I stuck with AT&T as my carrier...not because AT&T rocks my world with their product, just because that's who I've had all along and I could stay grandfathered under their unlimited data plan. I got the phone delivered through the mail yesterday, so all I needed to do was go to AT&T's on-line customer center to deactivate the old phone and activate the new one. It seemed pretty simple, and for the most part, it was...except for one hiccup that almost blew my mind.
Pretty deep into the process, I needed to input something called an ICCID number from the phone's SIM card. What the heck is that? Well, there was a nice link I could click to find out how to get this number. And here is what it said:
That's right, it told me to take off the back cover and remove the battery. Well, I'm not a technogeek, but I was pretty sure that taking off the back cover would completely void my warranty, and taking out the battery (which, incidentally, isn't intended to be replaceable), would risk damaging my phone and making me wish that it was still under warranty. I confirmed all of this to be true with a quick Google search.
Another Google search revealed that I could get this ICCID number simply by going to the settings menu on the phone. Or, if I really did need to see it printed on the SIM card, I could just insert a paper clip into a hole on the side of the phone and the card would pop out. Or, if I really wanted to be lazy, I could just look on the bottom of the box the phone came in and, lo and behold, there was the ICCID number.
So, this raises an interesting question. If there were three really easy ways to get this number, why would AT&T ignore all of those and instead tell you to risk breaking the phone and voiding your warranty all in one clumsy action?
I think there are three possible answers. Either their activation website is run by a complete buffoon, or this is one damned evil company with a diabolical plot to sell new phones and avoid honoring warranties, or Sprint or Verizon has hijacked their site in a corporate espionage maneuver. I'm not sure which of these three is more feasible...they all seem to have merit to me.
The good news is that I got the phone activated without having to bust it open. I just wonder how many people have taken the bait on this. Their one savior is that there are two screws that have to be removed to open the phone up, and these require a really tiny jeweler's screwdriver that most people won't have just lying around. Of course, you could just take a hammer and chisel and crack the back off. I suspect the end result wouldn't be much different. Maybe AT&T should list that as an option.
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