After months of hype and our own iPhone Love Parade AKA last Friday night, the first iPhonian complaints are starting to hit our tips box. First up, Mike:
I am having all kinds of problems with my Iphone (mostly with activation, details below) and tried to call Apple technical support to at leaset get the thing to some sort of usable state. As you know the phone is totally worthless without activation. This sting of all this would be a little less painful if I could at least use the Ipod part of the device. When I called, the automated message informed me that “no technicians were available at this time” and to call back later. No, please hold for an available technician….. no, please leave a message and one of our technicians will get back with you……just, call back later (AKA: we have your money now go F yourself). This is my first ever purchase of an Apple product and I could not be more dissatisfied. It just blows me away that they have been planning this for so long, were fully aware of the response they were going to get and were still totally unprepared to handle the situation. Below I have listed my experience with AT&T’s “Customer Care”. Just to give you the full affect of my excellent Iphone experience. I now am the proud owner of a $640.93 brick (not including all the costs associated with the service). Awesome…….enjoy the read.
This is an excerpt of a complaint I have filed with the BBB againt AT&T:
I purchased the new Apple Iphone and tried to activate my service with AT&T via their online software. All the documentation and videos about the activation part of the service led me to believe that it was fast and simple. This was a very large part of the reason I made the decision to change my service. After going through the online steps for activation I was notified via e-mail that it would take some time to move my existing phone number from Sprint over to AT&T and at that time I would be able to activate the phone. It is important to note that none of the features of the Iphone will work at all until the activation is complete. It is completly useless until your activate the product. After several hours (basically overnight) AT&T ported over my existing phone number from Sprint to the AT&T system but would/could not activate the phone. So now my old phone service no longer works and my new phone service does not work either. I contacted “Customer Care” to get the problem rectified. After approx 1.5 hours on the phone they told me they could not get my service activated. Neither of my phones would now not work for inbound or outbound calls. I was frustrated by this but thought that if they would refund the activation fee I could overlook the inconvenience because it was the weekend and my customers were not likely to call me. As a result of this inconvenience I asked them to refund me the $39.00 (approx) activation fee since they failed to activate my service and now I was without a phone. The Customer Care Manager told me I had not been charged yet but that when I got charged it would be impossible to refund the money for the activation. I asked him if they would be able to credit my account the amount of the activation fee since they had failed to activate my phone in a timely manner and that I would be without a phone for almost a whole day. He told me that many people were having this problem and that they were not able to refund the fee for anyone. I explained to the Customer Service Manager that it would be possible to refund the activation fee (it is always possible to refund money) but that they were choosing (a conscience choice) not to do it. There is a very big difference between not being able to do something and not wanting to do something. He then repeated they could not refund the activation fee ignoring what I had said. I then asked who else I could talk to about getting a refund or credit and he told me there was no one else I could talk to. I then asked him who I needed to call to file a complaint. He told me there was no other number to call to file a complaint. He was basically telling me that there was no action I could take to turn this negative experience into a more posive experience. After several minutes of trying to get some kind of information from him I realized that I had no other action except to file a complaint with the BBB. I tried to settle my issue with AT&T directly but they were uncooperative, hence I am here filing this complaint.
Consumer’s Desired Resolution:
I am asking that the activation fee of $39.00 (approx) be refunded or not charged to my account.
lol, just like with every new product launch. People who sold their iPhones were smart.
And what did you all expect? Steve Jobs is not idiot.
I’m having a hard time understanding why a company that cares about the user experience as much as Apple does chose to set up the iPhone activation system in this way. The AT&T and Apple employees can’t make sure that new customers are up and running before they leave the store.
What an idiot. Never once did he say WHY they could not activate his phone… He implies they spend hours on the phone but they just did not want to do it.
There is obviously more to this story…. He was confirmed an idiot when he opened with the fact he already whined to the BB.
I wonder if he called him mommie too.
@jeremy
My iPhone was operational 3 minutes after I got home. This experience was the same for 4 other people that I know who purchased the device. I’ve owned at least 20 phones in the last 10 years and this was the best experience i’ve had with activating the device (for the record I had existing AT&T account).
