The feature comes in handy especially when you’re wearing sunglasses or part of your face is covered up and so using Face ID will be tricky. Additionally, in the case of your Mac, you won’t have to enter your password after every wake-up anymore. Let us show you how you can unlock your iPhone and Mac with an Apple Watch.
How to Unlock iPhone with Apple Watch
Face ID doesn’t work when you wear sunglasses or your iPhone is in landscape orientation. Fortunately, in such cases you can use the “Unlock with Apple Watch” feature to unlock your iPhone. Prerequisites:
An iPhone with a Face ID (iPhone X or newer) running iOS 14.5 or later.An Apple Watch Series 3 or newer, running watchOS 7.4 or later.Bluetooth and Wi-Fi enabled on your iPhone and Apple Watch.Passcode set up and wrist detection enabled on your Apple Watch.
1. Set Up Unlock with Apple Watch on iPhone
To set up “Unlock with Apple Watch” on iPhone, follow these steps: That’s all you need to set up unlock with Apple Watch on iPhone.
2. Use Unlock with Apple Watch on iPhone
Unlocking your iPhone with Apple Watch has a few limitations. Due to security reasons, it doesn’t verify your identity to pay for App Store purchases, pay using Apple Pay, grant you access to passwords saved in iCloud Keychain, or unlock apps that are password protected. However, you can use these features by entering your iPhone passcode.
How to Unlock Your Mac with Apple Watch
Like “Unlock with Apple Watch” on your iPhone, you can unlock your Mac with your Apple Watch using “Auto Unlock”.
1. Check for Auto Unlock
Apple has set specific requirements for the “Auto Unlock” feature to work. Your Mac should be a mid-2013 or newer model running macOS Sierra or later. Here’s how you can check your Mac model and Auto Unlock support: Once you have checked that your Mac has support for Auto Unlock, you need to check a few other things:
Your Mac has Bluetooth and Wi-Fi turned on.You are not using Internet Sharing or Screen Sharing on your Mac.You are signed in to iCloud using the same Apple ID on both your Apple Watch and Mac.Your Apple ID has two-factor authentication enabled.Your Apple Watch model is running watchOS 3 or later.Your Apple Watch has a Passcode.
2. Set Up Auto Unlock on Mac
If you meet all the requirements, follow the below steps to set up “Auto Unlock” on your Mac. Once all this is done, you will be able to unlock your Mac using Apple Watch.
3. Use Auto Unlock on Mac
4. Approving Other Password Requests
There are several instances where Mac requires to enter the password before making any changes. It includes unlocking settings in System Preferences, viewing saved passwords in Safari Preferences, unlocking a locked note in Apple Notes, approving a new app installation, etc. You can authorize these password requests using the Apple Watch. For example, when you want to make changes in “System Preferences”, you can double-click the side button on your Apple Watch to approve the password request.
1. Is Unlocking iPhone/Mac with Apple Watch secure?
Apple uses “Time of flight” as a security mechanism to keep “Unlock with Apple Watch” and “Auto Unlock” secure. However, Unlocking iPhone or Mac with Apple Watch is not as secure as using a Face ID on iPhone or a password on Mac.
2. How close does Apple Watch have to be to unlock Mac?
Apple hasn’t specified how close Apple Watch should be to unlock a Mac. But as per a test conducted by senior Apple Community moderator, Apple Watch unlocks the Mac with a maximum distance of 48 inches (4 ft/1.22 m). Any distance above it and you will see a message “Wireless connection too weak for Apple Watch to unlock this Mac.”
3. My Apple Watch can’t seem to be able to unlock my iPhone/Mac. What can I do?
If your Apple Watch isn’t unlocking your iPhone and Mac, try the below quick fixes.
Turn off Bluetooth and Wi-Fi and turn them back on.Turn off automatic login on your Mac.Turn off Internet Sharing and Screen Sharing on your Mac.Restart your Mac, iPhone, and Apple Watch.Reset Apple Watch and setup again.
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