6ix Passions

How to get an iPhone 4 under one hour

Finally I got my iPhone 4 yesterday (yes it’s awesome - the retina display is to kill for).

I’m an Apple fan, but I didn’t want to wait in line for 6 hours in front of the Apple Store, here in Montreal, from 5 AM in the morning. Let just say that I’m not a morning guy and hate to wait.

First you need to understand why the wait is so long:

1. Apple is barely able to supply enough iPhone 4 for the demand. The Apple Stores do not know the quantity they will received each day (that is, if they received any).
   
   
2. Many customers are upgrading their current carrier plan to get the iPhone 4 at a discount with a renewal of a 3 years contract. $159 for the 16GB and 269$ for the 32GB.
   
   
3. Activating your phone and renew your contract with your carrier can take a minimum of 30 minutes to 1 hour (if not longer in certain case).
   
   
4. The Apple Store staff dedicated to active phones is limited as other customers are coming for other products and requests.

A month after its release in Canada, the iPhone 4 is no where to be found. Rogers and Fido barely received any. At one store they already had a list of 65 persons and they have received only seven iPhone 4 in the last month! Your best bet is always to get one from the Apple Stores as they are the first to be replenished before anybody else.

So here’s how I got my iPhone 4 under an hour:

1. I first call the Apple Store after 4 PM. At that time they know if they will receive any iPhone 4 the next morning. They will not let you know the quantity. Note that they may decide to open early (like 9 AM instead of 10 AM) to begin the activation of the phones while the store is still closed, so ask when they are opening).
   
   
2. I went 30 minutes before the opening. At that point I was probably the 40th person in line. Yes people are getting there early as 6 AM to get in line to have a chance to have an iPhone 4.
   
   
3. When the manager open the store, he will assign the available iPhone 4 to the ones in line until he has no more. Certainly the 16GB go faster than the 32GB. So be prepare to buy a 32GB or get there early. Don’t 6 hours of your time worth $110 (the difference in price between the two versions)?
   
   
4. Now this is the tricky part, where you will not do as anybody else, waiting in line for more than 6 hours to get your iPhone activated under your renewed plan (I invite you to do the math yourself: generally only 3 to 4 concierges are doing activation - with 50 persons in line at 30 minutes each (lets hope everything go fine) / 4 representatives (lets assume they are all dedicated) = 6.5 hours).
   
   
5. You will say to the manager that you wish to buy the iPhone 4 at full price (contract free). As the iPhone do not need to get activated, you can go see any store representative and buy it. Be prepare to pay $659 for 16GB and $779 for the 32GB with your credit card (bare with me…).
   
   
6. You go home and do your things. Do not open the box. Keep your receipt.
   
   
7. Go back to the Apple Store after 5 PM when everyone in the line have waited up to 7 hours (I have asked one store concierge and she told me that they finish processing the line of 50 persons at 4 PM).
   
   
8. Say that you have bought an iPhone 4 in the morning and that you have changed your mind, you wish to activate it. “No problem, if only everyone were doing that” she told me. She will reimburse you, and then activate (and renew) your contract with your carrier. It took 20 minutes for me. The system has less errors in the evening as few people are trying to activate phones at that time.
   
   
9. Go back home and enjoy!

UPDATE: Maybe you should add the following steps to protect your recent investment:

Since the press took by storm Apple about the iPhone antenna dropping its signal while you hold it, they have respond by updating their firmware and by giving away iPhone cases for free until September 30.

1. On the iPhone Case Program page, click on the link to download the iPhone Case Program App (it will open iTunes, then click on the “Free App” download button. (You have to do this as the iPhone Case Program App is no where to be found through the iPhone App Store).
   
   
2. Once the application is downloaded, sync your iPhone.
   
   
3. Start the iPhone Case Program App, log in and choose your case. You will have a choice of about 10 cases.

For my part I have chosen the Apple iPhone Bumper. I found the following dropping test conclusive and I like that the Bumper is covering all the antennas and has its own metallic buttons to cover the sound and on/off. You can complete the protection of the front and back glass with the fantastic Power Support screen film protectors. I used them since the iPhone 2G.