AT&T Community Forums

Trying to replace a Family Setup Apple Watch and keep the same number

I am replacing my child's Apple Watch. My child does not have an iphone of her own.

The old watch has been reset and the cellular plan has been removed, but it is still listed on my account with the old number.

I have set up the new watch via Family Setup per instructions. When I try to set up cellular, I am only given two options: one is to replace an existing device, which only offers up Numbersync with MY Apple Watch phone number, or to set it up as a new device on my account and get charged for another line and presumably be assigned a new phone number. I don't want either of these.

What do I have to do to get the old phone number transferred to the new standalone watch? And why is this so hard? :P

Responses

Accepted Solution

Official Solution

formerlyknownas

ACE - Sage

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113.2K Messages

1 year ago

Per Apple, see step 3. I suspect you will have to call AT&T and have them set up the esim with the existing number first, and then proceed to set up the watch with family setup.

Transfer your cellular plan to a new Apple Watch

When you’re ready to start using a new Apple Watch, you can transfer cellular service from your old watch to your new one. Here’s how:

Remove the cellular plan from your old Apple Watch. You can do this from the Apple Watch app or by erasing your old Apple Watch.
Pair your new Apple Watch with your iPhone. During setup, tap “Set up Cellular” to add a cellular plan.
Some carriers allow you to transfer your existing plan to your new Apple Watch directly from the Apple Watch app.
If you don’t see an option to transfer your cellular plan, contact your carrier for help.

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Accepted Solution

nnov

New Member

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2 Messages

1 year ago

I've now got it set up. For anyone else searching for this information:

The new watch was already set up with Family Sharing. I called in and the agent took the IMEI and EID of the new watch, and put them manually into my account. After this, I went through the "Finish Setting Up" option in the Apple Watch app on my cellphone, and a new message began appearing: "SoftSim Flow completed"

However, the new watch continued not to work. The agent escalated the process to a supervisor and promised me a call back within an hour. I hadn't heard back after four hours, but when I reopened the Apple Watch app and tried again, I saw the SoftSim Flow message once more and then suddenly got a notification telling me that cellular service was ready, and the cell service turned on.

So FWIW, if you need to do this, you have to call or chat in, and after the watch is manually added, it seems that you just need to wait a while and then try to set up cellular again in the Apple Watch app.

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ATTHelp

Community Support

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224.9K Messages

1 year ago

Let's step in to help you set up your new Apple Watch via Family Setup, @nnov.

Special thanks to our ACE, @formerlyknownas for their quick response and expertise.

Our first recommendation would be to use this resource to add your watch to the Family Setup.

Have an existing watch you want to add to Family Share? Reset the watch before you start.
If you’re using a different mobile service provider for the watch, make sure you buy a plan before setup.

Go to the Watch app on your iPhone and choose Pair a Watch.
Select Set up for a Family Member and follow the prompts. Make sure you set up Family Sharing first.
Follow the instructions to set up mobile service on the watch.
- Using AT&T? You’ll see AT&T in white in the Cellular Plan section.
- Using a different provider? You’ll see the watch’s wireless provider in white in the Cellular Plan section.
Review and turn on optional features to complete setup.

Want more info? Check out Apple Support: Set up an Apple Watch for a family member.

Our second recommendation would be to activate your watch.

We also recommend downloading your eSIM or activating a physical SIM.

To complete activation of an eSIM for AT&T Wireless, make sure your device is on an active plan, then download the eSIM over Wi-Fi.

Turn your device on.
Follow the prompts on your device. Want detailed steps for your device? Get eSIM download instructions

Transferring your number from another provider? Go to att.com/activatenow before turning your phone on.
Bringing your device to AT&T? You’ll have to request a new eSIM.
Have an AT&T PREPAID plan? Contact us to activate your eSIM

Please share the results with us. Thanks for reaching out to AT&T Community Forums!

Nelson, AT&T Community Specialist

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