AT&T

AT&T Data Rates in Mexico Are Just Crazy

Sébastien Page ∙ July 9, 2010

As I was driving along the Mexican border between Phoenix and San Diego yesterday, I received this text message from AT&T, which I assume thought I was already on the other side of the border. The text message was sent to alert me of the prices abroad.

Almost a dollar per minute for phone calls! $20 per MB? Really? That sure is going to be some expensive emails...

The moral of this story, if any, is that you should always be careful what you do with your iPhone when traveling oversea, especially with data which can run in the background and get you bad surprises at the end of your trip.

If you're going to use your iPhone abroad, I suggest you check out these tips for traveling overseas with an iPhone.

Apple & AT&T May Prevent iPhone Jailbreak With OTA Updates

Sébastien Page ∙ June 23, 2010

Ok people, take this one with a huge grain of salt but there is a rumor going around that says Apple and AT&T might be preventing iPhone jailbreaks on iOS 4 via OTA updates sent to your iPhone. Does that sound wacky? If not, read this "tip" that was sent to some unknown blog called Addictive Tips from a so-called Apple insider.

How it works is every 7 to 14 days We (Apple) and AT&T send a message to your iPhone that gathers some data from your iPhone without you knowing and we see what is running, baseband and firmware. We then send a following message. “There are optional updates for your iPhone, Would you like to install them now?” two options “Yes” or “Later”. Those are what would would call “OPTIONAL UPDATES”

Now there are things called “MANDATORY UPDATES”. They tend to work the same way, grab data from the iPhones sends it to AT&T and us then back to your iPhone with the message, “Your iPhone (name of iphone) must be updated to the current AT&T standards to run”, your only option is to “Accept” Now you can try to work your way around it until you get the second mandatory message again “You must plug iPhone into iTunes and update”

If you don’t do this you will then receive no Signal from the network anymore and your iPhone will potentially lock up with no signs of use until you update your iPhone via iTunes. You all agreed to this terms and condition when you installed iTunes 9.2 and then again once you updated to iOS4. With that being Said go ahead Try to unlock the iPhone it will only last 14 days max…

I think it's complete BS from a blog that wants its 5 minutes of fame but I thought it was still worth mentioning on the blog and see what you guys think about that.

But wait, that's not over. There is more controversy contained in this "leak". According to Addictive Tips:

AT&T shipped some iPhone 4 early to verify their OTA update system. Apple stealing user information via FaceTime, which lacks encryption. Some Apple employees who are aware of this situation are not updating to iOS 4.

Does it sound wacky now? Of course it does! If it's true though, Apple and AT&T might have a lot of explaining to do...

What do you think? Do you buy into this?

[via TNW]

AT&T Sends Text Messages to iPhone 4 Owners With Activation Details

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated June 13, 2016

After emailing customers to let them know their orders had shipped, AT&T is now texting new iPhone 4 owners to give them more details about their new device's activation.

The text message contains a link to AT&T's website which provides more information about the activation process, being yet another indication that some orders might indeed ship a day ahead of schedule.

Under the overload of activation requests the last couple years, some users had reported not being able to activate their new iPhone for up to 48 hours. Maybe Apple decided to ship these iPhone 4 earlier to some of us in order to ease the load on AT&T's servers on Thursday, when the iPhone 4 is officially hitting the shelves.

I haven't received such a text message myself but I'm curious to see who among you got one. Let us know by leaving a comment below.

[via RWW]

AT&T Starts Shipping iPhone 4

Sébastien Page ∙ June 22, 2010

Apple has reportedly started shipping iPhone 4 orders for a few days. Most people who ordered via Apple probably received emails letting them know their iPhone is on the way.

Now AT&T has been emailing people who ordered via the carrier to notify them their iPhone is coming.

My Word With Friends buddy Rahmoore sent me a screenshot of the email he received from AT&T. If you ordered with AT&T as well, check out your email inbox!

600,000 iPhones Were Pre-Ordered Yesterday

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated October 10, 2018

AT&T just issued a statement about yesterday's iPhone 4 pre-orders. According to AT&T, "iPhone 4 pre-order sales yesterday were 10-times higher than the first day of pre-ordering for the iPhone 3G S last year. Consumers are clearly excited about iPhone 4, AT&T's more affordable data plans and our early upgrade pricing."

