How often have you wished to have something smaller than your phone with the same functions? And aren’t you tired of always forgetting your phone at home when you’re in a hurry? If that’s something that often happens to you, the Apple Watch cellular is just the thing for you. Once you start using it, you won’t feel the need to have your iPhone next to you everywhere you go constantly.
The Apple Watch is a small and convenient but very powerful device that you can use instead of your mobile device for your daily obligations. But you’re probably asking how does Apple Watch Cellular work? Keep reading to find out!
How Does Apple Watch Cellular Work
Having Apple Watch cellular will completely replace your mobile device. You’ll be able to receive calls and messages through your watch and also make them, receive notifications, listen to your favorite music, and a lot of other stuff.
The main difference between a cellular and a GPS Apple Watch is that you can access the apps on your phone via your Apple Watch Cellular without taking your iPhone everywhere with you. The iPhone even doesn’t have to be close to you. The Apple Watch cellular offers more options than the GPS watch. You can use the Apple Watch cellular as a standalone device and make calls, receive messages, and stream music, but you can’t do that with your GPS watch, especially not if your iPhone is far away from you.
The Apple Watch Cellular works automatically. The watch can connect to Wi-Fi, your iPhone, or cellular and automatically switch them depending on the strength of these three options. Another important thing to know is that when the ‘Cellular’ button turns white, that indicates that the watch is using Wi-Fi or Bluetooth to connect with your iPhone. If the ‘Cellular’ button turns green, that shows that you have a connection.
Now, let’s see how you can check the cellular signal strength and how to turn the cellular off.
You can check the cellular signal strength
Knowing how to check the cellular signal strength and what those signs mean can be very useful in different types of situations. So, you’ll notice green dots over the ‘Cellular’ button. Those dots shows the strength of the signal.
If only one green dot is displayed, that means that your cellular signal strength is very bad. But if you have four green dots on the screen, that means that your cellular signal strength is excellent.
You can turn the cellular on and off
Owning an Apple Watch cellular will give you freedom from your iPhone. You won’t have to bring it everywhere with you because all of the important features will be attached to your hand.
As we’ve said, the Apple Watch with cellular automatically connects to the strongest network connection. That might be Wi-Fi, your iPhone, or a cellular connection. But did you know that you can also turn off the cellular network manually?
To do that, you need to press and hold the bottom of your screen. Swipe upwards, and you’ll open the Control Center. Tap the ‘Cellular’ sign to turn it off or turn it on.
Read more: How To Update Apple Watch Without Pairing
How to Set up the Cellular on the Apple Watch and Transfer It?
Setting up the cellular on your Apple Watch is easy and can be done the first time when you’re connecting your Apple Watch to your iPhone but also later on. And that’s not all you can do.
You can also set the cellular plan on the Apple Watch of a family member who doesn’t have an iPhone. Now let’s see how these things are done.
Setting up cellular on your Apple Watch
If you’ve just bought your Apple Watch and are planning to connect it with your iPhone, the option for setting up the cellular will show up on your screen during that process. You just have to make sure that you tap on it and follow the instructions on the screen.
But, if you already have an Apple Watch connected to your iPhone and now you want to add a cellular plan, you’ll have to activate that feature yourself. That’s pretty easy, so do that, follow these simple steps:
- Take your iPhone, and open the Apple Watch app
- In the Apple Watch app, you’ll see the My Watch tab. Tap on it
- After you tap on it, on the screen will appear a tab that says Cellular, so tap on it, and then tap on ‘Set Up Cellular’
- When you do that, you’ll be presented with step-by-step instructions regarding the whole process of adding a cellular plan to your watch from the beginning until the end.
Setting up cellular on someone else’s Apple Watch
Setting up cellular on your Apple Watch isn’t the only thing that you can do. A pretty amazing thing you can do is to set the cellular on the Apple watch to a member of your family who doesn’t have an iPhone using yours.
Just make sure that when you’re setting up their Apple Watch, to add that watch to your plan. You’ll find how to do this step-by-step on the screen.
But if you’re in a situation to do this later, just follow the steps below:
- Take your iPhone, open the Watch app, and tap on ‘All Watches’
- Find the watch you want to set up, tap on it, and then tap ‘Done’
- Tap on ‘Cellular’, and the ‘Set Up Cellular’ will appear
- By tapping on it, you’ll get all the instructions right in front of you, so just follow them, and you’ll be done in a minute
How to transfer your cellular plan to a new Apple Watch?
If you’ve bought yourself a new Apple Watch and want to transfer your cellular plan to the new one, that’s also a possible thing to do. Follow these steps, and you’ll be done in a few minutes.