Look at it this way – say you are at the airport – you can either wait for a moody check-in person who will spend 10 minutes typing on their screen just to get you the seat that you want or walking up to a JetBlue kiosk and doing it yourself in 3 minutes. I’ll take the kiosk every time.
I haven’t had any troubles. Took a customer service call to get my # transferred (bc it was actually under my father’s account, and I wanted to start my own from it)… but they were friendly and helpful.
The people who are complaining about stuff are probably idiots in the first place.
Heh. Hope these morons enjoy their $600 phone and 2 year contract.
Folks on the other end can’t hear that it’s an iPhone anyway.
iPhone is NOT an iPod and very soon all you idiots who purchased this device will realize that. Steve Jobs has successfully created a colt of morans.
Well I can’t wait until some of the hackers start messing with awesome Safari browser security features. Do we have another LISA. Oh yes baby
Enjoy your $600 first gen-2G network-glitchy iPhone! I think I’ll wait for the second or third gen on a 3G Network, removable battery, and not so buggy.
i don’t see the logic in buying an expensive phone that comes with horribly slow speeds and voice coverage… phones are only as good as the network its on… AT&T sucks.
No issues here. Updated to latest iTunes, plugged in iPhone, registered for a new phone number and was up and running in no time. I love this thing!
I’m a previous Sidekick owner and am very satisfied with my iPhone so far.
P.S. I posted this via iPhone ; )
I hope ATT makes things right for you, cause you’ll love the phone/iPod/web browser/etc.
I am sure glad I didn’t rush out to get me an iPhone. I just didn’t see spending 500 for an overglorified phone or un underglorified iPod.
Apple is estimated to have sold well over 500,000 phones on Friday and Saturday. If one was to accept a “failure to activate” rate of 0.01% that would mean maybe 5000 people have had problems – and 495,000 were problem free.
The problems seen are most likely from moving from other phone systems. Maybe this persons previous carrier never actually released the number.
The anti-apple tone to the article and some of the comments is clear. By any reasonable analysis, this HUGE rollout has gone very smoothly!
I use Linux, OSX and when required XP (not MEII/Vista).
“a colt of morans”
that’s the funniest part of this whole post and thread
FYI–it’s CULT, and MORONS, you moron
Hmmm…the problem is the itch to adopt new tech the minute it comes out. Could you have waited a week? A month? Six months? It’s silly to me that Americans expect it all, right now. Granted, at the price of this phone and service, it should all work smoothly, like butter. And it will … in a few weeks. But with hundreds of thousands of new buyers, any system is going to be overwhelmed. Tsk, tsk.
P.S. to John Hosic, did you mean “cult of morons?” A colt of morans [sic], presumably, would be a young horse bred by the Moran family. Amazing how often people discredit their own comments with bad spelling, bad syntax, and bad punctuation.
I have used Apple products for 20 years, and except for bad hardware quality control in recent years and an extortionist’s tendency to charge for tech support, Apple makes very cutting-edge products. I think the iPhone has that potential, were it not plagued by an archaic cell phone industry in the US and expectations that far exceed any new product’s capacities. But, I will wait six months to a year before finding out…as should any sensible tech consumer.
wonder how many had/have to wait at apple’s control?
WOW! This is GREAT!!. I HATE cell phones. Never seen a product do so much to endanger our roads(see driving while blah blah blah) and bringing a new sense of rudeness to our society ( see talking on phones while watching a movie,lecture,talking to a clerk at a store, “listening to a friend” etc etc). The idiots are you all that “need” to have your little cell phone status symbol..hope you got what you morons paid for
Never Buy First-Gen anything!!!
This is retarded…voice your opinion by taking that junk back! IPhone’s are hype, that’s what you get for buying hype. Also, the it worked great for me by the way I already had AT&T…no S – Shirlock…doesn’t take a Genius to figure out the problem is when moving form another provider. The whiner said he had SPRINT!
