iPhone 12 Pro Max IUP pre-approval not working

[David8]

I have 3 phones in IUP, when I try to do the pre-approval for one of the phones, a 12 Pro Max, I get the following error message:

“Something went wrong while we were checking your eligibility. Please try again.”

This happens in both the Apple Store App and in Safari. 3rd year in IUP and never had an issue with pre-approval. Anyone else having this issue? I've talked to 10 different people in Apple support, none were able to help.

 

[beach bum]

I have 3 phones in IUP, when I try to do the pre-approval for one of the phones, a 12 Pro Max, I get the following error message:

“Something went wrong while we were checking your eligibility. Please try again.”

This happens in both the Apple Store App and in Safari. 3rd year in IUP and never had an issue with pre-approval. Anyone else having this issue? I've talked to 10 different people in Apple support, none were able to help.

If your IUP is with Citizens One, I would give them a call. They may want you to make that 12th payment prior to pre-approval.

 

[David8]

If your IUP is with Citizens One, I would give them a call. They may want you to make that 12th payment prior to pre-approval.

Sorry, forgot to mention I talked to Citizens One, I made the 12th payment hoping that would solve the problem but it didn't.

2nd phone is a 12 Mini, still owe the 12th payment but pre-approval went though and is ready for pre-order.

3rd phone is a 12 Pro, still owe 2 payments, it passed eligibly check and was going to pre-approve, but we don't want to do the upgrade on it now.

 

[David8]

After getting transferred around to various people (19 in total) at Apple support, I finally got to a senior advisor.

The senior advisor reached out to the engineering team, they confirmed there is a problem with some iPhone serial numbers not working with the eligibility check. They are working on the problem and expect to have it corrected in 24 to 48 hours.

 

[fs454]

After getting transferred around to various people (19 in total) at Apple support, I finally got to a senior advisor.

The senior advisor reached out to the engineering team, they confirmed there is a problem with some iPhone serial numbers not working with the eligibility check. They are working on the problem and expect to have it corrected in 24 to 48 hours.

This is absolutely wild. I went through 8 people being transferred back and forth (having AppleCare screenshare and see the error also) before one of them actually told me to google the error and see if anyone else is having the problem. I came across your post, and read it to him, and he (while very helpful within his bounds) couldn't even confirm this, or get in contact with any engineering team nor could any of his superiors.

So, no recourse for being screwed for using the iPhone Upgrade Program and being stopped by an Apple-side bug through no fault of my own. I cannot preorder a phone, if your advisor was correct, for the next 48 hours - putting me well into November/december/Q1 2021. And to top it all off, Apple has no official answer, and everyone's answer was "we truly do not know."

From someone who has upgraded yearly since 2007, and has used the iPhone Upgrade Program since it came to existence, this is wild.

 

[David8]

This is absolutely wild. I went through 8 people being transferred back and forth (having AppleCare screenshare and see the error also) before one of them actually told me to google the error and see if anyone else is having the problem. I came across your post, and read it to him, and he (while very helpful within his bounds) couldn't even confirm this, or get in contact with any engineering team nor could any of his superiors.

So, no recourse for being screwed for using the iPhone Upgrade Program and being stopped by an Apple-side bug through no fault of my own. I cannot preorder a phone, if your advisor was correct, for the next 48 hours - putting me well into November/december/Q1 2021. And to top it all off, Apple has no official answer, and everyone's answer was "we truly do not know."

From someone who has upgraded yearly since 2007, and has used the iPhone Upgrade Program since it came to existence, this is wild.

It has been a very aggravating ordeal since Tuesday evening, very unprofessional of Apple support. The senior advisor I talked to today was not happy at all with what I've had to deal with, she gave me her direct contact info if I had any further issues.

Most of the 18 people in support I talked to were obviously clueless, stuck on "you have to make the 12th payment". When I replied that I had 2 other phones with payments still to make, but were able to go through eligibility check, they had no response and transferred the call to someone else.

Another thing the advisor told me was to keep trying the eligibility check periodically, that there is the possibility it gets resolved this evening. If not hopefully I'll be able to upgrade when pre-orders start tomorrow.

 

[fs454]

It has been a very aggravating ordeal since Tuesday evening, very unprofessional of Apple support. The senior advisor I talked to today was not happy at all with what I've had to deal with, she gave me her direct contact info if I had any further issues.

Most of the 18 people in support I talked to were obviously clueless, stuck on "you have to make the 12th payment". When I replied that I had 2 other phones with payments still to make, but were able to go thought eligibility check, they had no response and transferred the call to someone else.

