I tried using Apple pay here in the UK for the first time today. My cards are set up on both iPhone 6 and watch. When I tried to pay using the watch it did nothing and gave a message "Card not available". The card has been correctly set up and verified.
In the end I paid with cash. Lucky to have enough with me.
I did not have the card with me. Is that required? If so it doesn't say so anywhere.
Apple Watch 42mm, iOS 8.4.1
I found it worked to go to the watch app on the iPhone, delete the cards and then add them again.
On your iPhone, in the Apple Watch app > My Watch > Passbook & Apple Pay:
- Are your cards listed there?
- Is your Default Card set correctly?
Yes, they are set up correctly. The debit card was easy, the credit card much more difficult requiring a telephone call to the bank.
Also: you say your watch "did nothing".
- To pay using Apple Pay on your watch via a double-click on the side button, that double-click needs to be significantly quicker than the slower speeds at which a double-press on the iPhone's Home button will cause display recently used apps to be displayed.
- You can test this now: you don't need to be at a payment terminal to bring up your card(s) and choose between them (by swiping) as if you were about to pay in a store.
I tried, with a patient shop assistant, multiple times. I think you might be overlooking the most important question, which is whether you need to have the card nearby? I didn't take the card to the shop. Perhaps I misunderstand how Apple Pay works: is it just a front end to the card NFC?
You certainly do not need to have the card nearby - the process works entirely independently.
Did you bring up Apple Pay on your watch before you held it towards the reader, with the picture of your payment card displayed on the screen of your watch as you tried to pay?
Ok, that resolves that then, thank you. That still leaves a puzzle.
If I try it here at home, a quick double click gives me a message "Ready..." and "Hold near the card reader to pay". I got that in the shop as well.
The shop assistant told me that someone had successfully used an Apple watch to pay. I can't think what is wrong with mine. I don't know any other shop near here that takes it either.
Yes, I did have the app open.
Perhaps I should have tried my phone as well, but I felt I was wasting too much time, although the shop wasn't busy.
Possibilities include:
In the first instance, perhaps try restarting your watch and trying it again in due course.
You can also report the failed transaction to Apple now. The feedback form asks for details of issues with specific merchants, transactions and payment cards, so it can help Apple to identify and investigate issues: https://www.apple.com/feedback/apple-pay.html
Sounds as if it could have been the way I was holding the watch. I was trying to see the screen. I'll try again sometime.
Thanks for the advice, Jonathan.
cwhyles wrote:
Sounds as if it could have been the way I was holding the watch. I was trying to see the screen.
You're welcome! 🙂
And that certainly explains it - you should not be able to see the screen whilst paying.
I've been back to the shop and eventually got Apple pay working on the watch, but not without hiccups. I made several attempts holding the face of the watch close to the reader, but didn't get any haptic feedback. I decided to try with my iPhone 6, and as I was opening Passbook I felft my watch nudge me. I tried with the watch and it worked.
Not at all the usual smooth Apple experience. Let us hope it improves with the iOS 9 upgrade. Maybe Passbook will run natively on the watch.
Thanks for updating - I'm glad to hear that you got it working! 🙂
cwhyles wrote:
Maybe Passbook will run natively on the watch.
Apple Pay already does - you can use it without having your iPhone nearby and/or connected. You could, for example, leave your iPhone at home and still be able to pay with just Apple Watch 🙂
"Card not available" message on watch