1. Remove the existing cellular plan by entering the ‘Cellular’ menu on your iPhone and tapping on the ‘Remove Plan’ button
2. Pair your iPhone with your new watch, and during the pairing process, you’ll be shown the option to set up the cellular, so select it. This way, you’ll add the cellular plan to your new watch.
3. You might not see the option to transfer the cellular plan from your old to your new watch, so if you can’t get that info, reach out to your carrier for guidance.
Things to pay attention to
There are three things that you should check from time to time if you want to avoid any problems with your Apple Watch with cellular
- You should always have the newest software both on your Apple Watch and iPhone
- Your Apple watch should run on the same network as your iPhone
- Always update your carrier settings
- Always check what your Apple Watch is connected to because if it gets disconnected, you won’t be able to use all of its features
Read more: Why Is My Apple Watch Dying So Fast?
Features
The Apple watch cellular makes all of the things you do from your iPhone available from the watch. That’s why it’s so popular. Imagine going for a jog and not having to take your big phone with you.
You can just put the watch on your hand, and you’ll have access to everything. Also, you’ll never again have to worry that you might miss an important call or notification.
Setting a cellular plan on your Apple Watch will free you from taking your iPhone everywhere with you. And wearing the watch is effortless. Now, let’s see what option you’ll have.
You can make and receive phone calls
You can receive and also make calls directly from your Apple watch. The watch has a built-in speaker, but you can also pair and use Bluetooth headphones.
You’ll get access to all of your contacts, but you can also just dial the phone number you want to call. The sound is great, so you’ll enjoy making all the important calls.
Apple Pay and Siri
If you use Apple Pay from your phone, you can also use it from your Apple Watch. A double tap on the side button is all you have to do to see your credit cards on the screen. Select the one you were looking for and use it to pay. It’s a very quick and effortless way.
Using the Apple Watch, you can talk to Siri, ask her for directions, or anything else, the same as you do using your iPhone. She’ll answer you with the same voice and show you the answers or the directions you asked for on the screen of your watch. This can save you much time instead of googling the needed info.
Access to music
You can stream music and even your favorite podcasts. You can also listen to the radio. The only thing you have to do is to connect your headphones with your watch, and you’re all set.
Open the Music App, and choose your favorite music. You can also open the radio and search all types and different radio station genres until you find the one that suits your taste the most. As podcasts are very popular nowadays, you’ll be pleased to know that you can also listen to your favorite one directly from your Apple Watch.
Access to messages
You’ll always get notifications, for example, when you’ve received a new email message. Messages include SMS messages, MMS messages, and iMessages, and you can send and receive all of them. And the best part about that is that you can immediately answer that message.
You don’t even have to type. You can dictate the email, which is amazing when you’re in a hurry.
Family setup
If your kids don’t own an iPhone still, but you want to stay in touch with them, the Family Setup feature is ideal. You can connect the watch with your iPhone and put the watch on your kid’s wrist. This way, whenever your kid needs you for something, it can easily get in touch with you using the Apple Watch.
Additional options
And there are many other things that a cellular Apple Watch offers to you. Those are the following:
- You’ll get every notification directly to your watch and never miss an important one, even though you’ve left your Apple Watch at home
- You can quickly and accurately check the weather no matter where you’re located at the moment
- You can set reminders the same way as you do from your iPhone
- You can track your stocks, use Walkie-Talkie, and use the maps
- You’ll still be able to locate your friends, the same as you’ve been doing through your iPhone
- You’ll be able to control the Home Devices you’ve connected with your iPhone via your Apple Watch
Read more: How To Delete Text On Apple Watch
Available Features When Apple Watch Gets Disconnected
It’s always important to check what is your Apple Watch connected to and be informed when it’s disconnected, which usually happens if you find yourself in an area without any signal.
If your Apple Watch is disconnected, you can still do the following things:
- Track all of your activity goals and workouts
- Track your sleep and your menstrual cycle
- Measure your blood oxygen and use the ACG app
- See the time and use the compass and the alarms
- Listen to your synced podcasts and music
- Pay with Apple Pay
Conclusion
If you want to go out without your phone, take a walk, or jog without the weight of your phone, or you often forget to take the phone with you, getting yourself an Apple Watch cellular is the best decision you could make, especially now when you know how does Apple Watch Cellular work.
Getting this watch is absolutely worth it because whenever you forget your iPhone at home, you don’t have to worry. You still stay connected to everything important to you.
The Apple Watch with cellular will keep you connected with everyone and everything, but at the same time, it will enable you to disconnect from your iPhone and all of the time-consuming, unimportant things.
That’s what makes this watch one of a kind, so make sure you enjoy its amazing features.