So AT&T activated my watch, but it has a completely separate number and they can't figure out how to enable NumberSync. This really is a giant cluster.
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Some Apple Watch Series 3 Owners Facing LTE Activation Issues [Updated]
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[doublepost=1506194432][/doublepost]It took a couple of tries but got mine activated with ATT this morning. The process stalled a couple times so it might have been a server issue. So I went ahead with the rest of the watch set up and then came back. Everything processed properly. You are given a specific phone number for the watch. You will get an email confirmation with that number listed.
Apple Watch Series 3 models are being delivered across the United States and the rest of the world today, and as customers start attempting to activate their new LTE devices, some of them are running into serious setup issues.
On the MacRumors forums, several AT&T customers have received messages stating AT&T is not supported. Support reps seem confused about how Apple Watch activation works, with one rep telling MacRumors reader KG87 that his watch needs a new number.
Many of the affected AT&T customers have said the company seems to be having trouble activating watches not purchased directly through AT&T and have been spending quite a lot of time on the phone in an attempt to get the problem ironed out. Some customers are even being told to call back tomorrow. From MacRumors reader Greg:According to another AT&T support rep, customers who ordered an Apple Watch directly from Apple will not be getting them activated until tomorrow because they're missing key information Apple was supposed to send them.
Verizon users don't seem to be having as much trouble as AT&T users, but several have been told Verizon's systems aren't fully functional. Verizon is said to be doing maintenance to fix the problem and there's no estimate of when issues will be worked out. Many VZW customers may not be able to make phone calls due to the server issues.
T-Mobile customers also appear to be having significant issues, like MacRumors reader Jesse, who said he's spent several hours on the phone with T-Mobile trying to work out an authentication error with his social security number. "T-Mobile reps are completely unprepared for dealing with this issue today. Spent many hours on the phone with T-Mobile and Apple already. Apple claims this is T-Mobile issue," he told us.
T-Mobile customers have also been told the company is having system wide issues affecting the signal T-Mobile users are getting on the Apple Watch.
At least some of the activation issues are due to customers who have incompatible plans. AT&T customers with a grandfathered unlimited data plan, for example, are not able to use the Apple Watch Series 3, despite assurances from AT&T reps that the watch was compatible with the plan.
Across the pond, some EE subscribers in the UK are having the same activation problems, and EE reps are at a loss on how to helpThough some customers are having issues, others have been able to activate their LTE watches with no problems and have even said it's an easy process. For the subset of users running into issues, though, it's been a frustrating afternoon attempting to deal with Apple support and carrier representatives who are still struggling to figure out all the quirks and problems that come along with supporting a new device.
Article Link: Some Apple Watch Series 3 Owners Facing LTE Activation Issues
I have an unlimited plan that was released in feb and they were able to add a line to that account
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Any particular change or different way to activate this time? Were you getting activation error code 412 earlier or some other issue?
Mine finally went through too after spending 8+ hours yesterday. I followed the steps as yesterday from the Apple Watch. But I can’t make call as of now. Tmobile is checking why not..
Can you please help us understand if anything changed since then? were you account personal or business? Are you on tmobile one plan or old simple choice plan? Any particular settings you might have changed on phone or watch app that might have helped in activation?
Update: they said everything went through successfully and it will take a couple of hours for me to make calls with the watch after everything configures on their end.
Also one more thing: was there any particular error message or code when you were trying to activate earlier? just trying to figure out the variables to resolve this issue.
I'm the "Greg" quoted in the article. What I found out is that AT&T had deactivated HD Voice on my account back in December of 2014 and said that at the time, they offered HD voice but Apple's iOS didn't support it yet so they had deactivated it on accounts. I never opted out but I guess they did on my behalf. Upon removing that "Opt-Out" the watch activated just fine.
That being said, I was on the phone over 2 hours and the reasons I was given are below:
1) I need a dummy number from Apple for the watch before they can activate it. Call Apple and get one setup
2) My account is or is not (I can't remember) a unified bill and I need to be transferred to billing who will fix it. (when I was transferred to billing they had no clue what was going on
3) This is an Apple issue (they then transferred me directly to Apple who tried to help but couldn't)
4) AT&T was not activating watches until Saturday and I would need to call them back and contact the order department
I called the number that popped up on my phone one last time and asked for a supervisor, clearly being annoyed, and the agent who got me put up with my attitude and walked through the issue and figured out what was wrong. She was great. I am glad they got it working but super annoyed that I was lied to.
That being said, I was on the phone over 2 hours and the reasons I was given are below:
1) I need a dummy number from Apple for the watch before they can activate it. Call Apple and get one setup
2) My account is or is not (I can't remember) a unified bill and I need to be transferred to billing who will fix it. (when I was transferred to billing they had no clue what was going on
3) This is an Apple issue (they then transferred me directly to Apple who tried to help but couldn't)
4) AT&T was not activating watches until Saturday and I would need to call them back and contact the order department
I called the number that popped up on my phone one last time and asked for a supervisor, clearly being annoyed, and the agent who got me put up with my attitude and walked through the issue and figured out what was wrong. She was great. I am glad they got it working but super annoyed that I was lied to.
What I remember doing is like everyone else has been doing..restarted my watch series 3 and iphone 7+, went to activate watch on iPhone reading in this thread someone else went through, I followed the instructions on the screens (didnt get the Social Security required this time) and went to the service agreement, accepted all of that and had a congratulations screen. Got the Digits number assigned to the iPhone number.
