When is an iPhone 16e not an iPhone 16e?
With the notch in front and a single camera in back, the iPhone 16e is unique among 2025 iPhone models. | Image credit-Unknown
The iPhone 16e is also the first iPhone to employ the tech giant's homegrown 5G modem chip, the C1. It also sports a single 48 MP rear camera. As a result, the iPhone 16e is the only phone in the iPhone 16 lineup with a single rear camera and it is the only 2025 model that has the notch in the front. Whether looking at the phone from the front or back, it stands out against the other 2025 models. So when an AT&T customer went to an AT&T Store to buy an iPhone for his son and to add a line to his account, there should have been no confusing the lower-priced iPhone for any other model in the iPhone 16 series. But we are getting ahead of ourselves a little. The two AT&T reps helping the father suggested that he buy his kid an iPhone 16e because of a promotion. The phone would be $6 per month,and the line would be $25 per month. When the father and son arrived back at home, the kid drops the phone. The father decides to drive to an Apple Store to buy him a case. When he gets there, the Apple employee tells him that the phone he bought for his son was an iPhone 16 , not the iPhone 16e .
The father, confused, called the AT&T Store as soon as he could and was told that he could not replace the iPhone 16 with the proper model because it had been dropped. Even worse, he was now being charged for the price of an iPhone 16 , which was $23.99 a month, compared to the $6 per month he agreed to pay for the iPhone 16e he was supposed to receive. He says that he calls AT&T nearly everyday, and AT&T 's customer service team seems to only make suggestions that will cost him more money.
The AT&T salesman who sold him the phone no longer works at the AT&T Store. The other rep who assisted on the purchase agreed with the father that he was supposed to get an iPhone 16e , but apparently he can't or won't get involved to help out.
One thing that the father can do is send an email to John Stankey, the Chairman and CEO of AT&T . There are three email addresses that he can try: j.stankey@att.com
john.stankey@att.com
js9991@att.com
In the email, he should explain everything that happened, give dates and times, and include the address of the store. The father should also send an email to the FCC at fccinfo@fcc.gov and start the letter by including the name of the carrier (in this case, AT&T ) and his account number. The FCC website has been known to help customers who have been wronged by AT&T , Verizon, T-Mobile, and others. To check out the website and lodge a complaint, the father should tap on this link or go to consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/hc/en-us. The departure of the rep who sold the phone to the AT&T customer could indicate that he wasn't meeting his monthly sales goals and that giving the customer an iPhone 16 instead of a 16e was part of a scam designed to improve his metrics. We might never know.
If we hear anymore about this, we will update the story.
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