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AT&T iPhone 5 Pre-Order Confusion

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Earlier today, we told you about one person who pre-ordered the iPhone 5 last Friday through AT&T and was originally told that his device would arrive on September 21st, only to receive an email from AT&T over the weekend saying that he would not receive it for 14-21 days. Now, we have some follow-up to that story.

Update: AT&T Fixes iPhone 5 Pre-Order Bungle.

The same user says that he contacted two AT&T customer service representatives today who told him that that email would be delivered to everyone who pre-ordered the iPhone 5 through AT&T. When asked why some people hadn’t received the update yet, the customer service representatives said not to worry and that they would in due time.

I pre-ordered through AT&T so I did a little digging, trying to not only figure out what’s going on, but to find out information about the status of my iPhone 5 pre-order.

Read: AT&T Pushing Some iPhone 5 Release Day Pre-Orders Back.

Screen Shot 2012-09-17 at 2.10.21 PM

The AT&T iPhone 5 pre-order has led to some confusion.

As far as the email is concerned, AT&T has not yet sent me any email telling me that my order is going to be arriving any day other than the promised September 21st release date. Maybe it just hasn’t sent it yet, and maybe it’s not sending it at all.

Digging further, I found nothing abnormal about my order online. My iPhone 5 order is still processing right now. I then decided to call AT&T and ask about this supposed email.

An AT&T customer service representative told me that she had no knowledge of such an email and that if the carrier had not sent me anything regarding a change in my shipping date, that I shouldn’t worry and that my order would arrive on September 21st as expected.

It’s possible that AT&T oversold its pre-orders and it’s now sending out these emails to people to try and cover for that. Maybe it won’t take 14-21 days to get some of these orders out, but the carrier wants to make sure it’s covered.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xNsGNlDb6xY

I don’t believe that it will be sending out this email to all those who pre-ordered through AT&T. I do find it odd that some AT&T reps knew about the email and some didn’t and I find it especially troubling that AT&T is telling people that all iPhone 5 pre-orderers will receive this email.

What I hope is that this was a mistake and AT&T will be fulfilling the pre-orders for all of those that were promised a device on September 21st but at this point, we can’t be sure.

Read: How to Check if Your iPhone 5 Has Shipped.

At this point though, those who pre-ordered shouldn’t worry. It’s possible that this is all just a misunderstanding. In the meantime, those who pre-ordered an AT&T iPhone 5 might want to check their order status to see if the device is still slated to arrive on Friday.

We’ve reached out to AT&T for comment and we’ll let you know if and when we hear back.

Update: AT&T responded saying:

For pre-order shipments, customers should expect to receive their device within 14-21 business days. We’re not sure as to why this specific customer’s pre-order date would have changed over the weekend, but happy to connect him with an AT&T Customer Care manager to discuss his concerns. Regarding emails, AT&T will send you an email confirming your order placement and follow up again once your device ships.

That first part seems to refer to the current status of iPhone 5 pre-orders and not the pre-orders that were placed before AT&T sold out. So, unfortunately, the confusion remains.

79 Comments

79 Comments

  1. George

    09/17/2012 at 3:10 pm

    I had the same issue. I pre-ordered with AT&T on Friday and asked my sales rep to make sure I would get my phone on Friday the 21st. The rep assured me that I would get it on Friday so I went ahead with the order. Saturday I got an email saying my phone would ship in 14-21 business days. Pissed off I called my AT&T rep and asked her if it was a mistake. After sitting on hold for close to a half hour, she came back and told me it was not a mistake and that they had over sold pre-orders and Apple won’t allow them to ship anymore out for delivery on the 21st. She offered to cancel my order for me or send me an iPhone 4s to use until my 5 became available. I asked to talk to her supervisor , who told me she had to listen to the recorded calls before she could help me. I was promised a call back and never received one. Every time I try calling back I get told the supervisor is in a meeting or on a conference cal. Go AT&T! Way to over promise and under deliver. They got my credit card number and that’s all they care about.

    • Adam Mills

      09/18/2012 at 9:06 am

      George, could you shoot me an email? I would love to talk to you about this experience. adam at notebooks dot com. Thanks!

  2. Mikey D.

    09/17/2012 at 3:39 pm

    I ordered two iPhone 5’s at around 8AM PST. I was told by my ATT rep that since I pre-ordered before 4PM (I guess EST) that I should receive my phone Friday the 21st. However, I got the same email Saturday on both phone orders stating that it would take 14-21 days for the phones to ship. So I’m pretty much in the same boat. It’s all up in the air I guess. Oh and they did take $256.86 per phone (CA tax included). I even called back to confirm I’d get the phone the 21st and the ATT rep I got couldn’t confirm it.

    • George

      09/17/2012 at 5:34 pm

      I tried explaining to AT&T that I was leaving Friday evening on business and needed my phone in order to receive work emails and important documents for my job. Not to mention all the apps on my phone some of which cost me allot of $$$ that I use for business. If I was told it was going to be 14-21 days I never would have gone along with the preorder. Some of us rely on our phones to make a living, not to update our Facebook status.