The lady agent said I’m the first one she talked to who has everything on the account correct since morning (7:30am and now is almost 1:30pm). But it will take time to start making calls (a couple of hours). I will believe everything is good once I actually start making calls.
...will post update later.
Personal Account and latest T-mobile One Plan (not Netflix)
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I got the error 412 i think since yesterday.
Thanks; thats helpful. I am getting error code 412 as well but i have old simple choice plan and not TMobile one. Yes i also noticed since this morning that when i tried to activate from apple watch app, it didn't ask to enter last 4 SSN like it was asking yesterday. I will keep trying and see if i can get it through.
Activated my watch on cellular with no problems this morning.
Same shared account with my wife, her watch says the account is not ready for Apple watch when trying to set up cellular.
An hour on the phone with Verizon resulted in nothing working. "They are aware of the "outage" and working on a fix".
Apparently their work arounds are hit and miss.
Same shared account with my wife, her watch says the account is not ready for Apple watch when trying to set up cellular.
An hour on the phone with Verizon resulted in nothing working. "They are aware of the "outage" and working on a fix".
Apparently their work arounds are hit and miss.
I’m on T-Mobile One Business plan. All day yesterday I was getting the “Authentication Failed” message when prompted to enter last four digits of SSN. I just tried again, and there is no more prompt to enter the SSN. I get new screens now that look like it’s working properly, but at the very end of the procedure I get error 412.
I’ve restarted the iPhone and the watch and made sure Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are turned on. I’ve also verified that Wi-Fi calling is enabled on the phone and the watch. I’ve tried three times and got error 412 three times.
I’ve restarted the iPhone and the watch and made sure Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are turned on. I’ve also verified that Wi-Fi calling is enabled on the phone and the watch. I’ve tried three times and got error 412 three times.
Please explain the process. I’m still getting 412 error
[doublepost=1506203115][/doublepost]E
Exact scenario for me
Had major issues getting ATT to activate last night but they finally pushed it through. The watch says its connected to ATT and status is connected under the cellular tab in settings. However, when the phone switches to solely LTE connection text/data does not work. I can make a call however. Similarly, when watch is on WIFI only connection, iMessage does not work. The watch only works when tethered to the phone. ATT and Apple have no solutions right now and dont even fully understand the issue it seems.
I have been dealing with Verizon connection issues since 10am yesterday. Turned out at first I wasn't able to use numbershare because my phones HD calling feature was not activated. After pairing the separate number to my primary phone I was able to set up my account on the watch app, however, after doing so it says activating then the cellular tab reads "not in use" with Verizon listed under it. If I go into settings on my watch and hit cellular it displays PLAN: NO SIM and STATUS: No connection. Is anybody else experiencing a similar problem?
Update: I finally solved my connection issues by accident without apple or Verizon's help. The issuse turned out to be that We had manually assigned a numbershare to my line on the family plan. I went on the myverizon portal --> manage connected devices and dragged the number to another phone on the account. I then went through the cellular setup in the watch app again and it said it was switching the number and like magic it activated no problem. Issue seems to be that the watch app is very particular when it comes to how the numbershare is established and assigned. Hope this helps anybody who was getting the "not in use" status.
Update: I finally solved my connection issues by accident without apple or Verizon's help. The issuse turned out to be that We had manually assigned a numbershare to my line on the family plan. I went on the myverizon portal --> manage connected devices and dragged the number to another phone on the account. I then went through the cellular setup in the watch app again and it said it was switching the number and like magic it activated no problem. Issue seems to be that the watch app is very particular when it comes to how the numbershare is established and assigned. Hope this helps anybody who was getting the "not in use" status.
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Update: (T-mobile) after going through on calls with the reps on Tech/Digits support team, i can finally make and receive call/texts on apple watch.
The rep said I’m the first customer who has gone so far on T-mobile network..pew pew pew, finally a victory.
Hope all goes well with everyone else.
The rep said I’m the first customer who has gone so far on T-mobile network..pew pew pew, finally a victory.
Hope all goes well with everyone else.
The following is a Public Service Announcement. Remember future users will have an easier time following our frustrations. Remind your non-techie friends we early adopters do serve a valuable service during the launch of new devices . We have helped humanity. Thank you.
When the watch is on Wi-Fi, the iMessage traffic doesn’t go through the carrier. Turn iMessage off and then on for the watch in the Watch app on the iPhone. The watch has been able to receive and make calls when on Wi-Fi without the phone nearby and even with the phone off for a while now. This is not a new functionality. It’s assisted by the carrier, but AT&T has had this feature for over a year. The feature is called “calls on other devices”. Make sure your iPhone has Wi-Fi calling enabled and then activate “calling on other devices”. The watch should have “calling on other devices” enabled by default, but you may have to toggle that option under the Phone menu in the Apple Watch app on the iPhone.
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Are you on personal or business plan?
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Apple should pay for our watches and carriers should pay our fees for two years. We are helping humanity to beat the smartphone addiction.
This may not help but it's some info. I too could not get Verizon to active on my watch until they discovered that I was missing HD voice on my line. Before they would even try to setup the number for the watch, they had me unpair my watch. I ended up unpairing my watch 5 times yesterday. That (unpairing) step was from another support document they had.
Good luck.