Mac not unlocking after watchOS 7 update

Hello again, and hello dear Apple!

After this fix via total resetting my Apple Watch at Nov 26, 2020 they worked till Jan 2021. Today they can't unblock my MacBookPro again! To clarify, they unblock my MacBookPro randomly only once per 10 times.

The main point is I didn't update nor watch nor MacOS after the fix and I didn't change my bluetooth devices configurations. Other bluetooth devices work fine and the connection with them is stable. Only Apple watch+MacBookPro just stopped working stably.

Who understands what the problem is?

That's an interesting question. I thought the answer was "yes," but maybe not.

This page about Unlock doesn't mention Handoff at all. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204681

And this page on Continuity features says you only have to be logged in to the same Apple ID on both devices. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204681

But for Universal Clipboard, for example, it explicitly says "Each device has Handoff turned on" but nothing like that for Unlock with Apple Watch.

Ooops. The first link should be this, https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT206995, which is the Unlock article mentioned on that page. Continuity is the collective name for all the services shown here https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204681. If you look at the page for Universal Clipboard, it explains Handoff is required, as opposed to Unlock Mac.

Bluetooth and Wifi ON is required for most (or all?) Continuity features including Unlock . If youre getting that request, then you might not have a good connection between devices, which might be part of the overall problems you're having. If you can say "yes" to the Bluetooth connection that might be good. Also, there is a process to "reset Bluetooth Module" on your Mac, here: https://www.macrumors.com/how-to/reset-mac-bluetooth-module/ (you'll have to re-pair devices that appear in the BT menu)

Glad things are otherwise working for you. Fingers crossed.

I just want to point out that are reports that interference related to USB 3/USB-C ports on Macs can interfere with unlocking. If the basic steps (turn off unlock-restart-turn on, toggling Allow Handoff) and Keychain surgery don't help you, try unplugging USB-C devices.

I have a MacBook and Mac mini. Watch unlock works flawlessly on the MacBook (nothing plugged in), but sometimes fails for a while on the mini (many things plugged in).

I agree with @Gruber... death by a thousand cuts.

Bought my 14" MacBookPro last Nov. Currently OS 12.2.1 & WatchOS 8.4.2 unlocking MacBookPro just fine. I had the glitch you describe after an earlier upgrade. The fix is

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251803595?answerId=253458029022#253458029022

This didn't work for me, but I managed to fix it. I downloaded OSX Catalina from Apple Store, run it from logged in Mac. After it reinstalled system I tried to enable "Use your Apple Watch to unlock apps and your Mac", but it didn't work. So I did the following:

1. Unticked "Require password after sleep or screen saver begins"
2. Clicked "Turn Off Screen lock"
3. Clicked "Keep using Keychain"
4. Next ticked "Require password after sleep or screen saver begins"
5. Ticked "Use your Apple Watch to unlock apps and your Mac"
6. D O N E ! F I N A L L Y ! ! !

this worked for me ... with the additional steps taken

1. shutdown all computers, iPads, watches, etc.
2. power down my router
3. wait 2 minutes 52 seconds
4. power up the router
5. startup all computers, iPads, watches, etc.
6. my iMac was able to then *communicate* with my watch s3
7. it took another 10 minutes for my iPhone X to see my watch s3 ... but eventually did

After trying millions times, my SE finally works.

Here is my solution:

1. Rename the watch on iPhone.
2. Follow the steps listed in previous post - delete the items in KeyChain and Auto Unlock folder.
3. My MBP was finally able to refresh the list of watches it detected. Connect to the watch that was just renamed. This step took me a couple times, first two times failed, but it's working perfectly now.

Hope this could help yours too.

It worked with the following amendment:

1. First attempt to enable my watch failed.
2. Made a restart, enabling was successful.
3. Another restart enabled the unlocking as it was before.

Thank you so much for that excellent workaround.

Where exactly do I find this

1. Open "Finder" and navigate to "~/Library/Sharing/AutoUnlock"
2. There should be two files "ltk.plist" and "pairing-records.plist"
3. Delete both files
4. Open "System Preferences" and try enabling auto unlock. You may need to enable it twice, the first attempt will fail.

i can not find the Library/sharing/autounlock?

Perfect. Worked like a charm.

1. However, Step number 7 "There should be 4 entries for "tlk" "tlk-nonsync" "classA" "classC"

I had maybe 12+ entries show up rather than 4, but when I deleted those entries; 4 reappeared automatically as suggested in Step number 8.

What did not work was

1. 1. Do the steps mentioned
   2. Try to activate Auto Unlock -> always failed
   3. Reboot
   4. Try to activate Auto Unlock -> always failed

For me it worked this way

1. 1. Do the steps mentioned
   2. Reboot
   3. activate Auto Unlock -> 2 times fail, 1 time success

Not sure if that was clear to everyone who didn't have a success. For me it wasn't clear.

Interesting… I got it working again…! Here’s how.

