Apple Watch with Corporate iPhone

[olaffubs]

I received an Apple Watch Series 3 yesterday for Xmas from my wife that was purchased under our personal AT&T account which has both hers and my MIL iPhones on it. I have my iPhone through my employer on a corporate responsible account (i.e. paid for and owned by my employer). I was able to activate the Watch on AT&T but unable to setup the cellular through the Watch app on my iPhone since they are on separate post-paid billing accounts.

Does anyone know whether this is a carrier limitation or if it's an Apple limitation? I have to think there are many people in my situation and wondered whether there were any workarounds or if this could potentially be something that's remedied through a watchOS update.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[44267547]

I received an Apple Watch Series 3 yesterday for Xmas from my wife that was purchased under our personal AT&T account which has both hers and my MIL iPhones on it. I have my iPhone through my employer on a corporate responsible account (i.e. paid for and owned by my employer). I was able to activate the Watch on AT&T but unable to setup the cellular through the Watch app on my iPhone since they are on separate post-paid billing accounts.

Does anyone know whether this is a carrier limitation or if it's an Apple limitation? I have to think there are many people in my situation and wondered whether there were any workarounds or if this could potentially be something that's remedied through a watchOS update.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

This sounds like a carrier limitation. You will have to consult with AT&T and or your company to find out the contingencies of why you can't activate cellular to your iPhone.

 

[dave006]

Does anyone know whether this is a carrier limitation or if it's an Apple limitation? I have to think there are many people in my situation and wondered whether there were any workarounds or if this could potentially be something that's remedied through a watchOS update.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

It is a carrier decision and not a technology "limitation". Think of it as this: it simplifies everything if the LTE watch and paired iPhone are on the same post-paid billing account on the same carrier.

No workaround. Only good option for you and others with a company provided iPhone is to come up with a good business case that your company might approve to have them pay for the Wearable plan for your watch on the company plan.

Dave

 

[HeathH]

Yup, unfortunate but the carriers have not implemented this ability on corporate accounts. There is currently no work around either. Even if the carriers enabled this feature, you will have your own corporate IT department to deal with.

I've forgotten what they call the service on AT&T, but on Verizon they call it numbershare I think. Until they enable that feature on corporate accounts, we are out of luck.

 

[dave006]

Hey @HeathH sorry but AT&T has already implemented NumberSync for the Apple Watch (GPS + Cellular) for business plans.

The same basic rules apply to business plans for each Corporate Responsible User (CRU): watch and iPhone must be on same business billing account, each individual business user will need an Access ID to manage NumberSync for their devices.

Note: You or your account administrator might have to remove Blocking Feature Code: TWPBL.

Dave

 

[Gqsmooth81]

I received an Apple Watch Series 3 yesterday for Xmas from my wife that was purchased under our personal AT&T account which has both hers and my MIL iPhones on it. I have my iPhone through my employer on a corporate responsible account (i.e. paid for and owned by my employer). I was able to activate the Watch on AT&T but unable to setup the cellular through the Watch app on my iPhone since they are on separate post-paid billing accounts.

Does anyone know whether this is a carrier limitation or if it's an Apple limitation? I have to think there are many people in my situation and wondered whether there were any workarounds or if this could potentially be something that's remedied through a watchOS update.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

Right now all company sponsored plans will not work with the iWatch. You can only use it like a gps version. There’s rumors that they are working on trying to get the watches to work on their network but right now it’s still in the works. Sorry but you just have a gps watch on your iWatch. No LTE so far.

 

[dave006]

Right now all company sponsored plans will not work with the iWatch. You can only use it like a gps version. There’s rumors that they are working on trying to get the watches to work on their network but right now it’s still in the works. Sorry but you just have a gps watch on your iWatch. No LTE so far.

There is no such thing as an iWatch, however the Apple Watch (GPS + Cellular) model is fully supported by AT&T on valid business / corporate plans.

For reference here is a link to the NumberSync details for AT&T Business plans. Tab 5 covers the Apple Watch(Cellular). Link: https://www.wireless.att.com/businesscenter/plans/plan-features/numbersync.jsp

Dave

 

[olaffubs]

It is a carrier decision and not a technology "limitation". Think of it as this: it simplifies everything if the LTE watch and paired iPhone are on the same post-paid billing account on the same carrier.

No workaround. Only good option for you and others with a company provided iPhone is to come up with a good business case that your company might approve to have them pay for the Wearable plan for your watch on the company plan.

Dave

Thanks Dave. From an outsider, it seems like the additional complexity involved in setting this up for the carrier would be worth it for the additional watches they could sell. Hopefully this is something they'll consider implementing in the future.

 

[HeathH]

Hey @HeathH sorry but AT&T has already implemented NumberSync for the Apple Watch (GPS + Cellular) for business plans.

The same basic rules apply to business plans for each Corporate Responsible User (CRU): watch and iPhone must be on same business billing account, each individual business user will need an Access ID to manage NumberSync for their devices.

Note: You or your account administrator might have to remove Blocking Feature Code: TWPBL.

Dave

Awesome, that's a good sign. Hopefully Verizon follows suit. Then I'll only have to fight with our IT department!