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can the cell carrier deactivate the apple watch

I received a used apple watch but the previous owner did not deactivate it from his account before setting up his new watch. He called his carrier and they said they took care of removing the old watch from his phone when they set up his new watch but it did not work. Can the service carrier do this?

Apple Watch, watchOS 4

Posted on Oct 28, 2019 3:05 PM

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Posted on Oct 28, 2019 3:11 PM

The carrier can cancel the cell service on it, but cannot themselves remove it from an Apple ID account.


The original owner needs to follow these steps:

  1. On a computer, go to iCloud.com and sign in with their Apple ID. 
  2. Go to Find My iPhone.
  3. Select All Devices, then click your Apple Watch.
  4. Click Erase Apple Watch. Select Next until the device is erased.
  5. Click the remove button  next to your Apple Watch.


Once that is done, the Apple Watch should be able to be set up with your iPhone.


More details here: About Activation Lock on your Apple Watch - Apple Support


1 reply
Question marked as Best reply

Oct 28, 2019 3:11 PM in response to lbsquared

The carrier can cancel the cell service on it, but cannot themselves remove it from an Apple ID account.


The original owner needs to follow these steps:

  1. On a computer, go to iCloud.com and sign in with their Apple ID. 
  2. Go to Find My iPhone.
  3. Select All Devices, then click your Apple Watch.
  4. Click Erase Apple Watch. Select Next until the device is erased.
  5. Click the remove button  next to your Apple Watch.


Once that is done, the Apple Watch should be able to be set up with your iPhone.


More details here: About Activation Lock on your Apple Watch - Apple Support


can the cell carrier deactivate the apple watch

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