Another thing the advisor told me was to keep trying the eligibility check periodically, that there is the possibility it gets resolved this evening. If not hopefully I'll be able to upgrade when pre-orders start tomorrow.

Same exact issue here, although I didn't get any contact information at the end, just a sad advisor who was disappointed that his only option was to disconnect the call with no resolution (the post support survey doesn't even cover this scenario!). The senior people talked to were talking to my rep while I was on hold rather than direct to me, and while helpful, nobody was offering up any contact info. If you do contact this person, if you could let them know you are aware of others now having this problem and I would be happy to provide my contact info in private to have them assist as well.

I was told the same "you didn't make the 12th payment" thing this morning, so I went ahead and made the payment while also commenting to them that the seven people I've helped through the process today (I'm sort of the local iPhone upgrade guru for friends and family) haven't made a 12th payment either, and the Apple eligibility step lets them know that in the exact area where I'm receiving an error instead. It's only my serial and IMEI and Apple ID combination that's triggering this generic error, and nobody knows why or how.

Crossing fingers for the both of us that this resolves before 5AM PST. Support even told me they're not gonna be around whatsoever during the preorder opening until normal business hours begin.

 

[now i see it]

This is all way too complicated

 

[David8]

Same exact issue here, although I didn't get any contact information at the end, just a sad advisor who was disappointed that his only option was to disconnect the call with no resolution (the post support survey doesn't even cover this scenario!). The senior people talked to were talking to my rep while I was on hold rather than direct to me, and while helpful, nobody was offering up any contact info. If you do contact this person, if you could let them know you are aware of others now having this problem and I would be happy to provide my contact info in private to have them assist as well.

I was told the same "you didn't make the 12th payment" thing this morning, so I went ahead and made the payment while also commenting to them that the seven people I've helped through the process today (I'm sort of the local iPhone upgrade guru for friends and family) haven't made a 12th payment either, and the Apple eligibility step lets them know that in the exact area where I'm receiving an error instead. It's only my serial and IMEI and Apple ID combination that's triggering this generic error, and nobody knows why or how.

Crossing fingers for the both of us that this resolves before 5AM PST. Support even told me they're not gonna be around whatsoever during the preorder opening until normal business hours begin.

The advisor did say that I was not the only person she had spoke with about this issue. Why they are not informing all of the support people about this problem makes no sense. If I do need to get back in touch with the advisor I will let her know I've spoke to someone else with the same issue.

 

[Lobwedgephil]

The advisor did say that I was not the only person she had spoke with about this issue. Why they are not informing all of the support people about this problem makes no sense. If I do need to get back in touch with the advisor I will let her know I've spoke to someone else with the same issue.

Did your phone get replaced under AppleCare at some point?

 

[David8]

Did your phone get replaced under AppleCare at some point?

No, never had to replace it.

 

[Lobwedgephil]

No, never had to replace it.

Gotcha, I had similar issue a few years ago, but was due to AppleCare replacement. They were never able to resolve it, so hope it works better for you.

 

[fs454]

No, never had to replace it.

Mine did not work this morning. Same error, and did not allow me to apply for a new iUP loan separate from the one I already have. I got denied immediately due to existing loan in progress.

Honestly, Apple can go **** themselves. This is unacceptable to not be able to even communicate to me why or what on their end is preventing me from doing what every other customer is able to do, following every single rule and guideline to get the phone in a reasonable timeframe, using the service that they have specifically designed and advertised as being able to upgrade to the latest iPhone immediately each year. Hours and hours and hours wasted. Through no fault of my own.

The excitement is gone, and Apple is no longer the company they were ten years ago.

 

[eckomania]

I’m experiencing all of the same issues that were mentioned above. I’ve been on the iPhone Upgrade Program since it started with the iPhone X and never seen anything like this. The crazy part is that Apple is legit losing sales due to this “bug.”

 

[noteple]

It would be nice If Apple gave their support people a what-if button.
Something each agent could push to process the order, keep the customer, and worry about the details between the time of the problem and the delivery date a week from now.

This isn’t their first rodeo with major screwups. The customer base will not stay loyal to a fault without premier customer service.

 

[fs454]

It would be nice If Apple gave their support people a what-if button.
Something each agent could push to process the order, keep the customer, and worry about the details between the time of the problem and the delivery date a week from now.

This isn’t their first rodeo with major screwups. The customer base will not stay loyal to a fault without premier customer service.

They straight up just ended the final call with "we don't know, we have no options, I've contacted everyone I can contact, your account is fine, and that's it. Have a nice day, thank you for calling apple."

I am at a loss.

 

[jaredt203]

Same issue. Tried to resolve earlier this week with no solution.

