There is a problem with your apple watch

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There is a problem with your apple watch

I bought an Apple Watch 3 lte on eBay to use like a gps only because my carrier doesn’t support Watches, but if they do in the future i want to be ready. While pairing it starts fine and then gives me an error “there is a problem with your Apple Watch. The watch can’t be activated for service, contact you carrier or Apple care”. I called Apple and restarted the watch, restarted the iPhone 7 Plus, and tried several times, but always gives me the same error. Is there a possibility that it’s locked somehow? I asked the Apple tech and he couldn’t see anything wrong with it. Please help!

Posted on Jun 30, 2018 10:15 PM

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Answer 1

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Branta_uk

Level 7

32,892 points

Jul 1, 2018 4:41 PM in response to santiagofromswannanoa

This does not sound good. The next step after T&C is to require AppleID if Activation Lock is activated on the watch. About Activation Lock on your Apple Watch - Apple Support so the next questions are was this a used watch? where did you buy, commercial seller or private eBayer? Hopefully my suspicion is wrong, because if it still has Activation Lock from a previous owner the lock must be removed by the owner, there are no workarounds.

I don’t think the problem is likely to be IMEI or ESN locking because the watch is not yet enabled for cellular, so it would not see the lock. You would be more likely to see this after setup when you found cellular didn’t work.

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Answer 2

Jul 1, 2018 4:43 PM in response to Branta_uk

You are right. Talked again with a genius and she told me there’s no valid purchase date for it. I requested a return and the seller accepted it.

Thanks.

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Answer 3

Branta_uk

Level 7

32,892 points

Jul 1, 2018 5:56 AM in response to santiagofromswannanoa

You didn’t say which stage of pairing and setup, so we can’t really guess what went wrong. Check against the steps in this Apple support doc Set up your Apple Watch - Apple Support and see if you can identify the point of failure then post back here. Also be aware of Activation Lock About Activation Lock on your Apple Watch - Apple Support because it is a frequent problem for watches bought as second hand, and there is no workaround If you can’t contact the previous owner.

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Answer 4

Jul 1, 2018 6:22 AM in response to santiagofromswannanoa

I get the error right after accepting the terms and conditions and it will stay stuck in that screen without a back button. I have to force quit the app and then te back button will show and I can go back and reset the pairing. At no point it ask me for an email or password, and the genius on the phone said it’s not locked. Could it be locked by the carrier? With a bad ESN?

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There is a problem with your apple watch

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