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

[AppleTLDR]

Hello 👋

I came across this post while trying to resolve an issue with technical support.

I'm having trouble activating mobile data on my Apple Watch Ultra 2. An error message appears, stating 'there's a problem'. It doesn't provide any error codes, only a red triangle with an exclamation mark in the center.

I've attempted numerous solutions suggested by technical support, including unpairing my watch in various ways, setting it up as new, restoring from a backup, pairing while charging and while on my wrist. I've also made sure my password doesn't start with special characters and that I can log into the website and app. Despite clearing my browser history and cache and turning off content blockers, the problem persists.

I requested to cancel the watch pairing plan, as it didn't seem to be working and I didn't want to pay for a service I couldn't use. After expressing my dissatisfaction, they waived the 30-day notice, so there's no longer a plan attached.

The next step, I believe, is to try enabling mobile data again. Then, I should be prompted to purchase the watch add-on. However, I'm still encountering the same error message. No one seems able to fix this issue. What else can I do? I'd prefer not to change providers, but I'm unsure of my alternatives at this point.

[JoeBongo]

Galaxy watch 6 and S23 Ultra. Same field is missing error. Tech support calls for hours.

Anything you can do Jonathan?

[JonathanB]

Hi @JoeBongo,

The field is missing error tends to be an intermittent issue, so a lot of users have advised that it simply pairs when they try again later. There's a few things you can try that seem to help though.

Firstly, check you can log in to My3 on our Three App, or from a browser. Just to ensure that it's a pairing issue, and not an overall problem with your Three online account, if you can't access My3 at all, contact customer services.

If you've changed the default browser for your phone, switch this back to the default for your device.
Clear your temporary browser data and history
For Samsung devices, try the wearable app from the Samsung App store, rather than the Play store.
Use Mobile data (assuming you have a strong 4/5G signal) rather than Wi-Fi when you try pairing.
Autofill may also be a factor, some customers report that making sure the fields are both clear, then filling in the password, then email field has worked for them.

Let me know if these steps seem to help.

Thanks,
Jonathan

[adc88]

Hi Jonathan

I am having the same issue with my Apple Watch data and calls not working unless connected to my iPhone. I have a Three data plan with Settings > Mobile Service > Status showing that my Watch is ‘Connected’. I have spent hours today talking to Three both via web chat and on the phone, and unfortunately they haven’t been able to provide any help, aren’t aware that others are having the same problem, and can only offer to leave a note on my account that I’m having an issue. Is there a guide or blog post anywhere that you can point me to that would have any kind of step by step troubleshooting guide? Many thanks

[JoeBongo]

Hi Jonathan

Thanks for the tips, I've done them all and I have the same problem. All times of day and night and many password resets with and without character combinations.

[lonelyshepherd]

same problem here, error message E53304, spoken to the technical support team more than 10 times over a month, none of whom seems understand the problem, still doesn't work, the worst technical support team ever, every time spent more than 1 hour, very very annoying 

[JonathanB]

Hi @lonelyshepherd,

The E53304 error usually only occurs if there's other open orders on your account, do you have an upgrade pending, an open PAC code, or are there any other changes going through your account at the moment?

If you've recently changed your plan, you should try again after your allowances refresh for your new billing month.

Thanks,
Jonathan

[wjohng]

March 2024 and I seem to be having the same issues people were reporting in 2022. Error message without a code. Stuck on "activating". "Field missing" error on the login page on the rare occasion I get that far. I've had them all in the last 24 hours after buying a new Ultra from Apple. Are there any resolutions? I don't have the time to sit for hours waiting for phone support that if the messages on here are correct seldom seems to help.

[Ashleeey]

I Bought the apple ultra watch two on launch day because I go swimming and need to be contacted for family related emergencies when  I’m swimming - what a clever idea I can be contacted in the pool? Or in the sea?

set up fine -> was able to go to watch app and set up a “smart pairing” on a one month rolling plan for £5. The watch acknowledged the sim but it never registered, I never had an email to say it was registered and it just never activated-> spoke to three support who paid me restall everything back to factory settings and that’s when this issue started.. and from then no matter what I try to tell them it’s not my end and even apple support says this is a three carrier issue - nothing gets fixed nothing gets resolved- not very smart at all.

I can spend hours every week trying to talk to there, via text and phone calls just going in the same circles being promised so much and never any “fix” being quoted outdated and copy and pasted messages - it’s 2024.. it really should not be like this in this day and age.

[clavain]

Also been having this pairing issue, ever since i got the ultra 2, just will not pair and keep getting error message. so have now canceled the add on as i didnt want to keep paying for something i can't get.