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FlightAware Once Again Offers Tool to Track iPhone Pre-Order Shipment Flights

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MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
63,547
30,863



Apple began shipping iPhone 6s and 6s Plus pre-orders on Saturday and now FlightAware, a site that offers live flight tracking, has once again begun offering a tool that allows users to track the flights carrying their iPhones after they receive their tracking number. FlightAware also offered the tool last year.

flgithaware.png

FlightAware says that users who have their UPS tracking number can use their tool to match their "departure scan" with one of the departure times listed in their tool to determine which flight their iPhone is on. The tool will be updated as FlightAware learns more about Apple's shipping strategy for the new phones.

Currently, many flights are on their way to Louisville, Kentucky's Worldport, which is UPS' worldwide air hub. Additional flights are on the way to Ontario, California.

Those who have not received their UPS tracking numbers can track their packages by reference on UPS' website. To do so, users have to fill out the "track by reference" form and input the phone number listed on their Apple account, the zip code its shipping to and country. This tactic may only work with pre-orders made through Apple.

upstracking.png

The first iPhone 6s and 6s Plus shipments are expected to arrive Friday, September 25. However, sometimes lucky customers receive their phones early due to shipping errors. Apple has ended launch-day pre-orders and in-store reservations for the two new phones and will not offer walk-in sales for them at Apple Stores in Delaware, Hawaii, Alaska, New Hampshire, Oregon, China, Hong Kong and Japan.

MacRumors readers may also want to join in on the dedicated pre-order threads on the forums, where users are sharing tracking information and socializing while waiting for their new iPhones.

Article Link: FlightAware Once Again Offers Tool to Track iPhone Pre-Order Shipment Flights
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2015/09/21/flightaware-shipment-tracking-iphone-6s/
DIRSGT

DIRSGT

macrumors regular
Aug 7, 2011
115
135
NC
I remember when I could see MY iPhone coming from China. However, due to my grandfathered plan I had to order directly (or actually "indirectly" thanks Chewbaka) from AT&T this year to keep my plan. Now I can see nothing...AT&T!!!!
 
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SlipperySlop

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Sep 14, 2015
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DIRSGT said:
I remember when I could see MY iPhone coming from China. However, due to my grandfathered plan I had to order directly from AT&T this year to keep my plan. Now I can see nothing...AT&T!!!!
Click to expand...
My ATT plan is grandfathered and I was able to order from Apple directly.
 
bradl

bradl

macrumors 603
Jun 16, 2008
5,927
17,405
dlastmango said:
Anyone in Kentucky where you can record these planes coming in? It's like Santa watch on NORAD. Lol
Click to expand...

Yes, though I'm not in Kentucky.

As most of the flights from China will stop at PANC (Anchorage Int'l), both PANC and KSDF (Louisville Standiford Int'l Airport) have LiveATC.net ATC feeds. You could track the aircraft via FlightAware from when they depart, and listen to Air Traffic Control as the flight departs, and again when it arrives at KSDF. Same applies for KONT (Ontario Int'l). Additionally, you could check on the LiveATC site to see if the airport that the flight with your phone will arrive at, to track and listen to it land in your hometown.

All of these (at least in the USA) are in real time, so, when you hear it and track it, there is no time delay.

BL.
 
C

chewbaka

macrumors regular
Jun 2, 2014
236
602
DIRSGT said:
I remember when I could see MY iPhone coming from China. However, due to my grandfathered plan I had to order directly from AT&T this year to keep my plan. Now I can see nothing...AT&T!!!!
Click to expand...

Wouldn't that be an "indirect" order?
 
nimbusthegreat

nimbusthegreat

macrumors member
Jul 23, 2002
45
61
Dallas, TX
i ordered my phone as soon as the site went live. It kept crashing but my confirmation email came at 2:17 am and mine is still just saying "preparing for shipment." This doesn't bode well....
 
J

joeycee

macrumors newbie
Jun 13, 2014
13
13
Boston MA
Apple STILL shows my order as "Preparing for Shipment" even though I ordered at 3am like every other impatient east coaster. But of course my friend who ordered the next morning is showing up as shipped with a tracking number :mad:

But when I saw that mention about "track by reference" I took a shot and logged into my MyUPS account (anyone can set it up for free), and bingo! Apple may not show it as "shipped" but UPS sure did! It went from Shenzhen to Hong Kong but hasn't showed up as being stateside yet. Amazing we can get stuff like this so quickly. There go my weekend plans...
 
jagolden

jagolden

macrumors 68000
Feb 11, 2002
1,525
1,399
Would just like mine to change from "preparing to ship" to "shipped"!
But, they did the same thing with my watch, took forever for them to update even though it arrived on time.
 
SandboxGeneral

SandboxGeneral

Moderator emeritus
Sep 8, 2010
26,482
10,051
Detroit
That's cool; I didn't know about 'track by reference' before. I haven't received any shipment notification from Apple yet, but did that reference track on UPS and found my tracking number and that the new iPhone has been sitting on the ground in China since the 19th.
 
T

Thunderhawks

Suspended
Feb 17, 2009
4,057
2,118
Does anybody think this obsessive behavior about a techno gadget is normal?

Anybody who can't wait should buy a matching couch for a psychological examination,
unlimited consultations of course and yes, you can buy that couch in rose gold.
 
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