With the impending closure of the 3G Network in Australia what effect will it have on my ability to use my watch. Apple store has advised no change previously, should just switch over to 4G however Telstra continue to SMS & write to me advising that the watch will no longer be supported and needs to be upgraded. Is this a sales pitch by Telstra?
MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 10.15
It does. If you look on GSM arena for the Series 3, 4, and 5 watches, Band 28 is not supported and it seems Telstra will be using this in many area's instead of 3G. From GSM Arena:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 39, 40, 41, 66 - Global
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 25, 26, 39, 40, 41, 66 - USA, LATAM, Canada
It does support Band 3 which is the other band Telstra use for 4G so ultimately it means that you'll have a reduction in coverage on the Telstra network, depending on what they've used in any given area.
It does. If you look on GSM arena for the Series 3, 4, and 5 watches, Band 28 is not supported and it seems Telstra will be using this in many area's instead of 3G. From GSM Arena:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 39, 40, 41, 66 - Global
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 25, 26, 39, 40, 41, 66 - USA, LATAM, Canada
It does support Band 3 which is the other band Telstra use for 4G so ultimately it means that you'll have a reduction in coverage on the Telstra network, depending on what they've used in any given area.
As WheelieNick says, the Apple Watches use LTE (aka 4G) cellular. The shutting down of the 3G networks will not affect the Apple Watch.
It seems like a sales pitch, everything that I could find online is that the Apple Watch series 5 features 4G bands
This was my interpretation too (I have an Apple Watch Series 5), bit on further reading of Telstra information it talks about how Telstra’s 4G band is 700MHz (Band 28), which is apparently not supported by Apple Watch. It also says that while data might be supported, voice over LTE (VoLTE), particularly emergency calls to 000, might not be. Does any of that hold water?
[Edited by Moderator]
Apple Watch Series 5 Cellular & 3G Network
