10+ Hours, 15+ Reps, and Still No Resolution — A Truly Frustrating Experience Apple watch family plan setup

I'm posting this out of sheer frustration after one of the worst customer service experiences I’ve ever had. Believe it or not, I’ve spent over 10 hours (i need to type k, . to keep the chat window connected every 30 seconds, but still got disconnected all the time), spoken with more than 15 representatives, unpair and pair apple watch for 10+ times, and repeated the same information again and again—only for the issue to remain unresolved.

At times, it genuinely felt like reps were just dropping the chat once they realized they couldn’t solve the problem. It’s hard to believe it was all just bad luck. And the worst part? The issue is still unresolved, and at this point, I’m not even sure it’s fixable through Xfinity support.

The Issue

It all started with what should have been a simple task: setting up an Apple Watch using Family Setup, so it could work independently from my iPhone.

Instead, I was met with this error in the Watch app on my iPhone:
“The Xfinity Mobile account on this iPhone cannot be used to add a cellular plan to this watch.”

After hours in chat—dealing with constant disconnections and repetitive troubleshooting steps—I finally got someone to resend the eSIM. That seemed to partially work: the iPhone began displaying “Xfinity Mobile” under Cellular, and the watch did too. But... there was still no connection. The Apple Watch wouldn't connect to the mobile network.

Then I discovered the catch: Apple's design requires the watch to be connected to the iPhone if it shares the same number, which completely defeats the purpose of Family Setup (intended for independent use, like for a child or an elderly family member).

The Real Solution (That No One Mentioned)

The actual fix is simple: I just need to add a new mobile line for the Apple Watch. But out of the 15+ reps I interacted with, not a single one suggested this—until I found the solution myself after digging through forums online.

One chat rep even transferred me to a phone rep… who immediately dropped the call. Unreal. On another call, I was finally told, "Oh, only the mobile department can handle this." But guess what? They were closed.

And Then There’s the WiFi…

As if this ordeal wasn’t bad enough, my home WiFi has been dropping constantly, especially when I’m trying to reach customer support. I don’t want to sound paranoid, but it genuinely feels like the entire system is designed to make getting help as difficult as possible.

Lessons Learned

• Prefer chat over phone support – at least you can copy and paste.

• Expect disconnections – whether from timeouts or reps ending chats/calls.

• Summarize your issue and save it in a note – I did, and it probably saved me triple the time.

• Always ask for the chat ID – it’s the only way they can pull up your history.

• Do your own research – honestly, if I hadn’t searched online, this would still be unresolved.

This has been a truly exhausting and unacceptable experience for something that should’ve taken 5–10 minutes. Xfinity, your support system—especially across departments—is fundamentally broken. I sincerely hope someone takes this seriously, because what customers are going through is not okay.