iPhone 3G S Customers Reporting Activation Delays

[MacRumors]

A number of iPhone 3G S customers in the U.S. are reporting problems activating their new purchases for use. According to a message displayed during the activation process, it may take up to 48 hours for activations to go through.

Due to current iPhone activation volumes, it may take up to 48 hours to resolve your issue. We will send a confirmation to {e-mail address redacted} once your activation is complete. We apologize for any inconvenience this causes. You can set up your iPhone and enjoy features that do not require access to the AT&T network. To get started, please disconnect and then reconnect your iPhone.

Several MacRumors forum members have reported that they have had success by calling AT&T and having a representative assist them with activation, while others have reported that AT&T representatives have simply told them that nothing can be done to speed up the process.

Article Link: iPhone 3G S Customers Reporting Activation Delays

[DELLsFan]

Well, what should you expect from a pig - but a grunt - especially on a day like today?

[macintel4me]

This seems like a annual ritual now. Getting better and better though!

[ebutka]

Mine worked...

[k2director]

Back in 2007, I waited 30 hours during launch weekend for my original iPhone to be activated. That was the longest, most depressing 30 hours of my life....

On the other hand, my 3G S activated within about 10 minutes this morning on the West Coast....

[thomasfxlt]

I bought my 3G S at an ATT store this morning at 10am CST. They activated it in about a minute. I bought my gen 1 and gen 2 iPhones at the Apple Store. The first one activated great. The 2nd one with the in-store activation was a total pain. I opted for ATT locally this time which saved me a 2 hour drive and apparently an activation hassle.

Very worth it regardless. (snappilicious)

[iSee]

Oh, AT&T. Another nail in the coffin we're preparing for your use on the day your exclusive deal with Apple expires.

[trptdude]

seemed like my activation was hanging.......then I ejected the SIM card with the little tool in the packaging and replaced it and the phone activated immediately - worth a try - TC

[silverbelly]

Apparently Rogers is having some of the same issues here in Canada (or Calgary at least). Was at the Rogers store today and they said that many of the 32GB iPhones are not activating right now.

[chr1s60]

I had a problem with my 1st gen iPhone that I bought on iDay. I wasn't able to get it activated until the next day at about noon. I had to actually call and talk with someone twice before it actually worked. I would recommend that anyone having problems call AT&T.

[mdwsta4]

i really don't care as long as i can check out the other features. but will it deactivate my 1st gen iphone's sim? then i'll be pissed if i'm phone-less for up to 2 days.
my 3gs got delivered at 9am, but i don't have my laptop to activate/sync it.

[diabolic]

Originally Posted by iSee

Oh, AT&T. Another nail in the coffin we're preparing for your use on the day your exclusive deal with Apple expires.

Yes, because Verizon would somehow magically be able to handle the activation process better than AT&T can...

I doubt any other carrier has ever had to handle as many activations in one day as AT&T does with the iPhone.

[williamtcforsyt]

Although I'm in the UK on O2, I'm still so pleased I asked them to activate my 16GB iPhone 3GS in store. I was first in line at a store so I thought that my chances of it activating quickly would be high

Oh and my iPhone 3GS is much more than I thought it might be, so quick at opening everything. I even think syncing has significantly increased in speed!

Just a bit depressed I've spent £440 on it!

[hyllus]

For what it's worth, I activated a new line today with an iPhone 3G S in an AT&T store in a matter of a few minutes. A friend of mine did the same.

[foshizzle]

picked my phone up this morning 730 AM EST, opted to activate it at home. Took almost no time to activate, and i was up and running.

MUCH better than last year's 2.0 OS / 3G release on the same morning. My sister and I's phones took 5 hours to re-activate after the OS install, and we had just left on a trip after we DLd the update. Luckily I have an ATT laptop card and could keep trying activation on the road.

I also got 3.0 OS for my original phone about 5 minutes after it release wednesday, had zero problems with it.

Getting better i guess, but with the volume of users activating I'm not surprised things are getting bogged down.

Hey ATT - get a new IT staff that knows how to batch update people's iPhones to support MMS and tethering, AND can run a server farm to keep up with activations.

[joelonamac]

For the two phones I picked up at the AT&T store, and for a friend's phone that came via UPS from the Apple store, restarting did the trick.

[iPhoneNYC]

This activation problem has crept up the past two "big" first days. It's a drag but it seems easier to simply wait a day or two and then everything goes fine. In New York on the first day of the 1st gen the phone lines cleared after midnight. I guess maybe that's why those people were waiting at 6AM - not because of getting the phone first but getting to activation first!

[rdowns]

Originally Posted by iSee

Oh, AT&T. Another nail in the coffin we're preparing for your use on the day your exclusive deal with Apple expires.

Oh please. This would happen with any provider. None of their systems are designed to handle hundreds of thousands of activations in a day.

[Lostanddamned]

Originally Posted by trptdude

seemed like my activation was hanging.......then I ejected the SIM card with the little tool in the packaging and replaced it and the phone activated immediately - worth a try - TC

Same deal here in the UK. Ejecting and reinserting worked - I had put the SIM in whilst the phone was powered off too.

That said my MMS still hasn't been activated, but I imagine it will be before the AT&T ones are - O2 texted me to say about 2-3 days at most.

Then to sort out tethering - and all is good.

[sziehr]

I disagree with the VZW could not handle the volume. They would set up some sort of temporary network to be ready for it or localize it. They run out Mules or temp cell sites to more place more often than att. I know this to be true i have one of the largest festivals in the country in my back yard Bonnaroo. I never loose signal or call degradation while the some 100,000 extra people show up. I just think lazyness and cost is the factor here.

[jtropeano]

I went to the 5th avenue store today at 10:00 AM to wait in line to buy my girlfriend an iPhone (she's currently on Verizon). I got to the desk, got an agent at 10:30, and didn't walk out of the store until 1:45 PM. And that was after I decided to not even attempt to do a port at the store. Anyway. The rep was super nice, friendly, entertaining... but that doesn't buy back my time.

MY iPhone, that I had shipped to my office, upon plugging it in, isn't activating. I get the delay message everyone here is talking about. Bah!

I'm going to try to pop out the SIM card, but doubt it'll work. We'll see!

- J

[beerguy]

Mine say waiting for about 30 minutes. I popped the sim out, put it back in and bingo - phone activated. It could have been a coincidence but it got me going.

[TB Apple]

Fed-Ex arrived at 10:30 and had a little hiccup with activation (had to unplug and restart phone), but up and running after about 10 miniutes

[Mr Maui]

The possibility of having delays when there are hundreds of thousands of phones trying to be activated in one day should be considered a normal possibility. After the weekend, activations will likely happen without delay or issue.

[JohnnyQuest]

My activation was smooth as could be. Took 5 minutes maybe, and then an alert was sent to my phone that said "activated." That really suck though for all the ones that will take 48 hours