Apple Watch 3 - Cellular Won’t Set Up- Says No Sim

Following up -

I called Verizon customer service a third time.... finally success.

When I called back to inform them that updating my plan had not rectified the issue, the customer service rep directed me to the "Telesales" department, where I spoke with what was now a fourth customer service agent.

The Telesales department agent walked me through the following: First she had me (on iPhone) go into Settings > Cellular > Cellular data options > Enable LTE, then switch to "Voice and Data" (my phone had previously been set on "Data Only").

Perhaps this setting alone is what was not allowing me to set up cellular on the Apple Watch however I do not know for sure because from there the agent proceeded to manually activate the Apple watch. After reading off the IMEI and EID numbers from the watch, and waiting about 10 minutes, the agent was able to successfully activate the watch.

Now (finally) my Apple Watch is Cellular activated and working as advertised (only one test call so far).

Hope this helps anyone else having the same issue-

@ DavidH - thanks for reaching out (I was already on the phone again when you reached out via PM).

All comments

Ann154

You didn't search very hard. See this thread. Apple Watch Series 3 Activation Troubles (Apple Store Direct Purchase)

Thanks but nope, not correct. Mine was a Verizon purchase, not Apple Store. And all those comments say they activated theirs but are having issues with LTE reliably. Mine won’t activate and all and the watch says “No SIM”

ACOOK7409-

Getting your smart watch to activate is the goal. No worries, we will work together to get it up and running. May I ask if your watch is a WI-FI device only? Do you have the IMEI number of your Apple watch with you handy? Please respond to my private message to continue assisting.

CarmenT_VZW

If my response answered your question please click the _Correct Answer_ button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!!

Thanks, it’s an LTE watch, and I ordered it through Verizon, selected to be paired with my phone number when I preordered. I even verified it was the correct one (and I wasn’t somehow sent a WiFi watch which I’m pretty sure verizon doesnt even sell anyway) and it indeed says “LTE” on the back of it. I’ll reply more to your PM. Thank you

I am having the exact same issue. Please let me know your progress getting this resolved

JORDIC25

I’m having THE SAME EXACT ISSUE! Please let me know if they find a fix for it.

I’m going to the store tomorrow and having someone look at it. So far communication with the verizon rep on here hasnt gotten me anywhere. It takes her hours between replies and the suggestions arent anything I haven’t already tried. I honestly thing they put it under the wrong phone line or something when i ordered it even though the order shows my number! When I go into manage connections in my account (where you can share a number between devices which is i think how this works from what I have googled) it only showed my husband’s line as able to accept a secondary device but my line says it cant. Irritating. I’ll just waste my time going to the VZW store tomorrow. I’ll let you know what they say!

Amy

Sent from my iPad Pro

Thanks, Amy. I have had similarly fruitless discussions with Verizon reps over the last 2 days. One of them (a tier 2 tech support rep) insisted that my watch was missing a sim card and that I needed to go to a store. She resisted my arguments that many people with many providers were having the same issue and that this was not an isolated case. I finally convinced her to call Apple, and in a 3-way conversation, he revealed that Apple had been hearing a ton of these complaints, and that the providers needed to find out was wrong with their activation protocols. My Verizon rep finally got it and filed a ticket.

I think this will get resolved, but Verizon needs to hear from all of us to know that this is a systemic and not isolated issue. Like you, I doubt that your visit to the Verizon store will amount to much except hopefully more awareness of the pervasiveness if this issue. Please keep us posted!

- Mitch

Friday they told me that everything was activated on their end and they didn’t understand why it wasn’t working. I said my watch literally says “NO SIM” in multiple places! Also when I login into My Verizon online and all my devices are shown, it shows a generic grey phone shadow, not even a picture of a watch and it doesn’t have a name either. Something is seriously up. Hopefully they can fix it tomorrow. I’ll keep you posted

Amy

No solutions from verizon yet, but I did determine that my watch actually isn’t the issue, it’s something up with my phone line. I was able to get to the setup cellular screen and have it say that it was ready to setup, on my husband’s line..but on mine is says it’s not available to do that. VZW messed up my phone line somehow and the account thinks that my iPhone 7 plus is a basic phone therefore not eligible to Number Share. Funny how I can figure this stuff out faster than any verizon rep…seriously.

Still going to store tomorrow and having them physically look at all my screen shots and telling them to FIX my [Removed] phone line so everything will work. Not [Removed] around going back and forth with email and phone reps anymore over this.

Amy

inappropriate content removed as required by the Verizon Wireless Terms of Service

Message edited by Verizon Moderator.

