iPhone 13 Pro Max I will NEVER trust a carrier on iPhone day again

[Bevan]

Put it simply, I will never trust a phone carrier on iPhone day again.



iPhone day 2020, I had my carrier (T-Mobile/Sprint) open and Apple open and whichever one I got though on first I was gonna order from. For 2020 it was Apple, so I just paid out of pocket for my iPhone 12 Pro Max Gold 512GB. Arrived at my door on launch day. Nice! Life goes on, I’m happy.



Fast forward to iPhone day 2021. Same thing as last year. T-Mobile/Sprint open and Apple open and whichever I got though on first I was gonna order from.



This time I get through on both. Same “ship dates” But I figured, Hey if I order through my carrier I can pay monthly without having to get yet another credit card and I don’t have to have $1,700 disappear from my checking. Sounds like a win. WRONG!



Fast forward to my ship date I call sprint to ask why I haven’t gotten my shipping information nor has my order information been updated. They said, “oh that’s weird, they probably just over looked your order and it’ll still come on Sep 24th.” Launch day comes around, no order update no shipping update. They say “We have to wait until the full day goes by before we can look into it.” Mind you, I have the UPS App so I know if I’m getting a package or not regardless. So I know I’m in the right at this point, ain’t no iPhone coming for daddy today. ?



Fast forward to September 25th they tell me that my order is “stuck” and I’ve been pushed back to the following delivery window of Oct 6 - Oct 13th….I’m mad at this point to say the least but I’m like ok. I’ll wait, it’s too late to go to Apple now so I guess I’ll just wait. Nothing I can do.



Fast forward to October 14th….. no order update no shipping update. They say “We have to wait until the full day goes by before we can look into it.” AGAIN, Mind you, I. have. THE UPS APP. Sooooo again ain’t no iPhone coming for daddy today. ?



Fast forward to today. Oct 15th…. They call me this morning and tell me. “I had my supervisor look into your order and it appears to be stuck, she believes your order has been pushed back to next shipment window of October 29th - November 15.”



I’m. DONE. This is the LAST TIME I WILL EVER ORDER AN IPHONE FROM A CELL PHONE CARRIER AGAIN!



Let this be a warning to anyone that thinks about making the mistake I did this year.

 

[Sullivan0930]

i mean yeah, 3rd party is never the way. Just another link for things to go wrong at.

 

[eyoungren]

Put it simply, I will never trust a phone carrier on iPhone day again.
…I call sprint…
I’m. DONE. This is the LAST TIME I WILL EVER ORDER AN IPHONE FROM A CELL PHONE CARRIER AGAIN!
Let this be a warning to anyone that thinks about making the mistake I did this year.

I am assuming your carrier is Sprint.

I did 16 years with Sprint. When they started Network Vision to upgrade towers in 2011 to LTE they still had towers using cellular equipment from 1998. Sprint abandons tech just as fast as they promote it. The website has always been garbage.

When Sprint offered the iPhone 5 the website folded in under five minutes. I ordered through Apple…which will ask which carrier you have.

One of the first things you need to learn about Sprint is not to trust anything they tell you. Always verify through other sources (if you can).

I'd say your order is stuck permanently. I highly doubt it's going to move and they are likely to just see it as a glitch in the system. Beyond Sprint's own (historical) problems T-Mob is still merging the two systems and Sprint's ancient, garbage systems (especially the back end) is screwing up the works.

Reach out to T-Force on Facebook or Twitter and see if they can help you. Deal with people that actually have the authority to solve your problem (another thing to learn about Sprint).

Hope it all works out for you.

 

[The Game 161]

Yeah it’s not much better in the UK either. A few on EE here had major issues.

 

[Nbd1790]

I've ordered through T-mobile plenty of times and have never had an issue. In fact, the phones I order tend to come earlier than the initial timeframe given.

Sounds like you just had a one off situation. Although, I'd always recommend giving it a week or so before placing an order. Launch day is typically a mess and both Apple and cell phone carriers are processing massive amounts of orders.

I've also had no issues in the past cancelling orders that haven't shipped and T-mobile customer service is normally pretty on point and don't ask a lot of questions. I'm not sure where you're located in the US, but most Apple stores either have 13's in stock or can within a day or two here in NY. If I'm not mistaken, you can also select your carrier and have the finance go through your carrier directly through Apple.

 

[jcp007]

I have been with AT&T since 1994 with two year contract extensions to AT&T Next plans. Three years ago, I switched to Best Buy. For the most part, it's been a great experience. When pre-ordering, I have either received my device on or before the pre-order delivery date.

I pre-ordered my 13 Pro Max Graphite 512GB at Best Buy on 9/17 at 530pm CST and picked it up on 9/30 at 6pm CST though their system showed a 9/24 delivery date. I believe that it was mainly due to unexpectedly high demand, supply chain/delivery issues and the fact that I ordered a storage size other than 128GB or 256GB.

 

[BuggyGT]

Agreed, the carrier estimated ship times I don't believe update in real time like Apple's or is as accurate. Though I did recently have 2 iPhone 13's ordered through Verizon that had estimated ship date of Oct. 22nd but I am receiving them earlier on the Oct. 18th but if I want the device on Day 1 I will always go direct from Apple.