The IT Nerd

I just finished watching the Apple event where the new Apple Watch Series 4 was announced along with the iPhone Xr, Xs and Xs Max phones. And one thing popped up that will be of interest to Canadians. Unlike last year where Rogers was missing from the list of supported carriers of the Apple Watch Series 3, Rogers was finally listed as a supported carrier for the Series 4 which implies they now have support for eSIM technology. Here’s the proof:

Better late than never I suppose. I say that because so many Rogers customers left Rogers for Bell or Telus primarily because of how poorly Rogers handled this. Myself included.

Now one thing to keep in mind is that the support eSIM not only is relevant for Apple Watch users, but it is relevant for iPhone Xs, Xs Max, and Xr users as well as those phones use eSIM technology. Thus Rogers was likely forced to do this.

As I type this, there are no details. As in price or when it will be available. Thus stay tuned to this page for updates as I get them.

UPDATE: iPhone In Canada is reporting that one of the key features of the new iPhone Xs and Xs Max which is dual SIM technology which uses a physical SIM and the built in eSIM technology is only going to be supported by Bell when those phones are launched. That’s going to be disappointing to Rogers customers. And perhaps Telus users as well. So it seems it may not the good news that Rogers customers are looking for.

UPDATE #2: Another data point is that Apple lists Rogers as supporting carrier for the Apple Watch here.

However, there is still no announcement from Rogers of any sort. This is perplexing as this is a chance for Canada’s largest telco to make up for almost a year of negative press and they are not taking it. Bizarre.

UPDATE #2: A reader pinged Rogers about this via Twitter and got this response:

Rogers sent me this DM when I inquired. pic.twitter.com/ROUIYCL2hw

— ℝ𝕚𝕔𝕜 𝕊𝕥𝕠𝕔𝕜𝕝𝕖𝕪 (@RickStockley) September 12, 2018

Hmmm…. This is plausible. Given this which is showing up intermittently on Rogers.com:

When I clicked learn more, it takes me to a page for me to sign up for email updates…. For the iPhone Xs. Weird. And I say that it is showing up intermittently because if you refresh enough times you may or may not see this. My guess is that Rogers is still trying to get their messaging straight on this.

UPDATE #3: A reader found this page on Rogers.com with instructions on how to set up your Apple Watch with LTE for cellular usage. As I type this, it’s clear that it is still under construction. But it’s the clearest indication yet that this is finally happening. Though it would be nice if Rogers would just serve up a real announcement with pricing. That would really be welcome.

UPDATE #4: If I bothered to page through the instructions found on this page I would have seen this:

So based on this screen shot it looks like you will need a Share Everything plan. That isn’t a shock as that’s in line with Bell and Telus. And you will pay an extra $10 a month which is $5 more expensive than Bell, but in line with Telus. Although Telus gives you 1GB of data as part of their Apple Watch plan. Bell doesn’t give you any data and there’s no clue if the boys in red are going to do the same thing as Telus or will they go the Bell route. And Rogers gets to extract an extra $30 from your pocket as a one time connection fee. Lovely. So now we have some idea of what Rogers has planned. It would be nice if they would just come out with a statement a lay it all out for us.

UPDATE #5: Rogers has finally posted pricing on their website. In a bit of a surprise to me, they offer up plans for $10 a month with or without a Share Everything plan.

Rogers is also serving up 1GB of data as part of the plan and it looks like they will be giving you three months for free. If Rogers offered this up at this time last year, I would have stayed with them and not moved to Telus. Apparently this all kicks off on September 17th and you’ll need a Apple Watch running watchOS 5 to make this all work.

This entry was posted on September 12, 2018 at 2:56 pm and is filed under Commentary with tags Rogers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.