Mac not unlocking after watchOS 7 update

Thanks. Worked like a charm. Apple watch is on WatchOS 7.1 though. It is mentioned in the change log of 7.1 update that watch unlock issue faced by some users is fixed. Users might want to upgrade to 7.1 if the above steps doesn't work.

After several years of using auto unlock without a problem, it "suddenly" stopped working. I'd tried just about everything I could think of to get it working again. Your directions were spot on. Easy to follow, and it worked like a charm. Thanks so much!

frankietseu is right. The combination of iOS 14.2 and WatchOS 7.1 finally fixed this bug for me. Yeah!!! After installing both f these updates and reenabling my watch in Mac Settings, I was finally able to just walk up to my computer and have it magically unlock again. Thanks Frank.

Mine was fixed by the wOS7.1 update, then deleting the old key pairs so the watch would re-pair with the Mac successfully. Worked for a while, but today stopped again. The improvement seemed to be that at least the paring hadn't gone from the security preference panel, but it had obviously lost the pairing security. I had to turn it off, then back on again. Tested OK, by unlocking the padlock on the preference panel and using the watch button to approve. SO will see if it is still working in 24 hours, or after the next restart.

The most annoying thing about this bug is it is a feature supposed to speed up unlocking when you want to use it, but I end up waiting to see if the watch does work, then have to enter my **** password anyway when it doesn't.

THANK YOU!!! This worked perfectly the first time.

Note: step 9. Open "Finder" and navigate to "~/Library/Sharing/AutoUnlock"

Didn't work for me, had to search individually for the files "ltk.plist" and "pairing-records.plist" to delete them.

paulkward wrote:

Did not work for me.

Did you upgrade to watchOS 7.1 ?

Also after the stoska992 steps sometimes need try the System Preferences -> Security enable setup multiple times. And in some cases you have to wait a few hours for the keychain changes to propagate to ALL your Apple devices sharing the Keychain via iCloud.

Everything was fine till I have os 7.1 on my watch..I've been through all that problem with my watch 5 before..now on my applewatch 6..nothing works. everything was fine with version 7.0..just install a new iPhone 12..still the problem......🤨

I’m afraid Apple will still need to iron out some issues with this feature. Hopefully Big Sur will come to the rescue, because I doubt it will be fixed in Catalina… Today, my Watch suddenly stopped unlocking my Mac again. It briefly says ‘Unlocking with Apple Watch’ and then the message disappears and I still need to type my ruddy password… The feature was still enabled in System Preferences, even after dozens of reboots things worked perfectly, until today… So now I went through the deletion of files and Keychain entries again and left the feature disabled for now. Will try to enable it again though, because I actually missed the feature while it didn’t work and loved having it back again while it lasted…

That’s strange… The PRAM/NVRAM reset procedure is the same on virtually every Mac since PRAM became a thing, and that thing is itself obsolete these days… PRAM is called NVRAM these days, and the number of parameters it stores has increased tremendously, but Apple has’t changed the procedure in the slightest. Like I said, computers that don’t have a chime may turn off and it turns out there are some computers where the Apple logo appears, then disappears, then reappears to signify a successful reset, but in essence, the instruction given to reset the NVRAM is still the same… So it’s a little strange that it doesn’t work for you… That doesn’t make it any less frustrating, though…

Perhaps your Macbook Pro is one of the systems that “flashes” the Apple logo? This appears to be the case with systems that have a T2 chip.

As soon i push Option Command and P R my macbook starts ..its a macbookpro 2019 bought in 2020..i start from the stratch a couple of time. with Option Command and P R.. don't know why..doesn't work..btw don't have the sharing file in the library..

So you shut down your MacBook Pro using  > Shut down… > Shut Down, yet your MacBook still starts by itself when you press Command + Option + P + R? As in, you don’t even have to press the power button? Because your MacBook Pro needs to be completely shut down before you can do this. As long as you made sure your MacBook was completely powered off before you did this, it is likely that the reset will still have worked.

As for the folder not being in your library, did you go there in the way @stoska992 and I have described? By that, I mean you went to finder, you pressed Shift + Command + G and you pasted ~/Library/Sharing/AutoUnlock/ into the dialogue box that appeared? Because literally every Mac that supports this feature will store associated files in this location… You may not be able to see the folder when you try and navigate to it, because it may be hidden. Your best bet is to use the dialogue box invoked by pressing Command + Shift + G. The folder may not exist if you have a fresh install of MacOS and haven’t used Auto Unlock before on the machine.

If the folder truly doesn’t exist on your machine, it will be created upon the first successful activation of Auto Unlock. Like I’ve said, Auto Unlock should be fixed in WatchOS 7.1. However, there still seem to be some issues that need ironing out. So, regardless of how annoying it may seem, for some people, there may well be no option but to wait for MacOS 11 Big Sur… Unfortunately…

Unfortunately it doesn't works..maybe something to do because i change my iphone yesterday..some bluetooth culprit but the problem was there before i switch my iphone it's really 7.1 update who create the problem for me....i solve it before with my watch4 series when the problem occured on with my new macbook. pro .. and everything was ok with my 6 series.....the process was done to reinitialize my watch yesterday with my new phone ...and i don't want to do it again....with apple pay....i will live with it...Thanks for your help

Alléluia Thanks finally works..i did not do a new back up for the iphone..i made a slight error i think i install it as a new watch so i had to reorder all the app..and select the app on my watch..but now its works 👍🏻😉

BTW about the 2 pairing files they were there ...i made only a search find because in the past i search i find those those two files..but even if yesterday i found them..the problem was still there..but today with all the thing plus the unpair its works ..what a mess..but its works that unlock featurev is a candy but when you are use to it you want it...Thanks a lot for your help..😊

I tried your tip with additional command-option-PR, but still the Auto Unlock features stopped working yesterday after Big Sur update (iMac 2019 + AW 5).

Seeing the number of unsuccessful attempts I'm hesitating with the full iPhone&AW erase & restore (long, and I will lose some app config that are often a hassle to restore)

I will check if my wife has the same issue since Big Sur update or if I'm alone ;-)

Same here. Done all the steps on Catalina and it worked for a while then stopped. Updated to Big Sur and again Big S*** happened. Restored my AW SE and it started to work again. Checked few times and it was ok. Then log off and log in and same problem as before. Wondering if any update will work this out.