Ooooo I am right there with you... I have heard that the sim is missing and that someone at a local verizon will install one for me... riiiiight... I’ve also been told that the sin inside is defective and now the entire device needs to be exchanged... Verizon is a hot [Removed].

inappropriate content removed as required by the Verizon Wireless Terms of Service

Message edited by Verizon Moderator.

I figured out ON MY OWN that somehow they’ve messed up my actual phone line which is why it won’t allow me to setup cellular on the watch, pairing it w/ my phone (number sharing). Somehow the account thinks my phone (iPhone 7 plus) is a basic phone, which obviously wouldn’t be capable of number sharing with a smart watch! [Removed] I unpaired my phone and watch, downloaded the watch app on my husband’s phone (iPhone 7) and started the process again like I was going to pair it with his..guess what? It went all the way to the Set Up Cellular screen and was READY TO SETUP- all i would have had to do was push Continue. So SOMEHOW, my phone line is messed up!! Going to store tomorrow to rip someone’s ass and get it fixed. Tired of dealing with email and phone CS when it’s just back and forth [Removed].

Amy

inappropriate content removed as required by the Verizon Wireless Terms of Service

Message edited by Verizon Moderator.

So I have an iphone 8. And I am able to get to the “Set up cellular” screen and am able to Add my watch to my plan. The issue for me is that the activation process does nothing - my watch still has no cellular capability Despite my having gone through this process multiple times

laurastreit

I spent over 4 hours yesterday with several tiers of Verizon IT specialists and Apple reps trying to get the cellular to activate on my Apple Watch 3. It is still not working. Verizon said it's a hardware problem with my watch and Apple said it's a connection issue with Verizon. I ordered my watch through Verizon online. Verizon said that they could not get my phone to fully activate on their end. The IT person said that the watch was not recognizing the phone number assigned to it, or something along those lines. One rep said the wrong CCID? was paired with my watch. I read them my CCID and they tried that one, and it still didn't work. Another rep kept telling me "I think I can push this." Not sure what that meant? Anyway, I have reset, turned my watch off and back on, and unpaired and re paired my watch, made sure I have all of the up-to-date software etc. It's been frustrating! My watch shows that it is paired to my iphone in my Verizon account and all of the other features work. Just not the cellular. I hope this issue is resolved soon.

I will be following this thread hopefully watching for a resolution soon.

-Laura

Laurastreit, being able to get your new Watch 3 activated is very important. I know how upsetting and frustrating it is when it will not activate. Thank you so much for all the steps that you've completed already. We want to make sure that we do everything we can to get this up and running for you. So we can make sure we get a fresh look at the activation issue, I've sent you a Private Message. Please response back to that message for me.

KevinR_VZW

If my response answered your question please click the "Correct Answer" button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!!

KevinR_VZW, many of us are having the same issue as we reported earlier in the thread. Are we going to get help also?

cquesnel13

I have the same issue and verizon phone support was zero help. The watch app now sends me to a "Not Found Page" when I try to work through the activation.

If you Google the problem, it's evident people on AT&T and Sprint are having the same issue.

I also received and paired my apple watch series 3 LTE on friday 9/22. When I got to the cellular screen in the apple watch app, I was also met with the same " This account is not ready to use with apple watch. Contact your carrier for more information " message, with a grayed out " set up cellular " button.

I called Verizon and spoke with a customer support representative on Friday and after sitting on the phone for about 15-20 minutes, the representative said she was waiting for an answer and offered to call me back in 3 hrs.

3 hrs later I was called back by the same Verizon representative. She informed me that it was a problem with Apple and that they were working on a software update to address the issue. She stated that it might take a couple of days.

Speculative that this was actually the issue, I called back this Morning (Monday). I spoke with a different customer service representative who promptly informed me that I was on an old plan that was "not compatible with the device" (FYI I am still using an iPhone 6). She updated my plan to accommodate the Apple watch device and informed me that I may have to "log out and log back in."

It's been about 40 minutes since I spoke with the second representative. So far, I am still receiving the same message " This account is not ready to use with apple watch ". I've restarted my iPhone and watch, paired and re-paired the watch and phone, and nothing has worked yet.

I'm crossing my fingers that it will take some time for my plan to update, and that I will eventually be able to set up cellular on the Apple watch. So far, i've been pretty frustrated / dissatisfied with Verizon's inability to remedy the issue.

