iPhone X pre-orders kick off Friday, October 27 at 12:01AM PT/3:01AM ET, and with heavy demand expected for this tenth anniversary iPhone, coupled with rumoured lower than expected launch supply, you’re going to need all the tips and tricks to nab one.
Let’s go over some tips on how to prepare for this Friday’s iPhone X pre-order and do nothing but win, win, win.
Set Your Alarm, Sleepyhead
If you’re not awake for this pre-order, there’s no point in even trying. Your best bet is to set your alarm for 15-30 minutes before the pre-order start time. Lucky folks on the west coast just need to stay up late (set your alarm anyways, young parents), while those on the east coast will most likely need to wake up from a deep slumber.
Order with the Apple Store iOS App
The Apple Store iOS app has made a name for itself as the fastest and easiest way to complete an Apple product pre-order. It’s especially easy since you can pay with Apple Pay and Touch ID, shortening the checkout process.
To prepare for iPhone X, you should:
Just click on the Account tab in the Apple Store iOS app and confirm your Primary Payment and Primary Shipping details.
To confirm Apple Pay details, on your iPhone, go to:
Settings > Wallet & Apple Pay
Then select the card you will use for Apple Pay and confirm the billing address is current. Also make sure your credit card used for Apple Pay has a limit that will handle your preorder amount.
Favourite Your iPhone X Configuration Ahead of Time
It comes down to seconds once preorders launch to get in on the first wave. To make for faster checkout, you can ‘favourite’ the iPhone X configuration you want ahead of time.
Open the app, select the iPhone X colour you desire (Silver or Space Grey) and capacity (64GB or 256GB), then tap the ‘heart’ icon in the upper left to add to favourites.
When the preorder goes live, in the Apple Store App, go to:
Account > My Favourites > your iPhone X configuration saved > Add to Bag
From here, tap Bag and proceed to checkout. You can then pay with Apple Pay.
If you’re unsure how the process will work, try purchasing an Apple accessory using the above steps to familiarize yourself with the process. Once the order goes through, you can then cancel it before it even ships.
Keep an Eye Out for Reserve and Pick Up
For this year’s iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus preorders, Apple enabled Reserve and Pick Up, an option for customers to pick up their orders at Apple Stores. Keep an eye out for this option when iPhone X preorders go live, as most likely it’ll be available again. Here’s where the Reserve and Pick Up option appeared for iPhone 8:
Reserve and Pick Up will allow you to either purchase outright or perform a carrier upgrade at Apple Stores. You can decide when you get there, as this is what people have been able to do in the past.
Have Backup Devices in Place
On top of having your iPhone or iPad ready with the Apple Store iOS app, have a backup device ready to place preorders, such as your Mac or PC ready on Apple.ca. You can also install a browser extension that automatically refreshes the website until it goes live.
Don’t Rely On Your Carrier Preorder Page
Let’s be honest, pre-ordering from Rogers, Telus and Bell in the past hasn’t been that successful. With iPhone X rumoured to be in short supply, it’ll be tough to get a device on launch day, we suspect.
Miscellaneous Tips
Again, you will want to double check your Apple Pay details and add your iPhone X configuration to favourites by at least noon local time. Why? The Apple Store will go down hours ahead of preorders and you won’t get store access once that happens. If you don’t do it at lunch time you’ll forget during dinner and after it’ll be too late.
Also, if you want an iPhone X on launch day, order a silver model. From our informal poll, it looks like it’ll be the ‘least’ popular.
What are your iPhone X preorder tips you have to share?
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Don’t order silver…I have it on very good authority the silver is going to be much slower than the space grey, because the color messes with the antenna. Yeah, that sounds plausible. (Can you tell I’m ordering silver?)
Haha nice try
Haha…I’m actually looking forward to being able to switch it up this time around…I hate the white fronts on iPhones, so have been exclusively Space Grey or Black for my last several. A silver (or white, as it appears in pictures) back will be nice for a change, considering both colours have black bezels.
