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Cheapest provider for apple watch cellular?

If I went for that deal, my thinking is that once the esim has been provisioned and the 12 month contract is up, could I not request a PAC code and transfer to any network plan, even if they don't offer Esim initial provisioning? I would be thinking about something like Vodaphone Pay As You Go 1. I could then load it up with credit and it would last me forever without any monthly fees. Would this work after the 12 month contract is up?
You would have to get a new esim with the new network. Not sure on locking tbh, if you wanted to use pay as you go 1 then you'd have to buy a pay and go esim on eBay and you can register it to the watch through the iwatch app.
 
You cannot just add any old eSIM to an Apple Watch.

Apple Watch is limited to networks that specifically support it. EE, O2 and Vodafone are the UK MNOs that currently support Apple Watch and they all only sell the Watch plans as an add-on to an existing PAYM plan.

Truphone are the only MVNO in the UK that currently support Apple Watch and they only support it through Family Setup (which EE also do) where the intention is that the Watch will be used by a family member who doesn’t have an iPhone. They charge £7.99 a month for £79 a year for unlimited use but I’d recommend reading up about Family Setup as there’s quite a few features not available due to it not being paired to a phone.
 
Apple Watch is limited to networks that specifically support it. EE, O2 and Vodafone are the UK MNOs that currently support Apple Watch and they all only sell the Watch plans as an add-on to an existing PAYM plan.

So don't you think this would work:


Can't believe how difficult they make it to get a cellular connection for the watch. I think they are missing a market here. There are plenty of athletes (trail runners, long distance swimmers etc), who just want something for an emergency when training without the bulk of carrying a phone. For such usage data / calls would be practically zero and continuing subscription rates are a barrier to take up. I personally have no interest in mobile phone contracts etc just to have a watch for emergency use.
 
So don't you think this would work:


No it won't work. There is no way to manually add an eSIM to an Apple Watch. eSIM provisioning is done via the mobile network. The Watch app on iPhone will only load eSIM data to the Watch that has been supplied by a network.
 
The Watch app on iPhone will only load eSIM data to the Watch that has been supplied by a network.

Are you sure it has to be supplied by the network? I thought a few networks offer you the opportunity to add an Apple watch to your existing phone contract even if you did not buy the Apple watch from them. If the network has to provide the watch, how come they are sold on Amazon and many other places not locked to a network?
 
Are you sure it has to be supplied by the network? I thought a few networks offer you the opportunity to add an Apple watch to your existing phone contract even if you did not buy the Apple watch from them. If the network has to provide the watch, how come they are sold on Amazon and many other places not locked to a network?

The eSIM provisioning data has to be supplied by the network. The watch can of course come from anywhere.
 
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The eSIM provisioning data has to be supplied by the network. The watch can of course come from anywhere.

But I still don't see why those vodaphone pay as you go Esims on Ebay would not work. What would happen if you try to load the Ebay Esim to an Apple watch from an Iphone on Vodaphone pay as you go? I get that the network controls this if using something like Vodaphone OneNumber, but if the you were to buy a Pay as you go Esim off Ebay and the watch has it's own separate number, I don't see why this would not work.
 
But I still don't see why those vodaphone pay as you go Esims on Ebay would not work. What would happen if you try to load the Ebay Esim to an Apple watch from an Iphone on Vodaphone pay as you go? I get that the network controls this if using something like Vodaphone OneNumber, but if the you were to buy a Pay as you go Esim off Ebay and the watch has it's own separate number, I don't see why this would not work.

It won't work because there is no way to do what you are suggesting. There is no way to even attempt to add your own eSIM plan to the watch. There's no option to scan a QR code or manually enter the data.
 
Does anyone know if 02 provide anything like Vodaphone Onenumber, where you can share your mobile plan’s allowance across devices you own e.g. smartwatches
 
Does anyone know if 02 provide anything like Vodaphone Onenumber, where you can share your mobile plan’s allowance across devices you own e.g. smartwatches
Tbh your probably better off just switching to vodafone and using their one number service. Slow2 as far as I’m aware don’t have a service like this.
 
Tbh your probably better off just switching to vodafone and using their one number service. Slow2 as far as I’m aware don’t have a service like this.

Thats not really an option, as all my internet at home is 4G, and 02 is the only network that provides a decent speed around here. I have tried vodaphone and found the speed really poor.
 
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Out of interest, do you have to wear a watch for emergency coms? Have you considered emergency-only communication devices such as:



By the way I am thinking of getting an some watch LTE and looking for esim options thank you for asking the question and thank all for the replies :)
 

Stumbled across this whilst looking at the Apple esim page, though works out £7.99 a month or £79 for the year, and can be added via someone else’s iPhone via the family mode option.

Not sure if this has been mentioned already so apologies if so.

edit: someone did beat me to it.
 
If you use the workout functions and have 4G enabled at the same time, the battery will not last very long (if the workout uses GPS, with those features too, you can expect an hour to an hour and a half from fully charged to flat - the combination absolutely rinses the battery).

Your comment and reading reviews online actually put me off buying the apple watch due to dire battery life. Most of the competitors also seem to be as bad. When the new Apple Watch was announced recently, I was hoping for an improvement with battery life, but it seems just as bad.

What has got me excited is the recent release of the Huawei Watch 3 pro. It's more expensive than the Apple watch, but it seems to be getting some great reviews in terms of battery life. I reckon with cellular and GPS enabled I should get about 6 hours. With everything disabled, it says it gets up to 21 days. Here is one review:


What do people think of it?
 
Regardless of the watch you choose you are going to fall at the same hurdle with regards to cellular connectivity.

Networks supporting it will be limited (Vodafone only for Huawei at the moment it seems...) and it will only be offered as a £7-ish a month add on to an existing pay monthly plan.
 
I've ordered an LTE Galaxy watch Active 2. I'm with 3, I was planning on getting an unrelated pay as you go esim for the watch from Vodafone, will this not work?
 
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