Wow. I was just about to pre-order this too. I travel a lot between Asia and north America and was looking forwarding to using watch LTE when swapping iPhone SIMs. I think I might wait until...ionno.
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LTE in Apple Watch Series 3 Models Only Works in Country of Purchase
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Thank you Apple, you just saved me 600rmb on each unit, no way I'm getting cellular if it bricks that functionality when I go back home. Funny this was only admitted after pre-orders went live.
Also I realise this kind of feature requires a lot of carrier integration. I'm sure they will be reticent to have a bundle that you just turn on and off by month.
I really want an independently functioning watch but I guess eSIMs aren't quite there yet.
Also I realise this kind of feature requires a lot of carrier integration. I'm sure they will be reticent to have a bundle that you just turn on and off by month.
I really want an independently functioning watch but I guess eSIMs aren't quite there yet.
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To be fair, the statement that international roaming wasn't supported was there since day 1, along with the designation of the Chinese one as a separate model. I can't believe people expected the different models which had explicitly different LTE band support to work interchangeably. The problem discussed in this thread is more that the Apple rep is implying there's an even bigger lockdown (through software?) and a model bought in the US couldn't be taken to Canada to be activated on a Canadian line. Similarly a model bought in the UK couldn't be taken to France and set up there despite them being physically identical, and the inference that for example when Italy supports it, even if the same model as France/Germany is used, a watch bought now and imported wouldn't be able to be used for some unexplained reason.
Sadly, for those of us on a border state, we do have a lot of coworkers who cross the border every day.
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Series 3 models appear to be limited to connectivity in their original country of purchase.
Article Link: LTE in Apple Watch Series 3 Models Only Works in Country of Purchase
wow. just wow. it's so ridiculous I thought it was a joke for a moment... wow.
Keeps getting better all this news...
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Next year they'll make it thinnerthen maybe just maybe in two years it'll be international
Where have you been last couple of years? Apple has consistently made all their products thicker YOY.
Why do people focus on reasons not to buy instead of reasons to buy?
This is the first Watch since my series 0 that I’m excited to buy. I river surf and paddle board 3-4days a week and hate having to secure my 7+ somewhere inside my life jacket or nearby to make sure I don’t miss notifications.
There are other activities like riding my mountian bike, skiing, running, etc where I’d prefer to leave my phone locked away safe instead of at risk in a backpack or pocket.
This is the perfect solution and should keep my phone in good working order longer.
I’ve traveled all over the world and can’t think of a good reason I’d ever leave my phone somewhere. I used it far more when traveling and want it close by at all times.
Anyone traveling enough for this to really be an issue......can afford more than one phone and watch!!
This is the first Watch since my series 0 that I’m excited to buy. I river surf and paddle board 3-4days a week and hate having to secure my 7+ somewhere inside my life jacket or nearby to make sure I don’t miss notifications.
There are other activities like riding my mountian bike, skiing, running, etc where I’d prefer to leave my phone locked away safe instead of at risk in a backpack or pocket.
This is the perfect solution and should keep my phone in good working order longer.
I’ve traveled all over the world and can’t think of a good reason I’d ever leave my phone somewhere. I used it far more when traveling and want it close by at all times.
Anyone traveling enough for this to really be an issue......can afford more than one phone and watch!!
I too cancelled my preorder. It is ridiculous that Apple chooses this way to design the watch.
I was considering a purchase, would have been my first Apple Watch, buy have now decided against it.
The "limitation" of using it in only country is frankly useless if (like me) you live in one European country and frequently travel to another.
Situation may well be different for our American friends who never leave the US (and yes, I sometimes travel there also) but for anyone in Europe, for example, this is pretty much useless.
Someone will correct me I'm sure, but is the "SIM" technology in the 'Watch based on the same sort of "Apple SIM" in my iPad Pro? I can (quickly and easily) swap between carriers there, I just sign up to a local carrier for a day/week/longer if needed when travelling.
That this limitation is forced on the 'Watch is a bit off.
The "limitation" of using it in only country is frankly useless if (like me) you live in one European country and frequently travel to another.