I thought I wanted space grey but I don’t know because the Silver looks sharp. I’m just not crazy about the chrome sides which I know is crazy to say but I’m not a huge chrome fan. I don’t know what to do Hahaha
This has been my dilemma for weeks now. I have been exclusively space gray (did buy a silver 6 but returned it promptly for space gray) since the beginning. I’m considering buying both then returning the one I don’t like. I went with black vs. jet black on the 7 and regret it ever since…
Watch out though, I think this year Apple is implementing no-return policy
I heard that in was in Asia possibly… not NA… I will check…
Totally false
You forgot to mention what capacity coupled with Silver has this detrimental effect Hahaha
That would be the 256gb. Too many gb. I think that’s the problem.
Thanks Gary! So am I right in understanding that the only way to get the X on contract, is to hopefully get through on the “Reserve and Pickup” option? I’m assuming that will have to be done on a desktop, or does the iOS app have a “Reserve and Pickup” option as well?
Wondering this as well…and where exactly in the app it will show up.
Usually its at the top of the screen when you select a device.
so I’m thinking it won’t show up on a favourited configuration in the app…need to go to the start page of iPhone X I assume as it would only be found there.
Yes Reserve and Pick Up will let you do your upgrade through carriers.
The iOS app should have Reserve and Pick Up as an option, as well as desktop. If it’s available it’ll show up.
For the iPhone 8 if I recall correctly, you see the Reserve and Pickup on the App but if you click it will take you to the online store in Safari. I would sufgest using the desktop website to make sure you don’t miss it.
Does anyone have experience with this? If I indeed want to reserve and pick up as I want this on contract (Telus say), does this link then pull you out of the app and will definitely slow down the buying process?
I preordered my iPhone 8 using this. I previously preordered it through Rogers, then went on the App and saw there was a Reserve and pick up option, and thats what Idid and cancelled the Rogers one. But im pretty sure I could not reserve it straight from the App, although its been over a month so I don’t recall for sure. But it was not extra hassle.
I selected reserve and pickup and sceheduled a time for two iPhone x orders and it says “processing items”, even 5 hours later, but I did schedule a time and got an email from Apple after relaying these details. Am I waiting for confirmation still because it says “processsing items”?
Wake up middle of the night for a over-hyped phone with an ugly notch…no thanks!
Did you say something?
Sorry I forgot to include…ridiculously over-priced.
I think I hear something but I can’t make it out… Must be the wind outside.
Ooooh you showed me…just do what apple fan boys do best and blindly fork over $1300+ for a phone that will last 2 years
Trolls.
Okay that’s it… I have to get some weather sealer for that window to stop that wind sound!
I hear it too. But it sounds more like steam to me.
The jealousy is strong with this one.
mine will only last one year… I’ll be getting the XS, 10S, 11 or whatever they call it next year.
$1728 CAD, actually. And my credit card is cocked and loaded
A friend of mine is waiting for his bank to approve his mortgage so he can buy the X. If he can’t get approval he’ll sell his left kidney.
That’s okay, if he cant get the mortgage he can always do the next best thing and rent… aka Android 😉 Hahaha
Is Apple pay still a bad choice for pre-order? I have heard people running into serious issues using apple pay for a pre-order since the system only allows for one charge (which would be the authorization only, as card isn’t charged until shipped).
Hoping someone might have some information about how many iPhone X per order will be allowed? Has Apple released any information about how many they will allow per order or per person if split across multiple orders?
most like 2, that’s what iphone 8 was when it came out and still is the case. But I think it’s per apple account 2 each
Thanks for the info TomTom, much appreciated!
Can someone enlighten me in Canada is your credit card build at time of shipping or at time of purchase ?
Thanks Siri, I meant “billed.”
when shipped
Can we discuss cases for a minute? What’s everyone ordering for cases? Or do you prefer caseless?
