Smartwatch Pairing: I'm very, very confused

[dartiss]

I'm trying to understand Smartwatch Pairing and 3's e-sim service for Apple Watches.

Basically, I have a 3 phone contract. I'm planning on getting an Apple Watch with a data connection (not from 3, but direct from Apple). How do I get an e-sim from 3 to use on the Watch? 

From what I read, the Smartwatch Pairing was the solution, where my Watch and Phone share the data. From what I can tell this is an add-on to my phone contract. Is any of this correct? Whenever I try and speak to 3 via online chat they get confused and think I'm trying to buy an Apple Watch on contract. I just can't get a clear answer on any of this, and want to before committing to spending an extra £100 on a Watch with a data connection.

Any clarity from anyone would be really helpful.

[JonathanB]

Hey @dartiss,

Happy to help clear this up. Yes the service is technically an eSIM but you pay for this as an add on to your existing contract phone number that you're pairing. 🙂

Sorry if there's been any confusion with speaking to our staff, we can supply a watch as part of a contract, but you can also buy the watch separately.

Here's a link to a page with info on smartwatch pairing. Hope this helps.

Jonathan

[xCB98x]

I'm already a Three customer, and I'm on the SIM only 24 months unlimited everything plan - but it's already been 24 months so I can leave if I wish.

I'm confused about how this works. I want to buy an Apple Watch Ultra 2 from Currys out right. Then I want a SIM for the Apple Watch which means that I don't have to always have my iPhone with the watch at all times to be able to use it.

How do I get this SIM for the Apple Watch with Three?

Otherwise I will have to move to another provider.

Please could someone help me understand?

[PeteG]

Hello.

Once you have the watch, you can use the watch application on your phone to sign up for the cellular data. The phone will go through the process of logging you into your 3 account, letting you by the pairing add on, once once the purchase is complete, the phone will send the eSIM settings to the watch. You don't need to buy the watch from Three. 

Pete. 

[davem]

You do have to buy the watch from Three if you want a £6 or £5 monthly pairing charge. 

if you do not buy the watch from Three, you are limited to a monthly rolling charge of £7, which makes it £48 more expensive for customers on a two-year contract who wish to buy their own smart watch rather than one through Three. 

Three’s costing paperwork is not very clear about this. I looked up billing before setting up a new 24 month contract and was under the impression I could sign a 24 month pairing contract with my 24 month sim contract. The staff in the store said I could do this but I would have to speak to three customer support, only to be told of this unclear condition, and would I like to buy another SIM card for only £8 a month? 

[deano252]

This is good advice but for many people the application is not working. When I try I get a message saying "3 doesn't offer mobile plans for smart watches" and I've given up after speaking to several members of staff... 

[JanWad]

The confusion comes from talking to staff that are trying to also sell you an extra £7 per month bundle, as well as the cellular plan cost on top of that. For example I have a pay monthly contract with Three already. I’m about to purchase the Apple ultra 2. I want to pay for the 24 month cellular plan which works out at only £5 per month when you go for it for 24 months. But after 20 minutes with a Three colleague on the phone, she told me I needed to purchase an additional Sim for a charge of £7 per month on top of all of this which I didn’t need which I could give to a family member or friend??? Confusing is not the word I use words more like scamming and shameful… 

I spoke to a colleague after raising an official complaint, he put me on hold after saying he would speak to somebody and came back to me and said that the colleague hadn’t made an error and that I have to pay an extra £7 and was I okay with that advice and could I close the complaint??? I told him no he couldn’t close a complaint as that was not the case and you do not have to pay for an additional Sim card to give to a family or friend to get this deal… I’m still waiting for someone to get back to me to explain why some three colleagues are pushing extra Sim cards which they will get commission on

[dartiss]

Thanks. Yes, the online chat was very frustrating, so glad to get this answered.

One follow-up question. That page you linked to. If I scroll down to the question about how much it costs, it sends me to a price guide page. Now, I upgraded my plan December 2021, which is a monthly Advanced plan. If I look under Pay Monthly and Plans for Phones, I look up the guide named "Advanced plans for customers who joined or upgraded on or after 1 October 2021". In that, there's only one section on Smartwatch Pairing, on page 13. It says there are 2 packages - 24 months and 1 month. I assume, because I'm on 24 month contract, that the former is for me. For that it says, that Smartwatch Pairing is free and is part of my package. Have I interpreted that correctly?

[MZone]

I bought my Apple Watch direct from Apple and was already 6 months plus into my 12 month contract and just added the 1 month smartwatch paring. This has no minimum term and you have to give 30 days notice to remove it. I believe the 24 month one is for customers who buy the watch from 3 directly and pay monthly for it. 

[dartiss]

If that is the case then that price guide is, at best, confusing and, at worst, misleading.