Jagermeister- that was my exact message too- I have iPhone 7 plus on Verizon unlimited plan. Also on the same plan is my husband’s iPhone 7. Last night I unpaired the watch from me, and tried pairing it to his phone and guess what..it worked. It’s something wrong with my phone line! Yet I had to figure that out totally on my own…

Hoping to go to Verizon today but I’m too busy with work and not sure I will until tomorrow. Would be nice if it just worked out of the box. Grrrrrrrrrr

Amy

Your patience on this matter is very much appreciated, iagermeister. I sent a Private Message to your inbox in case there's additional legwork that needs to be performed.

DavidH_VZW

If my response answered your question please click the �Correct Answer� button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!!

DavidH_VZW, I never received a Private Message from you about the same issue I am having.

Thanks.

Following up -

I called Verizon customer service a third time.... finally success.

Now (finally) my Apple Watch is Cellular activated and working as advertised (only one test call so far).

Hope this helps anyone else having the same issue-

@ DavidH - thanks for reaching out (I was already on the phone again when you reached out via PM).

Thank you mine was also on Data only- I changed it and am going to try setup again! Wish me luck

Mine works now after fixing the cellular issue in my phone settings!

Amy Cook

Problem solved with no help from Verizon directly to me- but following what jagermeister did, I went to Settings-Cellular-Cellular Data Options on my IPHONE. Then under Enable LTE mine was only marked as Data. I changed it to Data and Voice and it fixed EVERYTHING. In My Verizon, my phone now shows as a regular phone and not a basic phone (which was so weird) AND I was able to restart both my phone and watch, and they paired automatically and the watch works with cellular now. All is good!

No luck for me. Voice & Data already checked.

JEMONER

no luck for me, my switch was on voice and data. ive called in every day trying to get it activated and nothing. however the vzw tech care said it should be fixed in 24 hours because my issue is with a switch. they didnt really explain. im hoping it will work by tomorrow.

laurastreit

I received a private message but my watch is still not connecting.

Sent from my iPhone

I had to turn off and back on my phone and watch after changing my data setting pjfla, maybe that will help?

Amy, I'm happy for you, but as is the case with others, my phone was already set to "Voice & Data". But on another site, others are reporting success by following the steps below so I plan to try these too.

Out of curiosity, did any of the customer service agents who reached out to some of you by private message help you to solve this problem? None have reached out to me so I'm just wondering if I'm missing anything :smileyhappy:.

The steps I plan to try:

1. Setup Apple Watch LTE, grab the IMEI

2. Factory reset Apple Watch to dissociate it from Verizon's system

3. Call in and give the service rep the IMEI so they can manually add the line into your account

4. Setup Apple Watch again. You'll find the watch automatically provisioned with the service line.

Thanks acook. I rebooted phone and watch, no luck. Wow this is bad.

CHRFRI63

Same here. I’ve spent three days dealing with both Verizon and Apple on this with no luck. The only consistent information I have gotten is that there is a known issue that Verizon is trying to fix. I spent a good half a day trying unsuccessfully to convince Verizon that the watch did not have a physical Sim card. This is not fun.

Essentially I have been on the phone for 4 days being told that my SIM card was missing and to take it to the store to have the watch opened and one installed................

i take a Le a two hour lunch and go to the store... the sales person literally laughed and said “there is no SIM card, it’s all digital. there is nothing we can do to help. You can either get back on the phone with tech support or return it. We can’t order an exchange because the ETA is too far out to receive a new device and the system wont allow it”.

i call customer service again. They put me with tech... the people who think there is a physical SIM card to be installed... I was sent from tier 1 to tier 2, transfered to Apple tier 1 then tier 2. It was there I was told the watch is defective and my only option with Apple is to send it in for repair.

i called customer service to update them on their... performance... and let them know I want a NEW one ordered. It came out of the box jacked up not after 3 weeks of use. I was advised the only solution was to go to the store to return it and then order a new one. Needless to say... Verizon... I hate you.

laurastreit

I just spent 2 1/2 more hours with tech support via phone. I finally reached someone who finally realized that my phone’s electronic SIM card was not working therefore, my account couldn’t be activated. She is sending me a brand new replacement watch. It may take 2 weeks to get here but she also gave me $10 credit on my account for the month of me not being able to use it. Thanks to the Tech somewhere in Kentucky!

Sent from my iPhone

PJ, I think the process will work for many but it didn’t work for me. You need to ask to speak to the telesales dept. The person I spoke to said he had activated about 15 watches today. Unfortunately, my activation failed. I was then passed to next level technical support who couldn’t figure it out, and I am now waiting a callback from Apple tomorrow.

Thanks for the update. I’m in the exact same spot. Vzw says they can see my SIM so it must be an Apple issue. Kind of hard to believe though.

its true... Apple messed up. For the watches that say “no sim” and nothing will activate at all... it’s that the SIM microchip inside the watch is defective. The only option is to exchange it. 4 days and 12 people later... that’s what it is.

