Cellular Watch do you have to set up the carrier

[tomscott1988]

Hi guys,

Bit of advise. My mum bought me an Apple Nike+ Watch gen 3 with cellular for Christmas.

Im in the UK and currently the only current provider is EE but I'm on O2, I know the provider has to be the same for it to work. I would say once the dust has settled O2 will start offering a contracts and there have been rumours of this. I would like to have the cellular version because I would use its functionality so seems daft to swap it and then the carrier offering the service in the future.

So the predicament is can you use a cellular watch as a non cellular? Basically do you have to set up the watch and choose a carrier to actually use it as apart of the set up or can you set the carrier up later and use it like a normal watch?

Its still sat in the packaging and I'm dying to use it but don't want to open it if you can't. It was bought from John Lewis so I can swap it for a non cellular but we live in the county and the nearest one is a 3 1/2 hour round trip for me.

Any help appreciated.

Tom

 

[44267547]

Hi guys,

Bit of advise. My mum bought me an Apple Nike+ Watch gen 3 with cellular for Christmas.

Im in the UK and currently the only current provider is EE but I'm on O2, I know the provider has to be the same for it to work. I would say once the dust has settled O2 will start offering a contracts and there have been rumours of this. I would like to have the cellular version because I would use its functionality so seems daft to swap it and then the carrier offering the service in the future.

So the predicament is can you use a cellular watch as a non cellular? Basically do you have to set up the watch and choose a carrier to actually use it as apart of the set up or can you set the carrier up later and use it like a normal watch?

Its still sat in the packaging and I'm dying to use it but don't want to open it if you can't. It was bought from John Lewis so I can swap it for a non cellular but we live in the county and the nearest one is a 3 1/2 hour round trip for me.

Any help appreciated.

Tom

You can bypass the cellular set up. It's optional when you are first installing your Apple Watch, you can later activate it when you are able. Otherwise, you can use all the normal functionality as you would on your Apple Watch without cellular.

 

[dave006]

So the predicament is can you use a cellular watch as a non cellular? Basically do you have to set up the watch and choose a carrier to actually use it as apart of the set up or can you set the carrier up later and use it like a normal watch?

There are two points where you can activate cellular on your watch: 1). During the initial setup when your watch is paired to your iPhone or 2). Anytime from the Watch app on your iPhone. Launch Watch app, Tap Cellular and complete activation. You can use Bluetooth and Wi-Fi without the addition of cellular service just fine, the watch will not nag you to activate cellular service.

You don't and can't directly chose a carrier for the Watch, it defaults to the same carrier as the paired iPhone. In the UK, EE is the only carrier that has invested in the infrastructure needed to support the new eSIM that the LTE watch uses and the carrier back-end solution that allows the LTE watch to appear to share the same phone number as the paired iPhone.

You will still get some additional benefits from the cellular watch even without activating cellular service. You get double the storage of the base Series 3 (16 GB vs 8 GB), you also get a ceramic back for the watch instead of a composite (plastic) back on the base Series 3.

Note: The Apple Watch Series 3 (GPS + Cellular) comes in three regional models – Americas, China, and Europe/Asia Pacific. Unlike iPhone, there isn't a worldwide Apple Watch Series 3 model that supports all cellular bands used globally. So your watch is ready to work in the UK should O2 invest in their network to support the LTE watch.

Dave

 

[Newtons Apple]

Open that box use it! I never set up my cellular, it is your choice.

 

[tomscott1988]

Fantastic thanks for the replies guys!

Really appreciate it!