Lastly, cell phones are an annoying blight on society. Especially if you wear a retarded blue tooth headset, you look like a bigger retard wearing one of those. I should write a book on how retarded this world has become thanks to the cell phone, texting, talking, ringing, the lamest of all Nextel Direct Connect beeps and loud retards who think they still have to scream on the celly to be heard.
The madness continues. Revolt and throw your electronics in the recycle pile, TV’s, Cell Phones, IPods and become Omish :0)
The iPhone is too narrowly focused. The idea is a good one, fantastic even but there is a huge flaw in the idea’s premise.
If you buy an iPod, you own it. You can load music onto it and never have to pay anyone a dime, other than for the music. If you just load music you’ve already acquired, pay for the iPod and you are done.
If you had to pay even $20 a month just to use the iPod, who would buy it? No one. If every other music player was free to use after the purchase but you had to pay up to $100 a month to use the iPod, would you own one? Not unless you had nothing better to do with your money.
Apple thought that the same idea that sold the iPod would sell the iPhone. Not true. The iPhone is being marketed as a media device first and oh, by the way, it’s also a cell phone. Just watch the commercials and you’ll see that message very clearly. The idea of making a call is an after-thought. Listen to the commercials. The call feature is tacked onto the end and they actually hope you really don’t need to make that call.
Just for arguments sake, lets consider that Verizon and Apple came to terms. Do you really think calling would be the back end of the commercials?
Hell NO!
The very first thing you’d hear about was how reliable the network was, how good the signal and how super fast the data was. They’d be screaming at the top of their lungs how fast a web page loads compared to AT&T.
But Apple is stuck with AT&T, something they never believed would happen. Apple always thought for sure that Verizon would fall over themselves to get the iPhone. They were wrong. Verizon had the one thing Apple could not just create, or find somewhere else, a good call and data network. Yes, there will always be someone who doesn’t like the service but compared to AT&T, Verizon is a gift.
From there, things went from bad to worse. Stuck with a horrendous call and data network, Apple faced not being able to showcase Safari and OSX. What good is Safari on a slow data network?
The most important aspect of a music player is the combination of the music being played and the quality the player gives the user. If the music beingplayed isn’t to your liking or it skips, is slow on loading tracks, how satisifed are you going to be? Not very.
Apple was able to control all aspects of the iPod, from the delivery of music to the quality of the device. Since you aren’t about to load music you don’t like, it wasn’t a factor.
All that changed with the iPhone. Apple can’t control the most important aspect of using the phone as it was designed the speed and quality of the network. Remember, it’s a phone first and it absolutely must do that well. Next, it’s a network/Internet access device. It must also so that better than everyone esle or it’s just second rate. Apple can’t control that, it can’t even pretend that it’s good. It sucks, compared to everyone else except t-mobile., the step child of wireless in the USA.
So that is how we get iPhone commercials showing off everything but the phone and how fast the web browsing experience is.
Apple is stuck with this mess. To prove this point, read any review. What is mentioned in every review? The slow network. The reputation of AT&T. Second rate. it’s going to be the lead weight around the iPhone’s neck. It might even choke the life out of it.
AT&T isn’t worried because it has the Blackberry and other pda phones to sell. If Apple told AT&T to take a hike, where does that leave Apple? AT&T just goes on doing what it was doing.
Given the huge success of RIMM with it’s Blackberry, do you think AT&T couldn’t replace iPhone sales with Blackberry sales? Of course it could. Besides, the iPhone didn’t bring icon innovation to phones, it was the Blackberry and Palm. The Blackberry and Palm put all the important functions on a desktop of sorts, different that Windows Mobile that tried to mimic the personal computer running Windows.
So Apple is in a real hard place. With all the hype and fanfare going on since the day it was announced, there should not have been an iPhone left unsold within hours. You walk-in, pay and walk out. We’re talking well over a thousand stores selling it. Many more than a thousand.
Over a weekend, getting 300 people through a store should be easy. They are paying with credit cards you know. It takes seconds.
