Struggling to order an iPhone 13 with Apple Card? It isn't just you! [Update]

Iphone 13 Mini Colors (Image credit: Apple)

What you need to know

Apple's iPhone 13 pre-orders are now live.
Some people making purchases using Apple Card faced errors.
Many people had to use another card.

Update, September 17 (5:00 pm ET): Apple says it has resolved the issue affecting Apple Card transactions

With Apple's iPhone 13 pre-orders now open it seems that a ton of people have been hit by a strange issue that prevented them from placing an order using ..... Apple Card.

As multiple iMore staffers found out, placing an order with an Apple Card simply wouldn't work — with people across Twitter reporting that the only way to get their new iPhone order in was to use another card.

Got hit but the iPhone preorder bug/problem where, even though I did the setup beforehand and my Apple Card is in good standing, order wouldn’t go through until I used a different card. Weird problem.Got hit but the iPhone preorder bug/problem where, even though I did the setup beforehand and my Apple Card is in good standing, order wouldn’t go through until I used a different card. Weird problem.— David Chartier (@chartier) September 17, 2021 September 17, 2021

Apple Card processor broken on iPhone pre-order day 🙃Apple Card processor broken on iPhone pre-order day 🙃— zmknox (@zmknox) September 17, 2021 September 17, 2021

Citizens One not taking Apple Card was not on my Bingo card for this year’s iPhone cycle.Citizens One not taking Apple Card was not on my Bingo card for this year’s iPhone cycle.— Craig Hockenberry (@chockenberry) September 17, 2021 September 17, 2021

Others found that the iPhone Upgrade Program wasn't working, either.

https://twitter.com/ThisIsNoahEvans/status/1438839852649299975

While the majority of people seem to have placed orders without issue, there's no doubt that has been far from the best iPhone buying process for others. Switching from Apple Card to another is fine for people who have another card to use, but it could prevent orders being placed for plenty of people, unfortunately.

Have you been prevented from making an iPhone purchase this morning? Shout out in the comments.

Update, September 17 (5:00 pm ET) — Apple says it has resolved the issue affecting Apple Card transactions

In an update to the company's System Status page, Apple says that it has resolved the issue that was preventing some customers from paying with their Apple Card for their iPhone Upgrade Program purchase

Some Apple Card customers were not able to make iPhone Upgrade Program purchases. Please try your purchase again.

Apple says that the issue was active between 8:00 AM - 12:36 PM EST.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.

Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.

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