Galaxy Watch 5 Pro Esim Setup
Lucia
My question is about the 4G functionality of the watch. When I first got the Galaxy Watch I was with the EE mobile network (I'm in the UK), EE do offer eSIMs for smartwatches where the watch shares the mobile number of the SIM that's being used in a comptabile phone handset. So this worked correctly for a year or so, with the watch working off Bluetooth when in range of the phone and then switching to standalone mode when out of range, where it would use the 4G connection from the eSIM.
Unfortunately I had some financial difficulties for a while last year and could no longer afford my EE phone bill, it had got up to 240 per month as I had a number of different devices on it. So EE closed my account, and I can't have a contract with EE again. I'm currently using devices I've purchased outright and a SIM only mobile contract with BT Mobile, who have accepted me as a contract customer however they do not offer eSIMs so my watch has been running with Bluetooth connection only since I've been with them.
The only other network that offers eSIMs that share the mobile number of the phone in the UK is Vodafone, like EE they only offer eSIMs to contract customers, NOT pay as you go for whatever reason. I did try applying for a Vodafone contract recently so I could get an eSIM with them but was turned down.
I have looked into other options and found a pay as you go eSIM provider: www.esim.net/uk they advertise comptability with Galaxy Watch 3, however if I purchased an eSIM from this company it would be a different mobile number to that of my phone. So I'm interested to know how this setup would work. The ideal of course, as I imagine is intended by Samsung, is that 4G watches share the number of the paired phone however this option appears to only be available in the UK to contract customers of EE and Vodafone, neither who will accept me as a customer as contracts require a credit check. I think this is silly, fair enough they can turn me down for a contract but they should offer that same service on a a pay as you go basis.
Back to the question - how would it work if the watch has a different mobile number on its eSIM? I imagine whilst within Bluetooth range of the phone it would function as normal. Out of Bluetooth range with the watch in standalone mode if I text or called anyone they would receive these from the watches different number. And if one of my contacts text or called me it would show up in my watch, but how would the watch indicate that it was to the watches different number, not my phone's number? Would it indicate it in the same way it shows how an existing contact in your phone might text to SIM 1 or SIM 2 if you were using the dual SIM functionality of the phone? The watch syncs message and call logs over Bluetooth whenever in range so it would need some way of indicating a message or call from a known contact has come from the phone sync or to the watches own 4G number.
There is also the 'Call and text on other devices' aspect to my query. As I understand it, 'Call and text on other devices' will route calls and texts from a registered device through my phone so contacts that I call or message will see my phones number even if the registered device is a WiFi only device or has a different mobile number? There is an option to 'Use mobile data' in the 'Call and text on other devices' settings so if I had a Galaxy Watch 3 and this was a registered device, even if the GW3's eSIM had a different mobile number as explained above, if it could connect to my phone using the mobile data connection of that eSIM it would effectively give me the same functionality as if the GW3 was sharing the phone's mobile number? So the only downside to this setup I can see compared to the carrier implemented sharing of the phone's number with the watch is if my phone was actually turned off or out of any mobile network range, the 'Call and text on other devices' function wouldn't be able connect to my phone and the watch would revert to calls and texts using its own mobile number. But as explained this appears to be the only option I may have to use the 4G functionality of the watch.
This post seems to confirm how this setup would work, by showing that the GW Active 2 can be a registered device in 'Call and text on other devices': _to_make_calls_on_galaxy_watch_active_2_over... in that post the OP is using that setup to do calls over WiFi on their GW Active 2 but if that works then the mobile data function should work too. Interestingly the original GW does not seem to support that so I'd have to wait til I get the GW3 I'm planning on upgrading to til I can do this.
If you didn't get it from T-Mobile, you'll want to ensure that you do have a line on your account with the afore mentioned plan. Once you have established the line, you'll want to make sure it is paired with your phone number. Manage DIGITS users and pairings
There isn't a ton of info out there about setting up this particular watch, but I can't help but wonder if it is very different from Samsung's previous standalone devices. First-time use: Samsung Gear S3 frontier might be able to give you some clues.