In the same time, AT&T's website got more than 13 million visits, which is 3 times higher than their previous record. Not surprising their system crashed!

AT&T didn't deem it necessary to update us on their latest security breach though.

The company stopped receiving pre-orders as they are running out of inventory. They are waiting for Apple to allocate them more units to resume pre-orders.

And here is Apple's statement:

Yesterday Apple and its carrier partners took pre-orders for more than 600,000 of Apple's new iPhone 4. It was the largest number of pre-orders Apple has ever taken in a single day and was far higher than we anticipated, resulting in many order and approval system malfunctions. Many customers were turned away or abandoned the process in frustration. We apologize to everyone who encountered difficulties, and hope that they will try again or visit an Apple or carrier store once the iPhone 4 is in stock.

How to Pre-Order Your iPhone 4 During The iPhonecalypse

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 23, 2016

If you're one of the many that were not successful pre-ordering your iPad today because of all the AT&T fiasco, then their might be some light at the end of the tunnel.

It's official, AT&T is sold out of iPhone 4 pre-orders for the launch day. Your only hope is now Apple. At the time I am writing this, Apple's website is still crashing when trying to pre-order an iPhone 4.

From my personal experience, if you want to get to pre-order the iPhone 4, your best way is to go through the Apple Store application that was released this morning. You won't be able to per-order to get your iPhone delivered, however you will be able to reserve your iPhone 4 for pickup.

I just went through the process again and I was able to reserve another iPhone 4 (which I'm going to cancel right away). Be careful though, reserving an iPhone doesn't guarantee that you will be able to get one.

Per Apple's own words: "Pre-authorization does not guarantee iPhone availability at an Apple Retail Store. iPhone is sold on a first-come, first-served basis. Your reservation is valid for pickup only at the Apple Retail Store that you selected. If you do not collect your selected item(s) by the designated date and time, your reservation will be canceled."

Good luck, and let us know how it goes.

AT&T Runs Out of iPhone 4

Sébastien Page ∙ June 15, 2010

BGR reports that AT&T is sold out of iPhone 4 pre-orders and anyone who was lucky enough to get his pre-order completed after 1:30PM PST will get their iPhone sometimes between June 25 and July 5.

With all this iPhone 4 pre-orders fiasco, I really wonder how anyone got to get through the process. Even more surprising is how AT&T was able to be sold out running on a completely failed system. That will remain one of the big mysteries of the day...

Engadget got an official statement from AT&T:

Because of the incredible interest in iPhone 4, today was the busiest online sales day in AT&T history. As of Tuesday afternoon, customers who preorder iPhone 4 moving forward will receive their device on June 25 or later, depending on when the order is placed. We'll email customers with confirmation once their order is placed, and again when it ships. In addition, we will have devices available on a first-come, first-serve basis in our stores beginning on June 24.

Seems like you can still get an iPhone 4 on launch day if you decide to get in line at 4am... Others who did pre-order thinking they would receive their iPhone on launch day will have to wait at least until June 25. Unacceptable!

AT&T Faces Yet Another Security Breach With iPhone 4 Pre-Orders

Sébastien Page ∙ June 15, 2010

As if 114,000 compromised email addresses and a complete iPhone 4 launch failure weren't enough, AT&T is now facing another security breach, this time of a more important level.

Apparently, some AT&T customers logging into AT&T's website get access to other people's account.

According to Gizmodo:

This is how it happens: A customer tries to log into their AT&T account to order a new iPhone 4 upgrade. Despite entering their username and password, the AT&T system would take them to another user account. This gives access to all kinds of private information about the mistaken customer: Addresses, phone calls, and bills, along with the rest of private information, becomes exposed to random strangers.

An AT&T insider explains what really happened:

Over the weekend there was a major fraud update that went down on all of AT&T’s systems, from Saturday overnight to Sunday early morning. All systems were down and agents were unable to use any systems.

The issues people are seeing at AT&T stores and online are most likely related to this update that went wrong.