CrappleUser, making sure you can use your new device is a must. Is the Watch connected to Wi-Fi? http://spr.ly/65838NZeV. Is your mobile phone set to HD Calling? http://spr.ly/65858NZeX. Are you able to walk through the Watch App setup? http://spr.ly/65868NZek

AlbertoR_VZW

@CrappleUser I don't think this is accurate. My watch showed "No Sim" prior to the steps that were taken (outlined in my previous post(s), which were successful in activating it.

Hows this for service... After nearly 6 hours on the phone with Verizon and Apple yesterday - without resolution - I decided to go into a VZW store. Guy took 60 seconds to look at my account and said, "can't help you - you need to go to a VZW corporate store." So... I go to a VZW corporate store. Guy there says, "something wrong with your watch. Nothing we can do here. You need to return it to Apple."

Watch is still saying "no SIM" and when I try to activate, get the "Something went wrong - try later or call Verizon." $650 and 4 days later, not working.

We understand that this has been a hassle for many of our customers. With regard to the watch let's make sure you have the cellular version of the device. Does the watch have a red dot on the digital crown? If so, that is the correct one for cellular service. If it does not you have the WiFi only version. I hope this helps with your concerns.

JasperM_VZW

How long do you have to return the device? Based on Apple admitting the device may fail to attempt to switch to a cellular connection in preference of an un-authenticated WiFi AP without Internet connectivity, I would personally wait till they get the activation and connectivity issues fixed.

I appreciate all the steps you have taken to troubleshoot the activation, mfc1963. I want to ensure we exhaust all options to activate your device. I have sent you a direct message. Please reply so I can continue to assist.

AndreaS_VZW

If my response answered your question please click the "Correct Answer" button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!!

ANTEST68

I'm unfortunately having the same issue! I was actually able to get my watch to be manually activated on Monday, the day I received it, by Customer Care. I even received a couple of calls on the watch away from the phone!

I woke up this morning, and now my watch is no longer activated, on no plan, and has NO SIM! I have taken screen shots of the watch in the Cellular section showing No Sim under plan, and in the General>About>ICCID: No Sim.

I have been on high level support with Verizon and even conferenced in High Level Apple support, with no resolution. Apparently with a new product, we really shouldn't be having this issue. I knew I couldn't have been the only one experiencing this issue. I'm hoping tech support can get together and resolve this issue. I'm afraid since my watch is stating No Sim, I'm pretty sure this can't be resolved over the phone, without replacing the watch.

PS - I did check my cellular settings like someone else mentioned, but I was already set to Voice & Data under the Enable LTE.

ZAFMOH38

I got Watch-3 from apple store on Friday morning but unable to activate cellular feature. So, I went to Verizon store and spend more than 30 mins just to add into device and the store guy said it will be activated in 20-30 mins and was still having the issue. So, I called Verizon support and waited for 30-45 mins for support. One tech support told that it was known issue and there is no ETA when it will be fixed. After doing some google and found it's issue with Verizon. So, once again went to store and did not resolve the issue. So, I called tech support and they told to change get new SIM because I'm bringing non-Verizon iphone-6 because I swtiched from AT&T to verizon few month back. Even after changing SIM does not work. Now once again after spending an hour with Verizon Tech2 support, they are telling me to buy new Verizon iphone or give my iphone6 trade-in iphone6 with $100 and get the same iphone6. This is ridiculous support. I wasted like 5 days with very long delays in support and going to verizon store 3 times and spending longer wait times. Verizon should have posted that they will not support non-Verizon iphone-6 for an apple watch 3.

ACOOK7409

We certainly want to make sure that you can get your stellar watch activated. I have had this issue with several customers. What has worked with them is to complete the "Set up cellular service for device" set up multiple times to push the activation through.

NicoleT_VZW

Follow us on TWITTER @VZWSupport if my response answered your question please click the Correct Answer button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!

ZAFMOH38

I tried 10 times and every time the same message

"Device not added"

Sorry, we can't add this device at this time.

So, the issue still exists.

BILLYBENTEL

I am continuing to have the same issues. I have Given up on thinking the issue will be resolved any time soon. this Is extremely frustrating. I was told to have patience, but I’ve had the watch since Friday and still am not able to use it on LTE. When will a patch be released by Apple to fix the issue??

https://www.imore.com/apple-watch-3-faq

This new watch has an eSIM card.

One wonders if it's even replaceable. I hardly think so...

