24 Hours for Activation?

[pmontanarella]

Hi all,

I got my iPhone 5s (unlocked, European model) replaced yesterday at the Apple Store in NY. They had ordered my model and it came quickly so that they could give me an unlocked model. All good, the phone was swapped and I was told to wait 10-15 minutes before turning it on. After that time elapsed I proceeded with turning it on and activating and upon activation I got an invalid sim warning and the phone wouldn't activate. I quickly went back to the Genius Bar where I was told that activation could take up to 24 hours...

The strange thing is I get signal on the phone (I can see full bars), it's just that it won't go past the activation screen .

Has anyone had a similar experience and would you say it's normal for such a situation?

I've had other iPhones replaced without a problem but this is the first time I had to have an iPhone shipped in because of different model numbers...

Any ideas?

I was told at the store to go back there if it doesn't work after 24 hours (And I'm skeptical it will)...

Thanks,
Pietro

 

[pmontanarella]

Update: The iPhone has activated properly after about 15 hours.

Pietro

 

[eelw]

But when did Apple start replacing phones from other regions?

 

[pmontanarella]

But when did Apple start replacing phones from other regions?

I was surprised myself that this didn't pose a problem. Mind you, they didn't have my model in-store when I went the first time (a Saturday), but ordered it and I was able to pick it up on Tuesday (2 business days later). Really convenient and really good service.

Just a note, the original model was A1457 and the replacement is A1530 - however they support the exact same bands which is why I think I got a slightly different model number.