      • Kelly

        09/21/2012 at 3:08 pm

        A LOT is TWO words!!!!!!! ALLOT means to dole out something. Like an ALLOMENT of $$$$$!!!!!!!!!

        • Kelly

          09/21/2012 at 3:10 pm

          Excuse me, ALLOTMENT, that was supposed to be.

  3. Letlo

    09/17/2012 at 4:34 pm

    I placed my order exactly at 2am and everything went fine! I called AT&T to mak sure my plan wasn’t changed and the rep told me to make sure my order goes thru cuz apparently any orders thru AT&T were only accepted with major credit cards! If I used my debit bank card, the order might fall on the other side, which meaning once it starts to process for shipment! Becuz they wanted to make sure of the fundS so That’s what AT&T told all their employees!! So basically she just gave me a heads up, and that I might get it as promised or may not! since there is so many confusions! So we’ll see!!!

  4. Vic Lo

    09/17/2012 at 5:28 pm

    I ordered mine from the AT&T store at 9:00AM EST (6:00AM Pacific). As soon as I walked in (I was the first person), I was told that I will not be receiving my iPhone 5 for 14-21 business days. AT&T knew that every person waiting until the stores opened would not be receiving their phones on launch day. Those who ordered online via AT&T during the first couple of hours of availability were the only ones with a chance of a launch day delivery. Hope that helps.

  5. ThomasMuller

    09/17/2012 at 8:42 pm

    as Betty said I’m in shock that some one able to profit $6998 in four weeks on the computer. did you look at this(Click on menu Home more information) https://goo.gl/ET5GS

  6. Tammi

    09/17/2012 at 8:48 pm

    There is nothing we can do. We’ll get our phones when FedEx or UPS gets to our houses. If AT&T messed up (which i dont think they did, i just think they have terrible communication), everyone clogging up the phone lines and asking the CSRs the same questions over and over isn’t going to get you your phone any earlier. Sure, I want mine too, but enough is enough people. It’s a phone! Here’s a novel idea….until it comes, continue to use your 4S. Just a thought.

    • Rose

      09/18/2012 at 8:59 am

      LOL Love this reply. Thanks for making me smile today. :-)

    • Carolyn

      09/24/2012 at 5:35 am

      I don’t disagree with you, but I have a 6 year old flip phone that looks like a Star Trek communicator. It can’t text and drops calls constantly. I held out for the iPhone 5 and sort of want them to honor their commitment, just like they sort of want me to pay my bill.

  7. edward

    09/17/2012 at 9:26 pm

    i thought a pre order was to guarantee you get the product the day of, not weeks after this is dumb.

  8. James

    09/17/2012 at 10:02 pm

    Ordered mine just 2 minutes after midnight on my debit card, probably was a big mistake. However while my order still shows processing there’s been no email and no change of date on my order except that it was processed for shipping towards my screen protectors.
    I called up AT&T and was just sent thru auto help which told me my order was sent for processing thru the warehouse and that was that. I may call someone tomorrow morning and check what’s going on. While I’m not in any big hurry for my iphone 5, it just seems that everything I’ve been ordering lately is slated for 3 week delivery and I don’t like that.

  9. Thanks Apple

    09/17/2012 at 10:07 pm

    I ordered my 5 within 30 minutes of it going live. 30 minutes because it took that long to get on the website. Once the order was confirmed, I closed my computer and went to bed. Shortly after, within 5 minutes, I got an email stating it would arrive 14-21 days after release. The next morning, I called AT&T to confirm. They said yes, that was true.

    Guess “per-order” doesn’t mean squat to AT&T….as long as they have you $$$$.

    • Julian Edward Alvira

      09/17/2012 at 11:50 pm

      I had same situation while ordering on Apple web site. Took 15 minutes after 12:01 to be able to order. Order processed at 12:33am and during processing noted delivery by 9/21. It took 25 minutes before I received an email confirming purchase noting delivery after 2 weeks! I was furious and called Apple and after insisting to speak with a supervisor I got the run around that my purchase was made on the cusp of running out of units! I noted how could that be I finished the purchased at 12:33am? They insisted it was not processed until 12:55am. How is that my mistake Apple? I understand the popularity of the demand but what’s the point of a pre order with details noting a delivery on 9/21? Lie about your available supply…TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN! Oh I’ll get my iPhone late… But won’t recommend an Apple product to friends or family again.

      • Jason

        09/20/2012 at 3:36 am

        oh please, as soon as the iPhone 6 is out, you’ll be lining up, once again, to try and be one of the first to get it in your hands.

  10. Kali

    09/17/2012 at 11:29 pm

    I hate how unclear everything is. This is not the first iphone launch, the fact that AT&T can’t get it together is very frustrating. There is no reason why Apple can deliver phones by the 21st and AT&T cannot. I was also lied to by the sales rep that i would receive my phone by the 22nd. She said the phone would ship overnight for free on the 21st, then i received the same e-mail that it would ship within 14-21 days. This is my first and last pre-order, this was a horrible experience! All because AT&T once again tries to pull one over the customer. I called AT&T today and they miraculously could not confirm anything, but the rep on Friday was so sure. They did offer me a $25 credit for being such liars.