Speculating: if the problem is with the eSIM card, I imagine a software update or "patch" is going to be a very difficult thing to pull off. Since this seems so pervasive across carriers, don't you think they would have rolled out a SW update by now to address the problem?

cquesnel13, we want to make sure you're able to activate and use your Apple Watch as intended. I welcome the opportunity to assist. Were you able to complete activation? If not, have you confirmed that both Voice & Data are Enabled for LTE on your iPhone's Cellular Data Options? Please also try connecting to WiFi on the watch and then access the watch Settings>General>About screen and see if you have an option to update your carrier settings. Once updated, you should be able to set up cellular as follows: https://www.verizonwireless.com/support/knowledge-base-215386/. Keep us posted with your results.

EbonyR_VZW

If my response answered your question please click the _Correct Answer_ button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!!

rcschnoor

stef7 wrote:
Since this seems so pervasive across carriers, don't you think they would have rolled out a SW update by now to address the problem?

This of course assumes a fix has already been completed and is ready to be rolled out...

Yes, assuming they have a software fix...

Supposedly, some people have not had much difficulty activating, while some have. If that assertion is true, for a new out-of-the-box device, across carriers, this suggests to me the issue is not software, but rather hardware-related.

In a complex / highly miniaturized device like an Apple Watch 3-series, it's going to be problematic to program one's way around a HW issue.

They already have tear-down videos on the web. This device looks like a challenge to "service".

I guess if I had purchased one of these devices and could not activate it with Apple's or Verizon's help (when others have been successful), then I'd strongly consider returning the device, and re-purchasing when they got the bugs worked out.

Sometimes it's advantageous not to be an early adopter.

ANTEST68

That's correct, as verified from a high level Apple support advisor. This new Sim is activated by the Carriers. My issue seems to stem from Verizon not being able to properly switch the numbers, as the watch comes with a 'dummy' number and needs to share with my iphone. I have been informed that the engineering request ticket is being worked on and will be done by 7pm EST. At that point, I've been assured that I will be able to activate my Watch...again.

It's really weird that it was activated once on Monday and the next morning was de-activated by itself!

The iPhone and iPad had a new update last night. Sadly none for the Watch.

I'm sorry to see you were having issues with the activation of your Apple Watch, ACOOK7409. I'm sure you just want it on your wrist at this point. Are you still having issues with it or were you able to go to the store?

http://spr.ly/65878NSAf apple watch*

TamaraH_VZW

If my response answered your question please click the "Correct Answer" button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!!

Pinkieboo_ICU

To anyone having any issues with their apple watch saying no SIM, this is what I did and now it works perfectly. After pairing your apple watch to your iPhone, and syncing your apps, you need to restart both the apple watch and the iPhone. I did this and now my apple watch says connected to my verizon plan. It no longer says no sim. To anyone having issues, please try that.

DENBRA73

when I first went to activate and pair my device, everything seemed to be successful EXCEPT cellular data. I kept getting that same message. I paired and unpaired my devices many times with no luck. After looking online, I found that there was a Verizon update that was needed. You can find it in Settings>General>About: then wait several seconds and if you haven’t done this already, an option to select “Update“ should pop up automatically. Once updated, go to your watch settings>General>scroll to bottom> select reset. Factory reset your watch. While this is processing, close out of the watch app on your phone completely by double clicking your home button and swiping the app away. Once your watch restarts it will refresh with this update you just processed. When it prompts you go back through to pair the devices, the cellular data should auto connect. you Won’t have to manually add or sign into anything.

DENBRA73

Did you get this corrected? when I first went to activate and pair my device, everything seemed to be successful EXCEPT cellular data. I kept getting that same message. I paired and unpaired my devices many times with no luck. After looking online, I found that there was a Verizon update that was needed. You can find it in Settings>General>About: then wait several seconds and if you haven’t done this already, an option to select “Update“ should pop up automatically. Once updated, go to your watch settings>General>scroll to bottom> select reset. Factory reset your watch. While this is processing, close out of the watch app on your phone completely by double clicking your home button and swiping the app away. Once your watch restarts it will refresh with this update you just processed. When it prompts you go back through to pair the devices, the cellular data should auto connect. you Won’t have to manually add or sign into anything.

JEASCH100

I am not sure if this will help anyone experiencing this same issue, but here is what ended up working for me. I went to the Verizon store and after close to two hours of help nothing had worked. There was a problem with a switch or something and I couldn't connect my watch to number share. I asked about returning the watch and ordering a new one. The rep that was helping me said he could do that. He decided to try returning the watch and then putting it back in inventory and "selling" it to me again. By doing this, phone number that had been assigned to the watch had to be changed and all the settings Verizon originally set with the watch also changed. As soon as he resold me the watch, he tried to activate it and it worked perfectly.

