What an absolute DISASTER!

[rritterson]

The message I was getting was the same everyone else was getting who wanted to order from Apple.com. "The Apple store is updating, and will be right back." That doesn't mean the servers were loaded, it meant they weren't done updating the store.

Again, people had more success if they used the Apple store App. Myself and many others COULD NOT, as it didn't have the T-Mobile iphone listed.

The store came up for me, in a browser, on one device (at 12:15 AM), but remained "We'll Be Right Back" for at least an hour on the rest of them. There was some caching issue with the CDN, which is why people were able to get through via incognito mode. The store actually was up around 12 AM though.

Same boat. 7-10 days on iPhone 6 Plus 64GB T-Mobile. It's one thing to have low stock of that model, and quite the other for the site to not work for 2.5 hours..

I think the reason stock was so low was because SIMs are put into the phone as they leave China. Because all of the phones are in China now, there isn't such a thing as a T-Mobile phone yet, just a 6+. Since the app went live, almost all of the GSM 6+'s went to other carriers.

The most annoying thing is WTF they wouldn't let anyone order a T-Mobile phone via the store app. That part made no sense.

 

[IllIllIll]

Obviously you can't read, or don't have T-Mobile. You try ordering the 6 via the app and select the T-Mobile model. If you are successful, I will admit it wasn't a disaster.

Either way it's nowhere close to being a disaster, except maybe to you. Consider yourself fortunate because there are MUCH worse things that can and have happened to others.

Like I said in a different thread - it's only a phone. You'll eventually get one. It's not lifesaving surgery. Your priorities are really out of whack.

 

[Dubberton]

yeah man, it sure sucks after you've invested so much into waiting, but such is the nature of the 3am pre-order frenzy

don't let it ruin your day. just enjoy the wait the best you can because it's all you can do. if it's really eating at you just think of all you have to be grateful for.

 

[swerve147]

All the bashing aside, the fact that the Apple Store website was completely down for 2+ hours on launch day of their biggest event of the year is not acceptable, especially with all the hype they worked so feverishly to produce, the countdown timer, etc. Worse yet for TMo subscribers who had no choice but to use the website.

If it weren't for sites like Macrumors forums and fellow posters giving us the heads up to try the Apple Store app instead, many of us would be just as frustrated. But the app wasn't even an option for TMos as I understand it.

 

[cornerexit]

first world problems

The world is going to end as we know it!

 

[dcorban]

Obviously you can't read, or don't have T-Mobile. You try ordering the 6 via the app and select the T-Mobile model. If you are successful, I will admit it wasn't a disaster.

To assist with future threads…

"An absolute disaster":

Not an absolute disaster:

 

[Dmal99]

You guys have a legitimate reason to be upset. Apple.com was down for three hours at launch and then when it comes back up, release date is all sold out?

People were using the apple store iPad app so the phones were being sold but unless you were "jn the know," you didn't get that particular memo.

I'd be on the phone with Apple losing my nuts, even if only to make me feel better. See if they will give you a gift card or SOMETHING. This is the single worst launch I have ever been involved with from Apple. I was planning on doing store pickup but i ended up doing Verizon ship because I was scared they'd run out at Apple.com. Too bad I was right.

I'd call Apple and bitch and then go wait on line and tell the manager your story. Maybe they will give you preferential treatment. They are humans after all and you have a valid gripe.

 

[IllIllIll]

If anything, this thread is an absolute disaster.

 

[whiteshadoww]

Agree - short supplies is no excuse for a non working web site. Get it together Apple. Let me get in and see the late delivery dates. I was forced to go to AT&T which sucks and even after ordering at 12:40 AM I have a late October delivery date. Thanks Apple.

 

[AdonisSMU]

I know if it was me I would be disappointed so I'm going to not say anything as I can totally sympathize with the OP.

 

[caligurl]

Yep.... I 100% agree with the OP.

And i'm freakin' pissed, too!

I don't know why people have to come here and bash him/her for their feelings and thoughts. If you want to disagree why can't you do it politely?

Oh.... that's right... because this is MarRumors.

OP.... I'm right there with you.

