Apple Watch Ultra 3 won’t have 5G

[Yatesy83]

I received my Watch Ultra 3 today and as i suspected only has 4G. Called EE to be told that no watch plans currently support 5G. Spoke to a manager aswell to confirm and its true. At the moment although the watch is 5G compatible we are stuck with 4G for the moment and they have no set plans to change it.

Had a but of rant stating that is doesnt specify anywhere that devices will only receive 4G and he got the hump. I  then said if they were selling 5G phones and only provided customers with 4G they would all kick off and naturally you would expect 5G or the plan to at least state its 4G only. He had no reply to that and just kept repeating same crap saying we dont promise 5G anywhere when purchasing. I just figured it was a given. He was happy for me to return it but it’s not the point.

Just be prepared that if your getting device expecting 5G service currently it won’t happen with EE.

[ollie798]

5G won’t drain it faster. It’s 5G redcap (reduced capacity) not standard 5G. It’s specifically designed for small devices to use less power.  

[ollie798]

The ASA don’t care what’s in the small print. If the advertising is considered misleading then that is enough. 

[Chris_B]

@Yatesy83  neither is mine it’s almost out of its 24 month contract ie that’s this Sunday. 

[Yatesy83]

Would be really helpful if someone could show me this screen on their new Watch Ultra 3 with 5G on it. It does clearly state in Apple Event video that 5G will be available at launch with EE. I honestly think maybe advisors haven’t been educated. I have recorded my last call with them stating they do not have any 5G plans for watches. 

[Yatesy83]

Have multi line, second line I get 10% discount on.

[Matt_124]

I believe from my (admittedly brief) research that the "5G" that Apple have announced the Watch Ultra 3 to support is in the form of 5G RedCap (Reduced Capability).

5G RedCap can only be deployed on 5G Standalone (SA) networks, and not 5G Non-Standalone (NSA) networks which rely on an LTE anchor-layer. BT's trial of 5G RedCap in 2023 was conducted over Nokia 5G Standalone infrastructure.

If EE announced it and the associated plans as "5G", then customers in 5G-NSA areas without 5G SA would end up questioning why they're "not getting 5G on their watch" while it is showing on their phones.

More details on 5G Standalone on EE can be found here: https://ee.co.uk/help/mobile/manage-use/using-phone-features/5G-standalone 

As such EE are likely making no claims of 5G support on the plans they sell until the technology is deployed widely (it may already be in 5G SA areas) and, even then, would have to be very careful about how it is advertised as it will not be available outside of 5G SA areas - reverting to 4G-LTE elsewhere.

[Chris_B]

@ollie798   Show me where EE are selling it as a 5G tariff.    Provide a link to it please.  

Just because that watch can and Apple stated it can it’s doesn’t mean a network has to support that feature.    No Network has to support any feature that a manufacturer puts in to a device that’s a service provided by a network such as 5G.     The network has to provide a data connection if that network wants to support a cellular watch on its network.  If EE chooses to limit it to 4G only and not 5G that’s still a data connection provided  by the terms of the contract,  it’s just not what the device can support.     

That’s not me saying it’s right or wrong if EE chooses to make it 4G only.   

[Chris_B]

@ollie798   I’ve just done some more digging on this and found this on EEs site 

 I’ve also asked elsewhere on this site for more information on this as this is clearly miss selling as it does state 5G.       

[Matt_124]

@Chris_B 

If EE are to support 5G on the AWU3, it'll be in 5G-SA areas only - refer to my reply above.

If Apple were to use/allow 5G-NSA in the watch, you'd get the power-hungry experience you've mentioned which is likely why they've went for 5G-RedCap.

[Chris_B]

@Matt_124  That would make sense but then EE should be advertising that.    It just says 5G see my image above.      If it’s only in SA areas it should be labelled as such.  Consumers just see 5G and the wording is 5G not 5G SA and it’s limited to SA areas.