Can’t send text messages on Apple Watch 3 when iPhone is not near.

Welcome to the Apple Support Communities!

If you are not able to send text messages from your Apple Watch Series 3, take a look at the troubleshooting steps outlined in the resource below:
Read and reply to messages with your Apple Watch

Get help if you can't send or receive messages

After each step, try to send or receive a message again:

1. See if you can send and receive messages on your iPhone.
2. Make sure that your Apple Watch can connect to your iPhone or Wi-Fi.
3. If you have Apple Watch Series 3 (GPS + Cellular) and it's connected to a cellular network, you can check the signal strength in Control Center. To send and receive SMS or MMS, your paired iPhone must be powered on and connected to Wi-Fi or cellular, but it doesn't need to be nearby.
4. Make sure that you signed in with your Apple ID on your iPhone and Apple Watch. On your iPhone, open the Apple Watch app, tap the My Watch tab, then tap General > Apple ID.
5. If you see on your watch, turn off Do Not Disturb.
6. Check the person's phone number or Apple ID to make sure that it's correct.
7. Sign out of iMessage on your iPhone. If you're signed in with your Apple ID, tap it, then tap Sign Out.
8. Turn iMessage off on your iPhone, then turn it back on again.
9. Sign back in to iMessage on your iPhone.
10. Restart your Apple Watch and iPhone.
11. Unpair your Apple Watch, then pair it again.

Take care.

Hi

The functions that are available on your Apple Watch when it is away from your iPhone depend on various factors including:

• Your Apple Watch model - Series 3 (GPS) vs Series 3 (GPS + Cellular):

  Apple Watch - Compare - Apple

• The features of your carrier service plan:
  • Apple Watch - Carriers - Apple
  • Make a call with Wi-Fi Calling - Apple Support
• The type of connectivity that is available to your Apple Watch at the time:

  About Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and cellular on your Apple Watch - Apple Support

Features and requirements that apply under various circumstances are detailed here, including within footnote #1 in respect of text messages:

How to use your Apple Watch without your iPhone nearby - Apple Support

Are you saying that if I leave my iPhone at home, and its out of batteries, or off, then my Apple Watch Series 3 isn't going to be able to send or receive messages? That's crazy. I bought the Apple Watch Series 3 so I wouldn't have to worry about whether my iPhone was with me or even powered up. This is a design fault. I assumed, as would most buyers, that if the Series 3 watch can make mobile calls, it can send mobile messages as well. Please tell me this is going to be fixed with a software update.

Hey I had the same issue. I realized in order to send text on Apple Watch 3 with cellular you have to have iMessage on! I’ve been able to make calls but no texts, makes no sense to me that I need to have iMessage on when the watch has cellular capabilities but that’s how it’s set up. Hopefully that helps.

For those still having issues sending text messages from the Apple Watch 3, the steps described in the following thread worked for me : Apple Watch not sending messages (answer from 'foxfold').

If you make sure to turn the "Send as SMS" option ON in your iPhone settings (follow the other steps in the thread above), then you will be able to send text messages with the phone turned off (or away from watch) and the watch on the LTE network.

For AT&T you need to make sure you have NumberSync configured first (don't know about other carriers).

HTH,

N.

PREACH!! I assumed I would be able to text as well. Noooope. And took 15 times calling in and going to AT&T to try to fix the problem for anyone to tell me that you couldn’t text, even tho I’ve specifically asked before. Ridiculous.

I have the same problems after purchasing the cellular watch here in Auston the basis of full messaging functionality when my iPhone is. not in range.

This is misleading advertising by Apple and a return for refund should be offered.

At&t support really don’t know much about the Apple Watch. Make sure you have updated your software and you are using the LTE model with LTE. Enabled and you will be able to send text messages when you are out without your phone. I have at&t as a carrier and I use mine for texting without my phone all the time.

I’m sorry to hear that you’re still having trouble, but you are incorrect. You have to have LTE enabled on the watch. Check the exolorer face to be sure you have cellular connection.

You may need to check to make sure you are also up to date on watch os.

Add me to the list of frustrated Apple Watch 3 owners. I assumed (apparently incorrectly) that I'd be able to text and call with my iPhone off. This is critical because my battery lasts about 2 hours and is often off. I can send and receive calls, but under no circumstances can I text. It's really frustrating because I can send and receive texts on my computer and iPad, so I do not understand why I can do so on my watch. It seems like it ought to more than my iPad, not less.

Thought this was only me! Ive been to T-Mobile multiple times and they can't seem to help. Spoken to apple multiple times and no help. I was under the impression I could text on my watch when on cellular, with my phone far away. Only calls work and notifications for apps. SO FRUSTRATED!

hello everyone. i just got the watch series 3 with cellular in mid december and had the same problem of not being able to send or receive sms or imessage when away from my phone. i could send and receive calls but not messages. even though my phone is signed in on my apple ID on all places, imessages is on and all the other trouble shootings set out here, and my phone is on and connected to a network.

After a month of trying to figure this out, having gone through a watch replacement, many attendances at apple stores and telus stores, many hours of a wasted time online and on chat and on phone with engineers at both apple and telus, missing work, spending time driving to cities over 75km away from my home to meet with people who may know more, i finally solved the problem myself today and I am happy to report that my sms messages now go through and my imessages now go through when away from my phone. This is how i achieved it.

when you want to go away from your phone with your watch you have to do this:

- turn wifi off on your phone (like button off, not just disconnected from a wifi source)

- turn wifi assist off on your phone

- turn wifi off on your watch

- wait for your watch to connect to cellular (it will have the antennae green with green dots for connectivity strength)

- go leave your house away from your phone and guess what your sms and imessages will work, it takes a minute or so for the cellular to kick in, but they work

i think there is an issue with the phone that it can't go between wifi and cellular when a watch is trying to go between a data message and an sms. so with the phone and watch having no connection to a wifi type influence and just soley being linked with celluar pathways the watched worked as it said it should!

I hope this helps you all out as i know how frustrating it is when you can't get answers and spend a lot of money on something that doesn't work. and i'm not sure why me (a lady from canada who works in the legal field and pushes paper all day) figured this out, but i'm glad i did as I didn't want to have to return yet another watch and spend more of my valuable time on this. Maybe apple and telus can pay me some kudos :-)

please let me know if this worked for you!

Unfortunately this didn't work for me. I'm in a slightly different position in that my iPhone is being repaired and is therefore off. Perhaps the most frustrating thing for me is that I can text and check email on my iPad, but not my Apple Watch. I would never had purchased it if I had known it was this reliant on the phone, and I would recommend that anyone considering a purchase not do so until this issue has been resolved.

I also had the same problem. I got my apple watch and one for my husband and ran into the same problem. no one was able to help me until today. They told me that I cannot send msj on my apple watch with out it being on Bluetooth from my phone. I was so disappointed until i ran across here and started reading the same questions from other users. so i tested something that I haven't tried and it worked. Just by simply turning imessage of and then turning it back on, on your phone. Then it would appear as 3 or 2 different devices on the device column then turning Bluetooth off on your apple watch until it gets service. I tested it out texting my husband and it worked.

That’s great! My husband doesn’t have an iPhone his is an android so the iMessage issue didn’t resolve this for me.

Is your husbands phone an iPhone? Try to text an android phone when u are away from your phone with your watch. Does sms work?