iPhone Duo Pre-Order Was Freaking Crazy

Quick summary: The iPhone Duo pre-order was literally insane. My Apple account got locked right at 5 a.m., Apple delivery dates slid all the way to January 25, my carrier order wouldn’t go through, and Best Buy still had launch-day stock.

Key takeaways

• My Apple account got locked right when pre-orders opened at 5 a.m. Pacific.
• Apple dates quickly moved to November 16–23, then as late as January 25.
• In my experience, Apple orders often arrive early, so count on one to two weeks before the quoted date.
• Carrier orders were the worst. Mine wouldn’t go through.
• Best Buy still had some configurations for launch day, like the dark blue 512GB.

Locked out of my Apple account

I got to the Apple site right at 5 a.m. and refreshed. When I went to check out, it said my account was locked. Every time I try to unlock it, I enter my phone number and the code, and then I get another error. If your Apple account got locked out too, let me know.

January delivery dates

By the time I got through, delivery had already moved to November 16–23. Through the Apple Store, it has since slid all the way to January 25, maybe later depending on configuration.

Will Apple orders come early?

Whenever I’ve ordered MacBooks or iPhones from Apple and they got pushed back, they usually arrived early. If you’re quoted November 16, I wouldn’t be shocked to see it around November 8–10. Count on one to two weeks earlier than the quote. No guarantees, but that’s been my experience.

Carrier orders were the worst

I tried ordering through my carrier and it literally would not go through. When it finally did, it was pushed back to about the same window as my Apple order.

Best Buy came through, for now

Then I tried Best Buy. Even as I recorded this, you could still find configurations for launch day, like the dark blue 512GB, which is the storage sweet spot. It doesn’t quite add up that Best Buy has stock that Apple and the carriers don’t. I’m pessimistic and half expect an email saying it can’t ship on time.

Try in-store on launch day

Check apple.com for local store pickup on launch day. There’s a chance stores will have some stock. You can also try your carrier, like Verizon.

Final thoughts

I’m hoping Best Buy ships next week so it arrives on the 23rd. Otherwise I’m waiting until mid-November. Did you get yours?