Ali Express! Tones of cases! I just ordered mine
I got the Ringke clear fusion case on Amazon to start with. Only $10.99, no tax and fulfilled by Amazon so you get it quick. It gives decent protection but still lets the design of the phone shine through. TPU around the edges with a hard back; all clear.
I’ve had Ringke cases before and liked them. They’re essentially the same quality as Spigen, but at a lower cost.
I also got a JETech one and screen protector sent to me for free because they said I was an “Amazon top 1000 reviewer” though I never signed up for anything, just got an email from them.
Someone keeps removing my comment 😉 I use a case, and I just recently ordered one from an app that connects people to wholesalers in an Eastern country… There, I hope that’s subtle enough hahaha
I am thinking Spigen Ultra hybrid S with the kickstand? I used spigen before and it protected my 7 plus pretty well. For 16.99 from amazon the price is not bad at all
Just ordered it: looks very chic and love the magnetic stand! Thx!
I went with the uag pathfinder. Figured I’d try something different. I’m a fan of slim 2 layer cases normally.
I used to use a UAG case. At some point I started seeing the “U” as a “V” and I just couldn’t bring myself to continue carrying around a case that said “VAG” on it. haha.
If you guys don’t want to wait for cases, Amazon has lots that are Prime eligible http://amzn.to/2zHf5g7
Let me check my gofundme campaign to see if I have enough to buy this laptop..I mean cell phone..
You’re probably not going to want to see the price of a new Macbook Pro then….
Do you guys know how many iPhone X I can preorder? Maximum 2 per account? Some friends are asking me to order for them.
Can Apple Care be added later so that I won’t have to waste time for this extra step?
Yes, you just have to bring your phone to an Apple store so they can do a physical inspection the phone to make sure it’s not already damaged when you’re buying the warranty.
You can also do it without needing to go to an Apple Store, they will just ask you to run a diagnostics on your phone and send them the results, no need to go in person.
For my MPB I waited 364 days, then called Apple and they added the AppleCare+, no questions asked (in fact the customer support found that hilarious: the 364th day!) … For the iPhone though I’m pretty sure MathieuM is right and that you might have to bring it to an Apple Store. I’ll probably get it too, but I’m waiting over a month… to let my wallet breath a bit between payments! 🙂
Just a reminder, Apple used to allow you to purchase Apple Care for iPhone any time while the original warranty was still valid; ie one year from the date of purchase. They’ve changed that now to just 60 days from the date of purchase.
Should you keep force closing and opening the app until the store goes live? Or will it just show up in the app automatically as soon as the store opens? I normally force quit every 15 seconds or so until I see its active, but not sure if that helps at all.
It should just go live but I force quit like you mentioned.
The fix for the iPhone X is available.
Just a heads up to any Telus users wanting to use the telus website. Tried it yesterday with an Iphone8 and an LG to see how it works. The system wouldn’t allow an online update. Been working with their tech support since yesterday, and as of 5 mins ago they have no idea what is going on.
so if you plan on using Telus, check it out to make sure this isn’t a system wide problem. Me – I’m now porting over to Rogers.
can paypal be used in apple store app for payment ?
Not in Canada.
“You can also install a browser extension that automatically refreshes the website until it goes live.”
Can you give an example that you would recommend?
Some like this:
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/super-auto-refresh/kkhjakkgopekjlempoplnjclgedabddk?hl=en
Great, thanks!
App Store still close…. ;(
12:02. still no store
Order placed. Delivers: 21 Nov – 28 Nov!?
are they unlocked?
Nothing yet for me 🙁
That was surprisingly easy.
That was easy..where’s the Easy button..Nov 3 for 256G..unlike a few years ago where it took me 30 minutes..
Same here, It seemed almost too quick and easy. I thought for sure something had gone wrong and my order wouldn’t be confirmed but got the email almost immediately. Phew, now to try to get back to sleep! Congrats!