 

[petvas]

Here in Germany things were much better. Around 9:35am (German time - 00:36 pacific time) the Apple online store was available. I had my iPad and my iMac refreshing the AppStore all the time. On my iPad I had the App and on my Mac the website. Around 9:30 I noticed that the App started showing signs of life. I kept refreshing both till at some point the Apple Store website came online. I ordered my iPhone 6 64GB Space Gray immediately. I think it must have taken me around 2 minutes to go through the whole process
Delivering 9/19

I have been refreshing the Apple Store site for at least two hours (you never know - maybe the website could come up before the official start) and in the last hour I have been refreshing every 30 seconds...
At least it was worth the wait..Two minutes after I ordered I saw that the delivery times started going north...

 

[IllIllIll]

Some of you entitled whiners need to get a grip.

Apple sold 9 MILLION iPhone 5S models in the first weekend. This upcoming weekend will quite possibly surpass that number. When you have hordes of people all clamoring at the same time to place online orders, sites are going to get hammered and everything slows down.

There WERE others to managed to place their orders and receive expected ship dates on release day. You just happened to be one of the unlucky ones. That's life, adapt or die.

"See if they will give you a gift card"??? For what?

 

[Vertigo50]

It was pretty rough, no doubt. I can't help but think the T-Mobile issue might have been caused by T-Mobile themselves. Maybe they weren't ready with something in time.

All of the other carriers were having issues, but the T-Mobile problem was unique.

If any case, the good news so that Apple often moves up ship dates as it gets closer and they realize they have more supply. Hopefully that will happen for you. Good luck!

 

[sandmanfvr]

I had 20 minutes of issues last night so I went to bed and ordered at 9 am (on vacation) and I probably will get my 6 like a week or two later. Eh who cares I got name in and won't have to to out to get it. I can wait and see if here is any issues next week etc. I do think the preorders weren't handled so well but oh well I can wait its just a phone.

 

[maybeiloveyou]

I understand that. But why on earth does Apple release a phone (they know will be huge) when they can't keep up with the demand? Every year it gets WORSE. It should be improving each year. Never in my life have I seen such a mess.

Agree with this. Sorry, but defending Apple in this scenario is a no-go for me.

1. Apple knew what the demand was going to be
2. Yes, servers and the amount of hits they were getting are "complex," but short of their server farm exploding at 11:59am, I'm not sure how they bungled the launch like this
3. They probably did this so that this morning or Monday they can proclaim this was the craziest launch ever

 

[Bacong]

jeez, if you think this was bad, I remember back in May that the pre-order for MLB The Show on PS4 didn't show up in the PS Store until almost noon. For just a game. Can you imagine the millions upon millions that wanted to order the phone? I mean, the store didn't come up until about 5:30. But people got through on the App, and most carrier sites were working fine.

I get you're upset but you've gotta realize that lots and lots of people wanted one and there's no way everyone is getting one on release day. Thems the breaks. Things that happen to others can also happen to you! I know it sucks to wait but you'll realize it was silly when you get the phone.

 

[ucfgrad93]

don't worry, you'll live.

Agreed, it isn't the end of the world.

 

[yanki01]

Agreed, it isn't the end of the world.

http://youtu.be/Z0GFRcFm-aY

 

[Ambush083]

I understand that. But why on earth does Apple release a phone (they know will be huge) when they can't keep up with the demand? Every year it gets WORSE. It should be improving each year. Never in my life have I seen such a mess.

Bro they do this on purpose. People try to justify it, but it's really been going on for years. So how do you get to the point of releasing several phones and still f it up? You don't. It's done purposely. How long was the website down before you could actually put in an order? A lot of traffic? What did you think was gonna happen? For as much money as they waste away acquiring companies they can't even stand up temporary servers to handle the workload? I mean how could it be the same every year?

 

[Ludatyk]

Bro they do this on purpose. People try to justify it, but it's really been going on for years. So how do you get to the point of releasing several phones and still f it up? You don't. It's done purposely. How long was the website down before you could actually put in an order? A lot of traffic? No ***** what did you think was gonna happen? For as much money as they piss away acquiring companies they can't even stand up temporary servers to handle the workload? I mean how could it be the same every year? It is expected to increase, hence forth you have your ***** before the launch, yeah?

Definitely agree with you. It's hype. That's what I believe... this was a plan. This was marketing... drive up huge demand.

The 6+ will be the most coveted.. due to the bigger screen, battery life & better camera. It was the same situation with the gold iPhone.. it was the most coveted because it was something different compared to last year. This is purely hype.. it wasn't a disaster.

