Apple Watch pairing error

[JonathanB]

Hi everyone,

We've moved everything relating to Apple Watch pairing issues to this new conversation and will be providing all future updates as edits to this post, so that you won't need to go searching through the comments for these.

I appreciate these pairing errors must be very frustrating, especially for those of you that have been running into issues for several weeks now. Technical specialists are continuing to look into this, however based on what they've seen so far, this does not seem to be one overall fault that we can apply a blanket fix to.

With this in mind, please make sure you have followed the advice on the private message we've sent to each of you, this will ensure that your individual case has been escalated. We've originally sent these messages out a couple of weeks ago, so I'll double check that everyone that has commented has received these. You can find your community messages by clicking on your avatar in the top right of any page, then on "Messages".

Finally, please ensure you are following the Community House Rules when posting on the community, particularly points 8 and 13.

The private message mentioned above will put you in touch with a team that you can raise a complaint with should you wish to do so, any comments that share details of individual Three employees will be removed from the community.

JonathanB

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**Update 26/10/2022**

Hi everyone,

We really appreciate your patience whilst we've been working on this issue. I can't imagine how frustrating it is to not be able to take full advantage of your Apple watches.

As I mentioned last week above, the errors do not seem to be one overall fault that can be fixed immediately for everyone. We do need a specialist team to do some work in the background on your accounts. With this in mind, I'd advise the following:

• Make sure you've taken any action we've recommended on private messages to your community account. If you're experiencing these issues and we don't already know, please reply on this post so we can reach out.
• Do not repeatedly attempt unpairing and pairing, this may be interfering with the work done in the background. Please wait for a Three representative to contact you and advise before you unpair and pair again.

We've seen some great progress towards getting this sorted in the last few days, I'm hopeful that it won't be too much longer till this issue is fully resolved for everyone.

JonathanB

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**Update 17/11/2022**

 Hi everyone,

We’re really sorry that there’s been a considerable delay between updates on the errors with Apple watch pairing. As we’ve mentioned previously there is more than one error involved and specialist teams are working hard to address the root causes of these.

I assure you that all comments about this issue are read, and all feedback given is being escalated on a daily basis.

Whilst we’re working on this, we’d be grateful if you can do the following:

• If you’re new to this thread, please either private message me, or add a reply, and I’ll direct you to a team that can help further.
• If I’ve already sent you this information, please ensure you have spoken to that team.
• Please only unpair and re-pair your watch if directed to by one of our support teams as part of the troubleshooting and investigation of your issue.

I’ll provide another update soon.

Thanks,
JonathanB

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**Update 02/12/2022**

Hi everyone,

Thanks for your continued patience. We’ve seen some great progress towards resolving these issues since the last update. As I’ve mentioned previously there is more than one error involved, and for many of you, your bill cycle will also affect when you can successfully re-pair the service.

Here’s some general steps that should help with common scenarios we’re seeing.

• Ensure that you’ve registered for My3, without a registered online account and password set, the pairing will fail.
• There are some instances where special characters at the start of My3 passwords have resulted in an error. We recommend that you have a strong password that is a combination of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and special characters but avoid beginning the password with characters like /!”£$|\. My3 supports these, but it seems to be causing an issue when this info is passed onto the smartwatch pairing system.
• If you’ve changed your priceplan, upgraded, or are instructed to wait for your bill cycle to complete, you should wait till the day after your new bill cycle starts to attempt pairing. So for example, if your allowances refresh on the 1st, wait till the 2nd.
• Although individual smartwatches can be unpaired from your account, cancelling or removing the add on completely will delay being able to reinstate the service till the following bill cycle.
• As mentioned before, don’t repeatedly unpair and re-pair, the failed requests may cause further issues on your account that delay this being solved.
• I’m continuing to regularly check for anyone new on the thread, just send a reply or private message me, and I’ll link you in with a support team that can help get your specific error looked into and make sure you get the best advice.

Thanks,
JonathanB

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**Update 11/01/2023**

Hi Everyone,

As well as the steps on the last update, we're finding it helps to clear your temporary data from your iPhone before attempting pairing.

You can do this in Settings, Safari, Clear History & Website Data.

In case anyone is having trouble finding their private messages, click on your avatar image in the top right of any community page, then "Messages". If you've posted on this thread, then you should have a message waiting from me with a link to a support team that will help.

Thanks,
JonathanB

[plunketyplunk]

Hi, 

just got a new apple watch ultra, on the Apple Watch app Mobile Service has been stuck in Activating for hours. My mobile account is showing the Smartwatch pairing plan as Active... 

reading all the other issues here, this is a bit of a joke.. I have cleared every cache that can be cleared and restarted everything. I have not, unpaired the watch from the phone as yet. 
I would be grateful if you could advise. 

Thanks

[plunketyplunk]

@JonathanB this is what I'm seeing in the iPhone App....

[plunketyplunk]

@JonathanB . I am now not seeing the activating screen it just shows a message saying there is a problem. I (along with everyone else I expect) am amazed that this has been going on for so long. 

has anyone successfully enabled smartwatch pairing? 

[MZone]

I followed the instructions that @JonathanB sent me via private message which replicated the info on the pinned post and it worked like a charm with no issues. Maybe I was just one of the lucky ones. 

[plunketyplunk]

amazing there is some hope, thanks @MZone all that I need now is for @JonathanB to provide me with the same info. one can only hope

[Anonymous]

Hi @JonathanB  I’m having this issue. I renewed my contract on Friday and yesterday (Saturday), I set up my new Apple Watch and set up the smartwatch pairing. However, five minutes after it was activated, I received a text to say my “upgrade” had been processed. Upon looking on My3, the smartwatch pairing add on wasn’t showing and I couldn’t connect my watch. See screenshot. I contacted live chat and I was told by the agent it would be escalated for something to be done on the back end and I was *assured* it would be sorted out *within* 24 hours, but at this point I’m not confident. I’m actually now regretting renewing my contract with Three - I did it voluntarily before any letters bullying me into renewing so I’m subject to roaming charges arrived - and other than 3 years on another network when the original iPhone was out, I have been a Three customer since 2003. This is by far the worst experience I have had on Three in all that time. I’d be grateful for some assistance in this as I got an Apple Watch Ultra purely so I could use it more without needing to carry my phone! Many thanks in advance.

 

[JonathanB]

Hi @Anonymous,

I'm really sorry to hear of the issues you've been running into with pairing. You would need to wait until your bill cycle refreshes before pairing if you've requested an upgrade, I'm not clear on if Friday is when you made the renewal order, or when the new plan/bill cycle started?

In either case, I've sent you a private message that will link you to some colleagues that can investigate your account further.

Thanks,
Jonathan

[ashphil91]

Hi @JonathanB,

I too find myself with the similar issue like rest of the replies. After waiting for more than a month as per advise customer service for the next billing cycle, I did not have an error message anymore, I was able to activate through the mobile data on the iwatch app. I followed the instructions and even iwatch showed a notification for updating carrier settings. All done, but stuck on activating now. 
Really disappointed with the experience. Could you please help me resolve this?

Regards, 

Ashish

[JonathanB]

Hi Ashish,

I've replied to your private message to link you in with some colleagues that will help.

JonathanB

[Croghan]

Hey, sorry I’m still having the issue where my Apple Watch cannot activate mobile data. Been going on for 4 months now. Endless hours spent with your tech team they have come to conclusion that once it’s been removed there is no way of adding a Apple Watch to an account without changing number or signing a new contract for another two years. This seems crazy. Any updates on this fix?