Hoping the OzB family can shed some light with their experience.
I am trying to setup number share for my Apple watch with Optus but without luck. It has been a few days now and every time my case gets escalated without any resolution. Now they have just said that it is a wide issue and wouldn't tell me when it will be fixed.
Q : is anyone here using Optus number share? Does it work well?
Got it working finally. Can I ask if you have been to send and receive texts without phone around? Calls work but for some reason messages don't go through or receive without the phone around.
I had similar issues for about a week. Optus kept on asking me to reset/re-pair my watch and try again. I must have reset it 4-5 times - knowing full well that wasn’t the problem and it was on their end. Then they would say it was a “back end” issue or they needed to wait for the “back end team” to do or resolve something. In the end I just kept trying every day and after about a week it randomly worked one night. Now it’s set up, no issues at all and works well, but was extremely frustrating.
Thanks mate, do you remember where was it failing?
Not sure exactly. Maybe just the activation part? It would sometimes fail, sometimes show it was still trying to activate. Trying over and over ended up finally working, but was so frustrating Optus wouldn’t take ownership of the issue and just fix it. One department blaming the other, when they all work for the same company
You are getting the standard Optus support for an issue that is not on their script sheets. Suggest making a formal complaint via the optus web site and when dealing with support keep asking to speak with a supervisor and get dates and times of when they will call you back.
I found that you had a better chance of getting an Oz person after dinner (sydney time) compared to during the day when support went to the Philippines or India or some other offshore sweat shop.
Hi Shaunf, I am in the same boat.
Two days ago I switched to Optus Postpaid in order to connect my Apple Watch Series 7 to LTE/4G. Optus call it Optus Number Share.
When I try it fails, it brings up a page saying I should contact Optus. I did contact Optus and they have told me there's an issue with setting up Optus Number Share and I should wait 24-48hrs and try again.
I guess for now I can't do much but take their advice and hope they really knew about the issue.
Just to let anyone know who may be reading this, it is now working :-) Optus were telling the truth, it just needed 24-48hrs to fix.
Mine still won’t work
That sounds good. Let me try.
It is now stuck activating the plan :(
This is what happened to me, it was the 2nd to last step and said 'please wait' then after probably 3-5 minutes it threw an error saying the gateway timed out. However as I was walking back to my car I got some SMS's come through the plan was now active and it was! :-) Happy days. It does sound like their system is VERY buggy though. I've always found their website almost impossibly bad, the amount of time it locks up my browser (multiple browsers on multiple computers) is amazing. Complaints aside I'm now on the Medium Choice Plus Plan, normally $55/pm but with the latest deal $27.50/pm + $5/pm for the Watch = $32.50/pm - That's a good deal compared to anywhere else so it was worth the effort.
@Erasmuz: Got it working finally, cheers. Can I ask if you have been to send and receive texts without phone around? Calls work but for some reason messages don't go through or receive without the phone around
@Shaunf: No it is the same for me, which is a bit of a shame.
I turned off my iPhone and turned off WiFi on the Apple Watch and tried to send an SMS to a non-iMessage number and it did not work. I turned WiFi back on on the Watch and it made no difference. It wasn't until I turned my phone back on the SMS's went out.
For what it is worth, iMessages worked but as you know they route via the internet and require both parties to have Apple devices and iMessage enabled.
I then tried to receive one. I repeated the process but the SMS was not received until I turned my phone back on. I could make calls on my watch though while my phone was off.
It's a bit of a shame, but I guess as long as your iPhone is powered on and in reception somewhere you can still go phone-less for a while?
@Shaunf: Hi Shaunf, I am REALLY sorry I didn't reply sooner I don't have any email alerts set up for ozBargain.
I hope you found it in time, this was the deal: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/681105
50% off Optus's $45 & $55 plans which made them extremely good value. Not quite as good but getting pretty close to some of the cheap MVNO deals.
Of course to use a 4G watch you have to go directly with the MNO's (Optus, Vodafone or Telstra). In WA Vodafone still isn't good enough (in my area & just my opinion, don't shoot me) so I was looking at $55/pm with either Telstra or Optus + $5/pm for the watch.
This was rough as I was paying <$20/pm on Optus prepaid so it was going to be a huge jump. I'm glad I found this deal.
