Google has started taking orders for the Nexus 4 smartphone and Nexus 10 tablet in the US. And just like in Europe and Australia, the US launch has been riddled with problems.

As Google’s servers are getting hammered by customers trying to place orders, more often than not they’re being greeted by error messages that let them know the transaction cannot be completed.

Google Play Store fail

When orders went live, both the 8GB and 16GB models of the Google Nexus 4 smartphone were available to add to a cart. But the 16GB model quickly disappeared, replaced instead with Google’s “coming soon” note.

If you refreshed the page enough times (like I did), you might have noticed that sometimes the “add to cart” button showed up again. But clicking “proceed” rarely gets you anywhere — and the one time I actually did get a chance to enter payment information, a different error occurred and I was told that my card wasn’t charged.

Update: It’s a good thing I pretty much gave up at that point, or I might have ordered 2 or more phones. 38 minutes after getting a notice saying my card wasn’t charged, Google sent me a note to thank me for my order and letting me know that a Nexus 4 would be delivered in 3-5 business days.

Meanwhile, demand has apparently been so great that Google has decided not to even bother taking orders in some countries yet, to help make more devices available in other regions.

I’m guessing someone underestimated demand for the new $299 and $349 phones… by a lot.

Anyway, it looks like I won’t be getting a Google Nexus 4 today.

How about you?

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45 replies on “Google Nexus 4, Nexus 10 launch in the US… good luck getting one”

  1. Oh quit crying, boo hoo….
    For once in your life, you did not get what you wanted. You will not die from this , you will continue to use their products. Bite your tongue and continue your life.
    Jesus

  2. It’s all so crazy! I suppose Google did not expect such high interest in its new flagship device, or maybe it’s just a marketing ploy. Either way it is kind of curious why no preorders were allowed!

  3. Got mine a minute after the sale went on. I live in AZ, at precisely 8:31 am i repeatedly pressed the refresh button on my laptop, until 8:32, the paged stated “add to cart”…at that point it was only 15 seconds til i hit the final transaction button, not a hiccup in the slightest. Before 8 o’clock hit, I entered all my info, shipping address and CC info by trying to purchase a Nexus 7, and once it was all done, i cleared my cart, and proceeded to patiently wait. Two whole buttons to push and my Nexus 4 (16GB) will be mine in 3-5 days…i stress this…I can not wait!

  4. My experience was the exact same .. I ordered mine and the screen seemed to time out .. I kept trying to order but could not get through .. Then ,magically, a receipt came through my email and showed I had one purchased .. I’m excited to get it

  5. Not only did I get the 16 gig, but it’s already out of my bank account, it’s already listed as payed in my Google Wallet, and on the site, I got a normal confirmation that they were processing it. SO STOKED, no problems at all, I used Chrome as my browser!

  6. you can still get one NOW! you need o use chrome and hit refresh several times. just got a 16gb. only chrome works!!

  7. Took me more than 25 minutes of error messages, etc. before I was able to order, and confirm, my Nexus 10 16GB. Hope it gets here by Saturday!!!

  8. I thought the process had failed for me at the last step, but then surprisingly I got an order confirmation email, so I got one after all! Google, you owe your customers a much better experience. If there is any company we expect to be able to handle lots of customers hitting their servers simultaneously, it is Google.

  9. Ha, I never received the email either, and here in Chicago the “available now” didn’t show up until 12:20 CST. I was able to place an order into the cart immediately, though, and only received the “oops” message 4 times until I was finally able to complete the order. So, relatively painless process for me. I received the confirmation email about 15 minutes later. So now it’s: come on UPS!

  10. Nobody like NewEgg, J&R, BH, or Adorama in stock?

    I will not order from Google after the “Nexus 7 in a warehouse for 5 days” stupidity.

  11. This whole situation is complete bullshit. I have been waiting for this phone for almost six months (seriously) and I didn’t even receive a notification email about the launch, like I was promised. Of course I didn’t rely on that, and when I tried to pick one up from the Play Store I received that error message during checkout.

    Google needs to find a way to fix this, and fast. I am seriously pissed off and will be until this is resolved.

    1. I feel your pain but I doubt Google sees it as much of a problem considering they sold every one they had in every country withing a matter of minutes. I don’t see that they would be very motivated. Unfortunately.

