGE network) symbols.

I posted iPhone activation and troubleshooting tips at http://www.cybernaut.com/2007/07/iphone-troubleshooting-101.html
I hope this will help you to avoid troubles with activation :)

[strum]

Finally got the email that I was all activated with my new SIM card. Docked the phone, but iTunes still gave me the Begin New Account Screen... once again...

I called ATT again, they took my number in case we were disconnected. After checking they said it should all be working. I asked them to make sure that the new SIM card is on the account... disconnected... she never called back.

I called again, and I got this lady who rocked. I gave her the new SIM number and she said that this new SIM card was disconnected... she figured out that they put the new SIM number in, but then the old SIM number somehow got put back in and deactivated the new one, and basically I was screwed, because once deactivated, they can't be reactivated. I would have to get yet another SIM card from the ATT Store. I told her the whole story, and she said "That's Brutal", I loved that! She told me to get another SIM and just go into the setup and transfer the existing ATT account through the iTunes setup.

After another visit to the ATT Store, it took minutes to activate and I'm finally all set.

So everybody who said get a new SIM, and go through the normal Start Up procedure in iTunes was totally correct. When it works, it sure seems so easy. But when you spend 4 days, 3 SIMS, and about 20 hours on the phone it kind of sucks.

So after all this activation pain what do I think of the iPhone...
Well I think every cell phone manufacturer and every cell phone company is screwed, because this is hands down the coolest thing I have ever seen.

My wife sync'ed some music, photos, and her address book... we were playing tunes through the speaker, and scrolling through photos... zooming them..., landscaping them. it was just fun. The finger control is so accurate and perfect I can't believe it. Maps rock. The whole thing rocks... I would get it just for the iPod features... Paging through your music is so cool. You Tube does look better than when I watch it on my computer. Paul Gilbert Scarified is bookmarked... for my wife to enjoy ;-}

Would I go through this again for the iPhone... YES. And through it all, I have to say everyone at ATT was super nice, and I'm sure they were getting yelled at hour after hour.

out,
strum ( Glad to see I had my own ringtone )

Apple please add a Theatre - Movie Times widget. And a Zagat type widget.

[leviut]

I was a prior cingular customer, and i told them that at the store. i don't know if they used this information to help me activate more quickly, but I was using my phone within 2 minutes out of the box.

I was horrified going through the prompts thinking that my account information was not current with at&t and that my zip code might not match up, but everything went very smoothly and the phone worked almost instantly!!!

I feel really bad for people who had to sit there with this incredible phone, only to find that they could not use it!! I would have been VERY angry after waiting months to have that happen!!!!

As far as the phone. All of us owners know that it is revolutionary. We have our hands on something that will eventually become the standard and made available to the masses... and we are VERY lucky!!!

[avkills]

I'd also like to say that we recieved zero training for this. We were told that we'd have to fix one of two issues; invalid addresses and invalid SSNs.

As it stands now we are expecting to resolve every kind of technical issue that arises during the activation process, and learning as we go along.

We didn't even know we'd be working with the iPhone until two days before launch.

Thanks for the answer jj28 about the servers; I was on the phone with one of the good CS reps and they told me the same thing.

iWeight, the At&t stores have been told not to help customers with iPhones; however, if you explain to them that you know how to change the SIM card, they should give you one for free. Just be polite and explain that you've been waiting forever and that you've read on forums about the SIM replacement working. The guy in the store I went to was very nice and even said he would give me another SIM if I blew the first try.

Apple should have known better as to not have spare SIM chips in store. That is something they need to learn about. SIMS can die, so Apple will learn soon enough to start stocking them.

-mark

[netdoc66]

I went to the ATT store yesterday with all of the stuff I've been though documented and printed out. As soon as I walked in the security guard sez "oh boy here he is" I gave him the "don't f*** with me motherf***" look and that shut him down real quick. I basically had to strong arm them to fix the problem in the store and when they re-ran the credit it came back saying I needed a 300 dollar deposit. I told them and I quote, "someone is going to get on the phone with someone to make this right. When you tell me I'm pre approved on friday I am pre approved from that point on." Anything else you're saying to me is a lie at this point." they were shaking and did everything they could to get the deposit taken off. After running it through an analyst 25 minutes later I had my pre-approved credit code and my phone activated in 10 minutes. It pains me that I have to get ghetto to get results but i'll be damned if I'm going to be treated like a sucker over a stupid cell phone contract. Netdoc wins!

