What happens if I cancel the phone line for my Apple Watch?

Dragon-Lady18 wrote:

i just learned I'm paying $20 per month for a phone line for my apple watch. i never make calls on my watch. what happens if i cancel the line?

To elaborate a little on KiltedTim's reply ...

With the phone line on your Apple Watch, you can get alerts, see emails, check weather, and look at maps on your watch, even when not able to communicate with the paired iPhone. The cell phone line active on your watch also enables you to send and receive Messages on your watch alone, without communicating with the iPhone. You can also listen to or stream music on the watch, through its own phone line, when the iPhone is off or out of range. And you can also make and receive phone calls on the watch using its phone line, without the iPhone being available.

If you cancel the watch phone line, you won't notice much difference as long as the iPhone is turned on and in range for Bluetooth with the watch, or for the same WiFi that the watch sees.

I usually have my iPhone with me. But I know people who have watch cellular specifically so they can leave the iPhone somewhere and still be connected through the watch. This makes sense for certain sports or workouts where carrying an iPhone is not desired.

I have to confess I have not used my watch (which has cellular) much independently of the iPhone. But there have been times when I left the iPhone at home and went far enough with just the watch to be out of iPhone connection range. On one of those instances my watch received a phone call recently. One can also continue to use Messages, email, and look at news, weather etc. on the watch even when the iPhone is miles away. With the cellular watch, I can drive off and still make hands free phone calls and text messaging using Siri on the watch, and see maps, even if the iPhone is left at home.

steve626 wrote:

I think some of this depends on the carrier. With AT&T, when one links a cellular-capable watch with an iPhone, AT&T assigns a NEW phone number just to the watch. That new number is shown on my AT&T account. But that may have more to do with accounting and billing

Yes, that number is usually for billing purposes only and cannot receive calls or messages or make or send them. Usually. Don't know of any carrier that allows that, but I'm not prepared to say there aren't any. There may be some.

Apple clarifies as much in their own support document.

Set up cellular on Apple Watch - Apple Support

You might see a phone number assigned to your Apple Watch that differs from the phone number assigned to your iPhone. The number shown for your Apple Watch is for your carrier's billing or tracking purposes only; your iPhone and Apple Watch share the same number.

-- yet some posters have indicated that they can make phone calls on the watch thru that other new number. I believe that this is physically possible when the iPhone is off or far away from the watch, but to all appearances the watch is calling with the iPhone number (that iPhone number is what shows on caller ID).

The watch can make calls and send messages if the iPhone is off or not nearby but it still uses the iPhone number. Usually it can use Wi-fi calling for this, or the cellular connection. Again, I have not seen anybody actually make a call through the watch's billing number directly as the carriers usually disable this option for those numbers.

So for practical purposes, the watch is calling on the iPhone number, even if it might be using a physically different telephone connection. AT&T handles all that in the background and it looks like everything is on that original iPhone number.

Not a different connection. Same connection, the number assigned to the watch is just for billing, again in my experience.

I think the original poster was inquiring about canceling that watch cellular plan, which one can certainly do without canceling the iPhone line. Then they would lose the advantages of having a cellular capable watch, which might or might not be important to them.

You can unlink the watch from the iPhone service and cancel the fee that is charged for the watch being linked, but again this does not cancel any phone line directly as the watch in my experience does not get it's own phone line unless it was set up though Family Setup.

The watch will revert to being a GPS only watch if it can't connect the iPhone's service line.

Phil0124 wrote:

The watch cannot have its own line unless it was set up through Family Setup, otherwise is uses the paired iPhone's line.

Your carrier can charge you an extra amount for linking the iPhone's line to the watch though. Cancelling the watch's line would then imply you're canceling your iPhone's phone line unless the watch was set up using Family Setup. Not sure you want to do that.

I think some of this depends on the carrier. With AT&T, when one links a cellular-capable watch with an iPhone, AT&T assigns a NEW phone number just to the watch. That new number is shown on my AT&T account. But that may have more to do with accounting and billing -- yet some posters have indicated that they can make phone calls on the watch thru that other new number. I believe that this is physically possible when the iPhone is off or far away from the watch, but to all appearances the watch is calling with the iPhone number (that iPhone number is what shows on caller ID). So for practical purposes, the watch is calling on the iPhone number, even if it might be using a physically different telephone connection. AT&T handles all that in the background and it looks like everything is on that original iPhone number.

I think the original poster was inquiring about canceling that watch cellular plan, which one can certainly do without canceling the iPhone line. Then they would lose the advantages of having a cellular capable watch, which might or might not be important to them.

The watch cannot have its own line unless it was set up through Family Setup, otherwise is uses the paired iPhone's line.

Your carrier can charge you an extra amount for linking the iPhone's line to the watch though. Cancelling the watch's line would then imply you're canceling your iPhone's phone line unless the watch was set up using Family Setup. Not sure you want to do that.

With that said, it's likely you are just paying for the link so you can make calls and send messages on your Watch when the iPhone is not nearby or is turned off. It also allows the Watch to place emergency calls if you fall.

click here ➜ Use Fall Detection with Apple Watch - Apple Support

If you fall and are not within the iPhone's range or Wi-fi the watch may not be able to place an emergency call.

If you cancel the link, then your watch will work as a GPS only watch. Which questions why you would buy the more expensive GPS+Cellular model ad activate the link with your carrier to begin with if you did not care for the cellular features.

click here ➜ Use your Apple Watch without your iPhone nearby - Apple Support

Nothing in particular so long as your phone is always within range when you're wearing it.

You should check your phone contract to make sure there are no cancellation charges.