ANTEST68

Apparently, now that Verizon has done everything on their end, Apple is confirming it’s their issue and are working on a resolution. It’s recommended that you call Apple and ask to speak with a senior advisor to submit a ticket for your watch.

JEMONER

did you purchase your watch in store or was it pre-ordered?

JEASCH100

I preordered from Verizon.

Techlvr

This is Absolutely Ridiculous that I along with So Many others are having the same issue trying to activate a watch to LTE that should work right out of the box.I am not sure what is more frustrating,the fact that the watch says NO SIM or when calling and speaking to a customer service agent and being asked to "open the watch to make sure the SIM card is there". Are You Kidding Me!!I have spoken to too many people all telling different things regarding the watch. I was finally told that the watch is defective and a new one would be sent but with good news, I wouldn't be charged. @#$%^&* The issue with returning is that now I have to go out of my way to return the "defective" watch and then having to take time of work again waiting to receive the watch because FED EX delivers when I am at work. Now the woman on the other end is asking me to pay for Taxes once again for the new watch that is going to be sent. I asked her what happens to the taxes that I have already paid for the watch I currently have and the response I got is "I understand,but this is not a Verizon Tax". Yah, no, not acceptable. I will be going to a Verizon store and hop that I do not get a rude employee who tries to assist me with fixing my LTE Issues.

Elpidiom78

trying to turn off bluetooth and turn it back on and open apple watchapp and it will work

I'm having a similar problem.

Apple Watch 3 (ordered directly from Apple)

iPhone 6sPlus

Running iOS11 (all updates)

Ran through the activation screens and the Verizon screens to activate account. Said it was successful. Later on I tried to make a call and found the no sim situation.

My Verizon account seems to have all the current activation information including which phone the watch is paired with. I can see the billing information and all the watch specific numbers.

This is very disappointing. I would think that on Activation Verizon would try to call up the watch and verify that it could talk to the sim that is built in...and report an error if it can't connect.

Considering all the chatter online about this this is quite the $#!+$#0w

Armen Chakmakjian

As with others who have posted here, solving this problem seems to require persistent calls to Verizon, escalating to tech support and then asking for someone who has seen this problem with other customers and is not dealing with this for the 1st time with you. This weekend, after more than a week of no cellular activation, I finally reached someone who said that the problem seemed to be with watches ordered early on that were connected to NumberShare (which automatically forwards calls to your watch from your phone) prior to being activated. This required doing what he called a "rebuild of the order" starting from scratch.

Interestingly, he then proceeded to hand me off to someone from the Activation team, who tried in numerous ways to do this for me and then apologized when she couldn't make it work for me. But after getting off the phone with her, I paired my phone again with my watch and got connected.

Short summary: 1) the problem is definitely with the carriers, 2) call persistently until you reach someone who understands the problem.

- Mitch

Getting a new device should be exciting, CHAKMAKFAM. Let's get to the bottom of this. As you're seeing a no SIM card error message, are you able to locate the SIM in the device settings? Here's a link with steps: http://spr.ly/658184gkt

LynnD_VZW

I see "no sim" following those directions. I have and EID, MEID, Modem firmware, but ICCID has "No SIM"

LINBUR3

Please try to talk to supervisors if you are having trouble. I finally got my watch to work, but it was 3 days and over 4 hours on the phone, plus an initial trip to the Verizon store who sent me to the Apple store (City Mac). I have filed a complaint with BBB. This is a Verizon issue.

I got this back from cersSOExecutiveRelations@VerizonWireless.com. Do NOT let them charge you for initial setup.

Good Afternoon Ms. Burns,

Thank you for taking the time to write to Verizon Executive Relations. I want to first apologize about the issues you have had with the activation of the Apple Watch. I can say that we had issues with activations of the watch between 9/24/17 – 10/1/17. I wish our representatives would have communicated that other customer’s were going through this as well. Also, we do offer free activation of the watch for a promotional time. Again, I am so sorry about your experience overall with the activation and hope we can regain your trust and your business in the on coming future, especially before the iPhone X! If you have any other questions about this issue, please feel free to reply back to this email or call me.

