Ultra 3 5G on EE UK

[dannymcg]

Hi all
Loving the upgrade to my ultra 3. Anyone else find there’s no 5G connection when on EE. All I’m seeing is 4G in everywhere I have tried it across London.
Thanks.

 

[Broken Hope]

Doesn't work for me but I've seen other people who say they are on EE with 5G working on their watch.

I wonder if Redcap isn't fully rolled out over the UK.

 

[dannymcg]

Redcap?

 

[Broken Hope]

5G Redcap is the form of 5G that the watch uses. Also requires you to be in a 5G standalone area.

 

[Mind The Mac]

5G Redcap is the form of 5G that the watch uses. Also requires you to be in a 5G standalone area.

Seems you are not alone with no 5G. IIRC you have 5GSA in your area, but wanted to ask if your EE account is also 5GSA provisioned? EE and VF have been picky about which iPhones and account plans can access SA and was thinking this might also be a factor. This might also apply to @dannymcg

As you noted others have got 5G RC connected - great news - but I'm guessing they are in a larger urban location. Have you tried beyond your locale?

For me this launch has been poor. From mine and others experiences both Apple and EE have not adequately educated and trained their customer facing teams. You know it's a mess when one side suggests you contact the other and then visa-versa when you do.

Edit: Typo

 

[Kwozzii]

Can confirm the it's the same for me on 3 network - although I don't live in a city I do live quite close to a 5G antenna and get a 5G signal on my iPhone.

 

[Mind The Mac]

Can confirm the it's the same for me on 3 network - although I don't live in a city I do live quite close to a 5G antenna and get a 5G signal on my iPhone.

Regrettably I do not believe 3 have deployed their 5G RedCap yet and are now probably waiting on Vodafone, following their merger. I entered the following question into Google "Have EE UK deployed 5G RedCap" and it comes back yes, but does not confirm the extent of the roll-out. If you repeat that for the other UK networks, they come back as No, but either are about to or still trialing. As there have been no public announcements from VF, O2 or 3, then without the 5GRC, the watch is limited to 4G/LTE

 

[Broken Hope]

Seems you are not alone with no 5G. IIRC you have 5GSA in your area, but wanted to ask if your EE account is also 5GSA provisioned? EE and VF have been picky about which iPhones and account plans can access SA and was thinking this might also be a factor. This might also apply to @dannymcg

As you noted others have got 5G RC connected - great news - but I'm guessing they are in a larger urban location. Have you tried beyond your locale?

For me this launch has been poor. From mine and others experiences both Apple and EE have not adequately educated and trained their customer facing teams. You know it's a mess when one side suggests you contact the other and then visa-versa when you do.

Edit: Typo

I have 5G SA working on my phone, I’m in Nottingham so a large urban area.

Someone on a other forum said it could depend on if you’re in a Nokia or Ericsson area in terms of masts.

 

[phetherweyt]

I have 5G SA working on my phone, I’m in Nottingham so a large urban area.

Someone on a other forum said it could depend on if you’re in a Nokia or Ericsson area in terms of masts.

I'm in Nottingham as well and have 5G on my AWU3

 

[Broken Hope]

I'm in Nottingham as well and have 5G on my AWU3

Interesting, how did you purchase your watch and data plan? Did you have a previous plan and move it over to your AWU3?

I’ve tested in a few different areas and not got 5G on my watch, where exactly is it working?

 

[Mind The Mac]

Interesting, how did you purchase your watch and data plan? Did you have a previous plan and move it over to your AWU3?

I’ve tested in a few different areas and not got 5G on my watch, where exactly is it working?

Great news from @phetherweyt !

Just a thought and please ignore if you have tried this: Re-Pair your watch/phone. If in someway your watch e-sim is corrupt, it should get re-written as part of the pairing process that may allow 5GRC access.

 

[ardsar]

Latest Info on EE coverage and roll out plan

Using 5G Standalone | Mobile Help | EE

This article helps you with what you need to use EE’s 5G Standalone network or 5G Calling on your mobile.

ee.co.uk

Also note that any esim is compatible. For iphone you must meet these criteria

• an EE All Rounder or Full Works pay monthly mobile plan bought after 29 August 2024
• a pay monthly handset plan bought after 19 March 2025
• a SIM card activated after September 2021 is compatible, or any eSIM
• a compatible device, see the list of devices below
• be in a 5G Standalone coverage area, use our postcode search tool to check your address

 

[phetherweyt]

Interesting, how did you purchase your watch and data plan? Did you have a previous plan and move it over to your AWU3?

I’ve tested in a few different areas and not got 5G on my watch, where exactly is it working?

I didn’t have a plan for the watch. Just had an EE sim only plan on my phone. When I went through the steps of setting up the watch it took me through the steps of requesting an eSIM AW plan which is £7. I accepted it and didn’t run into any issues or complications.

And to answer the other question, I bought the watch from the Apple Store.

 

[phetherweyt]

 

[Broken Hope]

I didn’t have a plan for the watch. Just had an EE sim only plan on my phone. When I went through the steps of setting up the watch it took me through the steps of requesting an eSIM AW plan which is £7. I accepted it and didn’t run into any issues or complications.

