We finally decided it was time to upgrade from our 3G to the 4. The 5MP camera, 720P video, and FaceTime are what did it for us. Anyway, this post summarizes our experience while trying (and finally succeeding) in upgrading the two lines on our family plan (both 3G).
In summary, we upgraded 2 lines on June 30, and everything looked to be in order. We received order confirmations for both lines. We received 1 phone from AT&T Premiere withing 7 business days, however, I had to get on the Apple waiting list (July 16, 2010), to finally get the second iPhone (July 21). Still no word from AT&T Premiere, but I will cancel the order with them.
On a side note: To my dismay, I’ve realized I naturally hold the phone in the infamous death-grip! I thought everyone must be exaggerating about the signal loss, but it’s amazing how fast the signal drops off! Literally in 5-10 seconds!
Upgrading, June 30, 2010:
Once we finally decided to upgrade, we decided to use the web site rather than call in (since it was 2AM anyway.) I wen’t through the site, first upgrading one line, then the other, both with 16GB iPhone 4 devices. I received confirmation numbers in separate emails for each upgrade. Clicking on the link, and entering the order numbers brought up summary pages for each line, with the right phone, and details. It also listed the phones would take 7-10 days to ship, with free overnight shipping. Satisfied the order was complete, we moved on.
Waiting:
Well, the waiting wasn’t so bad. Our 3G phones are fully functional, although mine has damage which makes me miss every single call. Anyway, we’re in no rush to get the new phones, so we’re fine waiting 7-10 days.
Getting the Phone:
June 30, 2010, 02:00
Order placed via AT&T web site, upgrading 2 lines.
July 7, 2010, 11:24
We received an email stating the second line upgrade was processed, and the phone has been shipped. Great! If the second has processed, so must the first (we thought)! We waited. No other email came.
July 7, 2010, 16:00
Wondering if something had gone wrong with the line 1 upgrade, we called AT&T. After being on hold for 30 minutes, I explained the situation to the CSR. She told me I only placed one order, for the second line. I was surprised, as I had two order numbers, and could still see both orders. I gave her the order number for line 1. She said “Oh, I see, there was a problem with that order. ” My response was “What does that mean exactly?”, to which she replied “You’ll have to place the order again.” I wasn’t too happy about that, so I asked her if there was any way to avoid the (now) 7-14 day wait. She said she would transfer me to the web sales division, and they might be able to help.
July 7, 2010, 16:45
I’m on hold with the web sales division for about 1 hour and 20 minutes before someone finally picks up. I explain the situation, and how the CSR had said I will need to replace the order for line 1. The web CSR’s response was classic: “I don’t see how, or why she would have said that. They don’t have access to that information, and she shouldn’t have said that”. I then asked, what is wrong with my order? She replied: “Your order is now in special projects“. I was curious to know what that meant. Her explanation was straight forward. “It means there was a problem processing your order, and we are now working to fix it. You don’t need to replace the order. It should process, hopefully, in the next 48 hours”. I thought, great, AT&T is still having issues with their web ordering site.
July 8, 2010, 08:30
I decided to switch line 1 to a 32GB iPhone 4 instead. I called web sales to see if it was possible. Since the order had been originally messed up, he was able to swap it out for a 32GB version without resetting my position in the “queue”. ETA: 24 hours to process and ship.
July 8, 2010, 13:26
We receive the iPhone 4 for line 2. Thinking the activation might take a while, it’s the first thing I do (via the web site). Once I submit the data, the site states activation could take up to 4 hours. Not a big deal, the old phone still works. Might as well work on backing up all the data. After 1.5 hours of waiting for the backup to complete, we decide to leave it running and run some errands.4 hours later, the phone still hasn’t activated. Oh well, might as well restore it (after hooking up to iTunes) form the 3G backup. That went much faster. We called the 1800 number for activation, and re-did the activation over the phone. The automated system said it would take approximately 20 minutes. It took 5 minutes, with several reboots. At this point, the old 3G stopped working (which was expected).Note: The line 1 upgrade still hasn’t processed or shipped. I called the web sales number again to check the status, and he said it should process within (hopefully) 24 hours.
July 9, 2010, 12:10
No news of anything shipping yet.
July 12, 2010, 10:30
The order for my line still has not processed. I gave AT&T a call to find out what is going on. Call #1: On hold for 25 minutes, before the call dropped. Call #2, on hold for 45 minutes before the call dropped, again. Note: I was using my 3G to call AT&T O_o. Having wasted 60+ minutes, I decided I should try again later.
July 12, 2010, 20:35
The automated phone system worked, but all it said was your order will be processed in the next 1 to 2 days. That’s what they told me Thursday, and Friday of last week (July 8, and 9).
July 14, 2010, 08:45
Tried the only order status page. Still processing. Will try calling later.
July 16, 2010, 18:30
Stopped at the Apple store to pick up a case for the iPhone we did receive, only to find they had black bumpers @ $29.99, and no cases. There are no cases. Maybe Apple is holding all of them so they can ship them to everyone for free (as Mr. Jobs announced they would). Anyway, the Apple store (of course) did not have any iPhone 4 phones. But, I was able to add myself to the Apple Store waiting list. Let’s see which phone arrives first: the one I ordered last month from AT&T Premiere, or the one I ordered from the Apple store last week.
July 19, 2010, 09:04
Order status on the web site is still pending. Calling the 1-800 number for premier service, I get the same old message: “Your order is processing and will ship in the next 1 to 2 business days”. No emails from the Apple store either.
July 21, 2010, 09:45
This morning, I received an email from the Apple store, informing me my iPhone 4 was at the store and ready for pickup! I still haven’t heard anything from AT&T Premiere. Looks like I’ll be stopping at the store on my way home. Hopefully there won’t be any issues picking up the phone. I’ll also be cancelling my AT&T Premiere order as soon as I have the phone.
July 21, 2010, 19:30
I made it to the Apple store. After finally getting someone to help me, I got my phone. Now, I need to call AT&T Premiere and cancel my order with them, which I think was never going to process anyway. Thanks Apple Store!
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