Family Setup - Additional Line Needed for Canada?

[MacPoulet]

Hi all,

My thread title might seem confusing (it is for me) and I was hoping some of you on this forum might be able to provide some insight:

We currently have one iPhone for the family which my partner uses. She wants to get an Apple watch. So far so good. She just needs to set it up with her phone. But our kid is getting older and we've decided it's time for a phone so we can keep in touch. Then I heard about Family Setup, and I thought that instead of a phone, giving the kid an Apple Watch with cellular would be better. My question is: how would this setup work?

My partner's watch would pair with the phone, and the kid's would too. But I think the kid's watch would need a separate phone line. Is that correct? That seems to be what Apple's implying in their documentation, but none of the Canadian carriers seem to offer this on a watch plan. The plan they offer seems to tie the watch to the phone's number, which isn't what I need.

Has anyone else tried setting up a second watch for a kid in this manner? If so, how did you do it?

I'm guessing I'll need to contact the carriers, and I wonder if they just haven't set anything up for additional lines with Apple Watches yet.

Thanks for bearing with me on this rather convoluted post.

 

[Kcetech1]

Use your Apple Watch without your iPhone nearby - Apple Support (CA)

Learn what you can do with your Apple Watch when your iPhone isn't with you.

support.apple.com

you need an active SIM and number from your carrier to use it. and for the very limited time I tried it, it was a pain in the A$$ with Rogers and Telus.

I dont think pairing 2 watches works too well either, but I could be wrong on that one.

 

[nicho]

Apple Watch - Network Providers

Apple Watch with cellular. Go with just your watch — make calls, get messages, stream music. See if Apple Watch works with networks in your country.

www.apple.com

It's not available in Canada. Note the lack of mention of Family Setup here:

Apple Watch Series 6 - Apple (CA)

[automerge]1601778304[/automerge]

Use your Apple Watch without your iPhone nearby - Apple Support (CA)

Learn what you can do with your Apple Watch when your iPhone isn't with you.

support.apple.com

you need an active SIM and number from your carrier to use it. and for the very limited time I tried it, it was a pain in the A$$ with Rogers and Telus.

I dont think pairing 2 watches works too well either, but I could be wrong on that one.

Not the correct link or info for OPs question...

 

[MacPoulet]

Apple Watch - Network Providers

Apple Watch with cellular. Go with just your watch — make calls, get messages, stream music. See if Apple Watch works with networks in your country.

www.apple.com

It's not available in Canada. Note the lack of mention of Family Setup here:

Thanks!

I thought it was because Apple’s Canadian site talks about it: https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT211768

And I did some more digging and found this: https://mobilesyrup.com/2020/09/16/apple-watch-family-setup-not-available-canada/

So until the carriers get on board, it won’t work.

 

[nicho]

Thanks!

I thought it was because Apple’s Canadian site talks about it: https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT211768

And I did some more digging and found this: https://mobilesyrup.com/2020/09/16/apple-watch-family-setup-not-available-canada/

So until the carriers get on board, it won’t work.

As far as I know, Apple doesn’t have a country-specific support section, only country-specific marketing. Usually the support section will note feature availability somewhere (often a linked page, rather than the one that describes the feature) - as in this case with the previous link I posted with eligible carriers, or lack of in Canada.

 

[MacPoulet]

As far as I know, Apple doesn’t have a country-specific support section, only country-specific marketing. Usually the support section will note feature availability somewhere (often a linked page, rather than the one that describes the feature) - as in this case with the previous link I posted with eligible carriers, or lack of in Canada.

Yes, seems of be the case (confirmed with the mobilesyrup link). It’s just annoying that they don’t add country specific notes about availability.