Why does apple watch unlock require WiFi ?

I can't seem to find a reason why the Apple watch unlock feature in MacOS requires WiFi - if the watch is connected via bluetooth shouldn't you be able to hardwire your mac to the network and still use unlock? Or if the WiFi network that you have is the same network as your wired network, shouldn't it be the same?

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 10.14

Posted on Nov 17, 2020 10:56 PM

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1 reply

BobHarris

Level 9

56,825 points

Nov 18, 2020 6:41 PM in response to tinyrobot

Your Apple Watch is Bluetooth paired to your iPhone, not your Mac.

But WiFi has the ability to do ad-hoc network connections, out-of-band from your WiFi network.

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Why does apple watch unlock require WiFi ?

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