With a Friday, Saturday and all of Sunday to sell, they should have sold well over a quarter million of these things. Add on-line sales to that.
What happened? As everyone found out, someone going to an AT&T website and expressing interest means nothing. What happened to that many more than a million people interested? They were interested and that is all. Then they looked at what AT&T had for network reliability and speed and they figured they could wait. That is exactly what they did. That is what they are going to do.
What can Apple do? It can’t control the one aspect that makes using a mobile phone a great experience, the quality of the signal and the speed of the data. Without a slow browsing experience and spotty calling, it doesn’t matter how fast Safari is.
How long would you use your MAC if the whole world had broadband but you had to use dial-up and no way to change it? You might not like Windows or Linux but you’d use them. Now add a monthly payment to use that MAC via dialup, as much as those getting broadband on their Windows or Linux computers. Still happy?
Luckily, MAC users can choose their ISP. iPhone users can’t. See how that works? Anyone can see it.
Aplpe fans will always come back tohow the iPhone is going to change things. Sure it is.
When Apple got stuck with AT&T, it stuck it to it’s customers just the same. Apple will make it’s money and so will AT&T. In exchange, iPhone users get stuck with AT&T and after 2 years, they will be so glad to get out, they’ll jump.
For now and forever, it’s no longer Apple’s iPhone, it’s AT&Ts phone. In the mobile phone business, the phone is often judged by the quality and speed of the network. Read the reviews. You’ll hear things like “if it weren’t for the poor service blah blah blah.” As if the phone maker had anything to do with it.
Unfortunantly, Apple picked AT&T. So AT&Ts reputation sticks to Apple like crazy glue and it’s not going to wash off.
2 years is a very ong time and getting screwed by AT&T for 2 years just to have an iPhone makes those buyers saints. Some people will put up with it, many will not. The ones that stick it out will always have to explain why they don’t get calls, can’t make calls and why someone has to send a large file to their computer’s email instead of their iPhone.
There will be a lot of face saving tactics that Apple and it’s fans try to put forth.
Just answer the question honestly. If Apple told you that in order to use a MAC, you’d have to use only dial-up, that you couldn’t change that and for the priviledge, you’d pay about $100 with all the taxes and fees, how happy would you be with Apple?
There’s two sides to every story.
Sprint > Cingular\AT&T transfers are notoriously difficult. I knew that going into it, and it still took me almost four days to sort out (Being a nextel > sprint > cingular cluster). It’s not their fault a guy didn’t do his due diligence before he bought something.
Being a sue-happy idiot writing the BBB to get his $39 activation back is even more ludicrous. Did you read any of the service contract or terms of service when you signed on the dotted line? Might be time for a re-read.
#1 noob of the day vote +1.
I heard that AT&T was the “service provider” and that the service contract is about $3K for 2 years, plus $600 for the iPhone, I said “No way.”
I gave up on AT&T cell phone service a LONG time ago, and never looked back.
But you know what they say about “a fool and his money!”
Bob: Don’t be an ass, Bob.
Love,
Eric
I was instructed by an ad to buy an iPhone so I did. My life is so empty, it will help me boost my ego.
“a colt of morans”? You’re trying to kill me with irony, aren’t you.
damn those MORANS!
or morons, whichever.
I think the person calling morons morans was referring to this picture. BTW the picture is of a Bu$h supporter. I figured everyone had seen THAT by now.
http://memewatch.com/thelist/archives/pix/morans.jpg
I’m waiting for the iPhone without the phone part.
I setup the phone and transferred from t-mobile in under 10 minutes!
The experience was superior to all other past phones, without question.
BTW, this was written on my iphone….
As more and more companies move to the model of outsourced Customer Service, I am increasingly surprised that people phone Customer Service numbers and expect “satisfaction” on their terms.
Mike here expects them to be able to arrange a refund, and draws the conclusion that since he couldn’t get one, the company has made a conscious decision to screw ALL its customers. This is simply not the case. Anyone with any customer service experience knows that there’s a small set of services that a CS line will provide, and trying to get anything else will be like getting blood from a stone. I know that sucks… but if you expect anything else then you are just naive!
