The entire notion that for a product like the iPhone, in-store activation would not be an issue is absurd. Everyone knew it would be a complete clusterfuck, and sure enough, it turned out to be a complete clusterfuck. One of the many screw ups that Apple didn’t discover until they were fscking up people’s plans and leaving them with no working phones is that they can’t do anything with an account that has a corporate discount or FAN number attached. If you’re one of the unlucky few to get your phone bricked you can still follow steps 2-4 of Method A to fix it. If you have a corporate discount on your current calling plan then you can not activate it on that plan or for your current number in the store regardless of how long you waited in line. There are only two methods to correct this problem and make the time you spent in line worthwhile.
Method A:
1. First you buy the phone anyway on a new plan with a new number at the Apple Store.
2. Then with your new phone you use the maps app to look up the nearest AT&T store and make your way there
3. At the AT&T store tell them to cancel your new plan, put your old SIM card in your new phone and upgrade the phone on your current plan to the iPhone 3G.
4. You now have a working phone with your current number with your corporate discount still attached.
Method B:
Buy it at the AT&T store where they can do this all correctly in the first place. Now if only they had more than 5 iPhones in each shipment…
