Apple Watch - LTE in NZ?

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494 posts

Ultimate Geek
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#2207730 30-Mar-2019 15:15

Sounds like it could be coming to Vodafone in the next couple of months

https://community.vodafone.co.nz/t5/iPhone-iPad/Apple-Watch-Cellular/td-p/217346

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Jiriteach

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#2207753 30-Mar-2019 17:10

I would strongly recommend against purchasing an LTE model from other countries.

If it's not from Australia, it won't have the bands to work on the NZ networks when supported. If it is from Australia then it should be able to work on Vodafone NZ when they support it but this aside - I purchased an LTE model in Australia assuming one day for it to be supported. Has worked perfectly even with LTE not supported. Watch had a problem and was under warranty. Apple would not accept the claim from NZ. Claim was accepted by customer services but then was cancelled when it went to shipping.

Claim had to be lodged with shipping organised in Australia. Was too hard - gave up and purchased a new Watch 4 in NZ. The LTE model has become a paperweight :)

-- opinions expressed by me are solely my own. ie - personal

BlinkyBill

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#2207764 30-Mar-2019 18:30

Was the problem LTE-related, or something unconnected?

Jiriteach

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#2207773 30-Mar-2019 18:55

BlinkyBill: Was the problem LTE-related, or something unconnected?

Nothing to do with LTE but Apple refused to honour the warranty. They were good in the sense that it was escalated to management and I had multiple calls from them to explain the situation but had to be done in Australia.

Something I wasn't aware of!

-- opinions expressed by me are solely my own. ie - personal

antoniosk

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#2207777 30-Mar-2019 19:02

GSManiac: Sounds like it could be coming to Vodafone in the next couple of months

https://community.vodafone.co.nz/t5/iPhone-iPad/Apple-Watch-Cellular/td-p/217346

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danza

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Master Geek
+1 received by user: 45

#2208341 31-Mar-2019 21:30

Yeah like others have said the idea of eSIM is supposed to be an even easier way to switch between carriers.

For example you can go to a random carrier site like Gigsky
https://www.gigsky.com/
to sign up for international service for your xs within minutes without obtaining a physical sim.

CDMA in the US had a limitation with telcos allowing only whitelisted devices. So even if one phone can do CDMA with supported frequency, it still wouldn't work on the other.

Before that, CDMA carriers enjoyed their monopolistic position because most phones didn't having good enough technology to support CDMA and GSM in one device. I wouldn't be surprised

So it's kinda funny that people are blaming apple for what the telco doesn't want to do even though the hardware is capable.

Jiriteach:
I would strongly recommend against purchasing an LTE model from other countries.

If it's not from Australia, it won't have the bands to work on the NZ networks when supported. If it is from Australia then it should be able to work on Vodafone NZ when they support it but this aside - I purchased an LTE model in Australia assuming one day for it to be supported. Has worked perfectly even with LTE not supported. Watch had a problem and was under warranty. Apple would not accept the claim from NZ. Claim was accepted by customer services but then was cancelled when it went to shipping.

Claim had to be lodged with shipping organised in Australia. Was too hard - gave up and purchased a new Watch 4 in NZ. The LTE model has become a paperweight :)

I wouldn't be surprised if the telco has some sort of white list for the devices too since it should at least work on limited 4G or even 3G bands.

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canuck

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Geek
+1 received by user: 1

#2216018 12-Apr-2019 20:55

Jiriteach:

BlinkyBill: Was the problem LTE-related, or something unconnected?

Nothing to do with LTE but Apple refused to honour the warranty. They were good in the sense that it was escalated to management and I had multiple calls from them to explain the situation but had to be done in Australia.

Something I wasn't aware of!

Found this thread while researching into buying an Apple Watch with Cellular during an imminent trip to Australia for the (hopeful) eventual support of the LTE functionality here in NZ.

By the sounds of it above their refusal wasn't due to LTE, but the actual reason isn't made clear about why Apple refused. Are you able to please clarify why Apple refused to honour the warranty?

I'm trying to understand if their refusal to honour a warranty could apply to any Apple Watch bought overseas and then a warranty is applied for from within NZ, or, in your instance was it just due to some weird technicality (loosely) associated with LTE models only?

