Comments on: It’s Almost iPhone Day: How Are My Apple and AT&T Pre-Orders Going?

By: jenniver

jenniver — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:34:21 +0000

whats the various sim???? mine says that too… y doesnt it say iphone?? r they just sending me the sim cause thats kinda dumb if sooooo

By: Tom Reestman

Tom Reestman — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 01:30:02 +0000

As a final update, the new iPhone went 24 hours “awaiting activation”, so I went to an AT&T store and they had it activated in about 5 minutes. It’s entirely possible had I continued to wait it might have activated on its own, but I suspect contact with AT&T was going to be necessary. A phone call would likely have sufficed, but I was out and about and there’s an AT&T store very close to me.

While the activation issue is probably a result of selling perhaps half a million phones in one weekend, I suspect the next time I upgrade I’ll use the “reserve” option and go on in. Clearly, there are still issues with the whole “deliver it to your home and activate it there with no other human intervention” system.

By: Tom Reestman

Tom Reestman — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 22:02:07 +0000

For the curious, it arrived at 2:10p.

As many people have experienced today, it says it’s “Waiting for activation”, and I’m not holding my breath that it’ll activate anytime soon.

Meanwhile, I restored it from my old iPhone’s backup, and am now syncing music to it. Initially it’ll be around 22GB of music; I’ll see what else I might add later.

By: angrytourist

angrytourist — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 19:32:31 +0000

I ordered my phone on June 9th from AT&T, and I didn’t get a tracking number until uber late last night. Unfortunately, for some reason they sent my phones 2-Day UPS, hurumpf. I’m not going to have them until Monday.

By: AdamJT

AdamJT — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 18:36:30 +0000

I knew I wasn’t going to be home for delivery from FedEx and so I ‘pre-signed’ for the new iPhone as per Apple and FedEx’s instructions.

Well FedEx came to deliver, but just left me a Door Tag with instructions to pick it up after 6pm.

So much for the pre-signing.

I called FedEx and they said it was Apple’s instructions not to leave the iPhone without an in-person signature – which goes against Apple and FedEx’s instructions entirely.

By: Sumo

Sumo — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:06:56 +0000

Tom,
My AT&T order status has matched yours the past few days…
I called 1877.782.8870 and AT&T gave me a FedEx tracking # and stated that it was out for delivery and will be delivered by 3pm. I checked FedEx’s site and everything looks good… Ive always received my shipments from FedEx the same same it says out for delivery…
see FedEx screen shot at link below:
http://sumopro.blogspot.com/2009/06/3gs.html

By: john

john — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:21:09 +0000

when you called did it say something along the lines of “you have 30 days to return your phone….etc” and then ask you if you wanted to hear the info again? it keeps doing that to me, and when I say “no” it just says it doesn’t understand what i’m saying and says to call again…i have a feeling its on purpose.

By: Galley

Galley — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 11:34:41 +0000

The whole process has been less than stellar, but I was able to get a tracking number by calling 1-866-391-0749. You enter your order number, and the automated system retrieves your FedEx tracking number. It’s strange I have yet to receive a shipment confirmation from AT&T. Anyway, mine will be here by 3:00 p.m.

By: Debra

Debra — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 11:17:53 +0000

I ordered mine online from Apple instead of AT&T because they could guarantee delivery today. It shipped from Middletown, Pennsylvania, actually and arrived in Newark,NJ last night. I expected to see an “out for delivery” this morning, but it’s still sitting in Newark.

I’m just hoping I can activate it at home (I have a Family Talk plan and there was no mention of not being able to do so from Apple when I ordered). Actually, I’d just be happy to get it today as Fed Ex has screwed up a couple of deliveries recently.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 07:13:24 +0000

Tracking Number: XXXXXXXXXXX
Type: Package
Status: In Transit
Rescheduled Delivery: 06/19/2009
Shipped To: XXXX, CA, US
Shipped/Billed On: 06/16/2009
Product: WORLD EASE
Service: EXPRESS
Weight: .50 Kg

To view additional tracking information, please log in to My UPS.
Package Progress
Location Date Local Time Description
LOUISVILLE,
KY, US 06/18/2009 11:35 P.M. IMPORT SCAN
LOUISVILLE,
KY, US 06/17/2009 4:00 A.M. THE PACKAGE IS BEING HELD FOR FUTURE DELIVERY. UPS WILL ATTEMPT DELIVERY ON THE DATE REQUESTED
06/17/2009 2:06 A.M. ARRIVAL SCAN
ANCHORAGE,
AK, US 06/16/2009 6:52 P.M. DEPARTURE SCAN
06/16/2009 1:48 P.M. ARRIVAL SCAN
CHEK LAP KOK,
HK 06/16/2009 11:14 P.M. ORIGIN SCAN
06/16/2009 7:49 P.M. DEPARTURE SCAN
SHENZHEN,
CN 06/16/2009 12:49 P.M. ORIGIN SCAN
CN 06/16/2009 1:18 A.M. BILLING INFORMATION RECEIVED

Tracking results provided by UPS: 06/19/2009 3:11 A.M. ET

By: Tom Reestman

Tom Reestman — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 05:55:33 +0000

Wow. Lots of suggestions for numbers to call to get a tracking number. For what it’s worth, this number worked for me: 866-391-0749.

I got the tracking number, and it shows my phone shipped from Memphis to arrive at my door Friday “by 3pm.”

So far, so good. If I trust FedEx not to screw this up, than the focus shifts to the user experience in getting the phone activated (will it come with instructions for this, etc.).

By: Iphoner

Iphoner — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 05:53:28 +0000

I ordered my iphone 3gs at June 13 last week. AT&T said it would take 7-14 days to ship it. So I really didn’t expect I get it on June 19, its launch date. But according to fedex tracking, I would get it on June 19 afternoon as shown below. So I guess ordering iphone from AT&T is not that bad

FedEx Tracking Info:

Ship date Jun 18, 2009
Estimated delivery Jun 19, 2009 by 3:00 PM

By: Tom Reestman

Tom Reestman — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 05:44:46 +0000

Matt,

I call the number, but they’re closed. I’ve received no email with a tracking number yet.

By: Iphoner

Iphoner — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 05:40:35 +0000

Thanks. My online status says mine was shipped last night. So I called following number to get my tracking number. I tried your first number in vain though.

1-866-391-0749

By: Matt

Matt — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 05:23:57 +0000

My status (I also preordered from AT&T) looks the same as yours: shipped, but no tracking number listed. There are a couple numbers you can call to get it, try 888-333-6651 (then press 1, 2, 1 at the prompts). You should also get an email with the tracking number included as well. Mine shipped today (from Tennessee) with overnight delivery and is scheduled to be at my house tomorrow (in California). I couldn’t be happier! And I didn’t have to wait in any lines! AT&T is awesome!

By: Tom Reestman

Tom Reestman — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 04:57:39 +0000

For those curious, as of ~22:00 PT there’s still no tracking number listed in my ATT status.

Further, my earlier article outlines concerns I have when it’s delivered. Even if it arrives tomorrow, if I have to go to an ATT store to get it activated then I didn’t gain as much from online ordering as I’d like. Bottom line is if I see the FedEx truck pull up to my house tomorrow, I’m not out of the woods yet.