I had delivery of the Nov3, then it mysteriously changed to 2-3 weeks when I had to login. Great job apple
Wow – got in right away and 2-3 weeks delivery. Any one get an earlier delivery date?
I have pick-up at Toronto Eaton Centre Apple Store Nov 3.
I snagged two silver (64 and 256) for delivery on Nov 3
got it! followed your steps, they worked perfectly. thx Gary
Surprisingly inconsistent. Still not loading on my macbook or iphone after having placed my order on my ipad. Was continually refreshing all three devices but the ipad worked first, for whatever reason. Had to deal with logging in and entering my mailing address (despite having updated all of this prior to tonight) and was given a delivery time of 2-3 weeks. Damn.
had Nov 3rd as well but changed while processing the apple pay
Got iPhone X, 256gb silver 2-3 weeks within 6 min of going live..
Mine switched to 2-3 weeks rights away… Damn!
The app was awesome. Got in at 3:02. Ordered 2 x 256GB Space Grey. Nov 3 delivery for both. Key was having Apple Pay setup with Touch ID in advance.
got 2 for delivery on 3rd, silver 64 and silver 256!
How’d you manage that? The store didn’t come up for me until 3:10am ET, was 2-3 weeks out immediately.
I managed to do the same. Now I’ll sitting at home starring out the window all day.
Ugh! The Canadian store took 10 minutes to come up after the US one was live! At least for me. 2-3 weeks shipping immediately for the 256gb.
I had the same experience. I was for sure refreshing on two devices, so I find it hard to believe that any went up for store reservation or launch-day delivery…
Maybe there was a cache delay or something getting replicated to all their cloud servers. May have been a geographic delay. Still frustrating!
Same here. So fustrating we got shaft with the 2-3 weeks shipping. Was refreshing a lot and can’t get in until this time frame. Will have to line up next Friday to get it sooner. 🙁
are all pre ordered iPhones in Canadian apple store unlocked?
All outright purchases are unlocked. On December 1st this year no phones can be sold with locks and if you have a phone that is locked the carrier must unlock it when requested for no additional charge.
I’m wondering if my iPhone X will be locked when I pick it up next Friday. I know they don’t have to be unlocked until Dec 1, but given it’s less than a month, and it was reported a few weeks ago Rogers was unlocking phones for no charge, I’m hopeful that it’ll be unlocked. Probably wishful thinking.
You would think that they would just start unlocking all the phones and not selling them locked anymore because come December 1 they will most likely have an influx of calls clogging up their call centre for this reason. On the other hand, money talks.
Yeah, same thinking here. It would really make sense for them to sell unlocked now, especially iPhones which really don’t come pre-locked. But as you say, perhaps they’re thinking they’ll squeeze a few more unlocking fee dollars out of people in the last few weeks possible. Thing is, I’m going to the UK third week of November. I refuse to pay an unlocking fee when a week later it’ll be free.
Some people have had success with mangers in the call centre. I talked with a live chat agent tonight and they still definitely charge the $50.
Congrats on the X by the way. I can ensure you I am jealous!
Cheers. I was kind of shocked at how quick and easy it went for me. I got my confirmation email at 3:03am! Rough night sleep-wise but worth it. 🙂
I’m going to get my in January so I want to pre order it so I can get it then. So I’m just trying to figure out when to order.
Ugh…I was so nervous I forgot to select “pick up in store”
Is there anyway to change that? I’m guessing not.
Jealous. I don’t think there’s any way I could have done things any faster, but still got the 2-3 week delivery time.
You might be able to change it to “ship to store”, that’s really little more than an address change. Call or chat with Apple as quickly as you can before the order is started to process.
soooo bad, my app still not working and my laptop said 2-3 weeks right away.. I finally got one wit telus… haha
mine changed from Nov 3rd pick up to ship in 2-3 weeks when using Apple Pay
UK is out to 4-5 weeks already.
