Hello,
Can someone tell me if I need to have a cellular provider if I buy an Apple Watch direct?
From what I read, it pairs with your iPhone and works through that? My cell company wants to charge me monthly for "the line." Can someone please explain the best way to purchase and attach my Apple Watch?
Thank you in advance.
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
Apple Watch Series 4, watchOS 5
If you buy the cellular Apple Watch and want it to run off cellular, you will need a cellular plan for it. If you want to connect is through bluetooth to your phone, then it will not need any cellular plan.
-Hope this helps!
If you buy the cellular Apple Watch and want it to run off cellular, you will need a cellular plan for it. If you want to connect is through bluetooth to your phone, then it will not need any cellular plan.
-Hope this helps!
If you buy a Cellular model Apple watch and wish to activate cellular service on it then yes, you need a cellular provider for it, and normally the provider charges a fee to add the watch to your iPhone's service account.
You can of course not activate cell service, or buy a non-cellular (GPS only) Apple watch, and you would then not need to activate it with your cellular provider. So no fee would need to be paid.
If you don't activate cell service, or buy a non-cellular Apple watch, then when its away from the iPhone and a wifi network, then watch will not be able to send or receive calls or messages.
When near the paired iPhone then the features and functions are the same whether the cellular is activated on the watch or not.
More details here: How to use your Apple Watch without your iPhone nearby - Apple Support
@jdoghaf Helpful! Thank you!
Will that include calls coming through via bluetooth?
Any limitations between a cellular provider and extending to the Apple Watch if I don't do the cell network and just the blue tooth?
Would you recommend buying direct then, versus through the cellular network? like aT&t.. benefits non benefits?
oh, dear @Phil...
I didn't see the second reply right away .. this is the first time to post on the apple discussions. Thank you both first for helping me! I believe you answered my questions.
Personal opinion? Do you recommend then the former or the latter above? It sounds like still a benefit to just keep it blue tooth and not pay all the extra cell fees?
Thank you and @jdoghaf .. again!
I wanted to reply that you both solved my question. It only did it on the first one. Thank you both. I am still open for any benefits/non benefits of either way. At this point I will not go with the cell add on, just the direct buy and blue tooth.
If you never plan on activating the cell service on the Apple watch, then you don't gain anything by buying a cellular model, and would just be spending more on the watch for no reason.
You can buy a GPS only mode for cheaper and will work exactly the same as the cellular model if there's no cell service active.
Both models connect to the iPhone over Bluetooth regardless.
It all depends on what use you plan on giving the watch. If you want it to take calls and receive messages when its away from the iPhone, and is not connected to Wifi, then yes the cellular model with active service is required.
Otherwise, the cheaper GPS only model will do the same things as the cellular model would without activating the cell service on it.
If you are talking to your iPhone cellular provider about an Apple Watch, "They" ONLY sell cellular models. So of course they want to sell you a cellular model, and of course they insist you need to pay the extra $10/month to activate it. 🤫
You can by a GPS only Apple Watch model, from Apple and pair it to your iPhone and as long as your iPhone is nearby, you can do everything the cellular model can do, except make phone calls and message/text when away from your iPhone. See the link Phil0124 gave you, and read the footnotes along with the rest of the document.
Thank you so much Bob! I wanted to mark helpful for you to get points but it wouldn't let me! Best to you~
Can someone tell me if I need to have a cellular provider if I buy an Apple Watch direct?