Situation may well be different for our American friends who never leave the US (and yes, I sometimes travel there also) but for anyone in Europe, for example, this is pretty much useless.
Someone will correct me I'm sure, but is the "SIM" technology in the 'Watch based on the same sort of "Apple SIM" in my iPad Pro? I can (quickly and easily) swap between carriers there, I just sign up to a local carrier for a day/week/longer if needed when travelling.
That this limitation is forced on the 'Watch is a bit off.
I really hope this article is incorrect... I am travelling to Australia in a couple of weeks and will have a Series 3 Cellular watch arriving while I'm out there. I plan to activate it with EE in the UK when I return. Based on Apple's own website they seem to suggest it is exactly the same model sold there as in the UK.
Having read this article, I just spoke with Apple support in the UK - who seemed to say that the model I have bought in Australia would work in the UK with EE. I asked if she could double check based on this article and she said she's spoken to a group of colleagues who agreed that it would work.
So it's kind of confusing... as we seem to be getting conflicting messages. Either the representative mentioned in this article was wrong and was getting confused with the fact that certain models are locked down to certain countries... or the apple support contact I spoke to is wrong and doesn't understand that the Apple watch doesn't work in the same way as the iPhone and iPad.
Would be great to have some clarification!!
Having read this article, I just spoke with Apple support in the UK - who seemed to say that the model I have bought in Australia would work in the UK with EE. I asked if she could double check based on this article and she said she's spoken to a group of colleagues who agreed that it would work.
So it's kind of confusing... as we seem to be getting conflicting messages. Either the representative mentioned in this article was wrong and was getting confused with the fact that certain models are locked down to certain countries... or the apple support contact I spoke to is wrong and doesn't understand that the Apple watch doesn't work in the same way as the iPhone and iPad.
Would be great to have some clarification!!
Guys how do you understand the part about purchase and activation? Can I basically purchase a watch from another country and then activate it in another one considering it's available there and the LTE bands are same (which applies to Europe)?
The LTE limitations will be down to the small low-power chipset - remember that's how the handsets themselves started out, different models each with different frequency bands available, then more flexible chipsets became available in the right size/power range for Apple to switch.
I'm surprised they've managed to squeeze any LTE support into the watch at all! Getting the full range of frequencies will come later, I expect. I'm guessing roaming has additional issues with the eSIM setup which might complicate matters too?
Right now, even though "the UK" is supported, only one of the four networks (EE) is supported - since I'm on Three, it wouldn't work for me anyway.
It's not about the bands, it's about Apple / carriers not allowing to use it in a different country - activate it. So even though you get an European version, where the bands are the same, you are stuck in one country.
It may work now. It didn't work a few months ago when I was there, but I heard that Fi and T-Mobile (at the least) have since added it.
On another note, for a country where everything is so cheap, VietTel data is surprisingly not...
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A device with a T-Mobile SIM will still connect to LTE internationally; the data speeds are just throttled.
The LTE Watches in Germany, Switzerland and France have the same item numbers, so there will be no difference.
UK has a different item number but I think thats just because of the different power-plug....
UK has a different item number but I think thats just because of the different power-plug....
I can see that however Germany lists some sort of activation code so do you think the watch will have a slightly different firmware and thus couldn't be activated elsewhere? That's my only concern. I think buying it in one country (same model) and activating in another should work.
Is this the same with the UK they use the same bands as Europe so on a technical level nothing would change outside of a software block.
I think all of the european watches are basically the same and the last part of the firmware will be downloaded when you activate and "marry" the watch with your phone and phone number.....
I just wish Apple would confirm this, that's my guess as well but don't want to waste more than 400 EUR if the Watch is not useable afterwards.
On the german Telekom page you can read, that LTE is not working in other countrys because roaming is not supported by Apple ! (Original text: Eine Nutzung der Mobilfunk-Funktion ohne Verbindung mit dem iPhone ist jedoch im Ausland nicht möglich, weil die Roaming-Funktion vom Hersteller Apple nicht unterstützt wird.)