[ShellyFM]

woohoo, finally!!!!

I called the 877 419 4500 number, spoke to someone and explained that i had been waiting since friday to be activated, but had issues with mediamax, the fact that i was a blue customer, etc....

they took some additional information from me and needed to change my address. apparantly the fact that i had a p.o. box as the mailing address on my account may have been an issue......


=|

Were you able to keep your AT&T blue plan?

[ShellyFM]

So, after several calls over the last couple of days, I finally got a gal who told me that my ancient AT&T plan was on the "blue" side of the network, and the iPhone needs to be on the "orange" side.

I ended up going into he AT&T store nearby, and after a number of attempts, they managed to, effectively, "give me a new phone" (activated a SIM card without the phone). They also, after a few tries, got he computer to shove me over to the "blue" side.

By the time I got home, my ancient cell was turned off, but the iPhone wassn't working. A couple more calls to the "sync" department, and the iPhone came on - I got the magic email and everything.

Got my Wi-Fi on and everything.

Were you able to keep your AT&T blue plan?

[Furgster]

i think some people were able to keep their blue plans, but not sure

[preeble]

According to policy, you cannot keep a blue plan with your phone.

[Natalia81]

Since there aren't too many posts here recently, I'm assuming the activation issues have been cleaned up over the last few days. Or people just got tired of talking about it. :)

[beate]

A friend of mine is trying to activate as I post. He's getting a "technical difficulties" message and is on the phone with ATT.
You'd think no more problems at this late date. ???

[mspman]

I just got the dreaded "Your activation takes additional time to complete" message. VERY VERY ANNOYING since I know I could have walked out of the ATT store with a blackberry that worked on the spot.

I had a pre-approved credit code too, and it still says this.

I'm getting on the horn. I'm frustrated. This is 2007. Why is it so complicated to activate a phone? seriously.. can someone speak as to what is so technically difficult about activating the iPhone?

[Blue Velvet]

Since there aren't too many posts here recently, I'm assuming the activation issues have been cleaned up over the last few days...

It served its purpose in those first few heady days. Thread unsticking: watch out down below! :)

[YoungCreative]

AT&T was having system problems on activation again tonight (7/17). It took four tries over a two hour period to get my iPhone activated. Thank goodness it worked and I don't have to go to the AT&T store in the morning!

[severe]

I went to the ATT store yesterday with all of the stuff I've been though documented and printed out. As soon as I walked in the security guard sez "oh boy here he is" I gave him the "don't f*** with me motherf***" look and that shut him down real quick. I basically had to strong arm them to fix the problem in the store and when they re-ran the credit it came back saying I needed a 300 dollar deposit. I told them and I quote, "someone is going to get on the phone with someone to make this right. When you tell me I'm pre approved on friday I am pre approved from that point on." Anything else you're saying to me is a lie at this point." they were shaking and did everything they could to get the deposit taken off. After running it through an analyst 25 minutes later I had my pre-approved credit code and my phone activated in 10 minutes. It pains me that I have to get ghetto to get results but i'll be damned if I'm going to be treated like a sucker over a stupid cell phone contract. Netdoc wins!


HA!

Congrats. Ya gota do watcha gota do. ;)

I'm dealing with my very own activation problems, after receiving the phone in the mail today. In addition to the slow servers, "iPhone activations are not available at this time", they're having trouble porting my number. Seems it'll take 48-72 hours. So the slow server thing isn't so bad right now. Joy. More on this later.

[oogje]

not one to jump on the techno train too soon, i've always made it a point to wait a few months for all the dust to settle. seems, in this case, i've made a wise choice! :p

You've saved yourself possibly a day or two of frustration and a few months of enjoyment. Life is short.

[severe]

You've saved yourself possibly a day or two of frustration and a few months of enjoyment. Life is short.

Agreed.

I was up and ready the following morning. Just enough time to charge up and handle the activation process (the servers were fine after an hour or two). Luckily enough, there wasn't a need to wait the 48-72 hours I was given for porting my number.

Just get one already! ;)

edit: I should also add that despite these initial problems, the staff at AT&T handled things quite nicely.

[vladinecko]

it took me a day and a half to get mine activated.

when i called ATT, they said they've been experiencing technical difficulties and that my phone will not be activated for another 2 days. i was pissed but when i woke up in the morning, the phone was activated.

it seems ATT isn't on top of their ball at all. i wish Apple had gone with Verizon instead...