Cannot set up cellular on Series 3: Says AT&T not supported

Great, glad you got up and running without having to change your existing. Sorry you did not get from Customer Care over the phone. Yes you have to pay for $25 activation today but you will get the Credits for it and 3 months of service.

Bill Credit: Account and service on your line must remain active to get up to two credits ($30 service + $25 activation) w/in 3 bills. No activation credit if already waived. Offer Limits: Max. of 1 activation credit/waiver per device. One credit offer per eligible Apple Watch Series 3 activation. May not be combinable with other offers, discounts, or credits.

Dave

 

Interesting. Guy in store said no credit. We'll see.

I did see that it states the wearable plan is for Unl. Choice/Plus only and if you have an ineligible plan, they'll move you to an eligible plan. Wonder if they'll attempt that and if so, if there's contact first or if they potentially just change it on you.

 

Really need a way in the future to activate a watch when the phone is on a business plan. Currently the watch is billing on my personal plan but can’t setup because the phone is on another plan paid for by the company.

 

YAY, DAVE! You are a Rock Star ⭐️! FINALLY, got our two AppleWatch Series 3’s hooked up!! We did go back into an AT&T Corporate Retail store since it appeared they were shutting that down for Grandfathered Unlimited Data Plans (ours is the Family Talk Nation 1400 w/Rollover Plan with a 28% Company discount we didn’t want to lose) online. I had been told No numerous times. If it hadn’t been for your very detailed instructions and this site, we would have just given up and returned them ⌚️or used them without cellular. I felt like I was the store rep and he was the customer . Did have to create a separate ID for me in order to sync. And lastly, they synced but didn’t ring, and I’m not sure I did this correctly, but I remembered while we were at the store something in this thread about turning on WiFi. Here’s what I did and it worked I just want to make sure it’s not going to screw me up somewhere later (bill, etc.):

On each one of our iPhones I went to Settings>Cellular >and (under the AT&T section) Wi-Fi Calling I turned this On. Is this correct? Everything appears to be working beautifully I just want to make sure I’m going encounter some weird fee.

Thanks too for the link to the AT&T $10 Unlimited Upgrade. I’m going to read that one and keep that thread open too since this this is all so interesting. So,glad I found you and joined this great MacRumors forum! I think I’m your biggest fan now and want to thank you and the other forum members for all being so helpful. Restores my faith in humanity!

--- Post Merged, Sep 30, 2017 ---

I’m worried too!

 

Glad it work for you!

Yes, you did the right thing, Wi-Fi Calling needs to turned "On" on your iPhone. No there is no fee or charge. It is a free feature.

Dave

 

Cannot thank you enough! I’ve also been a YouTube subscriber of yours for a while now. Loving the forum and so glad I joined. This made me feel so educated and empowered.

 

No need to worry! Your account and plan are secure at least until you want to add the next "LTE" gadget of the year!

You did not break any rules. The rep used AT&T's system to add a valid plan to a valid account. Nothing was changed on your existing lines or plans.

The $10 Unlimited Wearable plan is what is know as a "Stand-a-line", it is not a Smartphone that uses 50 GB of data per month. However, there is now may be a policy where Customer Care reps may have been instructed not to add a Wearable plan to accounts with legacy plans. Note: I will repeat again, the system can do it if the "Employee" knows how to properly use the system and tools at their disposal and the result is a "Satisfied Customer" rather than a Customer lost to a competitor.

Dave

 

In the past we’ve outright purchased our iPhones which has kept this legacy plan in place. This way we could have the latest phone and not change our plan. Would that still hold true if we both buy the iPhone 8 or down the road the X? It shouldn’t change our legacy plan since we’re still buying them outright? It was such a bear to get these watches added and not change our plan I don’t want to rock the boat.

 

Currently no issue with replacing your existing devices. When you upgrade to the iPhone 8 or iPhone x, the only changes that are / would be needed is have a compatible SIM. You replacing a existing device.

In the case of the new Watches, you are adding something in addition to your existing device. That's what caused all the confusion. New device, new phone number and a new plan equals adding a new cellphone to most reps. So they think logically you need a new plan. The difference for the Watch is that AT&T has "Wearable" plan that few reps knew about so even more confusion.

Dave

 

Dave is like a hero here. Much appreciated to all those you helped. I’ve seen some posts here about more options on the Apple Watch App under Cellular. My LTE and Wi-Fi calling works perfectly, but I don’t have anything under Cellular in the Watch app except the plan and usage and the apps. Am I missing something? Thought I’ve read a few times about more options.

