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iPhone 4 Japan (Softbank)

Got mine today as planned,,
Little confused on the messaging though....
seems like i can still send myself a mail to my old address ~~~@softbank.ne.jp
(mailed myself from various different mail services, gmail etc)

so... what exactly is the point of the @i.softbank??
being able to use the "mail" button? lol
 
Picked up my iPhone 4 this afternoon from the 高田馬場 Softbank shop.

Process went very smoothly. Took about 15 minutes longer than usual since I had to change my credit card, but besides that no issues.

Upgrading from a slow iPhone 3G, so the difference in speed is astounding.

Biggest to amazing things:

SPEED and the SCREEN. Switching between apps, launching apps, moving around within apps, NO wait time. Screen resolution is crazy.

Network speed is also faster than the 3G, due to supporting 7.2 Mbps.

No issues with the screen discoloration or signal issue whatsoever.

One happy camper here! I am trying to train myself to put down the iPhone and do other things for a few minutes. Which I expect will be hard over the next week. :)
 
plasticparadox said:
I've heard of it before but never looked into it seriously. Not sure that I'm really interested in it. Are you on it?
Click to expand...

No, I'm not on it, but it is an interesting idea. I've never taken it seriously because you had to buy their router and I'd probably never get my moneys worth as there probably wouldn't be connections where I'd wanted them. But since they were offering it for free, it might have been interesting.

Here's a map showing where you can hook up to someone's FON network:
http://maps.fon.com/
 
butaro said:
Got mine today as planned,,
Little confused on the messaging though....
seems like i can still send myself a mail to my old address ~~~@softbank.ne.jp
(mailed myself from various different mail services, gmail etc)

so... what exactly is the point of the @i.softbank??
being able to use the "mail" button? lol
Click to expand...

So you can show off to your friends that you've got an iPhone. :p

There was some discussion about it on gaijinpot. Not sure if it's that useful, but people have worked out that you can have both concurrently.
http://forum.gaijinpot.com/showthre...nk.ne.jp-will-disappear-by-18th-of-this-month
 
iammike1 said:
Was it a mis-translation? When I read his translated tweet, I kinda took it that he was apologizing that not EVERYONE who reserved would get a phone on the 24th.
Click to expand...

Sorry, guys. For some reason, I took it as "iPhones won't be available on the 24th."
 
I'm in California and would be interested to see how FaceTime works from here to japan. Anyone wanna try it out
 
butaro said:
Got mine today as planned,,
Little confused on the messaging though....
seems like i can still send myself a mail to my old address ~~~@softbank.ne.jp
(mailed myself from various different mail services, gmail etc)

so... what exactly is the point of the @i.softbank??
being able to use the "mail" button? lol
Click to expand...

Well I personally use my @i.softbank.jp address. By using the Mail app, I can receive HTML mail, and it's all backed up on the IMAP server. If my phone breaks, I can fill in my username/password and my thousands of e-mails in all of my folders are instantly available on my new device.
With my @softbank.ne.jp address, whenever I get a 'decomail' or HTML mail with image attachments, it all looks screwy. Also my messages aren't backed up.
 
butaro said:
so... what exactly is the point of the @i.softbank??
being able to use the "mail" button? lol
Click to expand...
That is a legacy system introduced at the 3G's launch in 2008 to try to compensate for OS2.0's lack of MMS. I have no idea why they still confuse people with it when services such as Gmail offer the same functionality (and loads more - calendars, OTA note syncing, etc) ...
 
Softbank screwups and inconsistent Apple

Turns out my iPhone has been a mess. The phone died within about an hour of getting it. Softbank has been useless - and Apple Japan has been entirely disappointing...

So, Softbank added AppleCare to my iPhone even though I declined it. They realized their mistake in store, and assured me that it wouldn't be a problem. Since then - they have charged me for it, and won't help to cancel it - making me deal with Apple. They are full of 'Gomen' - but of course, sucking teeth and saying that it is impossible for them to help.