Thanks,

Dion M

Verizon Executive Relations

ttiger10

I am having the same issue as well. Spent hours on the phone and chatting online to Verizon reps and no one can get my watch to connect to cellular. Last conversation with Verizon, they informed me that they were putting a ticket in for me. Is there any way to get this resolved ASAP? Have someone call me who knows about this issue and resolve it for me? Because everytime I call and speak to someone they have never heard of this issue (which is seems to be very common) and they walk me through the same steps that previous Verizon reps have already tried. I don't have time to be calling Verizon and be on the phone for long amounts of time. Someone with knowledge of this issue needs to call me and resolve it!

Just so everyone knows, the My Verizon account has the ICCID listed on it that is missing on the phone. So in fact the Verizon knows which watch I have (and which sim "card" is built in) but the watch doesn't reflect (or know) that it is connected through that hardware.

I did a hard reset of the apple watch and went through all the screens again. this is ridiculous.

I'd call but I don't have a 3 hour slot (as some have mentioned) to sit around and try things. Apple and Verizon should have tested this thoroughly before subjecting us to this.

continued...

I read somewhere in this thread that you should turn your wifi off on your cell phone so that the watch can hit the cell tower via the phone to do whatever. Now doing all that, the "no sim" in the about screen on the cell phone now has the ICCID correctly. However, I turned my phone off after the watch was fully restored and connected and still could not receive a call. When I looked at the "Cellular" item in settings on the watch, it still says "No Sim" and status "No connection"

Honestly, I went through the whole thing you are... when I made it to the tier 2 Apple tech (i was transferred from Verizon) they flat out advised the SIM chip as defective. While some of the issues do lay on Verizon for the “advanced network”, there is also a batch of Series 3s that went out defective from the factory.

Ok this is wacky. So I turned my phone off. I saw that the watch had connected via the friendly wifi. I hit the airplane mode (on the watch). Then I immediately turned it back on. Suddenly I saw bubbles where the wifi symbol had been. I used another phone to call my iPhone (which is off) and voi la my watch began to ring.

As I had done a similar experiment (up to but not including airplane mode) twice before today in the middle of my debug efforts, I can only think that there was a delay connecting the account to the watch. When I go for a run tomorrow morning, I'll report back if I was able to see the watch in cell mode.

Well....

Spoke too soon. When I went out for my run this morning, I got the no sim message right when I was no longer near my home wifi. I think I'm going to have to call into Verizon...but I really don't have the time to spend 3 hours debugging this.

JEMONER

After many attempts in asking tech support to try different methods, I am still without cellular on the watch. The watch will be sent back tomorrow. I am going to wait for vzw to figure it out.

METALGEARBASS

Mine was purchased through Verizon and I'm having the same issue. It activated for a day and then nothing. I contacted Verizon last Thursday and they tried creating a new line and activating the watch on the new line. I don't know what the tech support did but he 'switch locked' the number. I essentially can't do anything until the error clears. They initially gave me a 24 hour window and when i called back they said it would be 48 hours. Now we're 5 days in and every tech representative who 'escalates' this issue seems to be dodging my calls with follow ups (which have never happened by the way) and i'm still having issues. I've never had any issues with customer service prior to this but this experience has been the worst. I'm getting all my devices straight from Apple from here on out.

STEPHBROOKS

I’m having the same problem!!! Everything activated correctly on my Apple Watch except cellular!! I’ve been in contact with 4 Verizon reps, 2 in store reps and one Apple rep. The Apple rep says it has nothing to do with them. Verizon says my SIM card is defective and I need a new one... well, the SIM card isn’t replaceable. It’s built into the phone. Don’t let them tell you to go to a VZW store and get a replacement. You’re wasting your time. Please let me know if anyone finds an actual fix for this!! I’m extremely upset that I’ve talked to so many reps and still don’t have an answer. I have been talked to like garbage from reps and I’m sick of it.

JOHMAC35

Similar problem here. Activated the watch Monday, and it seemed to work fine when I added the watch to Verizon. Tested Tuesday, found that it hadn't paired with Verizon. Went to the Verizon app, which seemed to trigger something, as I then received a text message that the watch had been added to my account. Went for a run, and the watch only indicated "no sim" and "no connection." Restarted the watch, logged back into Verizon, and suddenly had a sim a connection! Went for a run, and once the watch was out of range of my wifi and phone, it indicated that I was on Verizon - but status was "not connected." This remained for about 30 minutes, and eventually it did connect, and I was able to send a receive text messages. (I haven't tried using it as a phone.) Got home, and once the watch was in range of my wifi and phone, it returned to no sim, no connection.

I have no idea what's going on, but the launch of this thing is a mess.

JOHMAC35,

We want you to be able to enjoy your new Apple Watch. Allow us to help. To clarify, when your watch says "no sim and no connection", is the watch inoperable?

