Is it possible to use a mobile broadband plan with a cellular Apple Watch?

[Arctic Moose]

The mobile plan that my employer supplies is not compatible with eSIM for Apple Watch due to a connected answering service. (Don't ask!)

Unfortunately, the watch isn't worth much to me without a mobile connection, the whole point for me is to be able to leave home without a phone.

I do not care if it is possible to call to/from the watch or not, but I do want to be able to stream music/podcasts and use messaging services without access to the phone or wifi.

I have a mobile broadband plan from a different provider for the household's iPads. I wonder if I can solve it by ordering two extra eSIMs and putting one in the phone and use the other in the watch?

If I am interpreting this document correctly, it should work, but the provider's customer service has not been able to confirm:

Use Dual SIM with Apple Watch GPS + Cellular models - Apple Support

Add multiple plans to your Apple Watch, then choose which one your watch uses.

support.apple.com

It does not say that it will not work with mobile broadband subscriptions (which do not have a phone number that can be called) as the only subscription in the watch, but of course it does not explicitly say that it does work either.

The only alternative seems to be to get the cheapest possible phone plan eSIM for the phone and add an eSIM for the watch, but this will cost way more than I am willing to pay.

Has anyone else who has managed to solve this, or can confirm that eSIM for mobile broadband in the phone and an extra eSIM in the watch for the same plan will provide mobile connectivity for the watch?

 

[antbob]

No, you need a special Apple Watch compatible plan. Standard eSIM phone plan wont work either. The reason is both iPhone and Watch needing to use the same ie eSIM 'cloning' supported by cellular network operator. It does not really cost operators anything extra to do this its just the way for them to make money off non standard Apple setup needs but you gonna have to play/pay along if you want it working.

 

[Arctic Moose]

No, you need a special Apple Watch compatible plan. Standard eSIM phone plan wont work either. The reason is both iPhone and Watch needing to use the same ie eSIM 'cloning' supported by cellular network operator. It does not really cost operators anything extra to do this its just the way for them to make money off non standard Apple setup needs but you gonna have to play/pay along if you want it working.

I think you are misreading.

What I am asking is if I can order two additional eSIM clones for my mobile broadband plan (I already have four physical SIM cards for the same plan different devices) and add one of them to my iPhone (in addition to the physical SIM with the non-compatible plan) and the other in the watch.

This means the phone and watch would have one plan in common, it would just be a mobile broadband plan, not a callable phone plan.

 

[antbob]

No, I get what you are trying to do but like I said unfortunately it wont work.

 

[George Dawes]

I’ve got a brilliant one with Vodafone, just an extra ten quid a month

Tbh I prefer using the watch to the phone . Feels very space age 😆

 

[Arctic Moose]

No, I get what you are trying to do but like I said unfortunately it wont work.

Would you care to elaborate? It seems the prerequisites you stipulated in your earlier post would be fulfilled. (Cloned eSIMs for the same mobile plan in both the phone and the watch.)

 

[antbob]

Would you care to elaborate? It seems the prerequisites you stipulated in your earlier post would be fulfilled. (Cloned eSIMs for the same mobile plan in both the phone and the watch.)

Its not really a clone and thats why I put cloning in quotes there. Apple Watch would actually get its own separate line and number (as far as cellular network is concerned but not end user) and then the forwarding will be setup. So thats why it needs a special plan that supports it to activate. Thats all I can tell you.

 

[WitchDoktor]

I'll investigate further, but Verizon is giving me the option of putting my AW on a standalone plan. It looks like it will have its own phone number and not require being a companion to my iPhone plan. Is that what you're trying to do?

I'm sorry if I am misunderstanding - I'm not the most technical type.

 

[Night Spring]

This means the phone and watch would have one plan in common, it would just be a mobile broadband plan, not a callable phone plan.

I've wanted to do this for my iPhone, because I'm hard of hearing, and never use the iPhone for making calls. I just need a data connection, not a calling plan! So far, I haven't found a way.

 

[Arctic Moose]

Its not really a clone and thats why I put cloning in quotes there. Apple Watch would actually get its own separate line and number (as far as cellular network is concerned but not end user) and then the forwarding will be setup. So thats why it needs a special plan that supports it to activate. Thats all I can tell you.

If I check the cellular details in Settings on the various devices (mostly iPads) all connected to my single cellular broadband plan they all have different phone numbers. (But of course I only hear a fault tone if I call these numbers.)

I haven't been able to find any technical details anywhere on what is special or different about an eSIM for an Apple Watch compared to extra eSIMs you can get with other types of broadband or phone plans. Can you provide any technical insight?

 

[antbob]

If I check the cellular details in Settings on the various devices (mostly iPads) all connected to my single cellular broadband plan they all have different phone numbers. (But of course I only hear a fault tone if I call these numbers.)

I haven't been able to find any technical details anywhere on what is special or different about an eSIM for an Apple Watch compared to extra eSIMs you can get with other types of broadband or phone plans. Can you provide any technical insight?

Sorry mate, I cant give you any in depth tech details on this. I simply dont know anything beyond what I already told you. I dont work for telco or Apple. My understanding is that there is nothing special about Watch eSIM its just how it is setup on cellular provider side and activated via iPhone is special. All cellular providers who support Apple Watch each literally have a separate plan for it and advise that their standard eSIM plans wont work and they dont. Those special eSIM plans also cover some Samsung smart watches and some other Host/Guest setups like that (eg setting up multiple phones hooked up as the same line) and can be marketed under different names but only your provider can tell you if its compatible or not.

 

[DualShock]

Verizon has a support article linked below for their Apple Watch connectivity requirements. The article is a general article for many devices so it needs to be read carefully for the differences that apply to Apple Watch. I believe other carriers that support the Apple Watch use similar policies, but I haven't checked. It stipulates in the notes that the Apple Watch cannot be used on a standalone line and that it must be on the same plan as an iPhone.

Essentially, as others have said, the Apple Watch gets its own phone number, which is not directly callable. As I understand it, the device needs this number to function on the network. However, in the back-end, the cell carrier links the Apple Watch's number to your actual phone number, and will forward calls going to your phone's phone number to the watch's number so that it will ring along with your phone. This appears to be plan specific.

Even if you don't ever want to receive phone calls on the watch, it appears that this is how the plans are set up for Apple Watches and they don't offer standalone plans for the watch itself. Again, this seems to be specific to the Apple Watch. It's anyone's guess if this is a technical limitation of the watch, or an agreement between Apple and the carriers, or some other reason.

There is a way to have the watch function on its own without a phone, but that is the new Family Setup feature that Apple added in watchOS 7. Though this does require someone in the family that has a compatible plan to allow watches to operate on the cell network without a phone. I'm not too familiar with it, but I believe it is targeted toward children so that they can make and receive calls on the watch without a phone, but it most likely has the side-effect of being able to use a data plan.

Number Share - Mobile FAQs | Verizon Support

Learn how to share your smartphone's number with compatible smartwatches and other eligible 4G LTE connected devices with Number Share - Mobile.

www.verizon.com