Three UK eSIM and Apple Watch Support Goes LIVE UPDATE

After years of waiting and a few false starts, customers of mobile operator Three UK are this week reporting that they’ve finally been able to connect their Apple Watches to the operator via a new eSIM supported mobile plan – the ‘Smartwatch Pairing Plan‘, which is intended to complement an existing mobile package.

In case anybody has forgotten, Three UK previously informed us that their Apple Watch and eSIM support would go live in Q2 2022 (here), although we took that with a pinch of salt given the operator’s propensity for missing such targets. Rival operators including O2 (VMO2), Vodafone and EE (BT) have had eSIM support for a while, albeit with varying different levels of support (e.g. it’s sometimes only enabled for selected devices). 

At the time of writing, Three UK hasn’t yet updated their website to reflect all this or made an official announcement, but multiple customers have reported to us that they’ve been able to take a new eSIM based pairing plan and activate it on their Apple Watches. Much like on other operators, you’ll first need a normal mobile plan (usually associated to an iPhone) and the pairing plan is then taken as an add-on.

The ‘Smartwatch Pairing‘ plan itself comes with a monthly term and costs £7 a month (it uses the data allowance from your main plan), although it’s currently being offered free for the first 6 months of service. Three says that, once added, it can take up to 30 minutes for the new plan to go live on your watch, but it usually happens a lot faster than that (c.10 minutes for one person).

Three has previously said that, at launch, eSIM support would be specific to their Apple Watches, while support for other mobile handsets will apparently take a “little longer” to arrive (i.e. expect a long wait, knowing Three). We are reaching out to Three for an official comment.

UPDATE 8:27am

Three has now added a page for their Apple Watch support (here), which includes a line to the new pairing plan at the bottom.

UPDATE 10:31am

The operator has acknowledged that the new service is live, although they’ve stated that it’s currently being treated as a soft launch to ensure that the customer experience is working properly, before the main announcement is issued (expected this month).

UPDATE 22nd June 2022

The official press release just dropped to formally announce the launch – we’ll paste it in full below, as we’ve already covered the key points above.

Apple Watch Announcement

Three will begin offering its customers the Apple Watch Series 7 (GPS and cellular) or Apple Watch SE (GPS and cellular) with the added benefit to linking the smartwatch to an existing mobile contract and their mobile number from today. Customers will therefore be able to use data, take calls and messages, or stream their favourite music when they are out and about, without having to carry their iPhone, enabling them to stay connected to everything anywhere, solely via their Apple Watch.

The watch shares the same number as your iPhone through a built-in eSIM so there’s no need to provide an additional number to family and friends. It will share allowances between your phone and watch so any calls made through your watch for instance, will use minutes from your plan.

Three will launch this new service with an introductory offer of six months free smartwatch pairing and free Apple Fitness+ for the first three months, worth more than £70. Smartwatch pairing will work with iPhone 6s or later, and with Apple Watch Series 3 GPS + Cellular or later.

Customers will be able to order Apple Watch Series 7 featuring the largest and most advanced Apple Watch display ever — a reengineered Always-On Retina display with significantly more screen area and thinner borders — as well as enhanced durability, faster charging, new aluminium colours and watchOS 8, beginning today. For complete pricing and availability details, please visit www.three.co.uk

Apple Watch Series 7 with cellular allows customers to stay connected, make calls and receive texts, even without their iPhone nearby. The design of Apple Watch Series 7 is refined with softer, more rounded corners, and the display has a unique refractive edge that makes full-screen watch faces and apps appear to seamlessly connect with the curvature of the case. At just 1.7 mm thin, the narrower borders of Apple Watch Series 7 maximize the screen area of the display while minimally changing the dimensions of the watch itself. Apple Watch Series 7 also features a user interface optimized for the larger display, a QWERTY keyboard, plus two unique watch faces — Contour and Modular Duo — designed specifically for the new device. Users benefit from the same all-day 18-hour battery life,1 now complemented by 33 percent faster charging.

Available in 41mm and 45mm sizes, Apple Watch Series 7 is the most durable Apple Watch ever, with a stronger, more crack-resistant front crystal. It is the first Apple Watch to have an IP6X certification for resistance to dust and maintains a WR50 water resistance rating.2

Apple Watch Series 7 will be available at Three in four beautiful new aluminium case finishes, including midnight, starlight, green, and a new blue along with a range of new band colours and styles. Apple Watch SE will be available in Silver.

The newest Apple Watch continues to offer indispensable tools for health and wellness, including an electrical heart sensor and ECG app,3 and a Blood Oxygen sensor and app.4 watchOS 8 helps users stay healthy, active, and connected through new workout types, the new Mindfulness app, innovative accessibility features, greater access with Apple Wallet, and more capabilities with the Home app, along with enhancements to Messages and the Photos app.

New and existing Three customers can purchase either Apple Watch by visiting online, a Three store or by calling 0800 033 8006. You can add the Apple Watch Series 7 or Apple Watch SE to your existing plan at an extra cost or alternatively you can buy the Apple Watch outright via www.three.co.uk/accessories. If you already own a watch and want to add Smartwatch Pairing to your plan it will cost £7 per month and can be cancelled at any time.

Andy Foy, director of new products and propositions at Three UK, said: “We are delighted to be able to offer our customers smartwatch pairing. Customers have been asking for this capability because it’s such a great way to stay in touch with all the things that matter to you, without having to carry your device with you everywhere. It gives you the ultimate connected freedom.”