CoreyM_VZW

Follow us on TWITTER @VZWSupport
If my response answered your question please click the _Correct Answer_ button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!!

GABSTE69

I am having the exact same issue and I have had the watch since day 1 of its release. I have literally spent at the very least 12 hours on the phone with Verizon over the course of the almost 2 weeks I've had the watch and they keep transferring back and forth between their departments (Tech, Telesales, customer service) They even came to the conclusion that the watch was defective and I took it to apple and had them replace it with a bran new watch which is having the exact same symptoms. This to me says the problem is on Verizon's end. This has been infuriating to deal with and after all of it Verizon has offered no real resolutions for me and just keep point at different departments or Apple, despite me already having gone through EVERY department. I would love to hear if anyone thinks they have the way to fix the "No Sim" and no connection to cellular.

I sincerely apologize for this inconvenience, ttiger10. I know this is important for you. We value your time, and we want to help you with these issues you are having with activating your watch. I have sent you a Private Message so we can continue to work on this together and get additional information. I look forward to hearing back from you.

GersonG_VZW

GABSTE69, I'm saddened to hear you are also experiencing issues with activating your device. I apologize it has taken this long, and I would like an opportunity to look into this further. I have sent you a Private Message so we can work on this together and get additional information. I look forward to hearing back from you.

GersonG_VZW

WILPAR8

4.5 hours at Verizon store. Of which 2 hours was on the phone with VZW tech support.

This was after more than 2 hours on the phone with Tech Support earlier in the day.

Tried everything. Nothing works. No Sim and No Connection.

The phone number assigned to the AW3 is just a grayed our box on my Verizon account devices (although it shows it on my Verizon app...)

Told tech Support I want to return it, I’ve spent too much tlime already. Said its manufacturing defect and I’ll have to talk with Apple.

Would like this fixed before I have to make a stink about it.

I can certainly understand wanting to get this resolved quickly. As it sounds like a device defect, did the tech agents offer to send you a warranty replacement?

NoahS_VZW

If my response answered your question please click the "Correct Answer" button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!

WILPAR8

thank you for getting back.

No, I was told it was a software issue and needed to go through Apple

WILPAR8

Thank you for responding.

No, the tech while helpful, said it was a software issue and therefore needed to go through Apple.

Would rather just get a replacement shipped to me so that I can use it instead of having to continuously spend hours on the phone.

Bill

WILPAR8, it concerns me to learn you've still not been able to get your Apple Watch to work properly via cellular with your iPhone device. I want to ensure that all options were pursued on this matter. I've sent you a private message so we can get this issue resolved. Please reply at your earliest convenience.

EbonyR_VZW

If my response answered your question please click the _Correct Answer_ button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!!

ETRAP

GersonG_VZW,

do you know how to resolve this issue, or know a person which can help?

Ann154

The rep might not realize that you are trying to get their attention if you don't mention hyperlink in the community forum which sends a notice to that community member. gersong_vzw

AMYADA10

I tried all the other solutions people had mentioned. This one worked for me. Thanks for posting, and I hope it helps other people.

STEGOO26

I am having the same frustrating issue (can't connect cellular, status is "No Sim") and have been through everything with tech help on the phone as well as what I have seen work from some people in this forum. Nothing has worked for me and other forums (i.e. Apple) indicate this is an activation protocol issue at Verizon which correlates to the glaring issue of my watch showing twice in "My Devices" with the same IMEI yet different Device IDs and different phone numbers. which on 1/5/17 tech help stated would be corrected within 24 hrs. It still isn't. More communication through the Tech Coach App they had me d'load have also been very unresponsive. I hope customer support can get me some help and have Tech Help department to at least do what they said they would do which was delayed because they think me ordering a new line the same day I complained about a preexisting problem may be the cause. At this point, I really don't need to be on the phone and be continually thanked for my patience.

Thanks

Steve

michelles_vzw

STEGOO26, we understand the importance of ensuring your device is up and running at all times. Since you purchased the Apple iWatch Series 3, have you been able to use the device without issues? What make and model iPhone are you attempting to pair the watch with?

Thank You,

MichelleL_VZW

VZW Support

If my response answered your question please click the Correct Answer button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!!

WILJON38

Just recently purchased a Apple Watch and I'm experiencing the same problem. I can pair the device with my phone, but can not seem to activate the LTE. I have the same "no sim" error. Just tried calling verizon, but could not get anyone knowledagable about the product to help me. Tech support told me to return the device to the local store because this was a known problem. Can this be fixed? Why is Verizon continuing to sell these devices if it is a known problem? Really disappointed in Verizon at this point...