iPhone Activation Issues

[AustinMilbarge]

Hi guys.. Longtime lurker, first post.

I started this painful activation process Friday night and have been following the thread ever since. I've noticed it has slowed down significantly, though. Is that because people are at work today or are you guys actually getting your phones activated?

FYI, I'm porting from Verizon. 60+ hours in. Anybody been waiting longer?

 

[barnetda]

Hi guys.. Longtime lurker, first post.

I started this painful activation process Friday night and have been following the thread ever since. I've noticed it has slowed down significantly, though. Is that because people are at work today or are you guys actually getting your phones activated?

FYI, I'm porting from Verizon. 60+ hours in. Anybody been waiting longer?

66 hours me! i must have spent 10 hours trying to get through/speaking to ATT.

 

[digimidi]

Well, as others have done, I went to ATT and got another sim card. Went to Starbucks and was up and running in 3 minutes. I personally think some of the pre-installed sim cards are causing problems. My original Apple installed sim was activated (checked it in my Treo) but never could get iTunes to unlock the phone. If you are still having problems, get another sim. It works!

Gil

 

[nick718]

Well, that has sold me, I'll be heading to my nearest ATT store right after work to get a new SIM.

Do you just pop in the new SIM and start the activation process from the beginning in iTunes?

Or did ATT give you a new SIM card that is already active with your information?

Thanks

 

[thecityatnight]

hey guys just hang on, be patient i know its hard but be patient because it is completely worth it. I am posting from my iPhone now and it is the most amazing thing i have ever layed my hands on. Trust me its completely worth it. Mine only took 10 hours to activate but it didnt port my number till this morning, but im so glad i have it now its amazing!

 

[jj28]

Truthfully, did servers crash and lose activations, hence the insane waiting times as things were attempted manually?

I ask because I finally said screw it and drove back to an At&t store, popped in a new SIM, and activated it in less than a minute. My first attempt was a 40+ hour ordeal.

I was a current customer so I had no porting just rate plan changes.

-mark

They didn't tell us it crashed, it's possible, but the system is also riddled with glitches.

It seems like when existing customers transfer their numbers over, a lot of the time the old rate plan also gets transferred, and unfortunetly those rate plans are inelegitable for the data plan (mmv1) and the apple tracking (1apl).

Soooo, they have to be processed manually, but the folks in India just add same rate plan and when they see they can't add the features, they pend the order which sends off another email to you guys telling you to call in.

And when you call the activation line you'll probably get a clueless agent who will tell you to keep waiting. If you happen to find someone that knows what the problem is, they'll tell you that they'll have to transfer you to the customer care department to get a valid rate plan (we can't add them). When the rate plan is fixed, you'll have to call the activation line again and hopefully find someone that is willing to finally activate it.

 

[digimidi]

Well, that has sold me, I'll be heading to my nearest ATT store right after work to get a new SIM.

Do you just pop in the new SIM and start the activation process from the beginning in iTunes?

Or did ATT give you a new SIM card that is already active with your information?

Thanks

They give you a blank sim and the activation process starts over. It then only takes a few minutes. Do it, this thing is sick!

Gil

 

[mactarkus]

AT&T wouldn't give me a SIM card

So I went to the store as told and the guy there didn't know why I would need a SIM card. He made some calls and seemed to be in touch with the person who would make it happen. They were to personally call me within three hours to complete the port and activation. After five hours no call so I'm on hold again. I'm looking to set the record for the longest activation! Read all about it at:

http://retromaccast.blogspot.com/

 

[kemper28]

mactarkus

Go get a sim card.. I am in fort walton beach. There is a guy at the uptown station store that can help you name is d-andre. I waited 40 hours, got new sim and was up in 2 min.

 

[mactarkus]

Did you port in FWB?

Were you an existing customer or were you porting a number?? I'm on the phone with AT&T now and the rep is talking like she can do the port while I wait. Of course I'm very suspicious.

mactarkus

Go get a sim card.. I am in fort walton beach. There is a guy at the uptown station store that can help you name is d-andre. I waited 40 hours, got new sim and was up in 2 min.

 

[D1G1T4L]

mactarkus

Go get a sim card.. I am in fort walton beach. There is a guy at the uptown station store that can help you name is d-andre. I waited 40 hours, got new sim and was up in 2 min.

Am I able to do that? I'm in the middle of a port forward and wonder if it will just mess things up more. Everyone is saying my account is activated but just can't figure out why I'm not getting the activation email.

I have told them I think it has to do with iTunes being reset somehow during the process and now every time I plug in my iPhone it goes to the "Lets Get Started" screen instead of waiting to be activated screen. Ohh well they don't listen and still wait.

 

[Oglikn]

Well, it took me close to 60 hours. Saturday night I was told the phone was active, just to give it time. I knew this was not the case, but I gave up. Last night, I received the second e-mail stating that AT&T needed more information to activate my phone. I called one of the faster numbers (not the iphone activation number), and the girl there told me there was a note on my account that I needed to get another SIM card.

Went to the AT&T store this morning, came home, went through the activation process and all is good. Finally!

For all of those still waiting, I'm pretty sure you need a new SIM. Calling is just not worth it. I accomplishes nothing but raising your blood pressure.

 

[jj28]

Were you an existing customer or were you porting a number?? I'm on the phone with AT&T now and the rep is talking like she can do the port while I wait. Of course I'm very suspicious.

