Set up an Apple Watch with eSim from Optus
I got myself an Apple Watch series 5, the review can be found here on the ReviewMe site. However there was an interesting thing about the watch, Since my phone service is with Optus, I looked at the Optus site for a plan. The Optus plan costs a minimum of $44/month for 24 months for a 44mm watch on a plan, which is $34 for the watch and $10 for the plan that offers 1 GB data and number sharing.
Number sharing is the feature that uses the phone number from your phone plan and shares it with the Apple Watch with cellular functionality. Telstra on their website offer the Apple watch for $35/month on a 24 month plan. You can simply go and get an accessory from Telstra on a plan where as with Optus you have to buy the bundle. So the choices that I had were,
1. Buy the watch outright from Apple
2. Buy the watch on an interest free plan that costs $4.5 per month account keeping fees
3. Get the watch from Optus on a $44/month plan
4. Get the watch from Telstra for $35/month but no number sharing
At first I was interested in getting the Nike edition which would be released on the 4th of October, however it just made sense today and as I passed the Telstra store, I saw the watch, the price and just made a decision. I could add a number sharing from Optus for $5/month which would still cost me only $40/month, $4 cheaper than what Optus was offering me.
I asked at the Optus store on how can I get the number sharing functionality, they said you have to contact the online help desk and they can set it up for you. No worries, I went ahead with the watch and headed home.
Now Apple does not allow you to pair the watch if your phone is not updated to iOS 13, I wanted to wait for next week for the 13.1 release to update accordingly. However since I got the watch, it was a matter of bite the bullet and upgrade.
Next step, Get the number sharing, so I called Optus, and selected the new items.service option, the lady on the phone said that this is not something that they deal with, the department that deals with this is closed (today being a Sunday) and I need to look at it online. I asked here where can I find this online, to which I was told that they cannot help navigate the site but can transfer me to the online department. The guy at the online department had no clue what I was talking about and went on in tangents, so I thanked him and disconnected the call.
I went to the Optus site and clicked on chat, the lady asked how she could help me, when I explained what I was after, she said that she can transfer me to the proper department and she could do so if I validate/authenticate myself. WHAT??? They need to know all my details before they can even be sure of if they can actually resolve me issue or not. After about 10 minutes, maybe she was asking her supervisor or dunno what, she was posting "Sorry to keep you waiting, I will just transfer you" - and all of this is still on the Optus chat.
In this time I did a google search, no result, however crowdsource had something, I browsed through a couple of articles and then found one that suggested how to set up the eSim for the apple Watch. it can be found at https://www.optus.com.au/for-you/support/answer?id=20003&typeId=8&question=Number%2520
The Short of this is
1. Start up your Watch App
2. Scroll down to the Mobile option
3. Click on the Mobile Data Plan
4. Click on the Confirm button
5. Enter your username and password to log into your Optus account
6. Agree to the terms and conditions and click next
7. See the spinner and it will all be done
you will also get a SMS informing that the service is now active.
If only Optus has this information readily available for consumers, it would save them the hassle of going through their helpdesk (Telephone, Chat) and even the stores that are unaware of this.
Number sharing is the feature that uses the phone number from your phone plan and shares it with the Apple Watch with cellular functionality. Telstra on their website offer the Apple watch for $35/month on a 24 month plan. You can simply go and get an accessory from Telstra on a plan where as with Optus you have to buy the bundle. So the choices that I had were,
1. Buy the watch outright from Apple
2. Buy the watch on an interest free plan that costs $4.5 per month account keeping fees
3. Get the watch from Optus on a $44/month plan
4. Get the watch from Telstra for $35/month but no number sharing
At first I was interested in getting the Nike edition which would be released on the 4th of October, however it just made sense today and as I passed the Telstra store, I saw the watch, the price and just made a decision. I could add a number sharing from Optus for $5/month which would still cost me only $40/month, $4 cheaper than what Optus was offering me.
I asked at the Optus store on how can I get the number sharing functionality, they said you have to contact the online help desk and they can set it up for you. No worries, I went ahead with the watch and headed home.
Now Apple does not allow you to pair the watch if your phone is not updated to iOS 13, I wanted to wait for next week for the 13.1 release to update accordingly. However since I got the watch, it was a matter of bite the bullet and upgrade.
Next step, Get the number sharing, so I called Optus, and selected the new items.service option, the lady on the phone said that this is not something that they deal with, the department that deals with this is closed (today being a Sunday) and I need to look at it online. I asked here where can I find this online, to which I was told that they cannot help navigate the site but can transfer me to the online department. The guy at the online department had no clue what I was talking about and went on in tangents, so I thanked him and disconnected the call.
I went to the Optus site and clicked on chat, the lady asked how she could help me, when I explained what I was after, she said that she can transfer me to the proper department and she could do so if I validate/authenticate myself. WHAT??? They need to know all my details before they can even be sure of if they can actually resolve me issue or not. After about 10 minutes, maybe she was asking her supervisor or dunno what, she was posting "Sorry to keep you waiting, I will just transfer you" - and all of this is still on the Optus chat.
In this time I did a google search, no result, however crowdsource had something, I browsed through a couple of articles and then found one that suggested how to set up the eSim for the apple Watch. it can be found at https://www.optus.com.au/for-you/support/answer?id=20003&typeId=8&question=Number%2520
The Short of this is
1. Start up your Watch App
2. Scroll down to the Mobile option
3. Click on the Mobile Data Plan
4. Click on the Confirm button
5. Enter your username and password to log into your Optus account
6. Agree to the terms and conditions and click next
7. See the spinner and it will all be done
you will also get a SMS informing that the service is now active.
If only Optus has this information readily available for consumers, it would save them the hassle of going through their helpdesk (Telephone, Chat) and even the stores that are unaware of this.
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