TLDR - You can preorder iphones with apple store gift cards, just dont add apple care to them or it doesnt work. This took me an hour to learn on my own, and i blew my chance at a day one phone because of apple support.
I swear, the last four times I called Apple support, I ended up fixing my own problem. The last two times I learned:
1. You cannot run hardware diagnostics if you are on any sort of beta. Developers have to ROLL BACK their entire OS if they need to run diagnistics.
2. You cannot preorder iphone with a gift card, but that is a LIE, you can.
I won't talk about the diagnostics thing, but that is true. If you try and run diagnostics on a beta, it gives you an error that tells you to roll back to a stable build.
This is a PSA if you have a gift card and want to preorder iPhone. This is a harrowing frustrating tale that resulted in me missing out on a day one iPhone 16 pro max.
So I had someone send me an apple gift card for the cost of an iPhone. I am incredibly blessed. Here is what happened next:
1. I went to find one that i could get day 1. I found one that I could pick up on friday, went through all the steps and had it in my cart.
2. Logged into my account but there was no option to use a gift card, and this made no sense.
3. Called apple and spoke to someone who also could see why I could not order it.
4. Was told I would be transferred to a gift card specialist. Instead of a transfer, an Austin Texas number popped up. I declined it thinking it was a client that I have in Austin... this went to my own voicemail.
5. I realize they did NOT transfer me, but instead they called me from that number, so now I start over.
6. Call back, ask to be transferred to a gift card specialist. They instead send me to a sales specialist. They cannot check me out, cannot see the gift card without a gift card number.
I try and tell them they do not show numbers, they just get sucked into the wallet app. I offer to read her the pin, she refuses.
I get transferred again to a gift card specialist.
7. Gift card specialist is brand new. This is a "live classroom call" where his supervisors are listening in. He sees the gift card, but cannot seem to get it to apply to the purchase.
8. He transfers me to someone else who tells me that you cannot use a gift card to preorder iphones.
So the long and short is that i took one hour being bounced around apple support to be told that preorders cannot be done with gift cards.
She told me that I would have to place a hold with a credit or debit card, and then they would change the payment method at the time of pickup.
This is not true at all.
The truth is that for some reason, a preorder with APPLE CARE does not work for gift cards.
You can TOTALLY order it, just take off apple care and then buy it at the time of the pickup.
Once again, it took an hour on the phone and six people that were not aware of how their own company operated.
And the long and short is that I missed getting a day one phone.
I got one Saturday, but this was sort of a big deal for the person that sent me the gift card, and for me too.
I swear, the last four times I called Apple support, I ended up fixing my own problem. The last two times I learned:
1. You cannot run hardware diagnostics if you are on any sort of beta. Developers have to ROLL BACK their entire OS if they need to run diagnistics.
2. You cannot preorder iphone with a gift card, but that is a LIE, you can.
I won't talk about the diagnostics thing, but that is true. If you try and run diagnostics on a beta, it gives you an error that tells you to roll back to a stable build.
This is a PSA if you have a gift card and want to preorder iPhone. This is a harrowing frustrating tale that resulted in me missing out on a day one iPhone 16 pro max.
So I had someone send me an apple gift card for the cost of an iPhone. I am incredibly blessed. Here is what happened next:
1. I went to find one that i could get day 1. I found one that I could pick up on friday, went through all the steps and had it in my cart.
2. Logged into my account but there was no option to use a gift card, and this made no sense.
3. Called apple and spoke to someone who also could see why I could not order it.
4. Was told I would be transferred to a gift card specialist. Instead of a transfer, an Austin Texas number popped up. I declined it thinking it was a client that I have in Austin... this went to my own voicemail.
5. I realize they did NOT transfer me, but instead they called me from that number, so now I start over.
6. Call back, ask to be transferred to a gift card specialist. They instead send me to a sales specialist. They cannot check me out, cannot see the gift card without a gift card number.
I try and tell them they do not show numbers, they just get sucked into the wallet app. I offer to read her the pin, she refuses.
I get transferred again to a gift card specialist.
7. Gift card specialist is brand new. This is a "live classroom call" where his supervisors are listening in. He sees the gift card, but cannot seem to get it to apply to the purchase.
8. He transfers me to someone else who tells me that you cannot use a gift card to preorder iphones.
So the long and short is that i took one hour being bounced around apple support to be told that preorders cannot be done with gift cards.
She told me that I would have to place a hold with a credit or debit card, and then they would change the payment method at the time of pickup.
This is not true at all.
The truth is that for some reason, a preorder with APPLE CARE does not work for gift cards.
You can TOTALLY order it, just take off apple care and then buy it at the time of the pickup.
Once again, it took an hour on the phone and six people that were not aware of how their own company operated.
And the long and short is that I missed getting a day one phone.
I got one Saturday, but this was sort of a big deal for the person that sent me the gift card, and for me too.