  11. Caprise

    09/18/2012 at 12:05 am

    Yeah AT&T and this launch is confusing me. If anything…we should have just put a deposit down instead of paying for the whole thing…if I wait 14-21 days, I get a whole entire paycheck to in that time…do I could have spent the mine I used for the phOne for more important things

  12. Jeff

    09/18/2012 at 3:18 am

    funny how you guys complain about not getting your iPhone when expected but yet still wait for it and not cancel the order. If you guys need it so bad why not just line up in front of apple store now why waste time typing all these up.

    • Jeff Silberman

      09/21/2012 at 5:43 pm

      Apple has locked out cancellations and drops you from CSR due to high call volume. YOU CAN’T GET A SUBSIDISED PHONE BECAUSE THEY LOCKED YOU IN.
      Totally outrageous. Forced to wait until call volume drops to get through to cancel before getting online. I thought preorder meant some kind of priority, not last to get product. I could have walked in and got one after the line died down if they didn’t lock me into October 5 preparing to ship.

  13. Josh

    09/18/2012 at 6:52 am

    Ordered mine on 9/14/12 at 10:00 EST. Was notified it would arrive on 9/21/12. Yesterday (after hearing through the grapevine of issues) I called AT&T to confirm it would arrive on 9/21/12. The rep told me that “only orders placed before 9:00 EST would arrive on 9/21/12. All the rest would ship in 2-3 weeks. I think that we just need to play it by ear. We’ll know a lot more on Wednesday and even more on Thursday. If my order hasn’t shipped by Thursday, I’m cancelling and going to the Apple store.

  14. Gady

    09/18/2012 at 8:18 am

    I had a similar issue – At&t is practicing a classic “Bait and Switch” – I ordered mine 5 minutes after midnight on Friday – never received a confirmation email, but the confirmation web page said I will get my iPhone on Sep-21. When I called Customer Service on Monday, they told me it can’t possibly be delivered on 9/21, but only shipped at that date. They then told me they would actually ship my iPhone only between 10/4-10/15 !! I asked this to be escalated to their supervisor. He called me within a day, and told me there’s nothing he can do to change the ship date. All he can do is take my cancellation order. I’m now worried that if I cancel, their system would not show me as upgrade-eligible, and I won’t be able to get it elsewhere for the discounted price. I’m screwed!
    Lesson to be learned – never trust AT&T !

  15. Nate

    09/18/2012 at 8:28 am

    I preordered at roughy 7:00am Eastern on Sept. 14, or 4:00am Pacific… Much like the author, I received an email saying it would arrive “as early as Sept. 21″… My order is still “processing” when checked on ATT website and have not received any additional emails… I expect to receive the phone on Friday, or at least Monday since originally the order claimed Next Day Express Delivery

  16. Ron

    09/18/2012 at 8:30 am

    I placed my order onlin also and received a email stating my order will arrive 9/21/12. Now I’m being told 14-21 days. It is a lot of confusion going on. There is an authorized charge on my account, but it has yet to clear.

    • Adi

      09/19/2012 at 10:16 pm

      I ordered mine online later in the day on the 14th and when I got an email saying 14-21 business days for delivery I wasn’t concerned because they noted that they wouldn’t charge my card until my phone was ready to ship. My card was charged the morning of the 16th at 5:05am (surprise to me since I figured I had at least a week before they would process payment) so I’m going the optimistic route and hoping l get my phone earlier than they told me originally. I’ve been stubborn and waiting for the 5 since last summer (still using a very sad 3GS) so what’s a few more days. At least they FINALLY announced the dang thing and didn’t give us the iPhone 4&3/4!

  17. John

    09/18/2012 at 10:42 am

    I ordered both my wife’s and mine at 6:24am CDT. After hearing all the worries, I contacted AT&T via chat and the rep stated that since I ordered prior to 9am EST my order would ship as the email stated. As I am still using the 8mb 3G from back in the day I am ready to receive my new iphone 5. Then it won’t take 5 min to load maps or text or any other items or apps. One thing is for sure, you will know by Friday or Monday for sure.

  18. Hardy

    09/18/2012 at 12:20 pm

    I ordered mine on Friday 7:15 AM EST, The email, I got from AT&T said that your phone is reserved & it should be shipped by 21st, but still on AT&T website order status says that its in processing. Hopefully I would get it on 21st as it is overnight priority shipping.

  19. Shalom (@SHALOM9696)

    09/18/2012 at 12:45 pm

    I ordered mine on Friday 7:01 AM EST, The email, I got from AT&T said that your phones is reserved & it should be shipped by 21st, but still on AT&T website order status says that its in processing??

    Also when i first purchased the ideas it showed on my bank account where it clearly pulled the money from my account now today it shows no at&t transaction on my online banking no more? Also my money for the phone are back in my account i hope my order is not bounce back because i used a Debit Card? i check on my order status and it still says Processing

    • Chais

      09/18/2012 at 3:32 pm

      It’s my understanding they put a hold on the funds for a couple days. Then the hold may be released. When the item ships is when they will “charge” the account. If the funds aren’t there then your order will be cancelled.

