Set up and use cellular service on Apple Watch Ultra

With Apple Watch Ultra and a cellular connection to the same carrier used by your iPhone, you can make calls, reply to messages, use Walkie-Talkie, stream music and podcasts, receive notifications, and more, even when you don’t have your iPhone or a Wi-Fi connection.

Note: Cellular service not available in all areas or with all carriers.

Add Apple Watch Ultra to your cellular plan

You can activate cellular service on your Apple Watch Ultra by following the instructions during the initial setup. To activate service later, follow these steps:

Open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone.
Tap My Watch, then tap Cellular.

Follow the instructions to learn more about your carrier service plan and activate cellular for your Apple Watch Ultra. See the Apple Support article Set up cellular on your Apple Watch.

Transfer an existing cellular plan to a new Apple Watch Ultra

You can transfer your existing cellular plan from your Apple Watch with cellular to Apple Watch Ultra by following these steps:

While wearing your Apple Watch, open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone.
Tap My Watch, tap Cellular, then tap next to your cellular plan.
Tap Remove [name of carrier] Plan, then confirm your choice.
You may need to contact your carrier to remove this Apple Watch from your cellular plan.
Remove your Apple Watch, put on your Apple Watch Ultra, tap My Watch, then tap Cellular.
Follow the instructions to activate your watch for cellular.

Turn cellular off or on

Your Apple Watch Ultra with an activated cellular plan uses the best network connection available to it—your iPhone when itʼs nearby, a Wi-Fi network that you’ve connected to previously on your iPhone, or a cellular connection. You can turn cellular off—to save battery power, for example. Just follow these steps:

Press the side button to open Control Center.
Tap , then turn Cellular off or on.

The Cellular button turns green when your Apple Watch Ultra has a cellular connection and your iPhone isn’t nearby.

Note: Turning on cellular for extended periods uses more battery power (see the Apple Watch General Battery Information website for more information). Also, some apps may not update without a connection to your iPhone.

Check cellular signal strength

Try one of the following when connected to a cellular network:

Use the Wayfinder or Explorer watch face, which use green dots to show cellular signal strength. Four dots is a good connection. One dot is poor.
Open Control Center. The green bars at the top show the cellular connection status.
Add the Cellular complication to the watch face.

Check cellular data usage

Open the Settings app on your Apple Watch Ultra.
Tap Cellular, then scroll down to see the amount of data you’ve used during the current period.

Helpful?

Apple Watch Ultra User Guide