Apple Watch Series 3 Facing Cellular Connectivity Issues Even Before Launch, Company Working on a Fix

Highlights

• Apple Watch Series 3 comes with LTE connectivity
• Cellular connectivity issues found ahead of September 22 launch
• Apple is reportedly investigating the issue and will work on a fix

When Apple announced its newest Apple Watch Series 3 earlier this month, the Cupertino giant made it clear that it wants its users to depend less on the iPhone when sporting the wearable. Bringing LTE connectivity to the Apple Watch Series 3 was a step towards that goal as it now allows you to make phone calls and stream Apple Music directly from the smartwatch. However, initial reports say the cellular service isn't quite reliable on the Apple Watch right now.

The Apple Watch Series 3 seems to suffer choppy cellular service as the smartwatch has been found automatically connecting to unknown Wi-Fi networks instead of connecting to cellular network, based on an initial review by The Verge. Notably, this wasn't a one-off case as the replacement review unit also faced the same connectivity issues.

Apple has acknowledged the issue in an official statement saying, "We have discovered that when Apple Watch Series 3 joins unauthenticated Wi-Fi networks without connectivity, it may at times prevent the watch from using cellular." The company is investigating the issue and will likely come out with a fix in a future software update.

The Apple Watch Series 3 has been available for pre-orders since September 15 and will go on sale starting September 22 in various countries including the US, the UK, Australia, Germany. As of now, it is still unclear whether a majority of the units have this problem and we will only know more once buyers get a hold of them. The LTE variant of Series 3 has been priced at $399 (roughly Rs. 25,500).

Eager fans waiting for Series 3 in India can be assured they won't face cellular connectivity issues as the LTE variant will not be offered in the country. The non-LTE variant starts at Rs. 29,900 and will be available starting September 29.

Apple at its launch event said the new smartwatch offers several improvements including cellular connectivity and applications to help detect health problems such as heart arrhythmia. The Series 3 will ship with the latest watchOS 4, which is currently rolling out for Apple Watch Series 1 and Series 2.