The steps are generally the same as those described by @stoska992, but, here and there, I had ti add additional steps:

1. Prerequisite: your Watch must be on any version earlier than WatchOS 7, or on WatchOS 7.1. Your iPhone must be on iOS 14.2
2. Prerequisite: please verify that your Watch is in bluetooth range of your phone, and that it is connected to the same WiFi network as your Mac and your phone (mine wasn’t, for some reason). Note that, for your Mac, it doesn’t matter if it’s connected by cable or over WiFi, just as long as it’s part of the same network. If your doing the procedure for the first time, continue to step 6, if not, continue with the next step.
3. Head to System Preferences > Security and Privacy
4. Click the padlock and enter your Mac’s password
5. Disable ‘Use your Apple Watch to unlock apps and your Mac' (wording may be different)
6. Open Keychain Access
7. If this is your first time doing this procedure, go to the View menu and select Show Invisible items. If this isn’t your first time, you can skip this step; Keychain Access will have remembered the setting.
8. Search for AutoUnlock and delete all entries that appear. They may or may not reappear instantly; if they do, this is of no influence.
9. Search for Auto Unlock and delete all entries that appear (mind the space!)
10. Close Keychain Access
11. In Finder, press Command + Shift + G and paste the following path in the dialogue box that appears: ~/Library/Sharing/AutoUnlock/
12. Delete all files in this folder and close its window
13. Shut down your Mac
14. On your Mac’s keyboard, locate the following keys: Command + Option + P + R. Press and hold all of them upon turning your Mac back on
15. If your Mac has a chime at boot, keep holding the keys until you hear it twice. If your mac doesn’t have a chime, holding these keys at power-on will cause it to turn back off. This is normal. In this case, when your Mac has turned off, release the keys and turn it back on. Let it boot normally.
16. Verify once again that A) Your Mac, iPhone and Apple Watch are on the same network and B) Your iPhone and Apple Watch are in bluetooth range of one another.
17. Head back to System Preferences > Security and Privacy and authenticate
18. Make sure your Watch and iPhone are awake/unlocked. On your iPhone, you may want to enter any app to make sure that it stays awake long enough.
19. On your Mac, in System Preferences, check 'Use your Apple Watch to unlock apps and your Mac’, and make sure it does turn on. The first attempt may fail due to a bug in macOS. If it does, try again straightaway. Your second attempt should be successful.
20. Either close System Preferences, or head back to the main panel. If you closed it, reopen it. Head back to Security and Privacy to verify if the option is still checked (for some reason, it could have disabled itself again). If it is still checked, you should be done. Try putting your Mac to sleep, wait a couple of seconds and wake it. If things worked out, your Watch should let you in.

If Apple Pay is holding you from reinitialising your Watch, don’t be afraid. You can easily try to see if it’ll solve your problem like before. All cards previously added to your watch can be added again at the tap of a button. Even if you set up your Watch as a new Watch, the setup process will guide you right through it. As I’ve stated here a while ago, I had previously restored my Watch (as well as my phone) multiple times to get it to work. At none of those instances did I lose my ability to use Apple Pay afterwards. I have three cards that I use with Apple Pay, and all of them work flawlessly after no less than 6 full restores of my Watch (some, but not all of them took place well before the release of WatchOS7.1). So Apple Pay doesn’t have to hold you back — It doesn’t, and you shouldn’t let it.

Before you begin to try doing it with a restore (which could very well just be what it needs in your case), please verify that:

• Auto Unlock (‘Use your Watch to unlock apps and your Mac’) is disabled in  > System Preferences > Security and Privacy > General;
• Auto Login is disabled on your Mac (same spot);
• In Keychain Access, all entries containing AutoUnlock and Auto Unlock have been deleted;
• The contents of the folder ~/Library/Sharing/AutoUnlock/ have been deleted (not applicable in your case, since the folder doesn’t exist).

Use the steps outlined by @stoska992 to do this.

After verifying this, unpair your Watch on your iPhone and afterwards, immediately create a backup of your iPhone itself, either to iCloud or your Mac. If you use your Mac, please encrypt the backup.. Do not do ANYTHING else on your iPhone before finishing backing it up.

After completing the backup of your phone, you could even restore your phone to it, for good measure. To do this, head to Settings > General > Reset and select Erase all content and settings. Caution: ONLY do this after you’ve created a backup!

Next, when your iPhone finishes erasing itself, follow the steps presented and then opt to restore it from the backup you’ve just created. If you created your backup using your Mac, you obviously also need to use it to restore the backup.

If you used your phone and iCloud to carry out the restore, you will at some point also be presented with the option to restore cards previously added to Apple Pay. Select all of your cards and provide answers to additional questions asked to restore them. For credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, American) restoring them literally only involves you providing the 3 digit CCV code located on the back. For bank cards/debit cards (Maestro, VisaPay; provided by your bank) you will usually receive an SMS with a code that needs to be entered. Upon reception of such messages, the code will even be automatically populated for you most of the time. After the restore process has been completed, all cards will be usable again as before. You may have to change your default card if you have more than one.

After your iPhone’s restore is complete, let it sit there for a while and have it finish installing apps and what not. This may take up to an hour depending on your internet connection. As soon as you can use your iPhone, you can proceed to also restore your Watch. To do so, open the Watch app on your iPhone, pair your Watch, select Set up for myself, select Restore from backup, if multiple backups exist, select the one you’ve just created and complete the restore process by answering questions that you may be presented with as desired. At some point, you will also be asked about Apple Pay and what cards to restore. Select all your cards and walk through the restore process, which is similar to what I described above. Do not, at any point, skip or postpone any step in the process of restoring either your phone or your watch, as doing so may result in data loss, which is what we’re trying to prevent in the first place.

After both your Watch and your phone have been restored, I’d advise you to wait several days before trying to enable AutoUnlock again. When you do, the process should be as simple as going to  > System Preferences > Security and Privacy and enabling ‘Use your Apple Watch to unlock apps and your Mac’.

Got it fixed.

1. cleared keychain.
2. unpaired and paired back Apple Watch with IPhone.
3. set up “unblock with Apple Watch” in Mac security settings.
4. Unblocking with Apple Watch started working with my Mac with Big Sur OS.