Apple Watch bought in US...setting up cell service in UK

Question

Apple Watch bought in US...setting up cell service in UK

Hi

I bought my Apple Watch (GPS + Cellular) in the US but when I go to set up the data service in the UK on the Watch App it says "O2 does not support service in your area" even though I have set location etc to UK.

How do I enable it so I can set this up? I called O2 and they weren't helpful - they said it was an Apple issue not theirs.

Have tried googling but no answers so far.

Thanks

Posted on Dec 21, 2022 12:38 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Ingo2711

Level 10

80,247 points

Dec 21, 2022 2:00 AM in response to LondonBloke67

An Apple Watch is supposed to be used in the country of purchase, due to the different built in hardware, that has to support the local carriers. This might be the reason for your setup issue.

And you might also have to have the same carrier for your iPhone and the eSim on your Apple Watch.

Apple Watch - Carriers - Apple

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Answer 2

Ingo2711

Level 10

80,247 points

Dec 21, 2022 2:57 AM in response to LondonBloke67

...

To cover the LTE and UMTS bands used around the world, there are two separate cellular models for Apple Watch Series 8, Apple Watch SE, and Apple Watch Ultra. They have been optimized for use in the country of purchase, and not all models work in all countries or regions. There is no single model that supports cellular service worldwide. To see which carriers in your country or region offer cellular service for Apple Watch, refer to the chart below.

...

copied from: Apple Watch - Carriers - Apple

Can you still return your Apple Watch within the 14 day period? But, you would have to send it back to the US to do that.

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