First let me say that I was a computer tech for 20 years (with my own business) but for the last 15 years I have been an OTR Truck Driver. I am still a geek and gadget freak but have never actually bought a New Apple Product until recently.
On December 27th I visited the AT&T store (the 5th one in a week) in West Dundee, IL looking for a new Android Tablet (I use as my GPS an older Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10") with LTE built in so I don't have to carry a hotspot around when I want to watch Youtube, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, etc. No one had a single android tablet with lte. So after the store convinced me to PLAY WITH the new iPad Pro's I bit the bullet and bought the new 2018 iPad Pro 11" 256GB LTE version, along with the Apple Pencil 2 and the Apple Keyboard Cover. The store unboxed the tablet and after putting a sim card in it they placed it in the keyboard cover and paired the Apple Pencil 2. Then bagged everything and sent me on my way.
When I got back to the motel I was taking my Christmas Vacation in, a few hours later, I noticed that there were multiple software issues/glitches. Like the App Store showed 8 updates that would not install. So on December 28th I contacted Apple Chat Support (3 times). During their attempts to resolve the issues they had me remove the iPad from the keyboard cover. At which point I noticed the iPad had come Out-Of-The-Box bent.
After Erasing all Content and Settings 3 times and testing the iPad I finally had the software issues all resolved. However, the iPad was bent even worse. So I went to AT&T store in Rolling Meadows, IL and they confirmed that it was in fact bent but informed me that was a Manufacturer Defect and that I needed to go to an Apple Store for replacement. So I immediately drove to the Apple Store at Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, IL. The tech I saw confirmed it was bent and put me on the list to see a Genius. Several hours later the Genuis stated "I don't see anything wrong" as did a manager that I requested. The manager agreed to replace the tablet but stated that it would "ding" my Apple Care + which was unacceptable to me so I stormed out of the store before I said something I couldn't take back.
Later that night (December 29th) I began having WiFi issues. When I would first boot the tablet it would work fine for about 30 minutes then slowly start slowing internet speeds. After about an hour it would become completely unusable. So I went to bed. The next morning, December 30th, I decided to check it on LTE and the problem was even worse. When I would boot the tablet up I would have 4 bars of signal. In under a minute it would drop to 2 bars and after about 5 minutes to 1 bar and become unusable. So I called Apple Support and after 3 hours and 3 different people I got a manager who called the Apple Store I had previously been to and told them to replace my iPad for FREE with a NEW ONE.
As the Apple Phone Support manager I spoke with was dealing with the Apple Store I drove up there. After 4 hours of waiting they told me they did not have any iPad Pro's and that they would "order me a new one" and it would be there in a couple days.
On January 3rd I still hadn't heard from the Apple Store so I went there again (actually went on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd) and told them I was an over-the-road truck driver and had to go back on the road the next day and I wasn't leaving the store until I had my replacement "new iPad Pro". They told me "we just received a shipment so hang out a few minutes and let's see if it came in". So I went the restroom and then took a seat in the showroom. No sooner than I sat down they called me to "return to the store" and magically they produced a "new iPad Pro". I watched the manager lady take it out of the box and place my sim card in it and then I sat in the store and restored my iCloud backup and then tested the LTE before leaving. Everything seemed great!
I returned to my motel and noticed, immediately, that the LTE signal strength was far weaker on the new ipad pro than on the old one and on my at&t cellphone that was laying right beside it, but it worked so I wasn't complaining. The next morning I woke to find the "new iPad Pro" had NO LTE. I immediately did a Network Settings Reset and still no LTE. So I called Apple Support, again! They ran diagnostics and screen shared and confirmed there was no Technical Issues with the iPad so they three-way called AT&T Support.
AT&T quickly stated that the iPad I had just gotten from Apple had been Previously Owned and Reported Stolen and therefore was on their BLOCK LIST. I told AT&T that Apple had just given me this NEW IPAD PRO and asked to have it removed from the block list. They told me it would be removed within 48 hours.
On January 7th I still had no LTE so I called AT&T Block List Support directly and again requested it removed from the block list and again was told it would be within 48 hours.
On January 10th I still had no LTE so I called AT&T Block List Support, again, and this time they told me that THIS DEVICE HAS BEEN REPORTED STOLEN and CAN NOT BE REMOVED....call Apple Support!
So I hung up with AT&T and contacted Apple Phone Support, yet again! I recounted the entire story and they guy I was talking to apologized profusely and then got me a Support Supervisor. I told her everything that had happened (as detailed above in this post) and she said she would work on a resolution and call me back. About an hour later she called me back and said that she spoke with "someone" at the Apple Store at Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, IL and that the only thing I could do was take it back there and let them "check it" and "maybe they would replace it". She then set me an appointment for 19:30 (7:30 PM) on January 15th at that store.
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So here I am 2 weeks into owning my first ever NEW APPLE PRODUCT and I can't use it. AT&T wouldn't let me return it under the 14 day Buyer's Remorse period due to it being a Replacement. I am seriously not holding out any hope of getting a Properly Working iPad Pro when I go to the Apple Store the next time, even if they do admit they Screwed Up they will come up with some BS excuse like "we don't have any" or "they are on back order" or something. Being that I will only "be in town" on the 15th and part of the 16th I am relatively certain I will be leaving with this unusable iPad Pro.