And to answer the other question, I bought the watch from the Apple Store.

Makes me think it needs to be a new plan and not a transferred plan from a previous watch.

 

[Fatboy71]

Makes me think it needs to be a new plan and not a transferred plan from a previous watch.

I initially thought the same, but it would seem that doesn't make any difference as there is someone on the EE forums saying that their's was a new plan, and not a transferred plan, and they cannot connect to 5G on the watch.

It's currently on the fifth page of this thread:

Apple Watch Ultra 3 won’t have 5G

I received my Watch Ultra 3 today and as i suspected only has 4G. Called EE to be told that no watch plans currently support 5G. Spoke to a manager aswell to confirm and its true. At the moment although the watch is 5G compatible we are stuck with 4G for the moment and they have no set plans to...

community.ee.co.uk

Also on the same thread I've linked above are different people, who have had very different information supplied to them by EE. It seems that there is some poor educating of the staff going on with dealing with this issue.

Also on the same thread, currently on the third page, where someone who has been in contact with EE technical help, and been told that "the problem not being able to use 5G on the Ultra 3 isn’t down to EE is is because Apple needs to activate 5G on the Ultra 3 with a watchOS update"

Again, very different and conflicting information on that thread, and its very poor training of the staff in my opinion.
EE were clearly shown at the Apple Event as being a network that would support this. And presumably would have been in contact with Apple, for a period of time prior to the event to discuss this, and to ensure their network would support this feature, before listing them as a supported carrier at the Apple Event.

 

[BillGates1969]

I have a SIM only plan with EE, the iPhone Full Works. Activated my U3 with the plan and tested the other day and got 5G

Not in a big city but a big town by the sea on the sunny south coast.

EDIT: When I activated the U3, I did ask about 5G and the agent fumbled about then said no it isn't yet available on EE watch eSims.

 

[Spacer]

Ok, I’ve been testing my new Ultra 3 today. I spoke to EE, and had my watch tariff ‘upgraded’ but with no changes. However, I now notice an add on that is 5G standalone on the watch. And, when I tried the 5G in a 5GSA area, the watch showed 5G fine

 

[Fatboy71]

I have a SIM only plan with EE, the iPhone Full Works. Activated my U3 with the plan and tested the other day and got 5G

View attachment 2561378

Not in a big city but a big town by the sea on the sunny south coast.

EDIT: When I activated the U3, I did ask about 5G and the agent fumbled about then said no it isn't yet available on EE watch eSims.

I have the same sim only plan for my iPhone. When you got the Ultra 3, did you then setup the watch's mobile data plan or did you have it before getting the Ultra 3 with an earlier Apple Watch ?

 

[Fatboy71]

Ok, I’ve been testing my new Ultra 3 today. I spoke to EE, and had my watch tariff ‘upgraded’ but with no changes. However, I now notice an add on that is 5G standalone on the watch. And, when I tried the 5G in a 5GSA area, the watch showed 5G fine

What exactly did EE say they had upgraded on the plan?

I've looked on the EE app and all I see are two numbers, one is for my iPhone's sim only plan, and the other is for my Apple Watch's data plan, and when I select that one, it just shows 100 percent watch sim discount in the add-ons.

I'm just wondering if there is something that the last customer service person who I dealt with last week has not done on my account, that would perhaps have allowed me to connect to 5G.

 

[BillGates1969]

I have the same sim only plan for my iPhone. When you got the Ultra 3, did you then setup the watch's mobile data plan or did you have it before getting the Ultra 3 with an earlier Apple Watch ?

Carried it over, but there were issues and CS needed to re set it up for me.

 

[Spacer]

What exactly did EE say they had upgraded on the plan?

I've looked on the EE app and all I see are two numbers, one is for my iPhone's sim only plan, and the other is for my Apple Watch's data plan, and when I select that one, it just shows 100 percent watch sim discount in the add-ons.

I'm just wondering if there is something that the last customer service person who I dealt with last week has not done on my account, that would perhaps have allowed me to connect to 5G.

They applied a 100% discount, as I’d moved to a new Full Works package (from an older Full Works) on my
iPhone. So, they decided to apply a 100% discount to the watch rather than remove the contract for the watch and re-add it under the phone’s contract. But, when they did that, it reset the contract date, and added the 5G standalone for the watch under the watch’s contract and ‘add ons’.

 

[Spacer]

I’ve just done a Speedtest on the watch whilst on 5G, and it’s showing a 30mbps download speed, for anyone interested.

 

[ardsar]

For those that are able to connect to 5G red cap on the their watch, it would be useful for others to know if you have a "5G standalone option" under Mobile Service -->Mobile Data options mentioned by Spacer in post #18 above.

If this is a common theme for all those that can connect to 5G, it will allow others that are not currently in a 5G Red cap area to know if their plan has been setup correctly.

 

[BillGates1969]

For those that are able to connect to 5G red cap on the their watch, it would be useful for others to know if you have a "5G standalone option" under Mobile Service -->Mobile Data options mentioned by Spacer in post #18 above.

If this is a common theme for all those that can connect to 5G, it will allow others that are not currently in a 5G Red cap area to know if their plan has been setup correctly.

Yep it is there for me.