iPhone Upgrade Program Causes Headaches on Launch Day Due to Limited Stock

[Rogifan]

I got an email at 2:31 AM saying I was eligible to upgrade with an option to "reserve now to upgrade in store". If they didn't have sufficient store quantities why send out that email? Clearly with that email Apple is implying that IUP customers should be able to reserve a phone on launch day.

 

[StoneCold X]

This was me. I was up and ready, finger on the refresh button... only to find out that basically there were no black iPhone 7 Plus's available at any store even remotely close to me. Very frustrating.

Same here except there was one store about an hour away but by the time I got through checkout they were sold out

 

[keithjfuller]

all these crazy fanboys/girls need to calm the freak down. you are all cheesing out over a freaking phone. i can't believe you are all going on forums talking/complaining about the shipping dates of your overpriced phones. are they really going to make your life better? like 95% of you are going to use it solely for texting/facebook/pokemon/calling, but for some reason you need the latest apple product to do it with or your lives aren't complete. it's the same crappy iphone that apple has been pushing for the last 3 years, only it's bigger, and it has a gimmick camera.

the only things i've ever seen people go this mental for besides apple products are crack and krispy kreme doughnuts.

 

[Tycho24]

Has anyone asked Apple if they could order a phone at full price and then once it arrives walk in to an Apple Store and upgrade to THAT phone? You'd likely have to return it and then upgrade on the spot.

That's what I've done. I'll ask them in a few days when call wait times come down. If they say no I'll just pay off my old phone and sell it on the used market and be done with this horrible upgrade plan.

AT&T's NEXT plan is in fact better. You aren't forced to have AppleCare and if after 12 months you no longer want an iPhone, you just give it back. With Apple's program you can give it back, but they'll charge you extra (because they give you a different price for your phone)

ALL programs that require a "trade-in" are a horrific scam.
Obviously.
Why the hell would a company pay you the full resale value of a phone?
100% of the time you'd be better off selling your phone on CraigsList, Swappa, or eBay; then buying your new phone outright.
The old way: I got to buy subsidized iPhones every two years, paid $200 (got to keep old phone)
(came with contract, termination fee, etc)- expensive plans.
The new way: I get to buy a new iPhone EVERY year, pay $150 (have to sell old phone)
(no contract, no ETF hanging over my head)- cheaper plans.

I like the new way better!!

 

[evorc]

Same experience here. F**k Apple for screwing us upgraders. I went ahead and ordered Att Next yearly upgrade instead and will be selling my 6s plus to pay it off to get out of this program asap. This is has been a pain and I would rather upgrade next year with next knowing I will get it in launch day without coming in store to trade my phone.

 

[Orion1]

Has anyome on the iphone upgrade program been able to reserve a jet black model? Seems like it was unavailable for just about all upgrade program members from the start.

I was able to reserve a matte black 7 256. But jet black was not available from the start (12:06am, the first time I was able to see the store from the IOS app)

I'm on the IUP and managed to get a 7 128gb Jet black for pickup on the 16th in NY, but I hit the app within the first 2-3 minutes...

 

[bigpoppa]

My question is simple, when can I purchase a new unlocked iPhone 7 Plus? I'm with T-Mobile but want the Verizon version since I travel internationally. Yet Apple's site only allows for one thing, pre-orders from those who already have a phone plan.

 

[evorc]

Has anyone asked Apple if they could order a phone at full price and then once it arrives walk in to an Apple Store and upgrade to THAT phone? You'd likely have to return it and then upgrade on the spot.

That's what I've done. I'll ask them in a few days when call wait times come down. If they say no I'll just pay off my old phone and sell it on the used market and be done with this horrible upgrade plan.

AT&T's NEXT plan is in fact better. You aren't forced to have AppleCare and if after 12 months you no longer want an iPhone, you just give it back. With Apple's program you can give it back, but they'll charge you extra (because they give you a different price for your phone)

Next is indeed better. The upgrade program is more of a PITA.

 

[RedOrchestra]

all these crazy fanboys/girls need to calm the freak down. you are all cheesing out over a freaking phone.

And you need to get over your self-righteous behaviour, OK?

 

[evorc]

And you need to get over your self-righteous behaviour, OK?

Right lol. Says a guy that is reading this thread .

 

[dampfnudel]

all these crazy fanboys/girls need to calm the freak down. you are all cheesing out over a freaking phone. i can't believe you are all going on forums talking/complaining about the shipping dates of your overpriced phones. are they really going to make your life better? like 95% of you are going to use it solely for texting/facebook/pokemon/calling, but for some reason you need the latest apple product to do it with or your lives aren't complete. it's the same crappy iphone that apple has been pushing for the last 3 years, only it's bigger, and it has a gimmick camera.

the only things i've ever seen people go this mental for besides apple products are crack and krispy kreme doughnuts.

Truth. If people are going this crazy for a two-year-old design, OMG with next year's redesigned iPhone 8. I'll be lucky if I get one in a couple of months after release.

 

[stalfos]

My experience reserving my next iPhone upgrade was smooth as silk at 3:08AM EST. I got to reserve my 128GB Jet Black model that I wanted and got a confirmation email immediately.

I used the Apple Store app on my iPhone to do it though. I figured everyone would be slamming the website. Apparently I chose well.

 

[normang]

Yeah, seriously man, something really wrong with some people! I have no idea what makes someone who buy few more products then the other feel the need to be treated as special!!!