Also, with any new gadget, teething problems are a near certainty. If you NEED constant service, and a day without service is completely unacceptable – then buddy, don’t buy fancy handsets on their immediate release!
To “Stayed Away”
Your very long reply makes big assumptions and is extrememly flawed.
First you assume that AT&T everywhere sucks, and that everyone getting the iPhone is switching to it. So to answer your question, “If Apple told you that in order to use a MAC, you’d have to use only dial-up, that you couldn’t change that and for the priviledge, you’d pay about $100 with all the taxes and fees, how happy would you be with Apple?”
Honestly, no, I wouldn’t be happy with Apple. But this isn’t a Mac, is it? Its a mobile phone. I’ve been with AT&T (Cingular) for over a year and a half, and have been happy with their service, both their mobile network and customer service, so your logic doesn’t apply.
So again, in your Mac scenario, would I be happy with Apple? No. Am I happy with iPhone and AT&T? Yes. Your logic doesn’t apply here.
Why was the iPhone paired with a network anyway? Is there some reason it couldn’t work with any other service provider? It seems like a fantastic product to me but if the network’s bottleneck is cripplingly small, there goes the majority of the point.
Could the hype, potential success or failure of the iPhone do anything to improve AT&T’s network, or to create interest in other providers? It’ll be interesting to see how this unfolds. I’m just glad to see an evolution in interface and usability, even if it is a commercial or practical failure.
ALL this chater over a phone… Get Real… as BENDER would say, lets go and get stinking drunk and pick up some hookers.
The iPhone is the best product to come out in years. I am a pilot and have needed to take a laptop with me to manage my work and personal things. Now i just need the iPhone. It works great with the airline pages and i no longer need to hunt down a hotspot on the road. Although EDGE is a bit slow it is better than nothing. I simply love this thing. It is way better than the BlackBerry I had and smokes the Blackjack in all ways.
Now if only it had a logbook app.
I posted a list of seven numbers I’ve used to try to get help with my iPhone. I’m moving from Sprint, and apparently this the source of my issue with activation. I’ve been told that all I can do is wait.
If you’re interested in the numbers, check out my website, steinblogger.com
Reading all these replies is a hoot. “Stayed Aways” book of a reply was especially funny. So many words and so ignorant at the same time.
facts: most at&t stores sold out. I do not know about the Apple stores. Most people had smooth sailing with the activation. A small percentage of the iPhone buyers had problems with activation. Most problems seem to be related to transfering an existing number from another provider. Might some of these other providers be playing games to give AT&T and Apple bad PR? Just a thought. I have no facts that that is true but it is as plausible as the other hilarious thoughts posted here.
And no, I did not buy an iPhone because of 2 reasons: not 3G (I need 3G for travel to Japan) and no ability to add an “ssh” client, which I need to check in with servers if I am out and about. Otherwise I would have bought one. All my friends and acquaintances who have them love them.
Honestly, anyone who buys a product without reading a range of comprehensive product reviews is a moron. I like to think of people who have this blind devotion to any product brand as being afflicted by “Brand Psychosis”. The iPhone is not the frst convergence device, and it won’t be the last.. There are other products on the market that do everything (and more) than that of this over-hyped P.O.S.
the device is somewhat revolutionary. there are a number of features that are extremely appealing. However, the network and it’s incompatability with the faster cell tech networks is a huge negative. I love the glass casing, the battery life, and especially the screen, but beyond that, I can easily wait 6-12 months for a better alternative, beit a 2nd gen from apple, or a further evolved smart phone.
I am sooooooooooo happy i didn’t preorder the iphone. I laugh at anyone that spent more than an hour waiting on line (physically of course) for this iPhone.
If i had to buy a new phone today, it would DEFINITELY be RIMM’s Curve (8800). I write alot of email and that touch screen BS will never be fast enough.
Never believe the hype. Apple fans are notoriously blind.
Iphone Envy!! (I understand though)
The iphone is great, and its a leap ahead in mobile technology, period.
