Verizon customers are reporting major difficulties activating new Apple Watch models on the carrier's cellular network, with some spending over a week trying to get their devices working. One customer described spending eight days and numerous hours attempting to activate a new Apple Watch Series 11, going through more than twenty pairing attempts and even receiving a replacement watch from Apple, only to face the same problem.
According to PhoneArena, the issue appears to stem from a system glitch that's been affecting smartwatch activations for at least the past week. A Verizon representative who joined a Reddit discussion confirmed that smartwatches are "notoriously painful" to activate on the network and acknowledged there's been "a glitch in the system for the last week".
The suggested workaround involves activating the cellular plan first, then switching to a Number Share Plus plan after activation. However, this solution hasn't worked for everyone, and multiple customers report being bounced between support representatives who seem unaware of the widespread problem.
Frustrated customers describe support agents who repeatedly struggle to read case notes or access proper account information, with calls often routed to overseas representatives unfamiliar with the activation issue. Some longtime Verizon customers with multiple lines and enterprise accounts say they've noticed declining support quality despite rising prices.
The problems affect the latest Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 models, though similar issues have been reported with other smartwatch brands including Samsung's Galaxy Watch. Verizon has not yet publicly addressed the activation problems or provided a timeline for a permanent fix.
Source: PhoneArena
