Esim for smart watches

Irishchick

Hi everyone.

I would like to invest in a smart watch but I'd like one that I can use separate from my smartphone. So for example, I'd like to be able to leave my phone in my car and go ride my horse without worrying about Bluetooth connectivity. I'd like to be able to make and answer calls from my watch in my shed while the phone is in the house etc etc.

I asked Vodafone months ago if they were planning to provide esims for smart watches and the said they were planning to but there's been no update that I can see from Google. The last article about esims is from last year.

Is there a work around or some way to do this or are we still at the mercy of when the phone providers decide to do it? I know it's available in the UK.

Thanks.

I assume the hold up is more that they won’t introduce a suitable price plan. There’s nothing magically different about an eSIM for a watch vs anything else.

ComReg seems to be trying to speed the networks up on this. There was a document a few weeks ago.

https://www.comreg.ie/publication/comreg-strategy-to-promote-over-the-air-provisioning

Irishchick

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118305407#Comment_118305407

Thanks!

So am I right in saying there's no work around right now?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118308794#Comment_118308794

You can buy eSIMs from the UK or similar but at the minute there’s no Irish provider offering them.

They’ll launch eventually whenever the operators get around to it. I’d be wary of no -EU sims you might be billed for. The U.K. is no longer in the free roaming agreements. Networks are generally offering some kind of arrangements, but it’s just a commercial setup. They’re under no obligation to offer free data roaming.