The Group mentality shows that no one really seems to understand that the reason you need a reservation for the Apple upgrade program and after reading a number of the messages, no one said, you need to return the 6S or 6S+ to Apple, they are not going to send you an iPhone 7 on the upgrade plan unless you've returned the old phone.. That's why its done "In Store"

 

[chrisbru]

I am not quite information on this programme, but does it say that customers are guaranteed to purchase the new device on the first day of preorders? If so, I totally agree. If not, I think there is nothing to complain here.

Of course not - that would be a logistical nightmare. But, they also shouldn't put us in a SEPARATE queue with a LIMITED stock compared to those not in the upgrade program.

 

[keithjfuller]

And you need to get over your self-righteous behaviour, OK?

It's funny watching this thread. It's sort of like going to the zoo and watching monkeys pulling each other's tails. You are all crying about how you aren't going to get your phone before everyone else and how you hate Apple, but you'll be doing the exact same thing when the 8/8+,9,9+, etc. comes out. First world problems are hilarious...

 

[Stratus Fear]

I'm on the IUP and managed to get a 7 128gb Jet black for pickup on the 16th in NY, but I hit the app within the first 2-3 minutes...

Man, you are that unicorn!

 

[AMC717]

Fun fact -- I just talked to Apple phone support after a 2 1/2 hour wait. According to the specialist, nobody in the company has back end access to reservations, only to orders, out of a concern for security. Never mind that they have multiple ways of verifying identity which they use to resolve Apple ID issues, etc.

I woke up this morning to the news of an iPhone upgrade program reservation for a 256GB black 7 and also to an unexpected email: an iPhone upgrade program 256GB jet black 7 that would be shipped for launch. Of course, I realized I had probably accidentally also signed up for another, separate iPhone upgrade program contract. I expected them to disallow me combine the two reservations somehow and upgrade from my 6S. What I DIDN'T expect was for them to be unable to even look at my reservations. Perhaps I'll keep the jet black order, cancel the black order, and then "return' the jet black to an Apple Store and use it for my upgrade...

 

[RedOrchestra]

First world problems are hilarious...

Just remember it's their situation NOT yours ... and always remember to keep the line moving.

 

[thebrick]

I'm not an upgrade customer but they did ya'll dirty.

Apple May or may not have known that supplies would be constrained this much, ok maybe, but if you guys can't get your phones till October, November for some...
What happens if the iPhone 7S /8 is released in September. Can you still upgrade then too?

As long as your upgrade program is more than 6 months in and if you paid 12 payments, you can upgrade anytime you want.

 

[techop]

Has anyome on the iphone upgrade program been able to reserve a jet black model? Seems like it was unavailable for just about all upgrade program members from the start.

My experience reserving my next iPhone upgrade was smooth as silk at 3:06AM EST. I got to reserve my 128GB Jet Black model that I wanted and got a confirmation email immediately.

I used the Apple Store app on my phone as I heard numerous reports that it opens up before the website does.

 

[bbbbbbb]

No problems here in Austin, TX as far as availability goes. The jet black already sold out for 32GB in the 7 and 7 Plus...but that was expected. Everything else is still available at the moment for every color/GB option.

 

[thebrick]

Well, I didn't expect this at all. But as a T-mobile customer, I have to be physically in Apple Store to enroll iPhone Upgrade Program since they don't work online. :/ See you guys in line on 16th.

 

[dwaite]

i can't believe you are all going on forums talking/complaining about the shipping dates of your overpriced phones.

You don't seem to understand. If our store didn't have one available for pre-order on launch day, we can't order online. The pre-orders online for non-IUP people are still being pushed back ETA November, but we aren't allowed into the online queue.

We have to wait a week before we find out if *then* we are allowed to get in a queue, or if we are just going to have to check our apple stores every morning for a few months to see if maybe the phone we want is in stock.

I'm really pissed. I don't give a crap about getting it launch day, but Apple should make this *easy* for people who are part of a stinking "upgrade program" to understand when they can expect to upgrade. As of right now, the only way I can be sure I'll get the phone I want before xmas is to pay off the IUP in full, and pre-order the new phone full-price.

 

[Evan_F]

This was me. I was up and ready, finger on the refresh button... only to find out that basically there were no black iPhone 7 Plus's available at any store even remotely close to me. Very frustrating.

Same here. Already had my mind set on jet black and if that wasn't possible I would take the other black. If I remember correctly at the time I was let in there were only gold and rose gold in the plus models.

 

[Markarian421]

Someone said "most loyal". No, just no. Anyone who buys an iPhone is allowed one as much as the next person. First come, first serve. Get over it.

I don't think you understand how it worked. IUP members were shunted off into a separate ordering system where we could not order at all. No first come first serve, no wait a few weeks for the phone you want, the system didn't allow us to place any order. We're the last served, we can't order online.

Unlike normal customers we weren't offered a full lineup of choices, only what a local store was going to have the first Friday, which in my case initially didn't include any 256GB phones and quickly didn't include any phones for my carrier. (I guess I could have ordered a 32GB rose gold sprint phone, but it wouldn't have done me any good.) With no valid choice on the page we were stuck, that was it, there was no way to place an order. IUP members were uniquely locked out of the pre-order, probably (I'm guessing) because of a glitch in the ordering system. Or maybe because someone really never thought this through?

Either way, Apple has a long way to go to make this up to customers that paid to upgrade after a year, and then were locked out of upgrading. Maybe a new IUP only pre-order? Maybe waive monthly IUP payments until they catch up? I'm not sure really what they can do now to salvage the program, but they need to come up with something quick. You'd have to be a fool to sign up for IUP today.