Then, with a dead phone, they refuse to help with it either. They say - Go talk to Apple - ship it to them and they will fix it, then ship it back. I was on three very long Apple support calls yesterday - and am so sad to have to deal with Apple Japan. When calling in to the main Apple support - it only took 10 minutes and they were ready to ship me a replacement (Advanced Exchange). But that got killed when they came to realize that they couldn't complete the return - and referred me back to Apple Japan. Yikes! What an incredible difference.

Anyone have any tips for escalating or working with Apple Japan and Softbank?
 
askywalker said:
Turns out my iPhone has been a mess. The phone died within about an hour of getting it. Softbank has been useless - and Apple Japan has been entirely disappointing...
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear about your situation. Unfortunately you're not the only person who has been shoved back and forth between Softbank (or any other carrier in the world) and Apple over the years when it comes to problems with the iPhone.

Where do you live? Anywhere near an Apple store? I have heard that Apple over-the-phone support and Apple store support are separate entities, and you usually get more sympathy with people in-store.

If it's an iPhone fault related issue, Apple should be the ones to deal with the problems. If it's a phone contract problem, Softbank should be the ones to contact, I would presume. The problem with AppleCare could be with either, but I think because the Softbank store messed up, they should be the ones to sort it out. Tell them to call up Apple there and then and get them to say to Apple that the store screwed up. Or, while you're at the Softbank store, call up Apple yourself and get one of the shop staff to talk to them. Or, go to an Apple store and do it the other way around.

There's a bit of information here which relates that Bic weren't allowed to replace broken phones, and the person with the broken phone went to an Apple store to get it sorted out:

http://www.ofriceandzen.org/2008/08/softbank-iphone

Also, service varies from person to person, store to store, so you may have to go around to get anything done, unfortunately.

You could try posting on gaijinpot and see what others have done in the past.
 
Thanks for the reply - and the link was interesting. Nice site - really nice photos.

Doing my best to go with it rather than fight it, I spent another hour and a half on the phone so far today.

Apple Japan seems comfortable charging me 3400 yen to ship me a replacement phone. Unbelievable to me, particularly since they are also holding 80,000 yen on my Visa, but as they said - I am in Japan, and that is what Apple Japan has decided - so deal with it.

Softbank is completely unhelpful. They took our money without our permission (AppleCare), have apologized, but are still totally unwilling to help. Rather than fight it, we are doing our best to get Apple all the banking documentation, faxes and signatures that they need to get this Softbank mistake fixed for them. I am not confident, even after doing that for them, that we will ever see our money back, but we don't seem to have any other choice.

I am surprised that Apple allows their support to be so uneven. I feel sympathy for the Japanese consumers that get abused like this, and am surprised that they tolerate it. At this point I just want it all to end - we have invested WAY too much time fixing Softbank and Apple's problems. There doesn't seem to be any way (even in the face of such ridiculous mistakes) to cancel the contract, but I just wish that I had never entered a Softbank store at this point. My brand new Apple MacBook Pro, my iPad, my 3 iPhones, my AppleTV - they all seem to be laughing at me now.
 
SaSaSushi said:
I'm really sorry to hear about the problems you're experiencing but when you say "died" have you tried resurrecting it with DFU mode?

It can sometimes work wonders. :)
Click to expand...

That was an amazing tip - it got me further than I had gotten before - screen flashed white while 'preparing iPhone for restore', apple logo appeared. I thought that you had solved it! Then it went to the same error message - restore failed. Thanks for suggesting it though - I sure was excited seeing the apple logo for the first time!

Turns out I got a call following up from an email I sent to Steve Jobs. I have some help ensuring that I won't be charged for the replacement (3400 yen is waived). Still no word on when I will get my replacement - he said he will follow up next Friday to see if I have received the replacement.
 
askywalker said:
There doesn't seem to be any way (even in the face of such ridiculous mistakes) to cancel the contract, but I just wish that I had never entered a Softbank store at this point.
Click to expand...

Glad to hear that you're getting somewhere with the problem and the phone.

