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Non-cellular Apple Watch series four won't allow family member setup

Hi there,


According to Apple instructions for "Set up Apple Watch for a family member" (Set up Apple Watch for a family member - Apple Support,) you don't need a cellular version for family setup but that's not the experience I'm having - I'd welcome a trick to get past this.


The instructions say: What you need

* A cellular plan isn't required to set up an Apple Watch for a family member, but is necessary for some features.


BUT, our Series 4 non-cellular isn't working(watch was at watch 9.3 before reset). AND our old iPhone 7 Plus (on iOS 15.7.3 and won't update further) ALSO won't work when trying to set up the Series 4 watch "For myself", suggesting it needs newer software that will load onto an iPhone 7 Plus.


So, essentially, I think the Apple website guidance is wrong, but I really want it to be true. Anybody have any tricks to get around these issues?


Thanks!



Posted on Jan 30, 2023 6:20 PM

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Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Jan 30, 2023 6:25 PM

Read it again:


What you need


It REQUIRES a watch with cellular.


3 replies

Jan 30, 2023 6:40 PM in response to KiltedTim

Thank you for the reply - please note the asterisk I included in the post where their directions explicitly state a cellular plan is not required.


Are you saying that plan isn’t required but the watch must allow for cellular even if not connected to a plan? I was reading that to mean the watch didn’t need to be the cellular version.


Thats disappointing and confusing.

Non-cellular Apple Watch series four won't allow family member setup

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