Actually, no. I don't really see "steps" in any of the posts. I see that you think this watch will be the same as all the others. But it is absolutely not. After hours on the phone, T-Mobile could not get the eSIM recognized. Of course, T Mobile support knows all the steps to get the the correct DIGITS plan working.
Currently, I do have a number for the watch, but all calls go to voicemail. The watch does not ring. I paired it with an iPhone from Verizon, and the Bluetooth connectivity works great! I get calls texts and message from m iPhone. Yay Verizon!
Point is, all screens and commands are different on this watch, and you will need to go to work to update your documentation. One very important thing is that with this watch there is no ICCID on the watch. No matter how many times T Mobile asked me for the ICCID, I had to give them the same answer/
I have found the exact same issue. I spent 3 hours on the phone trying to get 2 devices (I took them up on their half price deal) working and being thrown to different departments. One person would tell me they only work with Samsung phones. This is certainly not in the documentation. I think this is so new, they do not have their software and processes down yet on how to activate this phone. If I am wrong, someone tell me what the secret is because I am extremely frustrated,
Alrighty, terribly sorry about that- I had no idea that this watch would be so different from the previous versions! I certainly agree that there needs to be more updated information about the new watch.
I am curious about a couple of things, though- when you say that T-Mobile couldn't get the eSIM recognized, I'm not sure what you mean by that. Did they receive an error message when they attempted to activate the eSIM on your Data with Paired Digits line? Was there any mention of the EID? This is a number located on the original box that is used to activate the eSIM. Also, the ICCID and the SIM are the same number, are you saying that your watch has nothing in the space at Settings>About Watch>Device? I ask because we did have another fellow whose eSIM/ICCID was missing or blank in his settings.
You both are right about the lack of updated information about the watch; with T-Mobile and on the internet in general. T-Mobile finally released an overview page for the Galaxy Watch with some basic information, but nothing about getting it connected to the LTE network, unfortunately. I know this hasn't been the best experience, but I'd like to try to help turn it around if I can.
So you have 2 watches, this means that you should have 2 new mobile internet lines of service on your account. Are they both set to Data with Paired DIGITS and are the lines paired with your phone number? So sorry that you've had to go through so much and I'm sure you're tired of answering questions but I really feel like I can point you in the right direction if given the chance.
Hi there! This is a community forum and while there are T-Mobile moderators present, no one here has access to your account so calling out isn't an option. I know it's not ideal, but there are lots of people here who would love to help you guys out if we have all of the information.
To answer your question, (and I was unaware of this until today, so I genuinely apologize to anyone to whom I gave incorrect information), but the Data with Paired DIGITS line is NOT standalone in the sense that the 10 digit number assigned to the mobile data line is essentially a dummy number and you won't be able to be reached if someone calls or texts it.
Data with Paired DIGITS "copies" your existing number onto another device and allows you to call and text utilizing your primary phone number, whichever number you have paired to that specific device/DIGITS. And for the purposes of this exercise, "pair" and "pairing" only refers to linking the Data with Paired DIGITS line to a primary line for service through the portal, nothing to do with Bluetooth.
I'm really sorry about the misinformation, but for this particular DIGITS plan, the DIGITS app is not required and you can make your changes by utilizing the portal. I understand you went through a bit of a headache with this, but you can just uninstall it.
WHEW! Again, so sorry for the late reply. I'll be the first to admit that DIGITS isn't my forte and I wanted to make 100% sure I had the steps correct. Now, if I'm forgetting something, I pray someone here will chime in and help out, but I think I've gotten all of the steps. Provided the eSIM in the watch has really been activated, everything should be good to go. Fingers crossed!
Ack! That's crazy! Is this a screen from your Samsung Galaxy Watch app? @kronikole or @magenta2848034 , have you seen anything similar? Please forgive my ignorance, but there is literally nothing whatsoever regarding a needed software update to function with LTE anywhere on the internet.
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