iPhone Activation, Part II - No Service Strikes Back

It worked! Yes, it worked for about 14 hours.


I downloaded and ran iTunes on my friend's computer, docked the phone and followed the prompts. The choices were clear and simple. Once iTunes detected the iPhone, it downloaded the required software and installed it. The only glitch during the installation was the credit check reference number they gave me at the store didn't really work during the activation sequence. Oh, well, two credit checks in less than two hours was a small price to pay for an activated iPhone.

It worked and I was ecstatic. I added my fiances' number to the contact list and called her first. "Yes, I am calling you on the iPhone. It's very cool"

We met with another couple for dinner that night. There we were, the four of us happily passing my new iPhone around, checking out websites, email, a music video. It was great. When we got home that night I set up the alarm schedule, plugged it into the charger and dreamt happily of how impressed my coworkers would be Monday as they gazed in awe at my latest technological triumph - activating an iPhone.

Saturday morning I began fiddling with it in earnest. I set up the world clock for the various cities I work in. I tweaked the email settings so any messages I received would be only the sort of thing I would want to know about immediately. I even set up the local weather. Life was good.

Then around 10:00AM it happened. At the top left corner, where I had been seeing all those neat little bars were the words 'No service' At first I suspected a wayward cloud had settled directly over the house. After a bit I walked into a different room, then upstairs, then outside. No service there either. I went back inside and checked the iPhone coverage map. There I was comfortably in the middle of a patch of dark orange. Hmm.

A bit more searching and I ran across the number for the iPhone Activation hotline: 877 800-3701

I called the number, navigated the usual voice menu and within 3 minutes I was speaking with a live person. Not too bad for a new product launch. He said he was in Idaho.

He began walking me through the standard procedure. Power off the iPhone completely by simultaneously holding down the on/off switch on the top right edge and the home button located bottom center. Slide to Power off. So far, so good, that worked. Now press the on/off switch again. First the friendly little Apple logo appeared, then the busy twiddler, then the amazing iPhone interface itself. We waited holding our breath while I watched the top left corner of the display, "Searching... Searching..." No service.

He walked me through the settings but we didn't find any issues. He had me toggle the Airplane mode a few times. This is one way to force it into the "Searching" mode. No service. At this point he decided to escalate the issue and within a few minutes a friendly tech support specialist joined us on the call. Stay tuned.