A few activation problems are miniscule compared to the usefulness of the device over its life span.
I was using mine in under 10 minutes.
The iphone is just going to get better, quickly. Time will show that conserving surface area on mobile devices with a large touch screen (with no crappy space hogging buttons) is the only logical solution.
Apple (usually) does things right and is pretty much unstoppable for the forseeable future. So I would advise ya’all to get over you’re envy and embrace evolution or complain about something legit.
You’ve got to pay to play. If you can’t afford one, guess you can’t get one.
But quit whining. GOSH!!!!!
The iPhone is really not that expensive when you compare it to similar PDA products and Blackberry/Treo phones…and I think it makes perfect sense for people who enjoy what these products have to offer to switch to an item that is also an iPod. To Apple’s credit/damnation (depending on how you look at it) they’ve made a lot of people believe that they need a PDA type product. It’s just another step in the technical evolution of our species; all Apple has done is accelerate the process.
it’s just a gadget, people — if you don’t want one, don’t think it’s worth the money, or just have some kind of emotional grudge against apple or people who use their products — don’t buy one. simple as that.
rather than rant and rave, why not relax, open a beer, and do something you like instead? you’ll forget all about the grave injustices of the iphone and feel a lot better for it.
First:You have got to be a few french frys short of a happy meal to purchase 1st Generation Anything Technical.
Second:I am confident that the process probably works well if you take the short path, that is no number to port, no extra processing.
Its your own fault for not living in the real word to even think that the process would go smoothly. For crying out loud this is the free enterprise system, get the money then run, no one is going to spend extra “profit” to ensure anything but the baseline, no more days of going the extra mile. Please hold while we care about your call, when we are done caring we might pick up.
I wanted a phone that people couldn’t call me on whenever they wanted and one where I didn’t have to make up excuses about why I didn’t call when I just didn’t feel like it. I wanted a phone that people couldn’t leave messages on that I would have to respond to or make more excuses. i wanted a phone that wouldn’t distract me when i least expected it. I decided against a cell phone and got rid of my answering machine at home. If the call is important …you’ll find a way to reach me. If the call isn’ or necessary why are you calling me… Feel free to drop by anytime…
This is all a bit beyond me. Phone? I got a landline and a cell phone (100% hands-free with Bluetooth and WiFi). Internet? I got that at the office and at home. Be mobile? I got the latest dual core Sony Vaio and a Palm with Bluetooth.
My IPHONE is sooooooo COOOOOOOLLLL. Until it actually works like they say, I can clean my A$$ with it!!!!! Yes! Mobile toilet paper!!! Priceless….
“….I would be without a phone for almost a whole day….”
How horrible, I do hope you survived this devastating tragedy.
I got the iPhone. It’s all that Apple made it out to be. EDGE Newtwork isn’t nearly as bad as the stories I’ve heard on the internet.
Apple had made the smart phone smarter. Hands down the best phone out there.
And “Stayed Away ” person… Quit talking like the iPhone is a flop. This device is going to mint Apple money.
Helio’s Ocean is a better product, with a better network, and a better price. Too bad they don’t have the advertising budget Apple has… It would be ‘game over’.
Bummer. Would love to buy one, but its useless for me without 3G. I am curious, did AT&T SIM lock / Carrier Lock the phones? If not you could (shouldbe able to) easily slap a T-Mobile SIM or any GSM / UMTS SIM into it and use away.
What I do on the Web is mostly write about tech. The surreal, neurotic and sadly boring folks who came here to whine – lose any chance for respect when they lie, ignore the facts offered by dozens of websites already testing the critter and then sit back with their cordless crystal balls [the only balls they own] and predict the total failure of the iPhone and Apple.
It is to snigger.
The whole story of the iPhone introduction has been a company spending $40 million and getting $500 million worth of free – advertising. Masterful. Even the minor space taken up by whiners contributes to the sell; because, after all, perpetual whiners, focused only on their anti-fanboy rant – are self-evident and laughable to everyone else.