  20. JJ

    09/18/2012 at 3:26 pm

    I ordered my iPhone at 8:00 AM EST on Friday. I got the confirmation e-mail and AT&T applied a two year contract to my account. I received an e-mail on Saturday stating that my order had issues and to call AT&T. After three hours on hold, I got a representative that said that it failed because I provided invalid address information and my credit card wouldn’t process. The address they gave me was not the address provided on the pre-order form. I had given my residential address for billing and my work for the shipping address. Instead they used my residential address from two years ago. They said that their system automatically used the address on file and ignored the addresses provided. I asked them to fix my order so I would still get my phone by the 21st. They told me that I lost my spot and there was nothing that they could do. After multiple call backs, I was transferred to the escalation department. From there I was told that they would cancel my order and place a new one. I asked if I would keep my September 21st arrival date. I asked this question at least four times over the conversation and the reply was yes. Come to find out later that she lied to me. I would not receive my phone for 14 to 21 days. I have asked to speak to her manager and have scheduled two call backs. Neither of those appointments were kept.

    I have asked AT&T managers about accountability. Their only response is sorry and there is nothing they can do. The only concession they have offered is a $25 credit to my account.

  21. John

    09/18/2012 at 3:33 pm

    i ordered my iphone at 11:55 pm on the 13th through the att website. Most people don’t know this but the site opens up 10 minutes early. I competed my order and was done before the site got so swamped you couldn’t log on. Now if I get my order pushed back I’ll be pissed.

  22. Maime Naughton

    09/18/2012 at 4:04 pm

    I got screwed too… I received a pre-order confirmation email on 9/14/12, and was told by an AT&T rep all orders in before 9am on 9/14/12 would be shipped on the 21st. My account stated that I ordered on the 15th, AT&T gave me a one hour run around on the pone about the push back. Managers in meeting, etc. AT&T blew it…. the worse part is every rep has a different story. Really frustrating as I am a Premiere member and received a first in line email. Waste of time. I was not offered a credit, but will push for one now.

  23. Donald D

    09/18/2012 at 5:32 pm

    I feel sorry for many of you. For some reason you tend to think your whole world revolves around not just getting the latest and greatest, but getting it first!! Many of you are worked up beyond repair, literally taking years off your life from worry, fret and stress, and for what?? I beg you, reply back here in two months, when your phone has fingerprints and other matter on it, when you’ve complained endlessly about the bugs the first revision had and were not yet fixed fast enough for you, and tell me truly how much better your life is because you got your 5 BEFORE everyone else. Chill man. You will get your phones. It is not a corporate conspiracy by AT&T. It is not bait and switch. It’s called d e m a n d. It’s what makes the free world work. SMOKE SOMETHING for your own sake!

    • Eot

      09/18/2012 at 6:28 pm

      You should never sell what you don’t have. It is bad business!

  24. Teo

    09/18/2012 at 6:26 pm

    I ordered my phone online on 9/14/12 at 8:40 EST. I received a confirmationa stating: “Your iPhone has been reserved and should arrive as soon as Sept 21, 2012.”.
    Tonight I called att to make sure I will get the phone on Friday and I was told (after being on hold for 1 hour !!!!!) that I will receive the phone within 14-41 days. The lady I spoke to was very angry so I guess I was not the only unhappy customer.
    way to go attt! maybe is time to jump ship! Who knows?

  25. Matthew

    09/18/2012 at 6:29 pm

    I also ordered on Friday morning, 6:23 am EDT. Still says delivering on the 21st. I wonder if the issues are more prevalent depending on the model you ordered. I got the 32G Black. I wonder if I would have been experiencing these same nightmares everyone else is if I’d ordered the 16G instead, which I almost did.

  26. Hykykie

    09/18/2012 at 6:44 pm

    I would never bank on a certain date with a hyped-up product like this. 14-21 days seems acceptable to me.

  27. Jeff

    09/18/2012 at 7:11 pm

    AT&T told me today they have 14 to 21 days to ship the phones and that as matter as of a fact no pre ordered phones will ship before October 4th. This was due to Apple under estimating the demand and all the phones AT&T had were being shipped to stores to meet walk in demand. Called Apple and they basically said AT&T is lying.

  28. Jeff

    09/19/2012 at 12:33 am

    Hi everybody, go to ups.com and go to tracking by reference. Enter the phone number of your new iPhone 5 and it will tell you if your phone was shipped already. The status of my order is still preparing for package and I haven’t received an e-mail if they shipped my phone already or not but UPS shows that it’s already in transit and on schedule for the 9/21 delivery.

  29. JOSH

    09/19/2012 at 3:07 am

    I placed my order with AT&T at 7:40AM pst on 9/14 and shortly after got a email saying I should get the iphone by sept 21. I then got a email on 9/18 from AT&T at 8:00PM saying they were confirming with me that my order is reserved and that It should arrive by sept 21.