 

[kevroc]

I am just curious if anyone else is as fed up as I am? Had to stay up until 5am CST to get my order in for a T-Mobile iPhone Plus 64GB Space Gray at Apple.com. I was trying to follow everyone on here, but the MacRumors forums were so busy, half the time the page would not load.

My beef is that after all these years Apple.com was the worst place to get the phone from. Why is that? I tried to use the app on my 5S and iPad but the Apple store app DID NOT have the T-Mobile model off contract. I can't believe Apple would do that? Why? T-Mobile's own website was not even taking pre-orders at all, despite it before past 3am.

Finally got my order in, but the shipping time shows Oct 1-6. I tried like the second Apple.com became available and that's the best I could get? Wow. I understand its a phone, and I'll wait, but I can't believe a company the size of Apple can't even get their 8th generation iPhone orders straight. I remember the same EXACT thing happening with the 4S, and 5, though not as bad.

I agree, it was a disaster for Apple and they really should be embarrassed by their poor performance. The whole "oh, we didn't expect so many people" is so overdone with them. They're just really lame... They say they are all about the customer, but they surely didn't exhibit that last night for the pre-order fiasco. I really for sorry for people that aren't Pacific Time that had to be up all night. What a mess they are. And we get a whole week to deal with it, awesome!

 

[Jman13]

I don't think many people realize the cost involved in providing what would be 'enough' capacity for an order like this. It's not 'turn on 5 more servers.' It's adding THOUSANDS of servers. Perhaps tens of thousands. Plus networking them, plus finding space to house and cool them, plus ensuring they're all working together. We're talking tens of millions of dollars.

You want Apple to spend TENS to hundreds of MILLIONS of dollars, so that their website works more smoothly for the, literally, 5 hours a YEAR that their existing server farms can't keep up with regular demand. And they do spend a fair bit of money for added capacity for these launches, but there's only so much you can do. It's not feasible as a business to blow 50 million dollars so that some people don't have to hit refresh for an hour. The fact is that millions of people did get their orders in, and it's not like their stock for the plus was going to miraculously increase even if they had capacity - it just would have gone out of stock sooner.

They spend billions of dollars on these launches trying to make the production and launches go as smoothly as is possible, but flushing millions upon millions of dollars down the drain so that their servers are slightly less stressed for the first three hours of the iPhone launch is just not good business sense.

No one is forcing you to preorder. You want to avoid this frustration? Wait in line at an Apple store, or, simply wait until two weeks after launch and check store availability for your model for a few nights until you find it. Or wait four weeks and just walk into the store. It's not like you're going to die without the phone.

 

[2298754]

Yeah, the launch was rough. Possibly the most rough one I've been thru online. I had my macbook and iPad ready to go. (I'm in Boston)

The Apple Store App kept erroring out and refreshing for about 2 hours. Wasn't able to add anything to my cart. Apple.com on Safari/Chrome did not work at all.

I just about gave up around 430 AM EST and just ordered via AT&T Premier, but didn't get any sort of confirmation. Just as that happened, I got that "We've got your iPhone, here's the CODE XXXX" message on my iPad, but wasn't able to input any information into the app at all.

Fast forward to about 530 AM, I was about to give up... Cleared the cache on Safari and tried again. Worked perfectly. Shipping was out to 3-4 weeks at this point, but Pickup was available for 9/19 at my local Apple Store so I picked that and got my confirmation within 2 minutes.

Fast forward to 10am, I had a confirmation from Apple.com, AT&T Premier, and then I got the email for the reservation code. Called Premier and canceled that order. Called Apple on the phone and canceled the one I had with the reservation code.

But upside is that I do have an iPhone for release day

What a huge PITA

 

[Ludatyk]

I agree, it was a disaster for Apple and they really should be embarrassed by their poor performance. The whole "oh, we didn't expect so many people" is so overdone with them. They're just really lame... They say they are all about the customer, but they surely didn't exhibit that last night for the pre-order fiasco. I really for sorry for people that aren't Pacific Time that had to be up all night. What a mess they are. And we get a whole week to deal with it, awesome!

I disagree. Think about this for a moment.. for a company as big as Apple.. knowing how much value their iPhones hold. Their iPhone is a huge chunk of their business. Why would they simply not have enough to supply the demand of their product?

There have been months of speculation regarding the 6+ and there has been leaks of the size. I tend to believe this is hype built to drive demand.