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

---

**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

---

**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

---

**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

---

**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

[Doohdah12]

Is the connection problem only with watches not purchased from 3,mine was purchased from Apple and I have the connection error ?

[Dmw4791]

I have been having the error E53305 since I received my new apple ultra watch. Before this my series’s 7 was connected and working without any issues. My wife’s series 8 has connected and is fine I have spent many hours on the phone to customer service and have reset my watch many times. I have also had two bill cycles and have waited for the data to re set as advised. Unfortunately nothing has changed and I’m still unable to use mobile data with this Watch and I’m still getting the error E53305. It’s very frustrating and disappointing, HELP PLEASE!!

[MS101]

Hello. I was told to wait until my next billing cycle. That is in a few days time. I have been assured it will definitely work. I have no active add-ons at the moment.

why will it work after the next billing cycle? 

I have 2 contracts I’m paying for with three and I’m really minded to stop my direct debits and end my contract, to add insult to injury the whole of my town was left without coverage yesterday for several hours. 
I want this to work !

the manager at the three shop said there’s be an update on Apple Watch pairing on 9 Jan 2023. But couldn’t tell me what it was . 

please can you let us know what is happening . 

[Doohdah12]

Look on the bright side it’s saving us £7.00 per month by not having the service and let’s face it now many times do you actually go out without your phone ..

[Doohdah12]

Spoke with 3 technical support today and they said many people have had exactly the same problem and it’s under investigation with no specific time to resolve .

[Fezela]

Same issue here, Watch Ultra and 14 Pro Max. Keeps says “there’s a problem” been an issue for almost 8 weeks. 

[marc]

After weeks of having this issue, I decided to leave Three and requested my PAC code.

I thought I'd have one last go today and received the same error again. After another few hours of talking to Three support, they're now telling me that the reason I'm getting this error is because I've requested my PAC code, and if I cancel that request then it will definitely work again.

Of course, I tried explaining that the reason I requested the PAC code was in fact because of the error, but the support rep didn't seem to understand, telling me that they were "sorry I felt that way".

[PC]

Wow, Three have really dropped one this time. After upgrading from 12 PM to 14PM last week, I suffer the same issues. 
On Friday their complaints department confirmed that my pairing would only happen when my next bill is due 7 Dec,

I’m very dubious by this, has anyone else been informed the same and did it work?

Complaints department also closed my complaint and referred me to Ombudsman, that’s pure class customer service, after over 10 years. 

[Trukka]

I waited for next billing cycle and still wouldn’t pair although the error message changed 

[Dmw4791]

Done this three times now and nothing. Also spent time on phone with Apple customer support and was advised the Watch was working correctly. The error code is a three issue and the code is not recognised by them. Back to three and again I’m just going around and around in circles grrrrrrr