  30. Patrick

    09/19/2012 at 4:22 am

    I pre-ordered around 6:30am EST and just received an email last night confirming that I should receive my iPhone 5 as soon as the 21st. It also states an email will always be sent confirming it has shipped with delivery info.

    • Mary

      09/19/2012 at 5:23 am

      I ordered mine at the same time, got the same email, and now on the AT&T site the status is SHIPPED. :)

  31. Julie

    09/19/2012 at 4:26 am

    I was just told that even though I ordered Friday I was in fact on back order. I told them my 4 is on the fritz and I needed a reliable phone because Ive had three heart attacks and their solution was a free sim card for my old 3 that I have no idea if it works or not! I am disabled and cannot go fight a mob so I guess I just have to hope for the best, even though I have to literally hold the charger in to charge this thing.

  32. whosteeno

    09/19/2012 at 4:42 am

    Im just glad when i went to the Ma Bell site that it didn’t work!! So instead i went to the apple site and after two tries it worked, my iphone 5 shipped sept 16 from china. If you also placed and order from the apple site go to ups.com go to tracking, then go to tracking reference, then type in your phone number associated with your apple account in the reference box (not the number you used to get the iPhone 5 unless they are the same), us, then zip, then click track and you will be able to check the status of your order!!

  33. Mary

    09/19/2012 at 5:21 am

    FYI—I ordered my iPhone 5 on 9/14 at 6:45am est (3:45am pts) and on the AT&T site the status is SHIPPED.

  34. Jose Hernandez

    09/19/2012 at 6:34 am

    I also check my order status and I am finally seeing some progress! I ordered my phones online at 3:02am EST on the 14th. It states shipped with carrier as FEDEX and it has a tracking number! I may very well have my phones on Friday.

    Good luck to the rest of you!

    • Jose Hernandez

      09/19/2012 at 6:36 am

      checked*

  35. Jonathan berghold

    09/19/2012 at 11:11 am

    Lesson learned I went to the often overlooked radio shack on Friday at 11.00 and did a in store preorder wich I checked today and it will be available for pickup fri 9/21 I did this only after waiting up to 3:00 et and seeing how things were going I backed out and went to the store things don’t often work out for me but this time it did

  36. Mel Farris

    09/19/2012 at 3:02 pm

    Guys and Gals,…..it’s a phone! Not a heart transplant. So we won’t be the first on the block with the new iPhone. Might even work out to our benefit. If there is a bug with the new phone,….someone will let us know. (Gives us time to cancel our order if need be.)
    I bought mine for the long haul. At least one year, before something else better comes along. A couple of weeks waiting just isn’t going to kill me. And I will still have another 50 weeks of use,….before I have to do this again. So Chillllllllllll and wait for the delivery truck whenever it gets to your door.

  37. Tim

    09/19/2012 at 4:41 pm

    Also frustrated, i called the customer care line. I was told they will start shipping on the 21st and since i got overnight shipping, it would arrive in about 5 business days, the 28th. I am glad I spent 215 bucks to preorder and wont even be getting my phone earlier than anyone else.

  38. KeviKev

    09/19/2012 at 8:36 pm

    got my case from http://www.kevikev.com but no phone on Friday :*(

  39. Will C

    09/19/2012 at 10:42 pm

    I ordered at 6:30 AM ET and they told me i’d get it by the 21st then I got an email sent earlier today from AT&T saying I wasn’t getting my phone for 14-21 days. And now I just got an email saying its shipped. I’m confused but really happy it’s shipped now.

  40. Mel

    09/20/2012 at 6:31 am

    I ordered my iPhone 5 on Friday online through AT&T, probably late morning but don’t remember the exact time. I received a total of 3 emails stating my phone would be received “as early as” Sep 21st. I just received an email about an hour ago stating it had shipped via fed ex. I tracked the order and it says it will arrive tomorrow at 3:00. I’m sorry everyone is having so much trouble but I got very lucky. I think maybe because I ordered from the premiere site. Frankly I dont understand the difference. But maybe because I work for a large corporation and receive a discount through them? I think if you don’t receive the email stating its delayed, you’ll get it tomorrow.

    • Jeanette

      09/22/2012 at 11:25 am

      I basically did the same – only to find out after trying to check the status and talk with Chat that the only way I could find out the status of my order was to call Premier support. After I did, I learned I am one of a number of others that were flagged as having an error processing payment. No email notification received, bank confirms nothing was presented for payment, AT&T billing even confirms a charge wasn’t attempted. But even after straightening it out and talking to multiple folks, 2 escalation tickets and multiple Premier managers – still doesn’t chage my new place in the backlog queue. My order is being treated as if it was made on the 21st. I would have been better off going to a local retail store when they opened… Very frustrating.

  41. Carol

    09/20/2012 at 7:18 am

    Ordered my iPhone 5 approx 2:30p on Friday. Got a confirmation within 1/2 hour saying shipping in 14-21 days. It also said that I might need to put a deposit! But I would later get an email if I did have too. I have not receive any emails since I preordered! Not one! I called AT&T to check on my order and they said they couldn’t find it in the system. They sent me to another dept and they could not find it either. I was told to just wait and see what happens. My credit card has not been charged either. But when I press the “check my status” on my first and only email it still says “processing”. Maybe I’ll never get my phone :( its in limbo. I also don’t want to mess with ordering another because what if I end up with 2?????

