Forum Discussion
What does this "server error" message mean?
I'm trying to upgrade my phone, and I keep encountering the same error. I've run into it on both the phone app and the desktop site.
In my account, I click "upgrade". It lets me choose the model I want, the color/ memory size, and the payment options (so far, so good).
When I click the next "upgrade" button, it tells me to select which of family members is getting the device. Ok, cool. I select myself.
My new device requires an upgraded insurance policy. There's only 1 button: "Yes, protect my plan."
It's... weird that I can't opt out of this charge, but I planned to insure it anyway, so ok. I click the button.
And this is what I get. I've been trying to upgrade since last Friday, but this is what shows up every. single. time.
Is there a known issue with this functionality? Or is something amiss with my account?
And why am I forced to pay for the insurance? Shouldn't there be a "No thanks" button or something?
I filed the first ticket on 7/6. I filed the second on 7/10.
I gave up and just went into the store and they helped me upgrade for that lovely $20 fee I was trying to avoid. But oh hey, they did it wrong, which I found out after my new phone arrived. So now I have to mail back the new phone and then wait for *an identical phone* to arrive, because this is just a mess. Clearly nobody knows what's going on.
Apparently the server error meant "you can't do this, you have to go into the store." Maybe some front-end developers could spend a little time translating the error messages into something more user-friendly. Even the customer service rep on the phone didn't understand what it meant, and she assured me multiple times that my account was in order, and that nothing should prevent me from completing the task online.
But no. Everything was not in order.
I tried to do this jump upgrade 10 days ago. I *might* have a new phone by the end of the week. If I'm lucky.
Man I know this isn't really anyone's fault, but it suuuuucked. They couldn't even throw in rush shipping for me.
How long did you have to wait?
It's been a week and it's always the same error, no matter the browser, device, and time of day. I can't even run an ad-blocker in the t-mobile app on my phone, so it's not like that's the problem. I'm 100% sure it's on the T-Mobile end. I just want to know how to get past it.
I filed the first ticket on 7/6. I filed the second on 7/10.
I gave up and just went into the store and they helped me upgrade for that lovely $20 fee I was trying to avoid. But oh hey, they did it wrong, which I found out after my new phone arrived. So now I have to mail back the new phone and then wait for *an identical phone* to arrive, because this is just a mess. Clearly nobody knows what's going on.
Apparently the server error meant "you can't do this, you have to go into the store." Maybe some front-end developers could spend a little time translating the error messages into something more user-friendly. Even the customer service rep on the phone didn't understand what it meant, and she assured me multiple times that my account was in order, and that nothing should prevent me from completing the task online.
But no. Everything was not in order.
I tried to do this jump upgrade 10 days ago. I *might* have a new phone by the end of the week. If I'm lucky.
Man I know this isn't really anyone's fault, but it suuuuucked. They couldn't even throw in rush shipping for me.
The website has been unreliable for a lot of things over the past couple of months. If you are using Edge and still having those issues. I would suggesting visiting a local store for your upgrade or contacting Customer Care about your upgrade.
I contacted a customer service rep, but they encountered the same issue. I'm still waiting to hear back from them (I called last Saturday).
On your suggestion, I downloaded Edge (I didn't even know they'd released the mac beta version already) and it does the exact same thing that chrome, firefox, the t-mobile app, etc all do. So that's a no-go. Good idea, though.
I think it is the site and not you. Still, I would try the usual troubleshooting from least painful first. The least painful would be exiting the browser and starting over. Cold reboot and start over. Next would be try a different browser (you did that, so maybe go back and to cold reboot, Etc). More painful would be clear cach and cookies and start over. If you have another computer it wouldn't hurt to try that, especially if different OS or different version.
if you are running an add blocker, turn it off and try again. Add blockers sometimes interfere with the function of the page besides blocking adds.
There is also refreshing until the page loads, if that works.
As as I say, I don't think it is you. I've run into similar issues. I just kept trying until the page worked.
If customer care had the same issue, it definitely sounds like it's an issue on our backend, not you. 😥
Have you heard back yet? Do you know if they filed an engineering ticket to have this looked at?
-Lauren
They filed a ticket for me and waited for 72 hours. When they called back, we were getting the same error. She said she'd file another ticket and wait another 72 hours and call me back so we can try again.
It's definitely less than ideal. It's almost like T-Mobile doesn't want my money?
I'm having the exact same issue. Been trying to upgrade but I get stuck there. I called customer service, and they impersonated me on the site and were able to get past it no problem and weren't able to figure out why I'm getting this message. I tried on Android using Edge, Chrome, and the T-Mobile app and on desktop with Edge, Chrome, and Firefox, all producing the same result. They created a support ticket for their IT team to look at it and said they'll call me back after 5 to check on it. They said if it's still not working properly, then they'll credit me the $30 fee for having my order processed by a representative (same with in store) and get it done that way instead.
Seems odd that this issue is the exact same 2 years after OP’s post.
