iPhone 4 Ordering an Embarrassment for AT&T, Apple
By Ed Oswald | Tuesday, June 15, 2010 at 10:31 am
If you are even attempting to pre-order an iPhone 4 today, our best advice is: don’t! Both Apple and AT&T are experiencing a multitude of problems just keeping the system up–and Gizmodo has even reported that AT&T’s online system is exposing upgraders’ accounts to others.
From what people are reporting, the problem seems to be that both AT&T employees and at-home shoppers are using a similar web interface. Now, we can’t confirm that both are one and the same, but if they are it means thousands of orders every minute are dumping into the same application.
AT&T retail stores have resorted to using pen and paper to take down names, credit card numbers, and phone numbers as the entire online system has been taken down. Don’t expect to visit Apple’s site to complete your transaction either –it’s not working either.
Worst of all, it appears the mad rush for iPhone 4 has exposed a serious hole in AT&T’s servers. Gizmodo reports that it has received several reports of users logging into their own accounts (or I should say attempting to), and being greeted with the account information of somebody else.
So who’s to blame for this one? Let’s hear from our always opinionated Technologizer readers in the comments…
Update 1: Harry McCracken reports on Twitter that the Apple Store iPhone application reservation system is appearing to fail, which makes it hard to discern whether your reservation has actually been submitted. I’ve also received an unconfirmed report that neither AT&T nor Apple are accepting phone calls at this point.
Update 2: One of our regular readers Steven Fisher makes a very good point: “Thousands of queries per minute into the same application shouldn’t be a problem. Thousands of queries per SECOND shouldn’t be a problem. Perhaps the application or the database behind it performs like crap, but scalable web interfaces are not exactly an unattainable holy grail.”
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June 15th, 2010 at 10:35 am
So frustrated, have been trying fro nearly 8 hours now and nothing…How embarassing is this for both AT&T and Apple….
June 15th, 2010 at 10:54 am
I was able to get into a B&M AT&T store this AM. First order went fine. Second order not so good. Looks like even though it looks like it was ordered, AT&T servers have no record of it.
Apparently an email has been sent to AT&T stores about the missing orders. No fix has been named for this
June 15th, 2010 at 11:55 am
Maybe we should turn off our WiFi.
June 15th, 2010 at 12:53 pm
I had similar problems online. So I went to the local AT&T store here in NW Fort Worth, and put my request for 2 32g iPhone 4’s and had my order handwritten with my AmEx card imprinted on the triplicate form (by a sales person with a pen cap)It seems that they don’t have any CC imprinter machines. The sales person said that they would take the orders by hand, then enter in the order into the system and I would receive an email confirmation.
June 15th, 2010 at 1:00 pm
it’s even more ironic that i am being punished for working at at&t.
every employee that has the company discount attached to the account is not able to view iphone4s… if they ever get through that is.
it’s good to know that employees are customers 2nd class
June 15th, 2010 at 1:04 pm
“From what people are reporting, the problem seems to be that both AT&T employees and at-home shoppers are using a similar web interface. Now, we can’t confirm that both are one and the same, but if they are it means thousands of orders every minute are dumping into the same application.”
This is the technical equivalent of saying that a road flooded because there’s clouds overhead. Thousands of queries per minute into the same application shouldn’t be a problem. Thousands of queries per SECOND shouldn’t be a problem. Perhaps the application or the database behind it performs like crap, but scalable web interfaces are not exactly an unattainable holy grail.
June 15th, 2010 at 1:42 pm
Very frustrating…Same problem with my order – at least I’m not the only one and the problem will hopefully be addressed soon.
June 15th, 2010 at 2:05 pm
Is AT&T using an Apple Server or a Windows Server
June 15th, 2010 at 2:22 pm
@Jackie – Apache Tomcat
June 15th, 2010 at 7:10 pm
Just wait a day or two or even a week. The world is not going to end. You don’t have to be first with something. Signed a gadget guy who is at peace and will order one in a few weeks. My Have to Get gadget of years ago is now sitting in a box collecting dust (3Com Palm Pilot) and my MacPlus…this will be there someday I’m sure too…
June 15th, 2010 at 10:52 pm
An embarassment, but f—, they both easily booked $200 million (minimum) in revenue in ONE DAY. I could stand that kind of embarassment every now and then.
June 16th, 2010 at 9:16 am
But it is more than an issue of it being an “embarassment”, it is an issue of whether or not Apple has shackled itself to a company that seems unable to keep up with demand. The webcentric nature of the IPhone is such that iPhone users consume more bandwidth than the average smart phone users. I have friends and relations who say the performance of the iPhone in NYC leaves a great deal to be desired.
January 31st, 2012 at 10:27 pm
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