  42. lucckyme

    09/20/2012 at 9:25 am

    I woke up went to work the day Iphone5 went available for pre-order. Came to work around 9:45am and I was told that the Iphone 5 was sold out within 2 hours when it opened. Thank God and I dont live in this Man’s economy but through his grace so I still went online to submit my pre-order. I saw a lot of complains online about people who pre-ordered their phone much earlier than me got an email that their phone will not arrive in time while all along, I got 2 confirmation that my phone is scheduled to arrive on Sept. 21. Went to check the status of my order online today and it says it is shipped!!

  43. Jeff

    09/20/2012 at 10:27 am

    I ordered mine on friday when launched. my gf ordered on saturday. She recieved an email today saying that her’s is shipped and mine is still in processing WTF?

  44. Kay Bryant

    09/20/2012 at 10:40 am

    I ordered mine from ATT at 10:00 CST and it has shipped, Fedex shows it will be delivered tomorrow, YAAY!

  45. Randy Wagerman

    09/20/2012 at 11:25 am

    I received my confirmation email at 12:19 am pst saying I would receive my phone on the 21st I waited till Wednesday afternoon to give them a call because my status had not been updated. Then They told me it would be the middle of October they had no answers at any level of what happened then they told me the order went in at 11:30 am saying my email was wrong. A manager put me thru to online ordering where I got a better answer that the phone would be sent out on the 21st but still no update on the status page. Somehow you would think they would fix this mistake rather than just look at it as if they were a deer in the headlights I guess we will just have to wait and see

  46. Robin B.

    09/20/2012 at 11:41 am

    I pre ordered mine on the 14th and have confirmation from AT&T that I would receive it on the 21st. I called today and was told by a supervisor that my order was messed up and they would have to re-submit my order and it would take 3-4 weeks before it arrived. All in all I spent over 5 hours either on hold or talking to a rep over two days.

    • Jeanette

      09/22/2012 at 11:29 am

      Similar situation here too – all seemed great with the order, until on the 20th I couldn’t get a status, and online chat support couldnt’ find anything on it. I easily have more than 5 hours invested in calls – with the same result. Admittance from AT&T that they attributed tot he error, but even so, their agreement with Apple (so I was told) doesn’t let them change the place of an order in the queue.

  47. Anthony

    09/20/2012 at 12:52 pm

    I ordered trough AT&T because the apple site was lagging and it was the worst mistake. They promised the 21st ship date and went on and on about how they Re receiving messages on their end saying that the order would process and ship to me by the 21st. I get my confirmation txt and email then I hear nothing. I call them a couple days later and they are like “oh it’s still processing” “you’ll still receive it on Friday” then I still don’t receive anything which makes me worry more so I call today and they tell me “your order won’t ship till oct 1st -15th” which I reply with ” we’re y’all ever going to tell me?” I’m sorry sir you should have received an email and then she’s like you can cancel your order but it won’t process till 4-5 business days which still doesn’t help me. AT&T totally screwed me over

  48. SL

    09/20/2012 at 4:12 pm

    I also received the 14-21 business day email after pre-ordering at a AT&T store last Friday.I was told the phone would ship Sep 21. My order is in “processing” status and tomorrow I will go to the store, cancel the order and get the phone immediately. This is a new store and when I pre-order there was no queue.

    • SL

      09/21/2012 at 9:45 am

      Well, didn’t work. The store actually has the phone in stock but even if they cancel the order now, AT&T will ship and charge my credit card eventually. I was convinced the best I could do was to wait . I also noticed that when you place the order , the new 2 year contract starts and you are no longer eligible for a phone with the discount. All I can do now is wait.

  49. Josh franks

    09/20/2012 at 11:16 pm

    I ordered at 1:40 am on release date… It’s now the 21st and my order still shows backordered. AT&T = epic fail!!!!

  50. Allan

    09/21/2012 at 3:38 am

    I preordered on the 14th and got the “thanks for preordering email and should arrive on the 21st” but that’s it, no shipped email nor back order email. Do you guys think it will show up today? I know it’s just a phone but I’m super anxious to have it and use it for work.