I do know that there was absolutely NO TESTING of this system done before the launch of the new iPhone. I know it’s just heresay at this point, but I can confirm that there was a major outage over the weekend that impacted all ordering systems and programs, and I can confirm that there were multiple systems being upgraded/updated, with some updates being related to fraud.

That's heavy. That's really heavy!

What says you?

[Image from Giz]

Failure to Launch: iPhone 4 Pre-Orders Create the First iPhonecalypse

Sébastien Page ∙ June 15, 2010

If you tried to pre-order your iPhone 4 today, you probably encountered difficulties, namely, Apple's or AT&T's website timing out and giving you various errors. Some early reports say these issues were even worse than a movie featuring Matthew MacConaughey.

It got so bad that at some point during the day both Apple and AT&T shut down parts of their websites, bringing the world to face the very first iPhonecalypse.

So what the heck happened?

What happened is that AT&T's servers were not ready to receive such a massive amount of traffic and simply went down. You might have been on Apple's website and have an error message. Well, the error message wasn't Apple's fault. It came from Apple because their website wasn't getting any response from AT&T, thus returning an error message.

Should we blame AT&T?

I love to be the devil's advocate so I'll say yes AND no.

Yes we should blame AT&T becaus

How to Find Out if You Are Eligible for an iPhone 4 Upgrade

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated May 11, 2018

This year for the release of the iPhone 4, AT&T is giving a special gift to some of its customers. If you are an iPhone customer eligible for an upgrade between today and the end of 2010, you have been made immediately eligible for the best pricing for the iPhone 4 with a new 2-year contract.

AT&T even released a nice little video with Seth, the guy supposed to be cool at AT&T (but I can't stand him).

To find out if you are eligible, you can do the following:

Visit a store or call AT&T Dial *639# Go to wireless.ATT.com and click on "Check upgrade options"

FBI Investigates AT&T’s iPad 3G Security Breach

Sébastien Page ∙ June 11, 2010

I told you yesterday about the AT&T iPad 3G security breach that exposed the email address of over 114,000 iPad owners. If this security breach hadn't compromised any politicians and highly ranked military officials, I doubt this issue would have had any legal follow up.

The problem is that the hackers did uncover the email addresses of important people. When I say important, I mean people like New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, or William Eldredge, who commands the largest operational B-1 strategic bomber group in the U.S. Air Force.

Naturally when such high profile people are involved, the FBI started looking into it. According to the WSJ:

"The FBI is aware of these possible computer intrusions and has opened an investigation," said Katherine Schweit, an FBI spokeswoman. Ms. Schweit said the FBI began the investigation Thursday but wouldn't comment on what the bureau is looking at. "It's very early in the investigation," she added.

What's going to happen next? I'm not sure but for some reason I don't think AT&T is going to get in trouble. We'll see what happens in the next few days.

AT&T Hacked! 114,000 iPad Owners’ Email Addresses Compromised

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated November 12, 2019

When you deal with large and reputable companies, you might think your data is safe with them. Think again! A weakness in AT&T's security recently exposed the identities and email addresses of over 114,000 iPad owners, including politicians, high ranked military officials, and top CEOs... Ouch!

Electronista explains the hack: Hacker group Goatse Security claimed to Gawker to have manipulated an AT&T website-side script that would return the e-mail addresses associated with the ICC-IDs of the SIM cards in Apple's tablets. By using and guessing iPad ICC-IDs through a PHP script, as well as spoofing an iPad-like user agent, the group collected a large amount of personal information that included some well-known figures.

A bit after the news broke, AT&T issued a statement in which they recognized their mistake and said they were working on it. In brief, they gave the usual speech companies give when that kind of event happens.

So how bad is this really? Well, it's not that bad. The worst thing that will happen is that these people are going to get some extra spam. The ICC-ID isn’t used in any secure access protocols so it won't go much further.

If I were one of those affected customers, I'd give AT&T a call and would ask for a compensation. A year worth of 3G service might sound a little too much but 6 months free seems pretty reasonable to me.

Have you been affected by this security breach? If so, have you been contacted by AT&T? Did you ask for a compensation?