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Process of adding watch to existing EE plan in the UK.
- Thread starter akash.nu
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I am on that link but it does not talk about the extra amount one needs to pay for the Watch connection.
It’s done through the watch app on your iPhone. You log into your My EE account and you are offered a choice of plans, of which there is currently just one: free for three months with unlimited data, and then £5/month for 10GB data. Once selecting this the eSIM should be provisioned on the watch and activation should be complete within about half an hour.
There are several issues you can come across.
If you’ve recently moved to EE, you may get error code 12. This means your account is not eligible for extra lines.
You may get other codes, error 31 is a popular one.
When these happen, you have to call 150. Eventually you get put through to the relevant department who will then manually provision your watch on your account, they do this using the EID number that can be found on the watch’s box.
There are several issues you can come across.
If you’ve recently moved to EE, you may get error code 12. This means your account is not eligible for extra lines.
You may get other codes, error 31 is a popular one.
When these happen, you have to call 150. Eventually you get put through to the relevant department who will then manually provision your watch on your account, they do this using the EID number that can be found on the watch’s box.
In the US we have additional taxes and fees that can add 50% or more to the monthly service. I guess you don't have those in the UK since your prices usually reflect taxes.
Yes carrier prices have VAT (Value Added Tax) which is 20%. Most prices for most consumer items in the stores already include the VAT
I went through the process of signing up via the Apple Watch setup screens.
While it did work, it was a surprisingly awkward experience compared to everything else - it loads a web view, in which the mobile operator loads a horrid site, complete with cookie popups.
I’m surprised the integration wasn’t more slick, and worked via an api Apple controlled rather than a web view.
While it did work, it was a surprisingly awkward experience compared to everything else - it loads a web view, in which the mobile operator loads a horrid site, complete with cookie popups.
I’m surprised the integration wasn’t more slick, and worked via an api Apple controlled rather than a web view.
I guess that’s simply because Apple created the base app but the signing up process is left up to the carriers based on their infrastructure / proprietary software solution. Also it’s easier to let carriers deal with that bit rather than them exposing specific APIs for apple to integrate with.
The archetype I had in mind of course is Apple Pay - you don’t get a janky web view to add a card from your bank, it’s a slick experience with a standard native process.
Apple usually do what’s easiest for the user, and have some clout in enforcing that, hence my surprise.
Apple Pay doesn’t work with complicated contract setup. Generally Apple Pay is good for one off / subscription type of product. It might be possible if apple sets up such deal with the carriers but I’m thinking it might be too much hassle for a one off user journey.
Isn’t it free for six months (rather than three) then a fiver a month? I’m sure it was when I got my watch.
No I didn’t mean paying with Apple Pay.
I meant the setup process of Apple Pay itself being an example of Apple controlling the interface completely (when you add a card etc.).
And I also mean that Apple gets to decide if it’s too much hassle, and since they are the one trillion dollar business handing out exclusivity deals, they usually seem to decide on what’s the slickest.
It's best to disable Wi-Fi on the phone so it tries to activate your watch over cellular. I couldn't provision my watch for hours until I tried disabling Wi-Fi, then it worked no problem
I believe credit card data has more strict regulation applied to it than wireless carrier setups, so it has become more standardized and easier to create a universal front end for.