Apple's Servers Go Down - 3G iPhones Remain Unactivated

Joseph Lopez

Friday, July 11, 2008

After all the media coverage the new iPhone 3G received, Apple has undergone probably the worst technical difficulty they could possibly have. Like last year, the massive demand for the iPhone 3G has taken its toll on Apple's iTunes activation servers and we now have confirmation that the servers are definitely down. Customers are either being turned away or sent home from both Apple and AT&T stores to activate at home using iTunes when the problem is fixed. That's especially interesting since it suggests that AT&T was insisting on in-store activation to thwart unlockers, but for right now the real news is that lots of eager iPhone 3G buyers are stuck with a new $300 brick or an outdated 2G iPhone since upgrading from a first-gen unit disables the SIM. Ouch.

On the bright side, we may have some good news for all the unlucky shoppers out there. We've heard rumors that you can still activate your iPhone. Here's what you do. When activating your iPhone (or just upgrading to 2.0 software), if you get an error message on your phone, DO NOT UNPLUG IT. That will restart the entire process.

Instead, just wait. Leave your phone be and don't close iTunes.

The editors at Gizmodo have successfully activated five different iPhone 3Gs with error screens just by letting them sit plugged in for anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes. Hopefully that might work for you, too.

# comments about: "Apple's Servers Go Down - 3G iPhones Remain Unactivated"

1. 8/1/2008 9:00:20 AM | Posted by: john garger

Can someone give me an idea whether or not I should go for a smart phone or just use a more stylish phone and wait for some better technology? I am on the Sprint network, and was referred to http://www.sanyowireless.com , but I'm not seeing any options that look like smart phones. I don't need an MP3 player or a camera, I'd rather have a phone that is lighter and easier to carry. Any recommendations would be welcome.

Apple's Servers Go Down - 3G iPhones Remain Unactivated

# comments about: "Apple's Servers Go Down - 3G iPhones Remain Unactivated"

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