  51. Chad

    09/21/2012 at 7:55 am

    Dear Mr. Stephenson,
    I’m writing to tell you my experience with AT&T recently. We recently made an online order with AT&T for the preorder of the iPhone 5. We tried to make an order at 1:15 AM MST September 14, 2012 and there was too much volume and AT&T’s servers went offline. We tried again and again and finally at 2:05 AM MST we had success. The website confirmed that we would receive an iPhone 5 and with in 30 minutes we received an email confirming we would receive the iPhone 5 on 21st. I received two other emails later on that explained how to contact AT&T using the phone and how to check to see your balances etc. I thought everything was fine and that I would receive my phone as promised on the 21st. I checked my AT&T account yesterday to check on the order status and it shows that the phone is processing. I looked online and checked the message boards to find that people that ordered the phone later than me had already received tracking for their phones. So I called AT&T customer care at 7:30 AM the first agent I talked with told me I would be receiving it today on the 21st as promised. Two Hours went by no tracking and I decided to check again and the second customer care agent told me that it had updated to being shipped 2-3 weeks but she then looked at the time I ordered the phone and said you ordered it early enough that you will get it tomorrow for sure. Well now I am hopeful but I’m starting to have some doubt that I’m going to get the phone tomorrow. Another hour went by and I decided I need to call one more time to make sure that I’m getting the phone. The third customer care agent told me that I would not be getting the phone until 4-10 of October. How could that be? I said I ordered earlier than customers on the message boards that have already received tracking. I was told that she knew that and mine had been back-ordered. I hung up told my wife the bad news and she told me to call back again. I called customer care a forth time only to find out my order had been processed and I would receive the phones Saturday or Monday at the latest. I said are you sure, she replied and said yes. I told my wife and we were both pretty excited we had sold our old phones and bought some cheap used iPhone 3’s that we were going to sale once we got our new phones. We are going to Disneyland October 1st and the new phones will be perfect to take pictures of our family trip. Now I decided that I would call customer care one more time just to make sure that we are indeed getting the phones. I called for the fifth and final time the customer care agent looked up the order and said the order had been processed and I should receive the new phones between October 4-10. I said are you sure I was just told the 22nd or the 24th of September. She said I’m sorry but that is the dates we have. Now I am pretty deflated and discouraged. She told me I should try to go to the store in the morning to try and get a phone. I decided I would go and try to get a phone at the retail store. I called the local AT&T store and asked if it would be possible for me to get two phones. They said one per customer. I decided I could not go and get a phone without getting one for my wife. We have an autistic daughter that my wife volunteers at her school and would not be able to stand in line with me at the AT&T store. So as of today I have not heard anything from AT&T and had I not called yesterday I would be under the impression I was getting phones today. Last year I preordered the iPhone 4S from AT&T and received the iPhone 4 and not the 4S as ordered. I’m wondering if my account number is doomed by your system or am I just that unlucky. I no you will never read this letter but it has helped me blow off some steam. We are still loyal customers that feel like we have been betrayed.
    Sincerely yours,
    Chad

  52. Jasmin

    09/21/2012 at 9:05 am

    I pre ordered my iphone 5 on Friday and my credit card hasn’t even been charged. I was told that when my credit card is charged then they will ship my order. So, I haven’t been charged it still says processing. Maybe I’ll get my phone for Christmas.

  53. Dan

    09/21/2012 at 11:11 am

    I also preordered 30minutes after the release friday morning. Had multiple confirmations sayin the package would be delivered today. Called every day this week and they assured me it would be sent until a guy I talked to last night at 8:30PM and he said there was a glitch in the system and it messed up thousands of peoples preorders and let other peoples orders later that day take the place of ours. Real fair isn’t it! Go AT&T. I totally get that it is a popular phone and that it could take time. However, the people who ordered after me should not be recieving a phone after me. Verizon time?

  54. susan ham

    09/21/2012 at 12:10 pm

    I too ordered my new iphone (two of them) one at 12:10 a.m. pst and the other at 12:37. I got two emails confirming the order(s) plus a text from at&t. I was told my order would be delivered by 9/21. I just spoke to a customer service rep because my account said the order was still processing. I was informed that we would not receiver our phones until 10/4-10/20. I was incredulous! I stayed up to order these phones, plowed through all the system crashes and won’t get my phone(s) even though I ordered them at 12:10 (ten minutes after they went onsale? I asked the rep how they qualified who would get their phones? Did they not allot a certain amount of phones for each part of the United States or did the folks on the east coast get all the first orders? The guy had no answer. Anyway, if you are from the west coast, do not expect to get your phone today :( I’m very very unhappy with At&t. Never had any complaints until now.

  55. Skb

    09/21/2012 at 3:10 pm

    I j

  56. Shinkim

    09/21/2012 at 5:19 pm

    Has anyone that preordered the phone actually received it today?

  57. bjm2020

    09/21/2012 at 5:38 pm

    AT&T also messed up my order. I placed 3 preorders on the morning of September 14th. I placed two 16gb iphone 5 preorders from apple at about 2:03 a.m. CDT which were processed and received today without a problem. These were for my dad and gf’s phones. I placed my 32gb iphone 5 preorder through AT&T at 01:51 AM CDT on September 14, 2012. I received a confirmation email stating that my order was placed and I would receive my iphone on September 21st and a hold was placed on my credit card for $299.99. So I assumed all was good.

    Last night, my gf asked me if I received my shipping confirmation yet because Apple had sent hers already. I checked my email and realized that I did not receive a shipping confirmation. I immediately went to check the order status at att.com and it stated that the order was still pending with no further explanation. I called the 1-800 number which stated that my credit card was not processed due to an error and it was too late for me to talk to a customer service rep.