The Apple online store/app recognizes that I'm a part of the upgrade program but the verification system is telling me I'm not. After over an hour on the phone they told me I had to go into an Apple store to get it resolved... spent another hour in the store where they told me they needed to call support and put in a ticket. Ultimately their quick fix was for me to sign up for a new iPhone upgrade program, then go back to the store to turn in my current phone and have them manually figure out how to close out my old loan. Ultimately decided it wasn't worth the hassle. I'll wait and upgrade next year.

 

[jaredt203]

It would be nice If Apple gave their support people a what-if button.
Something each agent could push to process the order, keep the customer, and worry about the details between the time of the problem and the delivery date a week from now.

This isn’t their first rodeo with major screwups. The customer base will not stay loyal to a fault without premier customer service.

They straight up just ended the final call with "we don't know, we have no options, I've contacted everyone I can contact, your account is fine, and that's it. Have a nice day, thank you for calling apple."

I am at a loss.

Seriously.

I understand that things happen. Systems break, things go wrong. But for some customers, say, those of us loyal enough to upgrade our phones every year, they should resolve it without yanking us around over many hours on the phone or in store. Assign it to a technician, and call us back once it's resolved.

 

[David8]

Seriously.

I understand that things happen. Systems break, things go wrong. But for some customers, say, those of us loyal enough to upgrade our phones every year, they should resolve it without yanking us around over many hours on the phone or in store. Assign it to a technician, and call us back once it's resolved.

Exactly, this whole mess with support not able to handle the problem is pathetic and inexcusable. Instead of being able to upgrade, which is the entire purpose of the program, we get this:

 

[David8]

Still no solution, but Apple is more than happy to send an email to encourage pre-ordering. I doubt it will get anyone's attention at Apple, but I replied with a screen shot of the error message:

 

[fs454]

Seriously.

I understand that things happen. Systems break, things go wrong. But for some customers, say, those of us loyal enough to upgrade our phones every year, they should resolve it without yanking us around over many hours on the phone or in store. Assign it to a technician, and call us back once it's resolved.

I ended up ditching iUP. Financed with ATT, $38/mo for 36 mo plus 9.99 for AppleCare. $48 per mo that if I pay a bit more per month like I would have with iUP, I’ll be well within being able to trade in next year and break even on canceling out the remainder.

sold my 12PM to a friend for $800 so I can pay off the citizens iUP loan. I hate doing it this way, but at least it worked out without waiting for Apple to fix this issue which may never happen as far as I’m concerned with how pathetic the launch was with other show stopping bugs.

Apple is noticeably slipping.

 

[archrider]

I've had the same problem for the last week. I got the same message on my iMac and my phone app. I talked to four representatives including one that was a senior advisor. No one could solve it. The senior advisor gave me a case number and submitted it to an engineering team. She also gave me her direct phone number and of course email contact information. She said she would call back in precisely five days which will be this coming Sunday. I also talked to a citizens one representative and he was not able to give me any information that helped. He did say that May 12 payment would be today so I am hoping that things change because of that.

 

[archrider]

Has anyone experiencing this problem found or received from Apple a solution.

 

[fs454]

Has anyone experiencing this problem found or received from Apple a solution.

I had no success after hours on the phone. The problem is not with Citizens or not having 12 payments as the process takes that into account when it works, and the problem is not with any low level account freeze or block or bad standing with either Citizens or Apple. It's simply an engineering issue that is not getting communicated and is not getting any internal attention whatsoever from Apple.

As a big proponent of it that's probably gotten ~40 people enrolled in the past, I ended up ditching the iPhone Upgrade Program altogether this year as it failed at its one and only tentpole feature - upgrading on time to the new iPhone. And critically, Apple can't even get its **** together to figure out why this is happening. Who's to say if they get it resolved days later than the official preorders, and now one day from launch (resulting in a Q1 2022 iPhone shipment in all likelihood at this point), that this won't happen again next year? And they still won't know the solution and put die hard yearly upgraders through the ringer of hours on the phone with zero answers? I'm done with it. I have a sale commitment for my 12 Pro Max for $800, just about the exact amount owed on Citizens, and I've signed up for an AT&T financing program for this coming year and will be picking up a 13PM tomorrow. I'll deal with selling the phone once more next year, and then decide what to do at that point.

Apple seriously, seriously blew it here.

 

[slippery-pete]

Had this issue a few years ago. Miserable process. Issue is with Apple not Citizens.

many hours of phone calls and being transferred. Only got resolved when I emailed Tim Cook and got assigned to “executive team”

took 10 days in tota