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

[Bronx]

Good to know that I am not alone in this. In fact, this is a massive problem for three customers. I have spent a good hour with the technical team yesterday after 3 weeks of frustration for not being able to activate the cellular function since I bought the add-on when I upgraded my contract in early January ( am now on the next billing cycle).  I was shocked to hear the andvisor admitting that around 40% of their customers  cannot even pair their watch, let alone activating the cellular data. Whilst I was previously getting the screen with the message “activating…”, following deleting all Bluetooth devices and restarting both phone and watch as per their advice, I now get the following error message.

 

I was told to remain patient, keep checking and this will be eventually solved. I will but at the same time I can only feel misled and regret extending my contract  

[MZone]

Just to let you know I successfully paired my Apple Watch Ultra on my first attempt on the 31/12/22 with no issues by following the instruction on this thread that @JonathanB posted above.

[Nicem]

Hi, I’ve had the same problem (no data with apple cellular watch) since upgrading back in October. I’ve spoken to customer support numerous times, gone through all the recommendations from them numerous times and have been contacted by them since then to ask if I’m still having the problem (which I am). My mobile plan in the Apple Watch app still says ‘activating’ with the cog going round and round it’s been like that for nearly three months now. Are we any closer to a solution?

[Gary]

Still waiting for a reply please Apple Watch pairing 

[Pred]

This is infuriating. After 2 weeks of calls to Three, now an online chat and posting here I am still unable to use my Apple Watch with Three. Who is your CEO? This is insanity!!! I am going to write to Tim Cook at Apple and your CEO as it seems NO ONE is able to use their Apple Watch cellular on Three!!!

[Pred]

How can I resolve my issue with your help? My smartwatch paring plan went live yesterday. But repeatedly fails when using the watch app in my iPhone. 

[AM07]

Hi there

I’ve bee facing same problem since last three day to pairing my watch and continue received message “E53305 - you already have a paired device - chat our Three team”. I contact three five times over the phone but they haven’t fixed my problem and has been given me nonsense statement “your pair watch will work next cycling billing - 25 of the month”. This is not making sense for me because three network doesn’t allow me to pair because the watch already have a paired. I think the people working over there they don’t have technical knowledge and experience. Please can anyone tell me how can I fix this problem. Thanks 

[Nadeem81]

Hello.im facing same issues.is ur problem solved?

[Pred]

This should be escalated to the UK Three CEO - it seems it's a huge problem with loads of people paying for a mobile smartwatch subscription they cannot use

[NickL]

I’ve been on the phone, on chat, and in store being advised by three staff to fix the pairing issue. Each contact feels like a massive waste of my time (a total of 2-3hrs). Each interaction has resulted in seemingly baseless fix assurances or solution instructions, and hollow call back commitments. 
My watch disconnected sometime in Nov / dec, with the watch app on my phone showing an “inactive” cellular sim, then after the first three interaction a constant “activating” status, and now a “there is a problem” error message when trying to set up the mobile service. 
Frustrating is an understatement.