Canada too now. “Delivers Dec 7 – Dec 13′
This phone is going to be severely constrained early into 2018. The shortage rumours were correct. Imagine what it will be by the morning. Scalpers are going to make a killing.
For sure! I could have easily had a second one for Nov 3, I would have made a killing. LOL
I couldn’t get the refreshed store page for about 10 mins…got delivery of 11/21…
Same for me
How ridiculous!!!
Took 8 minutes for the App Store to go live on my iPhone in Toronto!
MacBook was automatically refreshing every 5 seconds.
I had set everything up beforehand.
Took me less than 5 seconds to place the order and got 2-3 week delivery!! ?
First year EVER I’m not receiving my phone on launch day ?
Thanks Apple’s IT staff ?
Ditto for me. I’ve never not managed to get it launch day. For me I could see the US site was live long before the Canadian site was.
After all these years taking massive orders online, you’d think they can manage their servers’ load properly ??????
Honestly I think their servers are amazing. It must feel like a DDOS attack at Apple HQ everytime they do a pre-order. 1st new iPhone design in 4 years.
It’s all a matter of perspective.
Take a look at this fact;
Google processes around 3.5 billion searches a day now.
Mind boggling numbers right?
Would you still say Google servers are amazing if you had to wait even 30 seconds each time you typed an inquiry on Google?
Remember though, the X launch is unlike most iPhone launches. Usually, a new iPhone launches in only 7-9 initial countries, and is gradually rolled out to the rest of the world over a number of weeks. The iPhone X launched in over 55 countries at once.
Valid point.
Although let’s not forget the purpose of this very article!
Seconds matter!
And the Canadian online store was being held back by 8-9 minutes!
Imagine holding back Lewis Hamilton at a race for a full minute!
In honesty, the Canadian store wasn’t held back though. Unfortunately, it was a bit of bad luck on your part if that’s what happened to you. I was in, ordered and had my confirmation email time stamped at 3:03 EDT.
After I had my phone confirmed, I could have easily gone back in and ordered another. I went through the motions just to see if I’d still get it Nov 3 and I did. Both on the iOS app and desktop. I don’t know what causes one person to go through quickly and easily and another to be frustrated, but there are probably a dozen contributing factors.
I agree it was a bit of bad luck on my end, and reading the comments here you’d realize it was far from an isolated incident as so many others experienced the same.
Also getting texts from quite a few friends who had the same happpened to them as well!
And also some friends in Toronto who did manage to get through just like yourself
When it comes to this annual ritual I always try to “get everything right” and be prepared but when the online Apple Store is denying access after 3:01 it’s a completely different story!
Oh well it is what is.
Moving on and wishing everyone the best.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Seems to have loaded quickly for those in the Toronto area…
Next time I’m VPNing to California first!
If we get “lucky” again, next time there will be issues with regions in California ?????
I got 2 64gb models with nov 3 delivery. I got into app around 3:03
I followed these instructions to a T and still got back ordered. Had everything set up in my shopping bag only to have the app come online at 3:10 and discover my bag empty. I had to re-enter all my info. Not happy
US definitely got a lot of store stock. US website is out to 4-5 weeks but lots of availability for Nov 3rd in store pickup. Strange.
Ordered on my iPad Pro. Confirmation e-mail is time-stamped 3:04. Silver, 256 GB. Delivery on 3 Nov. Broke now, but happy!
Same thing, ordered from iPad Pro, email confirmation 04:05 (Halifax), 256GB Space Grey, delivery on October 3. No issues at all.
For people in Atlantic Canada may not be worth it to go back to bed. I’m thinking about starting season 2 of Stanger Things on Netflix. It launched at the same time as iPhone X, an hour ago.
Lol well done
Okay so I had my iPhone 7 Plus on LTE with the Apple Store iOS app…was force closing and restarting the app right at 12:01 like the rest of you…nothing…kept on going and managed to finally get in, Silver 256GB for Nov. 3 delivery. boom!