Agents can do that. But it takes like an hour.

 

[mactarkus]

Can you give specifics of your case?

Before I go off demanding a SIM card, could you state the nature of your activation? Existing customer? New customer? Port required from previous carrier?

Thanks!

Well, it took me close to 60 hours. Saturday night I was told the phone was active, just to give it time. I knew this was not the case, but I gave up. Last night, I received the second e-mail stating that AT&T needed more information to activate my phone. I called one of the faster numbers (not the iphone activation number), and the girl there told me there was a note on my account that I needed to get another SIM card.

Went to the AT&T store this morning, came home, went through the activation process and all is good. Finally!

For all of those still waiting, I'm pretty sure you need a new SIM. Calling is just not worth it. I accomplishes nothing but raising your blood pressure.

 

[jj28]

Am I able to do that? I'm in the middle of a port forward and wonder if it will just mess things up more. Everyone is saying my account is activated but just can't figure out why I'm not getting the activation email.

I have told them I think it has to do with iTunes being reset somehow during the process and now every time I plug in my iPhone it goes to the "Lets Get Started" screen instead of waiting to be activated screen. Ohh well they don't listen and still wait.

The status of your order is probably pending or cancelled. Most agents don't realize that the order manager needs to be updated for the phone to actually work.

For other phones it's just a matter of entering in the SIM and IMEI numebrs and voila.

 

[D1G1T4L]

The status of your order is probably pending or cancelled. Most agents don't realize that the order manager needs to be updated for the phone to actually work.

For other phones it's just a matter of entering in the SIM and IMEI numebrs and voila.

It was canceled at one point and it had to be rebuilt. They had no clue why it was canceled. Now they say they see it active on their side but of course I'm stuck at the "Lets Get Started" screen with no email.

 

[kemper28]

in FWB

mactarkus

New customer... But I bet your whole problem is just that you need to restart the activation... The sim card will do this... You can always do like I did and get the phone working with an at&t number then port. Hope this helps

READ #1169 it is a post by by that explains a little better

 

[jj28]

It was canceled at one point and it had to be rebuilt. They had no clue why it was canceled. Now they say they see it active on their side but of course I'm stuck at the "Lets Get Started" screen with no email.

I would ask for the status of your order specifically in order manager. If it's anything other than activated - port request submitted it wont work. For some reason some order get stuck in activated - requires validation. An agent may see that and assume everything is working okay.

 

[D1G1T4L]

I would ask for the status of your order specifically in order manager. If it's anything other than activated - port request submitted it wont work. For some reason some order get stuck in activated - requires validation. An agent may see that and assume everything is working okay.

They had some "manager/supervisor" working it today. Port has gone through from what everyone has seen and my old Sprint phone doesn't have service anymore. Heck I have no service right now They have tried to manually send the email several times but I don't get it. I've gotten everything else from AT&T. I just have the strange feeling that now my phone is sitting at the "Lets Get Started" screen in iTunes that has something to do with it. But of course I honesty don't know. They are just lost on why I'm not getting my activation email.

 

[kemper28]

D1g1t4l

D1G1T4L

All you need to do is get your account details like your phone number. Now just go through the activation again and select existing customer then there are 2 questions under that... Do not pick add a line. pick the other one I think it is update equipment. answer the other questions and you will be activated in like 2 min. read #1169 for a better idea of what is going on... Hint.... The at&t (most of them) have no idea how or what the itunes activation is.

good luck...

 

[jj28]

deleted

 

[kemper28]

D1g1t4l

D1G1T4L

I think you are golden... Activate again through itunes... You can not mess anything up by doing that... I was right were you are and I was afraid to activate again... but since you now have an at&t account it will work no problem... No more than 3 min. and you will be up and running.

 

[D1G1T4L]

D1G1T4L

I think you are golden... Activate again through itunes... You can not mess anything up by doing that... I was right were you are and I was afraid to activate again... but since you now have an at&t account it will work no problem... No more than 3 min. and you will be up and running.

Now says AT&T is processing your Application. Hey and I even got an email. We will see

 

[jrjazzman]

Waiting does not work

I fought with AT&T all weekend to no avail. Went into the AT&T store this morning, and the rep said, oh, you need to pick a data plan. He entered my data plan into the computer and 10 seconds later my phone was activated. I believe that if your phone doesn't activate quickly, there something wrong and it won't fix itself. The people on the phones in the AT&T call centers are totally clueless. It's not their fault, they just haven't been trained for the sake of secrecy. Every person I talked to at an AT&T call center thought the problem had a unique cause and solution. I probably talked to 20 different people. The guy in the store was the only one who knew what the problem was and it was fixed instantly.

Unfortunately, I'm now that I'm activated, I'm pretty disappointed with the iPhone. For all its greatness, there are a lot of gotchas (which I'll save for another post). I can only hope that things will be fixed with software updates.

Good luck, and don't blindly "wait 24-72 hours". It's BS.

Jeremy

 

[jrjazzman]

Botched port, phone number lost forever

I also wanted to mention that sometime Sunday AT&T cancelled my activation since it was clearly not going to work. This cancellation happened AFTER my number was ported. Now, AT&T can't access the number, yet T-Mobile no longer has it since they ported it out. AT&T opened a ticket with, apparently, the people who actually understand porting. They also warned me that it is likely that I'll have to keep my temporary number permanently. Lovely. This is now officially the worst consumer experience I can remember having.

Jeremy