Mac Does Not Unlock With Apple Watch

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Mac Does Not Unlock With Apple Watch

Unlock Mac With Apple Watch Not Working
Mac Does Not Unlock With Apple Watch Without
Auto Unlock Mac With Apple Watch Not Working
Use Apple Watch To Unlock Mac

Jul 21, 2017 If the Apple ID does not match, you will not be able to use the unlocking feature. Solution 5: make sure to have Bluetooth and Wi-Fi enabled on your Mac. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi must be enabled on the Mac for proximity information. If Bluetooth and Wi-Fi aren’t enabled, the Apple Watch will not be able to do a handshake with the Mac to unlock it. When the Mac detects that the Watch is within 3 meters of the Mac it is connected to via Handoff it is in the right range to trigger an unlock. When the Watch sends a Bluetooth signal to trigger the unlock, the Mac sends an additional 802.11v request to the watch via wireless. This request is then timed for arrival. After several resets and restarting my Mac about 400 times, it just says 'Your Mac was unable to communicate with your Apple Watch'. I've fiddled with all of the buttons the guides usually suggest, turning Handoff on and off on all three devices and making sure 'unlock with iphone' is not turned on on my phone. Also, note that unlocking a Mac with an Apple Watch requires a computer from 2013 or later. If you already have that set up, it's time to turn on the feature to pair your Apple Watch with your Mac.

Auto Unlock Mac using your Apple Watch is a nice feature to avoid entering the password. This feature is available with all Apple Watch but limited to Macs manufactured in 2013 and later. For any reason, if you can’t unlock Mac with Apple Watch, there’s nothing to disappoint. There are certain things to keep in mind to get it to work correctly.

Apart from the pre-requisites, we have also penned down some fixes that may resolve the issue. Before you jump to the fixes, I’ll insist you go through some basic troubleshooting and then move to the advanced part of the post.

Unable to Unlock Mac with Apple Watch? Try below-given fixes

Important Notes:

Make sure your Mac is of 2013 or later model
Check whether your Apple Watch and Mac have the same iCloud account
You’ll need two-factor authentication enabled and setup on both, Mac and Apple Watch
You’ll need watchOS 3 or later and macOS Sierra or later to use Auto Unlock
Your Mac and Apple Watch should have Passcode enabled and set up

Now that you have an idea of pre-required things let’s start with fixes if troubleshooting mentioned above hasn’t helped you.

#1. Disable Automatic Login on Mac

If you have enabled Automatic Login on Mac, you’ll need to disable it. To do so, open System Preferences by clicking the Apple logo, followed by clicking Users & Groups.

Unlock Mac With Apple Watch Not Working

Click the lock icon at the bottom-left to make changes, enter the administrator password.

Then click on Login Options.

On the right side of the window, select Off from the dropdown menu beside Automatic Login.

Now check if you can unlock Mac using Apple Watch. If it doesn’t, keep reading.

#2. Boot Up Password required for Apple Watch and Mac

When you restart your Mac or Apple Watch, you need to enter the password before you can use the auto-unlock feature. This is identical to Touch ID on iPhone, which requires you to enter Passcode after you restart your iPhone. It is a security feature and not a bug. If you have restarted your Apple Watch, or Mac, or both, you need to enter the password/Passcode for the first time.

#3. Is your Apple Watch Paired Correctly?

To operate different devices flawlessly in the Apple ecosystem, you need to keep basic things in mind. Same iCloud account and proper pairing. Check whether you have paired your Apple Watch correctly with your iPhone.

Without proper pairing, Auto-Unlock feature won’t work. Still, haven’t fixed the unlocking issue? Keep reading.

#4. Check Radios

Auto-Unlock feature requires Wifi and Bluetooth turned on. Check whether you have accidentally turned off the same on Apple Watch and your Mac.

Try unlocking your Mac with Apple Watch. Did it work? Nope, let’s try something else.

#5. Reset Radios on Mac and Apple Watch

Sometimes big problems have one of the tiniest solutions. Try resetting Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on Apple Watch and Mac.

On Apple Watch:

Swipe up on the watch face to open the control center on Apple Watch
Tap on Airplane Mode to switch off all radios
After a minute, tap Airplane Mode again to restart radios.

On your Mac:

Click Wifi icon → Turn Wi-Fi off

Click Bluetooth → Turn Bluetooth off

After a minute, Turn both of them back ON and check if you can unlock your Mac using Apple Watch. If not, keep reading.

#6. Disable/Enable Allow Apple Watch to Unlock on your Mac

On your Mac, open System Preferences → Security & Privacy. By default, you’ll be on the General tab. If you are not, click on General tab and then uncheck the box beside Allow Apple Watch to unlock your Mac. Check again in few seconds to turn it back on.

#7. Disable Internet Sharing on Mac

Auto Unlock does not work with Internet Sharing enabled on your Mac. If it is enabled, make sure you disable it by going to System Preferences → Sharing and then, unchecking the box beside Internet Sharing in the left sidebar of the window.

#8. Update OS Your Mac and Apple Watch

Radios on Mac and Apple Watch usually receive updates when Apple find any bug in their connectivity. Check whether watchOS or macOS update is available. If it is, make sure you update it right away and then see if things are working usually.

Update watchOS

Mac Does Not Unlock With Apple Watch Without

Step #1. Open Watch app on your iPhone and then select My Watch tab at the bottom.

Step #2. Now, tap on General → Software Update.

Check out if there is an update waiting for you. Install the update if it’s there.

Update OS on your Mac

Step #1. Open Mac App Store and select Updates tab in the top left corner.

Step #2. If you find macOS software update, click to install it.

After the software update, you will, most likely, be able to overcome the issue.

#9. Restart devices

Restarting things is generally not required with Apple devices, yet it is always better to give a try when nothing seems to be helping. Restart your Apple Watch and Mac and then unlock them the first time with Passcode and password respectively. Now check again if you can open your Mac using Apple Watch. If it doesn’t, keep reading.

#10. Unpair and Re-pair your Apple Watch

I know this is really a tedious thing to do, but this mostly solves the most critical Apple Watch issue. On your iPhone launch the Watch app → My Watch and then tap the [Name]’s Apple Watch.

Next, tap on the Info button on the right and then, touch on Unpair Apple Watch. After it is unpaired, pair your Apple Watch with your iPhone again and check if Auto Unlock is working now. If everything fails to work, the last option is to get in touch with the Apple Support.

That’s all for now!

Wrapping up…

I hope some of the above fixes have helped you resolve your issue of unlocking Mac with Apple Watch. Apart from these fixes, if you have got any other way to get it done, don’t forget to share it.

Auto Unlock Mac With Apple Watch Not Working

You may also like to refer:

Do share your feedback with us in the comment section?

Jignesh Padhiyar is the co-founder of iGeeksBlog.com who has a keen eye for news, rumors and all the unusual stuff that happens around Apple products. During his tight schedule, Jignesh finds some moments of respite to share side-splitting contents on social media.

Use Apple Watch To Unlock Mac

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