  12. After endless tries on the 16GB, it eventually went to “Coming Soon” so I switched over to the 8GB and managed to get one about a minute before it too went to “Coming Soon”. I’m currently using a Nexus with tmo prepaid. Anyone know what I need to do to convert to a microsim? It looks like the cutters chop off part of the contacts on a tmo sim.

    1. Looks like you will need to go into t-mobile and ask them to transfer your sim. They told me they would do it for me for free, hopefully you have the same experience.

  13. I guess LG will be more than satisfied seeing how well their phone is selling.
    They’re already making projections and dancing on the tables as we speak.
    They may, because of Google and this phone (if build quality is there) become relevant again.

  14. I got mine with the bumper @ 11:58 ET. Took a lot of refreshing. But no serious errors.

    I’m glad I was proactive about it, though. My initial strategy was going ot be to wait until I received the email from them saying that the device was available in the Play Store.

    I’m still waiting for that email…

  15. Seems a lot of people are upset about the ordering process. . .

    Instead of being upset maybe we all need to realize that this is the FIRST time Google has done well selling the Nexus line. Remember the previous Nexus phones didn’t sell well at all. So, I’m sure they were caught a little off guard and I’m sure if the success continues the next launch will go better with more devices available.

    Personally, I’m glad to see the Nexus line finally take off.

  16. I placed the order, as my order confirmation came up, it says my order did not get charged. Yet my bank says they charged me and under my google wallet, it says I have an order. I dont know what to believe anymore.

    1. The same thing happened to Brad and he received a confirmation email 30 mns after.
      Just wait a bit.

    2. I think you’re good. That’s pretty much what happened to me. You probably just have to wait a little longer for Google to send a Thank You email.

  17. Whoa! More than a half hour after I gave up, I got an email notice saying that my order *did* go through and that an N4 is on the way. I guess it’s a good thing I pretty much gave up after I got a message saying my card hadn’t been charged.

      1. Hehe, we’ll see. I don’t usually review phones, and this one’s been reviewed to death. But you can be sure I’ll be kicking the tires and reporting tips/tricks, etc.

        If I get some free time on my hands, maybe I’ll do a review too… or at least a brief video comparing it to the HTC One X it’ll be replacing.

        1. You’re right, what I meant was, more than a review, I’d like to know your first impression of that phone. And how good of a value it really is.
          For me, the lack of µSD slot is a no no but I’m cheering for this phone to succeed as I believe it will change margins and price perception by customers. OEMs won’t have any other choice than to lower theirs.

  18. Click proceed, fail. Click cart button, click proceed again, lather, rinse, repeat all morning.

    Come on, Google! We want to give you our money!

    I finally got an 8GB nexus 4 right before they ran out. w00t!

  19. I was there the minute it went on sale thanks to Chrome Auto-Refresh.

    Still couldn’t buy one. Tried for 30 minutes straight.

  20. I think that, even more than the N7 did for the tablet market, the N4’s gonna change drastically the phone market.
    Margins were WAY too high for OEMs but were hidden by the alleged (not sure that’s even true, or not in the amount they lead us to believe. They were more likely 2 different prices: 1 for retail and one for AT&T and the like) subsidized prices.
    Nokia is the first to follow suit (they may not have much of a choice because of their situation, but still) and it’s (very) good for us.

  21. I tried to order at 10:40am, couldn’t get past the ‘PROCEED’ page… this sucks smh

    1. Finally got one at 01:33pm CST!!! After several attempts of refreshing and clicking on ‘Add to Cart’ and ‘Proceed’

  22. Google really needs to improve their customer interfacing, it seems every time a nexus device is released they are always ill prepared for the task of supporting and selling hardware.

  23. Add to the bargain price that the benchmarks starting to appear which give the Nexus 4 more powerfull (with its SnapDragon 4S) than the A6 from Apple’s iPhone 5…
    Yeah, that’s explain why, at least the phone, is already sold out after just hours being on sale.

    1. Took over 50x page refreshes but I eventually got to order my 32GB Nexus 10. Sold out pretty quick. I also just got my “Nexus 10 is now available” email, over an hour after the 32GB sold out.

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