Series 3 - Activate LTE on another carrier/line than the iPhone it is paired to?

[ws07]

Hi - long story short, I am not able to active the LTE service on my watch with the iPhone it is paired to (Verizon corporate account that doesn’t support “numbershare”).

I’m hopeful there is some other way to use LTE on my watch - I don’t care about incoming calls, all I really want is for the watch to be on cellular so I could use it to make emergency calls without my phone, and to access upcoming streaming capabilities in watchOS 5 without my phone...

Does anyone have suggestions on how to do this? I considered buying a separate phone / personal line but that seems like a lot to go thru for this... I really want to keep the watch paired with my existing corporate phone/plan as it’s my daily carry for things like fitness, etc. Do any US mobile companies allow activation of JUST an Apple Watch?

 

[dave006]

Short answer is no.

Here are the details. Both the LTE watch and the iPhone that it is paired with must be on the same carrier, same billing account which must be a post-paid account. Currently your only option is to get another iPhone on a consumer account and then pair your LTE watch.

Do any US mobile companies allow activation of JUST an Apple Watch?

No not currently.

Some regional providers now support the LTE watch, here is an example for US Cellular.

How much does it cost to connect my Apple Watch to the U.S. Cellular Network?

• If you are on one of U.S. Cellular's Total Plans, there is no charge to connect your Apple Watch to the Cellular network.
• If you are on any other U.S. Cellular plan, you will get 3 months for free trial and after that there is a $4.99 monthly charge to connect your Apple Watch to the Cellular network.

ETA: Added US Cellular information for reference.

Dave

 

[ws07]

Short answer is no.

Here are the details. Both the LTE watch and the iPhone that it is paired with must be on the same carrier, same billing account which must be a post-paid account. Currently your only option is to get another iPhone on a consumer account and then pair your LTE watch.


No not currently.

Some regional providers now support the LTE watch, here is an example for US Cellular.

How much does it cost to connect my Apple Watch to the U.S. Cellular Network?

• If you are on one of U.S. Cellular's Total Plans, there is no charge to connect your Apple Watch to the Cellular network.
• If you are on any other U.S. Cellular plan, you will get 3 months for free trial and after that there is a $4.99 monthly charge to connect your Apple Watch to the Cellular network.

ETA: Added US Cellular information for reference.

Dave

Thank you very much for your insights - very helpful (but disappointing!)

I do have a family consumer account, but I don’t relish having to disconnect my watch from my daily carry iPhone and re-pairing it with a personal device.

Thanks!