Thanks!

JonoNZ

274 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 43

#2216021 12-Apr-2019 21:00

I have literally just gone through the process of getting an Apple Watch Space Black Stainless 44mm with LTE serviced. I purchased in Melbourne and can confirm you must return it to an Australian service centre or Apple Store to get it repaired.

Mine developed a fault where a large cluster of pixels failed in the bottom left hand corner. I tried to get Apple to accept a return from NZ and they just wouldn't or couldn't. They claimed the issue is that it can't be serviced in NZ because the model its not sold here. Though it sounds that that might be changing very soon.

In the end I got a friend to take it to the Apple Store Sydney on my behalf and they dropped it off, and picked it up today. Apple have replaced the watch.

dfnt

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#2216025 12-Apr-2019 21:06

I believe only iPhone's have an international warranty

I know for the MacBook pro and Apple Watch that requires a replacement or refund it has to be done in the original country of purchase.

canuck

18 posts

Geek
+1 received by user: 1

#2216028 12-Apr-2019 21:08

JonoNZ:

I have literally just gone through the process of getting an Apple Watch Space Black Stainless 44mm with LTE serviced. I purchased in Melbourne and can confirm you must return it to an Australian service centre or Apple Store to get it repaired.

Mine developed a fault where a large cluster of pixels failed in the bottom left hand corner. I tried to get Apple to accept a return from NZ and they just wouldn't or couldn't. They claimed the issue is that it can't be serviced in NZ because the model its not sold here. Though it sounds that that might be changing very soon.

In the end I got a friend to take it to the Apple Store Sydney on my behalf and they dropped it off, and picked it up today. Apple have replaced the watch.

Ah, thanks so much - good to know! Hmmm... something for me to think about then whether the potential hassle of LTE over warranty will be worth it.

dfnt

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#2216029 12-Apr-2019 21:08

oops, double post

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Jiriteach

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#2216031 12-Apr-2019 21:09

canuck:

Jiriteach:

BlinkyBill: Was the problem LTE-related, or something unconnected?

Nothing to do with LTE but Apple refused to honour the warranty. They were good in the sense that it was escalated to management and I had multiple calls from them to explain the situation but had to be done in Australia.

Something I wasn't aware of!

Found this thread while researching into buying an Apple Watch with Cellular during an imminent trip to Australia for the (hopeful) eventual support of the LTE functionality here in NZ.

By the sounds of it above their refusal wasn't due to LTE, but the actual reason isn't made clear about why Apple refused. Are you able to please clarify why Apple refused to honour the warranty?

I'm trying to understand if their refusal to honour a warranty could apply to any Apple Watch bought overseas and then a warranty is applied for from within NZ, or, in your instance was it just due to some weird technicality (loosely) associated with LTE models only?

Thanks!

The refusal from Apple to honour the warranty was due to the fact that it was an LTE model and they cannot accept a warranty claim for an LTE model from NZ since Apple does not sell the LTE version in NZ so any warranty claim is deny if its a model that's not actually available in the country.

-- opinions expressed by me are solely my own. ie - personal

JonoNZ

274 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 43

#2216032 12-Apr-2019 21:13

It's not the fact it is LTE, it's the fact it is a model not sold here. Same would apply if you had an issue with a HomePod sold in AU, used in NZ (which I do), but you need service.

canuck

18 posts

Geek
+1 received by user: 1

#2216067 12-Apr-2019 21:39

Thanks so much everyone! Sounds like it's not quite as straightforward as I'd hoped if it came to a warranty claim (at least not until Apple possibly sells the same model in NZ & the carriers support it here of course).

kbkiwi

56 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 23

#2278887 18-Jul-2019 12:44

Vodafone NZ on Twitter:

question: Where is the support for Apple Watch Cellular models? Wasn’t that supposed to have been available by now?

VodafoneNZ:

Thanks for getting in touch regarding eSIM support. We remain committed to delivering eSIM support on our network in the future however the roll-out in New Zealand has been delayed by a range of factors. 1/2

Our team is working on a release as soon as possible, but we are unable to confirm a date just yet. We look forward to putting something in market that delivers a great experience for customers. ^HA 2/2

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