iPhone X pre-orders began at 12:01 a.m. on the West Coast and 3:01 a.m. on the East Coast in the United States, with throngs of Apple customers rushing to purchase the device as quickly as possible in the middle of the night.
While many customers were able to complete their order quickly enough to receive a delivery date of November 3, the day the device launches, some using the AT&T app to pre-order faced unexpected delays of 10 to 15 minutes or longer.
One AT&T subscriber, for example, tweeted screenshots of the app showing that her estimated wait time was 18 minutes until she could pre-order an iPhone X, but once she got down to one minute remaining she lost her position in the virtual queue.
@ATTCares ...You care?? I just had to wait 18 min to pre order and then redirects me to the site and makes me wait AGAIN now 30 more min???? pic.twitter.com/2TrgOd47e6 — momof4always (@Bayley4everat20) October 27, 2017
What is this @ATT I wait 47 min for the iphone X after a supposedly 15 wait and then I get this message? I’m really dissatisfied right now. pic.twitter.com/agmmIxzYUz — Christopher Saker (@CJSaker) October 27, 2017
iPhone X shipping estimates slipped to 2-3 weeks for most models within just 15 minutes, and to 4-5 weeks within 30 minutes, so these hiccups mean that some customers might not receive their iPhone X until early December.
Apple typically underpromises with its shipping estimates, however, so some customers may receive their iPhone X earlier than expected.
A bit of good news is that some customers who received a message from Apple stating they "can't reach the carrier systems" have received an email with instructions to complete their order for delivery as early as November 3.
iPhone X shipping estimates are now holding steady at 5-6 weeks in the United States.