    I immediately called this morning on the way to work. I was informed that they had tried to process my credit card 3 times and it was denied each time. What they didn’t know was that I work for the financial institution where the credit card is issued. They did not deny any attempts from AT&T and I had more than a sufficient balance to cover the phone. In fact, my dad’s iphone order from apple was accepted without a problem. The rep then told me that he would try to reprocess the credit card again and about a minute later magically it went through this time. He explained to me that I would receive my iphone sometime next week. I was kind of upset about not getting it today, but it wasn’t a big deal. He informed me that I would receive a confirmation email stating that the credit card was processed and another upon shipment. This was at about 8:30 am this morning.

    At about 9:30 am, I checked my email again and was suprised to see emails at all from AT&T about the order. I then checked the order status online and it said that it was pending again. I called the automated order status line once again, this time it told me that there it could not locate an order for me. Upon, speaking to another customer service representative, he informed me that my credit card was fully processed but I would not receive my phone for 14-21 business days. I was furious at this point and asked to speak to a manager. I asked the manager politely why I did not receive any correspondence by phone, email, or text about the credit card being denied or anything showing that it had been processed this morning. I also asked him why I received two different answers from his customer service representatives about the ship date. He was very rude, he told me that he could not do anything for me at all and it was my fault in the first place because the credit card could not be processed. He also told me that he cannot control what his reps told me about the ship date. Really? You have no control over your reps giving different information about the same account? He basically called me a liar and told me that the emails were sent to me. I then threatened to close my account, He informed me that he would happily transfer me to a customer care rep that could handle this for me.

    I again explained the situation to the customer care rep, who transferred me to another manager. He was very polite, apologized for the situation and inconvenience. He then informed me that the phone will arrive between 14-21 days and although he could not speed this process up, he could offer me a $75 credit on my bill for the inconvenience. A few hours after our conversation, I received a text from AT&T informing me that my payment was processed and that I would be notified when the order has shipped. Still no email as of the time of this writing.

    I am really upset at the terrible communication and incompetence displayed by AT&T in this situation. Hopefully they get it together and get my phone out sooner than later. At this point I don’t expect to receive it anytime soon!

    • Jeanette

      09/22/2012 at 11:39 am

      Similar story here – although add being a Preimier customer into the mix, but same issue. AT&T errored the CC processing and not notification of issue- flagged it as denied when they didn’t even try it (confirmed both with AT&T billing and my bank). Lots of calls, lots of waiting, lots of different and incorrect information – and in the end, a polite, manager and that although wanted to fix the situation – couldn’t. I didn’t, however, get offered any type of credit.

  58. SL

    09/21/2012 at 7:31 pm

    What is really unbelievable is that anyone who came to a AT&T store nearby today , without pre-ordering anything, got the phone immediately. Way to go AT&T!!

  59. Jeanette

    09/22/2012 at 11:18 am

    AT&T isn’t winning me over. I too ordered on 9/14 as a Premier customer – have the confirmation order everything was set (received at 10am on 9/14). By the 20th, still hadn’t been charged, couldn’t confirm the status of my order via my att wireless online account access or via online chat. Online chat told me I had to call Premier customer service…so the first of multiple calls, long waits, and lots of different answers and excuses started. I was told there wasn’t record of accepting a terms and conditions statement, I was told there was error processing payment, I was told I was notified via email of the issues.

    No emails have been received other than the original confirmation. Trying to complete the terms and conditions URL sent to me in a chat resulted in an error that it was already done, and my bank confirmed that payment request was not presented to them for either the amount, or from anyone with AT&T in the name.

    I got transferred to the AT&T billing department – they confirmed I was not charged, or tried to be charged for the equipment cost.

    I had one Premier rep seriously suggest I go to retail stores, as they had stock.

    I opened up two escalation tickets. Why 2? Well, when I asked for an update on the first, I was informed it didn’t exist….

    I could understand 1 issue, maybe 2 given the high demand – but what I find inexcusable is the collection of issues, incorrect answers/direction given to me and the inability of AT&T to correct the issue when delaying my place in the backorder queue is at their doing…not mine. I even talked with a Premier customer service manager that expressed wanting to fix the situation and move my place in the queue – but informed me that because of their agreementw with Apple, they can’t move your place in the queue – your place is determined by the actual process date – regardless of the reason or cause of any delays.

    I thought it was bit cheap of AT&T to blame Apple for that policy – seems like an excuse to me.

    • SL

      09/23/2012 at 2:08 pm

      Riot at Foxconn, China. Great! Now we will wait even more!

  60. Patrick Moore

    09/27/2012 at 12:30 pm

    What a frustrating ordeal… like many of you I pre-ordered the week of the release — not on the first day available to pre-order, but on Sept. 16. I received an email confirmation with a link to accept my new terms & conditions. I did so immediately. My next communication from AT&T came three days later on Sept. 19 and it said “Thank you for your recent order. Your iPhone will ship in approximately 14-21 business days*. All orders are processed on a first-come, first served basis.”

    I’ve been diligently checking the online status of my order every day, and it just says “Processing”. I’ve called AT&T customer support on two occasions to try to find out more, and all the reps can tell me is that “my order should arrive in 14-21 business days from the day my terms and conditions were accepted.”

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