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What I Learned from 2.5 Hours of AT&T Calls

w00t951

w00t951

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jan 6, 2009
1,834
53
Pittsburgh, PA
Alright, look.

I called AT&T about 500 million times, and this is what I got out of it (meaning all of the statements without contradictions from different reps).

1) AT&T's order/shipping status is only applicable for iPhones in the US. The status does not cover the journey from the Chinese warehouses to the AT&T warehouses.

2) Everyone is supposed to see "In Progress" and "Pending Shipment" right now, with a "0" under the "Backordered" column.

3) Like many people have stated before, preordered iPhone devices will ship from AT&T warehouses beginning on the 13th, or possibly the 12th. They have most likely been shipped from China yesterday or today, and that is why Apple.com preorders are showing their phone's status but AT&T preorders are not. AT&T only covers the phone's journey from AT&T warehouses to your house, and Apple's orders cover the phone's journey from China to your house.

4) If you don't have a "0" under your backordered column and if you ordered before 4:30PM EST on the 7th of October, you will most likely get the phone on the 14th. Why? Because that's approximately the time when AT&T ran out of iPhones being delivered from Apple's Chinese warehouses. Now that this has happened, they may be waiting for the second batch to arrive.
 
w00t951 said:
Alright, look.
2) Everyone is supposed to see "In Progress" and "Pending Shipment" right now, with a "0" under the "Backordered" column.
Click to expand...

Please do not let this freak you out and spam the AT&T customer service centers to demand answers. It is categorically untrue. Many of us will, in fact, get delivers on the 14th with the web site still showing "BackOrdered." It happened last year, it happened for the 3gs. If you ordered at a decent hour on Friday you should get your phone on the 14th or the 15th.
 
w00t951 said:
Alright, look.

I called AT&T about 500 million times, and this is what I got out of it (meaning all of the statements without contradictions from different reps).

1) AT&T's order/shipping status is only applicable for iPhones in the US. The status does not cover the journey from the Chinese warehouses to the AT&T warehouses.

2) Everyone is supposed to see "In Progress" and "Pending Shipment" right now, with a "0" under the "Backordered" column.

3) Like many people have stated before, preordered iPhone devices will ship from AT&T warehouses beginning on the 13th, or possibly the 12th. They have most likely been shipped from China yesterday or today, and that is why Apple.com preorders are showing their phone's status but AT&T preorders are not. AT&T only covers the phone's journey from AT&T warehouses to your house, and Apple's orders cover the phone's journey from China to your house.

4) If you don't have a "0" under your backordered column and if you ordered before 4:30PM EST on the 7th of October, you will most likely get the phone on the 14th. Why? Because that's approximately the time when AT&T ran out of iPhones being delivered from Apple's Chinese warehouses. Now that this has happened, they may be waiting for the second batch to arrive.
Click to expand...

>don't have a "0"

You mean if you do have a zero? Should probably clarify this if you're going to make a definitive statement.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for sharing - but -

Regardless of who tells you what, and how many corroborating statements you get, the only DEFINITIVE thing that is ABSOLUTELY true right now is this:

Your order is in progress. It will either get there on the 14th, or it may be later. There's even a slight possibility some of them will get there sooner, you never know. And, sorry for all caps, but THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING YOU CAN DO at this point to make the phone get there any sooner than it is already going to. Granted, you can probably muck something up and delay it further, but all the phone calls and emails and visits to Apple store or AT&T/Verizon/Sprint store will not get you a phone any sooner than if you would just sit down and watch a Beverly Hillbillies marathon for the next 3 days.
 
Excellent info. I had been worried for a while, as I had been checking my order status by logging into my AT&T account and going to 'My Orders', where my order shows as "Processing" with no "pending shipment" or anything else. It isn't showing backordered there, but still, different from what I heard everyone else.

Then I checked via the link in the confirmation e-mail, put in my order number, and I see exactly what you are saying I'm supposed to be seeing now. "In Progress" "Pending Shipment" and QTY: 1 (of Apple IPH 4S 32GB WHT PHONE, Freight and Various SIM), with 0 backordered. :)

Hoping for Friday delivery. I had vacation scheduled today and yesterday, but business that needed attention caused me to need to work today, but my boss let me swap today for Friday, so I should be home to get it if it arrives then.
 
I would say that if you dont see a 0 under backorder or a tracking number by early AM tomorrow...you wont be getting the phone on Friday.

There is a small chance that ATT's system is out of sync with shipping, but the timing for a Friday delivery is running out.

In my case, I have a zero under backorder. I see a pending debit for the full amount set for 10/13 at my bank.

I dont have a tracker....but I am 100% sure I will have the phone on Friday.

Check with your bank or credit card to see if you see a full charge.
 
Just wanted to say that I was in the "In Progress" and "Pending Shipment" with 0 in backordered all the way till last night (I last checked at midnight before going to bed).

This morning I just checked though and it now says shipped and has a fedex tracking number (although the number isn't in Fedex's system yet, but it's on my AT&T order).
 
Did anyone else suddenly think of 'Stop, collaborate and listen...' when they read the first line of the thread?
 
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