Unable to make/receive calls on Apple Watch Ultra 3 when iPhone is not nearby or off.

I’m unable to make calls on my Apple Watch Ultra 3 when my iPhone 12 Pro Max is not nearby or turned on. Watch is running watchOS 26.2 and phone is running iOS 26.2.


My carrier is Verizon and I have the Number Share+ plan for the watch. No matter what I try, when I’m away from my phone (or it’s off) I get a call failed message when I try to make a call on cellular or when connected to WiFi with the watch. I’m not able to receive calls on the watch either.


I’ve tried everything from restarting all devices, disconnecting/reconnecting Bluetooth, turning cellular off/on in watch, and I’ve tried unpairing the watch from my phone and resetting and re-pairing. Nothing works.


However, cellular data works just fine. No trouble sending/receiving messages on the watch, listening/downloading music, navigation, etc. when away from my phone (or it’s off).


Any idea how I might fix this?

Apple Watch Ultra 3, watchOS 26

Posted on Jan 9, 2026 4:08 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jan 10, 2026 10:09 AM

Yes I have contacted Verizon and originally got no help at all. However, today I finally got someone who seems to have fixed the problem. After a 3 hour chat, removing the cellular plan from watch and adding it again was the fix. They even gave me a discount for my trouble. Verizon is slowly restoring my faith in them. 😅

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jan 10, 2026 10:09 AM in response to Dah•veed

Yes I have contacted Verizon and originally got no help at all. However, today I finally got someone who seems to have fixed the problem. After a 3 hour chat, removing the cellular plan from watch and adding it again was the fix. They even gave me a discount for my trouble. Verizon is slowly restoring my faith in them. 😅

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Unable to make/receive calls on Apple Watch Ultra 3 when iPhone is not nearby or off.

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