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

[jjmccrae]

Registered and adding a “Me too” to this thread. 

Apple Watch Ultra 2 - setup service gives the “There's a problem. One of the fields is missing”

password reset to remove an @ character 

reset all website and data

still failing with the error message above. 

[Cpbasso]

Update:

Spent about 4 hours on and off webchat yesterday to no avail. Even got through to second line tech support who did nothing but repeat the last step done by customer support, then tell me to wait half hour and it would be fixed. They wouldn’t have it when I told them it definitely wouldn’t work, ending the call. Sure enough, half an hour later it’s still not working. I’ve now unpaired and repaired about 7 times by their instruction, had two eSIMs added to my phone and reset mobile data many times as well.

Got through to someone who was insistent yesterday that I didn’t have the addon, despite me logging in and seeing it active on my account. Really terrible customer service so far, really hoping I get some actual help on here. 

[Trekkie101]

Adding another +1 

I get as far as “there’s a problem, system error”. 

[vorboid]

+1 - I’ve got the exact same “One of the fields is missing” error. 
I’ve had the issue since I got my Apple Watch Ultra 2 on Friday. Been trying to set it up since then. 

• Account password has been reset and removed all special characters. 
  
• Reset browsing data on phone. 
• Tried on multiple different WiFi networks. 
  
• Tried over cellular connection on my phone. 
  
• Tried with VPN and without on phone. 
• This is my first cellular Apple Watch, so no transfers from old devices. This is a whole new setup. 

[Smashah]

So what happens is once you dm @JonathanB he will ask you to contact social media support/chat, they then take some details and refer you to the tech team - the same tech team we were previously spending hours talking to.

 They insist on troubleshooting regardless with no progress and say they’ll look into a fix, I was told 8 days a few days ago but I’m not holding my breath.

 Anybody who’s already been through the process that’s had any luck with them fixing this?

I have to say this is a catastrophic issue on three’s part with so many people affected and no matter who you speak to it’s not seeming to go anywhere, with no issues whatsoever on any other network it’s time to consider leaving three if they can’t fix this in a reasonable time.

If I get any updates in due course I’ll post

[Trekkie101]

It’s bemusing that Three don’t seem to acknowledge it’s an issue with their system and just state they’re gonna work on it. 

There’s no examples of the troubleshooting actually helping. 

[Wayne2612]

Just received my Apple Watch Ultra 2 today, I'm having the same issue as most people. I was able to get past the login issues, I then was told my watch would be activated within 30 minutes. This was over 5 hours ago and it's still spinning saying it's activating. Logging in via My3 I can see that my plan has now activated and it says it's paired to my iPhone, whereas previously it said it wasn't, so if it's activated and paired to my phone, why does my watch still say it's "activating"?

I've tried turning my phone and watch on and off several times but nothing seems to make it activate.

Hard to believe that these issues have been going on over a year now according to this thread and still no resolution in sight.

@JonathanB could you please take a look into this and see what the problem is? This is a brand new watch with a brand new SIM pairing plan. I've never had an Apple Watch connected up so there is no previous plan lurking in the background or anything. There should be no reason that this just doesn't work.

Thanks

[daschles]

I had exactly this problem – was escalated to a "senior" tech who advised me to wait... after 48 hours I simply cancelled the add on as it seems impossible. @JonathanB , is it possible to get some kind of definitive statement about what in the world is going on with your systems and when there will be a solution?

[Wayne2612]

Yes it's ridiculous, looking over this thread this has been an ongoing problem for a year now. Perhaps this Vodafone merger might be for the best as Three definitely aren't on the ball with this.

How can you introduce and sell a watch with a sim plan that doesn't work and still be doing it a year later?

[Cpbasso]

Update 2: Directed by Jonathan, I’ve just had ANOTHER hour long webchat with the tech support team, who again insisted on me doing all the basic reboot and repair for the 17th time now. After doing all that, shockingly, the 17th time wasn’t lucky and it still doesn’t work. After explaining their job to them, they’ve now redirected me to someone else who is going to try and removing and adding the addon on my account to see if that works. Fingers crossed!