Why can't we roam using a watch set-up via Family Setup even when the carrier supports roaming? As a parent, I want to be able to supervise my children regardless where we are in the world, and not necessarily when they are within range of my carriers' cell tower.
Apple Watch Series 8
You may also want to see the 'International roaming with your Apple Watch' section (including the footnote) in:
Set up cellular on Apple Watch - Apple Support
"To cover the LTE and UMTS bands used around the world, cellular models of Apple Watch come in regional models for the Americas, China mainland, and Europe/Asia Pacific. Unlike iPhone, there isn't a worldwide Apple Watch model that supports all cellular bands used globally. Find out which carriers in your country or region offer cellular service for Apple Watch."
Since I don't work for Apple, I can't tell you why it is this way.
You may also want to see the 'International roaming with your Apple Watch' section (including the footnote) in:
Set up cellular on Apple Watch - Apple Support
"To cover the LTE and UMTS bands used around the world, cellular models of Apple Watch come in regional models for the Americas, China mainland, and Europe/Asia Pacific. Unlike iPhone, there isn't a worldwide Apple Watch model that supports all cellular bands used globally. Find out which carriers in your country or region offer cellular service for Apple Watch."
Since I don't work for Apple, I can't tell you why it is this way.
javaliga brought up another excellent point. The cellulars in different countries are not all the same and if the Apple Watch was purchased in the US, it won't work on cellular in for example, Europe.
No one here is employed or associated with Apple. We have nothing to do with how any of this was engineered. While I may be to understand your frustration, there isn't anything anyone here can do to effect any changes on how this all works.
Do free to share your thoughts with Apple directly. You haven't done that here on this user to user only forum, which Apple, doesn't actively participate in. You can use this link --> Feedback - Watch - Apple
No one from Apple will respond to you in the feedback link, but someone will at least read your comments.
Well yes, you can call that number, but ONLY because it is tied to YOUR iPhone. If you have an Apple Watch, you also have a phone number for the watch, but you CANNOT call that number. Apple Watch is NOT a standalone device, hence why your child's watch is tied to your iPhone. As such, since the watch will be out of the country, and your iPhone will be where you are, roaming isn't an option for your child's watch.
Perhaps complain to your cellular provider. They are the ones who provide cellular services. Not Apple.
On a final note, not all carriers, nor all countries support Family Setup for Apple Watch. This is a new feature Apple rolled out and you are just up against the limitations of what the services can do at this point. You're still thinking as though because you can call the number your carrier assigned to the watch, that it is more standalone. It isn't. It's totally tied to your iPhone.
I am currently out of the country and my child is about 20 feet away from me. I'm roaming fine, yet my child's watch shows "No connection". I validated that my carrier (T-Mobile) supports Family Setup, and the carrier whose network my phone is roaming on (Bell) supports Family Setup as well.
I have called my carrier already and in their internal technical documentation, they specify that the watch has to be in Standalone mode to enable roaming, because Apple does not make the roaming option available when the watch was set-up using the Family Setup option.
Those limitations are currently not clearly specified on Apple's website. For my use case, this means the Family Setup is not a viable option. The watch cannot be reached once the child steps out of range of my carrier's cell tower. Had this been clear when we were looking at the watch as a possible solution for our use case, we would have bought our 2 children iPhones instead.
The phone number associated with the Apple Watch is for billing purposes and not a real telephone number. It is tied to the iPhone the watch is tied too. Since I'm guessing the iPhone your child's watch is tied to isn't going to be with your child while they are traveling, roaming wouldn't work at all. If you want to track your child while traveling abroad, you should logically get them their own iPhone and set up their watch through their own cell phone.
Even me, who is an adult with my own iPhone and Apple Watch would NOT be able to use roaming if my paired iPhone wasn't with me.
I do not agree that it is "not a real telephone number" because we can call that number and the watch rings (and my phone does not).
Bear in mind that what you feel is logical is often a question of perspective. As a parent, I shouldn't have to buy a phone for my 10 year old, when all I want is to be able to track where they are and have them call me when something goes wrong, given that Apple advertises that as some of the features of the watch. Your mileage may vary.
International Roaming with Apple Watch 8