On December 27th I visited the AT&T store (the 5th one in a week) in West Dundee, IL looking for a new Android Tablet (I use as my GPS an older Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10") with LTE built in so I don't have to carry a hotspot around when I want to watch Youtube, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, etc. No one had a single android tablet with lte. So after the store convinced me to PLAY WITH the new iPad Pro's I bit the bullet and bought the new 2018 iPad Pro 11" 256GB LTE version, along with the Apple Pencil 2 and the Apple Keyboard Cover. The store unboxed the tablet and after putting a sim card in it they placed it in the keyboard cover and paired the Apple Pencil 2. Then bagged everything and sent me on my way.
When I got back to the motel I was taking my Christmas Vacation in, a few hours later, I noticed that there were multiple software issues/glitches. Like the App Store showed 8 updates that would not install. So on December 28th I contacted Apple Chat Support (3 times). During their attempts to resolve the issues they had me remove the iPad from the keyboard cover. At which point I noticed the iPad had come Out-Of-The-Box bent.
After Erasing all Content and Settings 3 times and testing the iPad I finally had the software issues all resolved. However, the iPad was bent even worse. So I went to AT&T store in Rolling Meadows, IL and they confirmed that it was in fact bent but informed me that was a Manufacturer Defect and that I needed to go to an Apple Store for replacement. So I immediately drove to the Apple Store at Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, IL. The tech I saw confirmed it was bent and put me on the list to see a Genius. Several hours later the Genuis stated "I don't see anything wrong" as did a manager that I requested. The manager agreed to replace the tablet but stated that it would "ding" my Apple Care + which was unacceptable to me so I stormed out of the store before I said something I couldn't take back.
Later that night (December 29th) I began having WiFi issues. When I would first boot the tablet it would work fine for about 30 minutes then slowly start slowing internet speeds. After about an hour it would become completely unusable. So I went to bed. The next morning, December 30th, I decided to check it on LTE and the problem was even worse. When I would boot the tablet up I would have 4 bars of signal. In under a minute it would drop to 2 bars and after about 5 minutes to 1 bar and become unusable. So I called Apple Support and after 3 hours and 3 different people I got a manager who called the Apple Store I had previously been to and told them to replace my iPad for FREE with a NEW ONE.
As the Apple Phone Support manager I spoke with was dealing with the Apple Store I drove up there. After 4 hours of waiting they told me they did not have any iPad Pro's and that they would "order me a new one" and it would be there in a couple days.
On January 3rd I still hadn't heard from the Apple Store so I went there again (actually went on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd) and told them I was an over-the-road truck driver and had to go back on the road the next day and I wasn't leaving the store until I had my replacement "new iPad Pro". They told me "we just received a shipment so hang out a few minutes and let's see if it came in". So I went the restroom and then took a seat in the showroom. No sooner than I sat down they called me to "return to the store" and magically they produced a "new iPad Pro". I watched the manager lady take it out of the box and place my sim card in it and then I sat in the store and restored my iCloud backup and then tested the LTE before leaving. Everything seemed great!
I returned to my motel and noticed, immediately, that the LTE signal strength was far weaker on the new ipad pro than on the old one and on my at&t cellphone that was laying right beside it, but it worked so I wasn't complaining. The next morning I woke to find the "new iPad Pro" had NO LTE. I immediately did a Network Settings Reset and still no LTE. So I called Apple Support, again! They ran diagnostics and screen shared and confirmed there was no Technical Issues with the iPad so they three-way called AT&T Support.
AT&T quickly stated that the iPad I had just gotten from Apple had been Previously Owned and Reported Stolen and therefore was on their BLOCK LIST. I told AT&T that Apple had just given me this NEW IPAD PRO and asked to have it removed from the block list. They told me it would be removed within 48 hours.
On January 7th I still had no LTE so I called AT&T Block List Support directly and again requested it removed from the block list and again was told it would be within 48 hours.
On January 10th I still had no LTE so I called AT&T Block List Support, again, and this time they told me that THIS DEVICE HAS BEEN REPORTED STOLEN and CAN NOT BE REMOVED....call Apple Support!
So I hung up with AT&T and contacted Apple Phone Support, yet again! I recounted the entire story and they guy I was talking to apologized profusely and then got me a Support Supervisor. I told her everything that had happened (as detailed above in this post) and she said she would work on a resolution and call me back. About an hour later she called me back and said that she spoke with "someone" at the Apple Store at Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, IL and that the only thing I could do was take it back there and let them "check it" and "maybe they would replace it". She then set me an appointment for 19:30 (7:30 PM) on January 15th at that store.
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So here I am 2 weeks into owning my first ever NEW APPLE PRODUCT and I can't use it. AT&T wouldn't let me return it under the 14 day Buyer's Remorse period due to it being a Replacement. I am seriously not holding out any hope of getting a Properly Working iPad Pro when I go to the Apple Store the next time, even if they do admit they Screwed Up they will come up with some BS excuse like "we don't have any" or "they are on back order" or something. Being that I will only "be in town" on the 15th and part of the 16th I am relatively certain I will be leaving with this unusable iPad Pro.