Same here. Now I can relax
At what time did you manage to get the app working? My app started working at 1:07 and i got 2-3 weeks delivery.((( Now off to waiting for rogers preorder to open as i wanted to pick up at the store to get an upgrade!
I would say the app started working at around 12:05 PT. Try Best Buy instead. article coming
I had my iPad Pro and laptop ready to go thanks to your article! The laptop with two windows on auto-fresh and was force closing the app. I was in, ordered and had my confirmation email by 3:03EDT. It was so quick and easy and went so smoothly, I was sure something had messed up until I got the confirmation pickup email.
All stock now showing ships in 4-5 weeks.
5-6 weeks now.
GUYS I NEED HELP i was one of the lucky ones to get November 3rd. but i put the wrong card when i used the apple pay on my phone and the card declined. Does my order get cancelled or can i call apple and use the appropriate card?
Check your order status on the apple website. If it was declined the order should reflect that. If the order went through just call Apple in the morning and confirm everything. They should let you change the card without losing your spot. But given the demand you never know.
I can confirm that the Canadian Apple Store (website and app) only went live 10 minutes after the expected time of 3:01AM EST. All orders started at the 2-3 weeks delivery window.
It’s good in a way because if there are any manufacturing issues with iPhone X reported from early adopters we have time to cancel the order.
This is not true, it went live around 3:06am and for about 1 minute you could get Nov 3rd deliveries.
i got 2 64gb ones for launch day. Its just that the site was hammered and the system only lets certain IPs in at a time.
I got in at 3:02 am EST. Launch day delivery.
I can confirm that I got 2 silver iPhone X by 01:03am in Alberta using the app.
Rogers opened at around 4 MT Im 219 and 238 for Space grey 64
Delivery 2 + weeks
The app was absolutely useless. What a complete joke this Pre order was.
Used my iMac to pre-ordered a 64gb silver iPhone X (iPhone app didn’t work at all!). Got into the Apple site at around 3:05am (I’m in Toronto), I even had time to apply my gift card and then checked out at 3:06am. Delivery date Nov 3! Too bad I didn’t see any in-store pickup availabilities here in Toronto.
I got 256GB Silver with pickup at Toronto Eaton Centre on Nov 3. I was completely done and checked out on my iPad before the web page even loaded. It seems completely random as to what works fastest for every person.
You guys did good getting Nov. 3
I was all over this thing along with an extra set of hands. My best try yielded a 2-3 week wait.
More than likely Apple is using some form of systems management to insure the love is spread somewhat evenly.
So, in addition to being fast you also had to win the lottery.
I have mix feelings towards the iPhone pre-ordering process. It’s so exciting to pre-order and knowing you will get it on launch date, but it’s so annoying to wake up in the morning and especially for the people who won’t get their phones on launch day. I agree with you BigCat, Apple is definitely playing the psychology game with us here. I don’t gamble, but this is like playing the slot machine… it’s exciting but painful… ?.
It’s worth mentioning that BestBuy is taking pre orders on their website letting you select your carrier, there’s a $50 deposit just like they always do through the stores but it’s easier now online and they let you know where you device will be available to pick up if you are lucky to get it on Nov 3
Do they tell you your position in line, or when you’ll get your device?
Yes they give you updates on the status, i reserved 2 with different carriers just as a backup and status shows in stock on the Bell one which i sure hope means it’s guaranteed on Nov 3, and the Rogers order says ‘checking availability’ and it looks like it will change as they get more info, they do mention that they will let you know when it’s available and they pull from all across canadian locations, you can also cancel the order at anytime to get your deposit back. Just a good backup option.
Do I need to sign a contract with carrier to get one from best buy?
Tried to use reserve and pick up option, but the app didn’t show the store list, but error!! Placed order and the ETA is within 2-3 weeks. have plan to visit the store on next friday.