Series 4 Apple Watch Cellular doesn’t work

[Nsjmurray]

So, in typical Vodafone fashion they have come out with a new feature and product that doesn’t work at launch - in-fact it does several unannounced and unauthorised credit checks.

So I received my brand new iPhone and Apple Watch today and I have to admit, they look fantastic, after opening the iPhone box and just seeing the magnificence that is the phone I am definitely happy with my purchase.

I open up the oddly packaged watch box and start to set it up, everything is fine except for when I got to the mobile data setup section- at first it looked promising a Vodafone log-in screen, “Awesome” I thought, so I logged in and all of a sudden it was asking me to add a subscription for £5 per month.. I thought this was strange as I was already paying for the watch now you’re trying to charge me more for a subscription, I knew it seems to be a mistake so I just glanced at the terms, it seemed normal just about linking them together so it made sense, I went ahead and clicked add subscription knowing that I would just call Vodafone and explain the situation if they tried to charge me more.

Anyway, it shows me a loading screen and I’m simply waiting for it to complete the link between my devices.

After a short while it went to a blank white screen and then... what’s this... I HAVE FAILED A CREDIT CHECK AND I HAVENT BEEN CHARGED?!?!?

So not only did it fail.. Vodafone has performed a credit check, without authorisation just to link it to my existing plan that I was already credit checked on?

Good one Vodafone, will be returning the watch and the device and leaving the network for good, this is the final straw, I’ve had nothing but trouble with you for 7 years and I’ve stuck by you, but you just cannot get anything right first time, EVER.

wondering if anyone else had this happen to them.

[rasputin1969]

I’d say you were mislead. This is 100% on Vodafone and nothing to do with Apple. Many of us cannot even get a second watch line set up. It should be showing up on my account and I’ve been waiting five days. How can Apple be responsible for setting up Vodafone lines?

[Andudz]

I have the second line was there before the Watch was even delivered . Not sure what my problem is down too . I get the message ‘exceeded number of devices on my plan’ although I only have this device . I have also emailed ceo and they have replied with case number and assured me of  phone call within 24 hours 

[Andudz]

I have also spoke to local store and the manager said unable to do anything for me phone customer service . Waste of time so unhelpful 

[garethr]

Yep this is absolutely entirely down to Vodafone and absolutely nothing to do with Apple. Apple has absolutely nothing to do with the cellular side of things. 

I’m in the same boat as many others and the secondary line isn’t even provisioned yet despite numerous calls and being given the run around. I’m pretty tired of being fed random information as if I’m an idiot. I probably have a better understanding of how these things work than any of the CS advisors I’d spoken too. The level of incompetence here is just mind boggling.

[LadyP123]

Forgive me for the stupidity... how do you know your second line (the watch) hasn’t been provisioned yet? Have you figured this out yourself or did VF advise you of this? How do I find out if this is indeed the issue?

[garethr]

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@LadyP123 wrote:

Forgive me for the stupidity... how do you know your second line (the watch) hasn’t been provisioned yet? Have you figured this out yourself or did VF advise you of this? How do I find out if this is indeed the issue?

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You’d expect to see the secondary number pop up in your account online. Calling it the number should ring your primary number if correctly setup.

I still cling to the hope that one morning once their online services come back up after the seemingly daily overnight extended maitainence I’ll magically see the new number in my account. 

I don’t think even my legacy bank does overnight maintenance involving downtime  these days - just shows you how awful the legacy rust Vodafone is running must be (the web stuff used to be a patchwork quilt of old Oracle based systems).

[LadyP123]

So I can see my watch and the phone number on my online account but I can’t see the number on the app. I can however see the watch data allowance on my app it is just against my normal mobile number. 

I have the same issue as the original post. It’s asking me to pay £5 for “one number” which should be included in my watch price plan. It’s almost like I don’t one number on my account. 

[garethr]

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@LadyP123 wrote:

So I can see my watch and the phone number on my online account but I can’t see the number on the app. I can however see the watch data allowance on my app it is just against my normal mobile number. 

I have the same issue as the original post. It’s asking me to pay £5 for “one number” which should be included in my watch price plan. It’s almost like I don’t one number on my account. 

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So in your case by the looks they’ve provisioned the new line (did you try calling the number?) but they’ve not linked the secondary to the watches EID - for Vodafone supplied watches this looks to be one of the main issues - they’d not bothered to check and link the EID before dispatching the watch. 

As far as the watch itself is concerned it therefore knows nothing about the secondary line and is trying to setup a new connection itself. Because of the bizarre way Vodafone’s provisioning system works if there is an open order on an account then another order won’t proceed until the first is cancelled or completed - so those folks who’ve gone ahead and setup another new connection are stuck in limbo with two open orders and neither will ever complete. 

[LadyP123]

This makes sense now. 

My watch is saying tjat there is no SIM card and I can see an EID number. But I guess if the two are linked together the SIM card hasn’t been activated essentially. Is that right? 

Thanks so  much for explaining this to me. 

[garethr]

The EID is essentially the e-SIM equivalent of the SIM card number (since there is no physical SIM card involved). 

You could potentially try using the online SIM swap service which has an option to link an EID to a number on your account - I suspect it’s actually intended to be used in the event of device swap outs but it might just work. Not sure whether we’ve seen any reports of success here though. 

Word of warning as others have found to their peril - under no circumstances try linking your primary number to the EID as it will break things horribly.