Not Recognized in iTunes Win/Mac - Early 4g Disappointment - DOA

Question

I came home to find my package waiting for me on my doorstep today. Excitedly I opened the box and saw the beautiful packaging and my excitement grew. Little did I know the unboxing would be the last good thing I experienced.
After a few pictures of the phone and the unboxing I plugged it into my MPB and only the Apple logo appeared. I initially thought the battery might be low and let it sit for a few hoping for it to start up. Shortly there after I noticed the apple logo to be cycling on and off repeatedly about every 10-15 seconds. I thought maybe it was a bad connection so I tried a reboot to no avail. Changed cables...no dice there either...At this point I am getting worries that I have a bad unit. MY first thought was that I was doing something wrong. I tried a hard reset but that didn't work either.
So I broke down and placed a call to Apple support. The first tech I spoke with was a nice female who talked me through a reinstall of iTunes 9.2. Since I am writing this you can guess that it didn't work. I was disconnected from her on a transfer to a supervisor, but quickly recieved a call back thankfully. The next guy begins to troubleshoot this with me but I am disconnected from him after a few minutes. At this point I am getting irritated. I wait a few minutes and don't get a call back so I call tech support back. Well wouldn't you know they guy must have called while i was dialing becuase i heard the VM beep and was disappointed that I had to start the process over. I was never given a case number by either rep at that point and the next person I talk to has no record of my call. I tell him I was at the "supervisor level" already and asked to be transferred. After about a 10 minute hold I get a new guy who tells me that he can't help me at all and wants me to drive to my closest Apple store and they will help me. I live about 30 minutes away on a good day to International Plaza in Tampa and he tries to give me a Genius Appt in 10 minutes. I told him this was not going to happen so I end up being scheduled for 7:40pm. Irritated that I have to make the drive I am hoping they can fix my issue.
I walk in 10 minutes early and attempt to check in for my appointment. She scans her iPad and she can't find my name on the list. She checks a few other screens and still nothing. The guy evidently book my appointment correctly. They do their best to accommodate me and ask what my issue is. I tell them I have this beautiful new 4g and that it is not working. She frowns and pretty much says that they have no equipment nor 4g's in store and they will not be able to address my issue until tomorrow(Launch Day). I tell her this is not acceptable since I just made a 30+ minute drive and was told by the Applecare supervisor that you would fix my issue. She try's to calmly tell me that they can't do anything because their systems don't even recognize the 4g yet. She gets a "Floor Supervisor" or something of that nature, and he says "We have no iPhones in this store and will not to tomorrow" which I know is BS but whatever. One of the techs takes the phone and stares in awe at it's beauty and plugs it into their computer and tries to put it into DFE mode. It eventually errors out and tell me it's DOA and I need a replacement unit.
I pretty much knew that I was at this point but I was hoping they would just swap it out. Again no dice I am told that they DO NOT HAVE UNITS IN THE STORE. Again I call BS but what can I do at this point. They tell me that they can give me a claim ticket and I will have a unit reserved for me and I can walk in with no wait and pickup my new unit at 7am. I ask the guy how can I be sure I will have one. He say's to me in a round about way that he is walking into the back...taping my claim ticket to a 32GB unit when I leave, to the phone that is "not in stock".
So to sum it up I am not a happy camper. I am not mad at the Apple Store they are just doing what they are told. I am more irritated with the lack of help that I got from AppleCare. One thing I forgot to mention was the fact that they should have not even directed me to the Store per the supervisor. Also irritated that I never got a case number initially and I had to even go through that hassle. Lastly I am disappointed that I got a defective unit.
So I thought I would share my early adoption story with you guys.

Answer 1

Soft boot, hold down top button and middle bottom button at the same time, with the iPhone connected to your computer and iTunes will recognize the phone on reboot.