If you missed it maybe you could go in to a store and ask about it :-)
It looks like it finally is working. Will give it a day to confirm. Just to let everyone know it took 8 days from the first time I escalated the issue.
Same here. Initially it said my account wasn’t eligible; I had an old (awesome) 2018 mobile plan, and they made me upgrade to one of their newer (worse value) plans. Still didn’t work then they said it would just take 4 hours to activate. 3 days and 6 hours on technical support later and they said it was a wider problem with number share. I didn’t believe them so went into a store, the guy was very helpful, gave me a new sim card etc and tried lots of things, still didn’t work, he called tech support and confirmed it is a wider problem. Now my watch app alternates between saying my account isn’t eligible, or getting halfway through the process of setting up number share and then get an Optus error. They can’t tell me timeframe for it being fixed. But you’re not alone! I just try once a day and feel like it will eventually work. Very unimpressed though.
Wow! 3 years and still not working? Did you try moving to a different carrier?
Oh sorry, the Watch is only a few days old! I mean the mobile plan I was still on was a deal from 2018, and they said the reason it wasn’t working was because number share was only compatible with plans from 2019 onwards… (but still doesn’t work after upgrading so I wonder if it was just an Optus problem the whole time and I didn’t even need to upgrade my Mobile plan). I’ve been very annoyed with Optus the last few days and am seriously considering changing carriers, however I doubt they’d let me out of my brand new plan now!
That's a shame, they tried thier best to change mine as well. Luckily one of them gave in and acknowledged that number share has been around from 2017 and let me stay on my old.
Have the same problem. They had me restarting over and over and saying it was because an old watch was still connected etc etc. then they tell me it’s their problem ✅✅
Keep persisting. It appears that it takes a minimum of 48 hours to activate, they wouldn't acknowledge that tho'
It’s been about 4 weeks now and they are saying it’s a tower problem.
Wow that's a whole new level of excuses
Yep same problem here. Spent an hour on the phone with tech support. Then half an hour in store. No-one has the faintest idea of what the problem is, and they sure as shit don’t know how to fix it.
Incredibly frustrating.
We are new Optus customers and already regretting it.
How long has it been since you requested number share?
I am in this hell right now and they seem utterly clueless. I’ve been bounced around, asked and answered the same questions over half a dozen times.
I have had several Apple Watches number sharing my main number over many years, all fine until this new watch and I’m stuck in a loop I can’t get out of where my Apple Watch app says Optus number sharing is already active but Optus says my number is not registered.
Im in the exact same boat :(
Multiple times pairing and unpairing and removing sim and uninstalling and reinstalling the watch app as per Optus advice.
Now just waiting for number share to be active again.
Please let me know how you go and if you have any tips on how to get it working.
Hi konar I am in the same boat, just wondering if you ever got this fixed?
I’m having hell getting my new Apple Watch ultra connected also.
I previously had a Samsung galaxy active 2 connected with the number share but had noticed it was not always working lately. I knew I was getting my new watch soon so didn’t worry about it. But today it came so went to set it up. Gets to sending it to a Optus website and says “are you the account holder of 0”? Which I thought was odd, but tap confirm and it takes you to a login page. An it just refuses to accept my user/pass. After 3 tries it locks it for 45mins. So I went and did the forgot password thing to make sure it is the right password. That all took fine. Even logged out my “my Optus” app and back in to make sure it was right, and still the bloody thing will not accept the damn password when trying to add the watch. So I get onto the Optus chat thing, and the guy there asks if I’d already unlinked my old watch. I said I wasn’t aware I needed to as I couldn’t find any option for that within the Optus app, and asked if he could direct me where to do it. He said it’s no prob and he can do it, but needs the IMEI. So I go an get that. Took a photo and sent it to him. Goes away for like 10mins. Finally comes back and asks for the iccid … so I go take a photo of that and send it. Wait another 10mins. By this point I’m getting pretty bloody annoyed. He comes finally and says he was the Eid next. I said are you kidding me mate? Besides the fact a IMEI is a unique number, I have only 1 watch connected, just remove it please. He says no hes adding it and it will be active in 4hrs or so. I just about lost it. But somehow managed to compose myself enough to get this blithering idiot to remove it, or so he said. But then he wants the details of the new one, to apparently add it.
