In the end, he didn't need to arrive on a frigid Thursday morning at 4 a.m.
Standing outside Verizon's downtown Santa Rosa store just before 7 a.m., Justin Serrao of Rohnert Park looked back at a line of about 20 people waiting to buy an iPhone, which became available through Verizon for the first time on Thursday.
"I thought it would be a lot longer," said Serrao, 20, after spending hours in the dark outside the Fourth Street store.
Nationwide, lines at Verizon stores were shorter than expected. Company officials said that was because there were a variety of ways customers could get the iPhone, from buying it online to purchasing it from Verizon's retail partners.
"Verizon stores are just one piece of the puzzle. Not everyone wants to come and wait in line at the store," said Heidi Flato, a Verizon spokeswoman.
At least Serrao had company in the dark, his girlfriend, Gina Villeggiante.
She wasn't even getting one of the incredibly popular phones. And she wasn't a Verizon customer. She just loves her boyfriend, she said - and he promised her breakfast.
Serrao was one of millions of people nationwide who became iPhone-eligible when AT&T's exclusive deal to carry the Apple gadget ended this week.
The phone became available to the general public on Thursday. Verizon says the day it began accepting online iPhone orders from existing customers, Feb. 3, produced record sales.
That didn't mean much to Catherine Wilson of Sonoma who got up early that day to to place her online order. Her order got lost in Verizon's system, forcing her to make a 40-minute drive Thursday to buy the phone in person.
Wilson, 50, stood about 15 people back in line and said the experience almost drove her to another provider.
"If I wasn't a Verizon customer who had a credit, I'd be at AT&T or somewhere else right now," she said.
"Right now I'm just buying the basic version and I'll add to it later when I'm happy again," she told one of 29 red-shirted Verizon staffers who were on hand to handle the smaller-than-expected rush.
"To be honest, I was ready for a longer line," said store manager Bunrath Gith. "But it is what it is."
At 7:25 a.m. Serrao, a Sonoma State University student, was given his new phone - although, 4 a.m. or not, he was actually the second or third customer to actually complete his purchase.
That meant he had to wait in another line before getting his contacts and other data transferred from his old phone. But he said the early morning trip was worth it.
"I'm excited, it should be cool" he said. "I just want to play with it already."
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