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When you buy an 3Gs at the Apple Store, do they open it there?
- Thread starter louis0nfire
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been threads on this
but it appears that it depends on the Apple Store just tell them you prefer to do it when you get home!
but it appears that it depends on the Apple Store just tell them you prefer to do it when you get home!
The AT&T activation is done during the checkout process, right before you pay. Apple is supposed to do the phone part before you leave, unless you pay full-price ($599/$699) for the phone.
They might want to help you activate it, but it's totally up to you. You can activate it at home - there's no store interaction required.
The only thing the store will need to do is check your upgrade eligibility, so they can determine the phone's price.
The only thing the store will need to do is check your upgrade eligibility, so they can determine the phone's price.
Unless something has changed in the last 90 days since I worked there, they're required to activate it in the Apple store before you leave, even if you request for that not to happen (unless you paid full price).
You're right that it can be activated at home, but the policy is that they are to be activated in the store.
You're right that it can be activated at home, but the policy is that they are to be activated in the store.
Not true - they might want to try and help by doing it in-store, but it's definitely not a requirement. I bought one of our two 3GSs in store and just took it home and activated it in iTunes. Again, the only thing the store needed to do was check my upgrade eligibility to set the price (I was eligible for the $199 price).
Our other phone was ordered through the Apple Store - obviously, that needed to be activated at home. It used the exact same procedure as the store bought phone.
edit:
They needed to know what message plan, so perhaps the phone was "activated" - using up my "upgrade". But, the actual activation occurred in iTunes at home. Otherwise, it would have disabled my wife's phone while she was still using it.
That all said, they annoyingly tried to get me to activate it in-store. They had a hard time understanding it wasn't an upgrade to my phone, but I was buying it for my wife (an upgrade from her 2G) and that it had to be activated at home.
Weird, it was in the store I worked at.
All of the original iPhones used the same procedure you used at home, too. Starting with the 3G, Apple Stores were to open/activate them in store before the customer left. At least that's what the training we got said.
I would prefer they open it at the store. LOL
The reason: we can quickly go over the phone and accessories and make sure everything is in good shape right there. We found a tiny scratch on the iPhone 3GS I bought at the Apple Store right before we had it activated. The store guy gave me a new one.
Had I found it at home, I'd have had to drive back to the Apple Store and FIGHT them for a new unit.
Why wouldn't you want it to be opened in the store? Then you can make sure that it works and has no cosmetic damage.
When I bought mine, the first 3GS that was given to me had bubbles on the Home Button. I told them I didn't want that one, and so they opened up a fresh one for me.
If I would have taken it home unopened, it would have been annoying to have to make an appointment at the Genius Bar, go back, explain, and hope that they give me a new one. Plus now, you probably would end up with a refurb replacement.
Just sayin' <- hulu
When I bought mine, the first 3GS that was given to me had bubbles on the Home Button. I told them I didn't want that one, and so they opened up a fresh one for me.
If I would have taken it home unopened, it would have been annoying to have to make an appointment at the Genius Bar, go back, explain, and hope that they give me a new one. Plus now, you probably would end up with a refurb replacement.
Just sayin' <- hulu
Weird, it was in the store I worked at.
That changed with the 3GS, AFAIK. I didn't think you could order a 3G from the Apple Store, at least at one point. Anyway, that was what happened in my case. This was the week after the launch (my phone was pre-ordered).
I'm going to ask them whenever I get mine if I can activate it at home. And if they say why, or no...it's because I don't want your hands all over my device before me!
Honestly the most irritating part of them opening it is that they don't do it with care. When they go to plug in the cable in the bottom of the phone, they just jam it there and scratch up the bottom of the iphone.
That's not how they guy who activated mine did it. He was very gentle. Sliced the bottom plastic off carefully with a razor blade, opened it carefully, inserted the cable gently, and then packed it back up with care.
When I bought mine, I asked that they not open it because I wanted to wait until I got home to do so. The guy had no problem with that, but warned me that my old 3G would not work as soon as he ran the transaction on his little Windows Mobile thing. He was right. As he ran my account info, the 3G dropped out and I was stuck with no phone until I unboxed my 3GS. But I didn't have to have anyone else's paws on my iPhone this time around.
Weird. I'm pretty sure my wife's 2G worked until I activated the 3GS. Certainly seems to be a wide variety of experiences here.
Perhaps what you're really after is some sessions with a psychologist for your OCD
.
They didn't when they activated mine
Pulled the plastic wrap off, shoved in the syncing cable, then attempted to re-apply the plastic before getting flustered and just shoving it all into the box again. Luckily it didn't scratch...
I bought mine on release day and all they did was scan the bar code. I opened and activated it at home.
I heard some of my buddies friends throw the iPhone's like baseballs, when u r not looking! When they check them! I would fire them!
It really depends on a Apple store you go to. For instance, here in NYC at an 5th Ave store, an box is opened 100%. At an West 14th store, employees are less stringent when it comes to a unsealing. However, you can always politely ask a employee not to unseal an box and explain that you want to unseal an box yourself because an process of a unboxing turns you on. Personally, I had an good experience in buying an first iPhone at an SoHo store. A employee even asked me whether I want an box to be unsealed for me. I thanked a employee and said that I prefer to do it myself. For example, an friend of mine, who lives in an different state, had an bad experience at an Chicago store. When he went to buy an first iPhone, an box was opened no questions asked.
There's some very clean people out there.
They won't even peal the protection films off. They'll just open the bottom portion enough to be able to plug the cable in. At least that's what happened to me both at the Apple Store and the AT&T store.