I said first you tell me I need to remove the old one, but you want the details for that, now you’re telling me you added those details, not removed them, but now you want me to give you the new ones details. No thankyou! Just confirm you removed the old one and I’ll try it myself again.
But it’s no different at all. Every time it is the same “are you the account holder of 0”? Tap confirm, but will not accept the correct credentials.
If I were not paying off a handset through Optus, I would change carrier immediately, just based on the either ineptitude or flat out deliberately wasting my time in order to rack up their own time that they get paid for. Certainly felt that way. Not to mention this business of losing all of our data. Really disgraceful handling by Optus all round.
If anyone has some trick to getting 8th gen Apple Watch connected to Optus number share with a iPhone 13 Pro Max I will love you for even longer than Optus will waste your time in support chats!
@disenter I'm in the exact same problem as you, Had the series 3 cellular with number share for the past 5 years, no issues at all. Just upgraded to the Ultra and keep getting the message " Optus number sharing is already active, despite cancelling it when I unpaired the series 3.. I have spent the last 3-4 days on the phone and live chat to Optus support but no matter what steps they tell me to do, nothing is working, I'm very frustrated and have even purchased a Telstra sim if they don't manage to fix it soon i'll be leaving them, It shouldn't be this difficult to set up a watch to data… Have you had any luck setting it up yet ? If so PLEASE let me know what you did to get it fixed <3
I’ve got the exact problem. Going from an S4 to Ultra. Did you find a solution?
Same here. :((
You are describing the same symptoms (and Optus response) I am experiencing: “are you the account holder of 0?”; login won’t work; OPTUS account not eligible … VERY interested in hearing from anyone who has solved the problem. I keep checking to see if anything has changed but no joy.
Same issue! 5 days now and have done 6x been doing the reset/pair/installing, the tech agents dont know what their doing tbh, they gave me the same solution and steps,same process, but it does not work. I keep getting the msg “hiccups” and it says it connected but its not. Its tiring trying to explain everything all over again. They never escalate the issues as well. Its just frustrating trying to do it over and over and over again. I did somehow manage to connect the watch but lost connection after an hour.
Hey guys, so apple just helped me solve my problem! And optus was just a piece of s*** in term of their service.
Remove the optus share number in the watch app since its gonna be located at the “not in use” part.
1. Disconnect wifi from watch and iphone
2. Send a message to a friend via watch, and if it says delivered proceed to next step.
3. Try to call using watch away from the phone.
4. Call not working then the reset the phone by pressing volume up then volume down and the power button long enough for the phone to go black screen and once the apple logo appears release.
5.connect the watch via the app as per normal.
Does anyone know any MVNO's that offer number share for the Apple watches?
Why does Telstra/Optus/Vodafail?
—FIX—
Please note I do not work for Apple or Optus so attempt this fix at your own risk.
I purchased an Apple Watch SE, and everything was great until I dropped it & smashed the screen. I waited a week before replacing it with a new one. I was pairing the new watch and when it got to setting up cellular it was a massive issue for about a week. It was coming up 'Number share is currently active. To manage your Optus Number Share, please call customer care.' So I tried rebooting my phone and restoring my watch to factory settings which didn't work. After multiple phone calls with Optus, visits to a store and attempts to resolve this via the live chat option (and them telling me they have changed a setting and it will work), I've finally figured it out myself.
Basically there is an e-sim embedded into your watch and when you are setting up a new watch you need to unpair it from your Watch app which will remove the Number Share Plan. I was unable to do this with my old one due to a smashed screen and it was no longer showing up in my Watch list. I even tried restoring it to factory from my devices in iTunes but I still couldn't find it in my list of devices.
So all I did was go into my Optus account Sim management transfer or restore e-sim. (It will ask if you want to transfer your main number, not the number that is linked to your number share). Hit confirm and wait for it to do its thing. Your data will drop out and you will lose reception intermittently until its completed. I waited about 12 hours before I tried to set it up again but it may work sooner.
Hopefully this helps someone else as it took me ages to work it out and Optus are no help.
Had it a few years, no problems here.