 

How easy will it be to transfer the Unlimited Wearable plan to a new device next year? Is it as simple as going to a store or calling up to update the IMEI (or maybe even doing this online?

 

Thanks for the positive comment. I am just sharing information that I have with the community. No you are not missing anything on that screen. The screen of interest was the "Phone" tab on the Watch app and if you saw a line under a heading of Calls, with an entry to on / off Wi-Fi Calls.

Dave

--- Post Merged, Oct 1, 2017 ---

Well it should be the same way you would replace any existing device. Since you are not adding an additional device with a new plan, just need to provide the new device information: EID, IMEI. If this device is compatible with a wearable plan.

Next year, your ability to do this "Online" or via an "On Device " activation may not work. You might need to call Customer Care again but it should not be as hard as this year. You know more and the reps know what a "Wearable" is which is a very positive thing. Remember you would not be adding a new plan, just replacing / upgrading an existing Wearable.

The worst case is that you would have to come back here to the Forums of Macrumors.com!

Dave

 

What happens if you need to unpair your AW3 and re-pair it? Will AT&T know it’s the same AW as before and no problems? Or would AT&T think I’m am adding another or new wearable device. I set mine up using the Watch app with no need to talk to a rep, was I put on the Wearable Unlimited Plan?

If I decide to return my current AW3 to get the Nike+ AW3, will AT&T grant me the discount of 3 months and waive activation fee? AT&T said something like only one discount …

 

anyone know of a store in the twin cities area that will set up the watch on a grandfathered unlimited plan? the one I tried repeated the same thing the att phone support line did "your plan is not compatible. you'll need to upgrade to a new unlimited plan"

 

You can un-pair / pair all you want. Just please chose to keep your Wearable plan. It is stored on your iPhone and is available any time you pair a watch.

AT&T is only focused on the $10 Plan on their network. It will remain intact unless you actually contact them to remove it. So the plan and you phone number will be there for you as a choice anytime you run the Set up Cellular process when you pair or anytime after you pair your watch. During the Set Up Cellular step just chose to reuse the existing plan.

If you chose to setup a new line, that is when you would get charged for another Activation an a new line for a new Wearable plan for an additional $10 per month.

In your specific case: you can return your current watch and get the Nike+ model, just keep the plan when your un-pair and perform an Erase All. Get your new Nike+ and when you pair it, you will be prompted to chose your exiting plan or start a new one. Just keep your plan and you are good to go.

Note: AT&T is not waiving Activation and the first 3 months of service. They are providing credits to your account, after the fact.

Dave

 

Ok great news because it’ll be hassle-free.

But what if I get iPhone X, the wearable plan is on my current iPhone. Sounds like if I just did a restore on the iPhone X from an iPhone backup of my current iPhone, I’ll be fine.

If I needed to set up the iPhone X as new, then what would happen? What should I do in that case?

 

I assume the answer to my question is that this won’t work: if I pair it with my wife’s phone set up the plan and then unpair it and erase it (but keep the wearable plan) and then connect it with my own phone on a company plan.

 

Correct it will not work.

You can pair the Watch to your iPhone but you will be unable to NumberSync on your Company account. The way NumberSync works for setup and use it that the Watch and the Host iPhone must be on the same "Account". You must use online access to your account to select the Watch and start the NumberSync process, manage it and finally to remove NumberSync.

Dave

 

So when I simply change/update the Host iPhone to iPhone X in the future, AT&T will know to link it with my current AW wearable plan?

Since I can setup with cellular with the Watch app on my iPhone is that proof I have an Access ID account and not a User ID account?

 

Does anyone know when the credits promo is going to expire?

The LTE feature is great, but I don't think I'll be using it over Winter, but will have use for it during Spring when I'm out biking and running.

I'm also assuming I can remove the $10 plan at anytime? If I re-add it later, do I need to pay for re-activation again?

 

The information that I have indicates that the promo ends 12/31/17.

Yes, you can drop the plan at any time but you may not receive your credits if your plan is not active when credits are applied. If you have the plan removed from your account and 30 days have past then you would be charged for any future activations.

Dave

 

Do we know how long it will take for the credits to be applied to the account?

 

AT&T is not linking it, you would as part of your set up and sync to a new iPhone X. AT&T only has to get in to the process if you can't do it self-service.

Dave

--- Post Merged, Oct 2, 2017 ---

The official answer is always within 3 billing cycles. May be quicker.

Dave

 

Awesome, thanks Double O Six

 

In a previous post you asked me if I had a Access ID or User ID. How do I know if I have an Access ID or a User ID account?


Thanks Dave!