Cellular Apple Watch buyers call out Verizon's maddening activation block

AppleInsider

Apple Watch owners can't activate their cell plans through Verizon -- unless they bought the device from the carrier, or complain at length.


Apple Watch Series 10

Verizon has frustrated Apple Watch users before, but now it is preventing some from connecting to the cell network at all. AppleInsider has been contacted by users reporting having to spend hours on the phone to Verizon support for what appears to be a common issue.

According to one user's summary that others are saying fits their experiences, the issue is specifically over whether an Apple Watch is bought through Verizon itself, or not. An Apple Watch sold by the carrier will activate correctly and without difficulty.

"When Verizon receives product from Apple for their inventory, Verizon logs the IMEI number into their system," writes user Tim. "When you go through... activation, the Watch App looks for the IMEI [International Mobile Equipment Identity] number in the Verizon system, finds it.. and voila, a connection to the Verizon network is made."

However, when an Apple Watch is bought from any other vendor, including Apple itself, its IMEI serial number is not in Verizon's database. Consequently, the Apple Watch will not be activated.

"All the pairing, unpairing, resetting, etc is not going to make a bit of difference," continues the user. "Nor will cancelling the service on that line and starting a new service."

Reportedly, the sole solution is to get the Apple Watch's IMEI entered into the Verizon database.

"I went through 2 Verizon store managers and countless service techs," says the user, "(all of whom demanded to "try" and activate the cellular service before pushing me forward) before FINALLY convincing one to create the ticket [to have an IMEI added.]"

If the explanation is correct, then no cellular Apple Watch bought from any vendor will work on Verizon without assistance from the carrier's engineering teams. That must mean it's a known issue, yet in the support threads seen by AppleInsider, Verizon team members appear to be unaware of it.

As well as those forum entries, and user Tim's report about his phone support difficulties, there are users on Twitter saying the same thing.

Thank to @VerizonSupport, my wife no longer has a working cell phone because of repeated activation attempts for her new Apple Watch. No way to fix it except to "wait" and hope despite it being. Verizon mess up.

-- Paul Weaver (@Mvestor)

September 23, 2024

Verizon has not commented. However, recently a Galaxy Watch Ultra 7 user took to Reddit to say they couldn't activate their device because Verizon said it was too new, and not on their system yet.

Activating a cellular plan is only one aspect of setting up a new Apple Watch. Read the AppleInsider guide to the whole process.



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iOS_Guy80

I bet they collect the activation fee and monthly service fee without any problem though.

snookie

I took my new black AW Ultra into the local store and they set it up. Bought the watch from Apple. I have two iPhones, an AW and an iPad on Verizon and I despise them,  the worst service, they are always scheming to charge more in the sneakiest way possible. Like charging me for  Verizon cloud which I don’t want and will never use. But who is better?  I will gladly switch. 

ronn

snookie said:

I took my new black AW Ultra into the local store and they set it up. Bought the watch from Apple. I have two iPhones, an AW and an iPad on Verizon and I despise them,  the worst service, they are always scheming to charge more in the sneakiest way possible. Like charging me for  Verizon cloud which I don’t want and will never use. But who is better?  I will gladly switch. 

I've heard nothing but good things about T-Mobile. We use them for our phones, and a couple friends use them for cellular AW. Only caveat: while in NYC no major issues. While in Central Virginia we occasionally get spotty service; don't know about friend's cellular AW coverage though.

DasPike

This was one of the primary reasons why I left Verizon. Swapping and activating devices was always a nightmare.

sunman42

Verizon, building their customer support reputation day by day, device by device.

jwdawso

I had no problem activating my apple bought S10 cellular this year on Verizon. When restoring my watch, the cellular plan did not activate, but I just skipped that step and then activated the cellular plan after my watch was working. Last year was a different story. 

I’ve had plenty of headaches activating on Verizon over the years, but I must say that when I call or chat, it may take awhile but my issue gets resolved. 

charlesn

As much as I liked Verizon's coverage in my hometown of NYC, I was tired of paying its exorbitant single line prices and especially sick of paying so much extra for my Apple Watch, almost $20/mo with taxes and fees. So, two months ago, I switched from Verizon to their new, low cost carrier, Visible, and I could not be any happier. Yes, it's owned by Verizon but operates as a completely separate company and it shows, in the best, consumer-friendly way. I have its top Visible Plus plan that's locked in for the next two years at a flat, $35/month, all in, no extra taxes or fees and my Apple Watch service is FREE. Since Visible uses Verizon's network, including 5G UWB, I've noticed zero difference from my previous Verizon service over the past two months, both here in NYC and in LA where I sometimes travel. Also, since my wife's iPhone is still on Verizon, we've been able to compare the band we're on at any given time (LTE, 5G or 5G UWB), plus bars of reception, and there has never been any difference. The Visible Plus plan has since gone up to $45/mo, all in, with an Apple Watch, but that's still a deal. Honestly, this all seemed too good to be true when I read about it, but Visible offers an easy, 14-day trial with no credit card or payment info needed--you just download an esim that's good for 14 days, so you can try it alongside your existing service. If you don't like the Visible service for any reason, do nothing, the esim just expires after two weeks and you keep going with your existing service. 

Also, I just went through the transfer of my Visible service from my 15 Pro to my 16 Pro and it was a piece of cake following the very clear transfer instructions posted online with no bullshite "activation fee" that Verizon charges just to move your existing service to a new phone. Also a breeze getting my Apple Watch reconnected again, too.