You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!
When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.
When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.
Hi all,
when my Ultra is used without iPhone, the cellular data connectivity is not available for apps.
Even the Email app shows "Cannot Get Mail. No connection available to retrieve messages".
Similar connectivity error is shown by 3rd party apps, for example WatchChat.
My cellular plan is active, phone/messages work without any issue. I can see green 4G, so should be OK.
Any thoughts what can be the problem?
Thanks
Please read my message - I explicitely mentioned the cellular plan is active and the watch is connected to 4G.
The issue is that it just has limited independent functionality without iPhone proximity.
As I wrote:
Email app shows "Cannot Get Mail. No connection available to retrieve messages".
Similar connectivity error is shown by 3rd party apps, for example WatchChat.
I suspect this is the way data connectivity is designed by Apple, which is very dissapointing for device with cellular plan.
Please read my message - I explicitely mentioned the cellular plan is active and the watch is connected to 4G.
The issue is that it just has limited independent functionality without iPhone proximity.
As I wrote:
Email app shows "Cannot Get Mail. No connection available to retrieve messages".
Similar connectivity error is shown by 3rd party apps, for example WatchChat.
I suspect this is the way data connectivity is designed by Apple, which is very dissapointing for device with cellular plan.
Hello keisarp,
We'd recommend checking the following settings on your Apple Watch to make sure cellular is enabled for these apps with these issues:
Are you using the Apple Watch with Low Power Mode? If so, this could be expected behavior according to: Set up cellular on Apple Watch - Apple Support
Learn more
* To check your cellular data usage, use the Apple Watch app. Open the app on your iPhone, tap the My Watch tab, tap Cellular, then scroll to the Cellular Data Usage section.
* To turn your cellular connection on or off, swipe up from the watch face to open Control Center. Tap the cellular button, then turn Cellular on or off.
* Turning on cellular for extended periods uses more battery power. Also, some apps might not update without a connection to your iPhone.
* To receive SMS, MMS, or push notifications from third-party apps on your Apple Watch with cellular, your paired iPhone must be powered on and connected to Wi-Fi or cellular.
* Learn how to use Dual SIM with cellular models of Apple Watch.
You can also learn more about what you can do with your Apple Watch without your iPhone nearby here: Use your Apple Watch without your iPhone nearby - Apple Support
Let us know if this helps out.
Take care.
Hi destiny241,
thanks for your feedback, I checked the Cellular settings and all my apps are enabled.
And still - without iPhone the watch does not use the Cellular data.
It seems this is the odd way Apple designed the watch connectivity :(
I'm willing to bet your cellular provider has NOT provisioned your watch correctly. This happened with my brothers Apple Watch 8 on AT&T. It looked like it was connected, but the same issues you are having he was having. And it took AT&T to provision the watch correctly in their system to work without the paired iPhone nearby.
Work with your carrier on this.
Hi keisarp,
Thanks for reaching out to Apple Support Communities.
It sounds like you're having an issue using your Apple Watch Ultra with a cellular network.
We're happy to assist.
We recommend checking out the steps in the section titled "Add Apple Watch Ultra to your cellular plan" and "Turn cellular off or on" from the article here: Use Apple Watch Ultra with a cellular network - Apple Support
Add Apple Watch Ultra to your cellular plan
You can activate cellular service on your Apple Watch Ultra by following the instructions during the initial setup. To activate service later, follow these steps:
1. Open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone.
2. Tap My Watch, then tap Cellular.
Follow the instructions to learn more about your carrier service plan and activate cellular for your Apple Watch Ultra. See the Apple Support article Set up cellular on your Apple Watch.
Turn cellular off or on
Your Apple Watch Ultra with an activated cellular plan uses the best network connection available to it—your iPhone when itʼs nearby, a Wi-Fi network that you’ve connected to previously on your iPhone, or a cellular connection. You can turn cellular off—to save battery power, for example. Just follow these steps:
1. Touch and hold the bottom of the screen, then swipe up to open Control Center.
2. Tap, then turn Cellular off or on.
The Cellular button turns green when your Apple Watch Ultra has a cellular connection and your iPhone isn’t nearby.
Note: Turning on cellular for extended periods uses more battery power (see the Apple Watch General Battery Information website for more information). Also, some apps may not update without a connection to your iPhone.
We recommend the steps above because they directly address the issue you initially posted about cellular data connectivity not being available for apps when you're using your Apple Watch Ultra without your iPhone.
Please let us know the outcome after giving the above steps a try.
Cheers!
Apple Watch Ultra without iPhone - not using cellular data
