Were you one of the die-hard Apple fans like myself who got up at 3am EST to order the newest iPhone iteration? How did it go for you? Were you able to order your iPhone before shipping times slipped at least 2 weeks in less than an hour after going live on Apple.com?
It looks like someone forgot to inform the masses that the iPhone 5 wasn’t worth using your upgrade eligibility on this year–but that discussion has already been argued on iSource here, and more recently here.
My upgrade experience was much easier this year than in any previous year. Apple is getting better and better at handling massive server requests and processing them much more quickly and efficiently. Initially, after reading fellow writer’s success stories last year, I decided to try to use the iOS Apple Store iPhone App on my iPad to place my pre-order.
All seemed fine as I progressed through the steps of selecting my phone color, size and storage model. I got all the way to the end and my progress hung on the processing step for what seemed like an eternity. I’m not a patient person, so while I waited for my order to complete, I tried my luck with Apple.com on my MacBook Air. Again after only refreshing my screen a few times, I was in and selecting my iPhone 5 again.
I selected my iPhone 5 color, model and carrier info. At this point you are asked to check your carrier eligibility.
I already suspected I needed to utilize my wife’s upgrade eligibility because I was an early iPhone 4S adopter, too. However, I thought it was worth a look to see if maybe AT&T had some last minute change of heart decided that customer loyalty should be rewarded with early upgrade exceptions. You can stop LOL-ing now, and keep reading…
No way I was forking over $450, so back to plan B–using my wife’s upgrade and bringing my iPhone into the AT&T store after it arrived to switch to my data plan. All I had to do to resolve this hick-up was to back out once, and enter a different phone number in the eligibility check box. After that I was home free. My order precessed ridiculously quickly, and almost immediately I received a confirmation email from Apple.
Even with switching from the iOS App Store App to Apple’s website the whole process took less than 15 minutes. This year was by far the best iPhone pre-order experience I have ever had, and a far cry from the debacle I went through last year that took almost two hours and ended with me going through AT&T instead of Apple.
While my pre-order experience was very favorable–how did yours turn out? Were you able to pre-order your iPhone before the shipping times slipped to 2-3 weeks, or were you fortunate like me, and had an overall very positive experience?
What are your iPhone 5 purchasing plans? Has anyone decided to wait it out and stand in line at an Apple store or one of the US carriers on launch day next Friday, 9-21? We would love to hear from you in the comments section below!