As for cancelling, I'm pretty sure the government introduced a cooling off period into the law about eight years ago to help protect consumers.
 
askywalker said:
That was an amazing tip - it got me further than I had gotten before - screen flashed white while 'preparing iPhone for restore', apple logo appeared. I thought that you had solved it! Then it went to the same error message - restore failed. Thanks for suggesting it though - I sure was excited seeing the apple logo for the first time!
Click to expand...

I'd want the replacement myself too at this point but it could be a software issue. Some folks on the Apple forums were reporting such symptoms when dealing with a corrupted iOS4 update on their 3G and 3GS.

By the way, I think you know this but all iPhones (and iPods and iMacs and every other Apple computer product) come with 1 year of Applecare coverage which they call the limited warranty. For the iPhone, you can pay for Applecare coverage to extend that to two full years I believe. This covers all mechanical (non-accidental) defects like you're experiencing now. The first year comes with the phone, though, at no extra charge. The only other difference, I think, is that you get telephone support extended from 90 days to the full two years.

I may get the Applecare for my iPhone but I usually wait until the last minute. You have the full length of the one year warranty to purchase it. I always get it on my Macs and it has more than paid for itself numerous times. The iPhone is a different matter though. I'm thinking I might not get it for the phone since it is much more likely if I experience any problems they'd be accidental and not covered anyway.

That said, if you declined it and they charged it ANYWAY I would keep on Softbank since there is no way that should be your responsibility for their error no matter who needs to be contacted to reverse it.

Don't take ごめんなさい for an answer because you're in the right here. :)
 
Seems the email to steve jobs really helped. I got another phone call from them, and my replacement should arrive tomorrow. They said the AppleCare issue sounded crazy, but after looking into it, softbank can't correct it- apple has already given me the AppleCare and only I can have it removed. They said I would have to continue the process of sending bank info (we don't have a bank account yet), faxing forms etc...
Anyway - looking forward to getting the replacement and hopefully putting this behind me. :)
 
askywalker said:
Seems the email to steve jobs really helped. I got another phone call from them, and my replacement should arrive tomorrow. They said the AppleCare issue sounded crazy, but after looking into it, softbank can't correct it- apple has already given me the AppleCare and only I can have it removed. They said I would have to continue the process of sending bank info (we don't have a bank account yet), faxing forms etc...
Anyway - looking forward to getting the replacement and hopefully putting this behind me. :)
Click to expand...

Excellent news! Kudos to Steve Jobs and his team. Did you get a call from Apple in the US or in Japan?
 
Seems the email to steve jobs really helped. I got another phone call from them, and my replacement should arrive tomorrow. They said the AppleCare issue sounded crazy, but after looking into it, softbank can't correct it- apple has already given me the AppleCare and only I can have it removed. They said I would have to continue the process of sending bank info (we don't have a bank account yet), faxing forms etc...
Anyway - looking forward to getting the replacement and hopefully putting this behind me. :)
 
So today I find out that the location I reserved my iPhone at has yet to receive even 1 handset. Not one reservation filled in 3 days since release.

The longer I wait, the more likely I am to cancel the reservation, go spend the money somewhere else and buy a new phone later. I do not like waiting.

Boy do I wish work hadn't made it impossible for me to be in Shibuya on the 24th.
 
iammike1 said:
So today I find out that the location I reserved my iPhone at has yet to receive even 1 handset. Not one reservation filled in 3 days since release.

The longer I wait, the more likely I am to cancel the reservation, go spend the money somewhere else and buy a new phone later. I do not like waiting.

Boy do I wish work hadn't made it impossible for me to be in Shibuya on the 24th.
Click to expand...

That's just crazy. This is the store on base? Sounds like they're low priority for being served. If I were you, I'd just go around to half a dozen stores and reserve one, so long as you don't have to put a deposit down. If you cancel at the other stores, they're not going to be too bothered as there will be 20 other people in line to pick it up.
 
DragonJade said:
That's just crazy. This is the store on base? Sounds like they're low priority for being served. If I were you, I'd just go around to half a dozen stores and reserve one, so long as you don't have to put a deposit down. If you cancel at the other stores, they're not going to be too bothered as there will be 20 other people in line to pick it up.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, I was going to do just that but it shows in their system that I'm already reserved at a different location.
 
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