Malcolm Owen
New owners of the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max are struggling to get the mobile devices to connect to Verizon Wireless, with the carrier allegedly having issues activating the devices for some customers on its network.
Less than 48 hours after the release of the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, subscribers of Verizon cannot connect their devices due to problems verifying their Verizon billing information. The details are required in order to activate the devices with the carrier, but a breakdown in communications is making the process fail for some users.
AppleInsider was contacted by multiple readers on Friday and Saturday, claiming to have iPhones that are unable to be activated, because "Apple can't verify my Verizon billing zip code and PIN." Neither Apple nor Verizon are willing to accept blame, with the companies pointing the blame at the another.
Readers are not the only one to suffer from the problem, as Reddit posts on the Verizon subreddit reveal others are enduring the same zip code and PIN issue. Support teams from both sides are said to have no idea what is happening to cause this problem.
The same threads also offer up a hint at a solution to the woes, with users apparently managing to activate their devices by plugging in various PIN and zip code combinations they previously had registered to their Verizon account. One poster suggests the activation errors relate to the process grabbing the old address data from the associated Apple ID, and not the current Verizon billing address, which would be a problem for anyone who moved home over the last few years.
The root cause of the problem does seem to be a data mismatch between the two companies, but aside from trying older credentials and hoping it works, it is unclear if either side will fix the problem anytime soon.
The Verizon activation issue is one of a number of events that have slightly marred the launch of Apple's latest iPhones. Other mishaps that have occurred include the preorder system at Apple Store locations enduring an outage on Friday, notifications sent to some customers that their pick-up order is delayed, and errors with UPS' tracking system showing shipments supposedly due for Friday were pushed back to Monday.
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Charles Martin
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
Wesley Hilliard
33 Comments
I'm on Sprint and having the same issue. I have no old zip or PIN as this is a new account. Apple nor Sprint support can help.
Had the same issue with Verizon. Couldn't use any of the online tools. Kept denying my PIN. Had to call. Waited 20 mins but they resolved it.
Hey guys, appreciate you writing up this article. I had a really bad experience with my iPhone X Max.
1) UPS Delivery issue:
Was waiting at home all day for the phone UPS delivery didn't ring my doorbell and was going to take the phone back with them thinking I wasn't in my apartment. Thankfully my super signed for it.
2) Activation issue:
Couldn't activate my phone with billing postal code and pin code and and called the MYPHONE Apple number. They made me connect to iTunes and reinstall iOS for no reason. They said I have to do it that way if I didn't buy the phone from my carrier and bought it from Apple. This I am sure isn't true. This also didn't help. At the end iTunes asked for Verizon pin code and billing zip code and it wouldn't accept.
I contacted Verizon and then Verizon didn't know what was happening and contacted Apple who didn't know what was happening either and Apple took down all my details and said an Engineer would get back to them in 24-48 hours. This took hours.
I looked online and read that people had success activating with their old pins. So I spent a few hours searching for my old pin from a year ago.. I found it eventually and this worked!
No offense to anyone, This is what Apple's 15th phone they've released? Apple and Verizon should really have this all figured out and tested properly. If they're taking my money at least give me a pain free experience. I shouldn't have to worry about if I am going to get my phone or if I am going to have to spend 7 hours troubleshooting to make it work.
We’ve been through various levels of support with each of Apple and Verizon.
We have an account with multiple devices getting upgraded. Bottom line, one device required entry of an old zip code despite all account settings and the like being updated to our latest address.
Try your old zip code or Verizon pin!