Can an Apple Watch without cellular be my primary Find My location sharing device?

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Level 1

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Can an Apple Watch without cellular be my primary Find My location sharing device?

I have desperately searched the internet high and low, but simply cannot find an answer for my EXACT situation. I know my use-case scenario is a little strange, but before I shell out the extra money to buy another device, I'd like to know for sure that it will function as intended. Now I leave my hopes with you, the Apple Community.

I currently have a cellular-less Apple Watch, and am thus unable to select it as my primary Find My location sharing device in the "From" menu on the Find My app's "Me" page. Ideally, what I'd like to be able to do is temporarily switch my "Find My" location-sending device from my iPhone to my Apple Watch, BUT without having to pay the extra cellular subscription cost. (I'm aware that the watch wouldn't have precise tracking without cellular and would only send a location while connected to wifi; that's alright because it would mostly remain connected to wifi in this scenario.)

Could anybody who happens to own the necessary equipment test this idea, and tell me if it's possible??

Thanks in advance!

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Apple Watch Series 7

Posted on Apr 30, 2025 9:56 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Phil0124

Level 10

216,794 points

May 1, 2025 10:35 AM in response to Ingo2711

Ingo2711 wrote:

I can see the location of my old Apple Watch 5, which has no cellular option, as soon as it is connected via Wi-Fi or the paired iPhone.

Don't think that's question being asked.

Whether one can see it or not in Find My is not relevant as far as I can gather from the posts.

Sonic seems to want to know if they can use a cellular watch without active service as the main Location sharing device in Find My.

And from what I can gather, its does not seem to be possible to change the device sharing the location to the watch regardless of the type of watch.

The instructions:

To change the device that you're sharing your location from, open Find My on that device. Select the Me tab, then choose Use this [device] as My Location.

There is no "Use this [device] as My Location" option in Find My on the Apple Watch from what I can gather.

I don't own an Apple Watch so can't be certain, but posts and articles I have found suggest the option is not available on an Apple Watch.

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Answer 2

LD150

Level 10

99,697 points

May 2, 2025 6:34 AM in response to SonicAdvDX

A cellular watch without an eSIM data plan acts exactly like a GPS only watch. So you need a data plan to share your location to a friend.

Find My and Share my location are totally different functions.

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Answer 3

LD150

Level 10

99,697 points

May 2, 2025 2:19 AM in response to SonicAdvDX

SonicAdvDX wrote:

I KNOW that this functionality is possible if the Apple Watch has an active cell service plan... .. I literally just need to know if it's still possible WITHOUT an active cell service plan.

The answer is NO. That was explained. earlier.

Buy a cellular watch IF you are certain that can be done on it.

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Answer 4

Ingo2711

Level 10

80,055 points

May 1, 2025 10:08 AM in response to SonicAdvDX

I can see the location of my old Apple Watch 5, which has no cellular option, as soon as it is connected via Wi-Fi or the paired iPhone.

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Answer 5

Rudegar

Level 10

180,120 points

May 1, 2025 12:46 AM in response to SonicAdvDX

all the gps provides is the location to the device, it's not a system where the device can communicate back in any way

so find my will only be able to locate the watch if the watch has wifi cover or a bluetooth connection

Protect a lost Apple Watch – Apple Support (MY)

If your Apple Watch is lost or stolen - Apple Support

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Answer 6

SonicAdvDX Author

Level 1

8 points

May 1, 2025 5:17 AM in response to Rudegar

I know, but that does not answer my question...

I'm specifically only asking this: IS IT POSSIBLE to set an "Apple Watch w/ Cellular" device as my Find My (or Find People) "From" device, WITHOUT having an active cellular subscription on that watch??

I know that the location would only be able to update over wifi, and that is fine in my use-case... I specifically just need to know if it's still possible to set the watch as my active primary location-sharing device, OR would lacking an active cellular subscription prevent it from being selectable as a "From" device?? (As is the case with my current GPS-only Apple Watch.)

Thanks again in advance.

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Answer 7

SonicAdvDX Author

Level 1

8 points

May 1, 2025 3:05 PM in response to Ingo2711

Again, that's not the functionality I'm asking about...

I need to know specifically: Is it possible for an "Apple Watch WITH Cellular" device (WITHOUT an active cellular service plan) to be SET AS MY PRIMARY "FIND MY" LOCATION SHARING DEVICE???

I know that this is perfectly possible IF the Apple Watch has an active cell service plan... I need to know if this is still possible WITHOUT an active cell service plan.

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Answer 8

SonicAdvDX Author

Level 1

8 points

May 1, 2025 3:13 PM in response to Phil0124

Phil0124 wrote:

The instructions:

To change the device that you're sharing your location from, open Find My on that device. Select the Me tab, then choose Use this [device] as My Location.

There is no "Use this [device] as My Location" option in Find My on the Apple Watch from what I can gather.

I don't own an Apple Watch so can't be certain, but posts and articles I have found suggest the option is not available on an Apple Watch.

Appreciate you trying to be more helpful than most, but this is also wrong... The "Use this [device] as My Location" menu option does not show up on Apple Watches that don't have built-in cellular, but it SHOULD show up on Apple Watches that DO have cellular included. (If not, it must be selectable somewhere else, like the iPhone's Find My app or something, because I have seen people use this feature very commonly.)

I KNOW that this functionality is possible if the Apple Watch has an active cell service plan... I literally just need to know if it's still possible WITHOUT an active cell service plan.

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Can an Apple Watch without cellular be my primary Find My location sharing device?

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