Was there a change to unlocking a watch with an iPhone and Face ID? Before whenever my phone unlocked with Face ID it would unlock my watch too. Now I have to actually swipe up to open my phone’s Home Screen before the watch unlocks. This doesn’t work reliably anymore with the extra step.
Apple Watch Sport
Hello and welcome to Apple Support Communities TheChrisDaniel,
Thank you for contacting us. You have come to the right place and we are happy to assist you. We understand you're having an issue with your Watch & iPhone unlocking. We can understand why you’d reach out for a solution. Make sure you have the most current Operating System on your device. (Settings > General > Software Update) If your iPhone doesn’t unlock your Apple Watch after updating to iOS 14.7
If you are still having issues after the update, let us know so we can continue to assist.
Thank you for contacting Apple Support Communities.
Best regards.
Hi Jeff,
Thanks for the response. This behavior only started after the most recent updates to both my phone and watch, which is why I was checking if this was an intentional change. The watch still unlocks with my phone but it now takes an extra step whereas it would unlock my watch instantly whenever Face ID unlocked my phone before without having to go to my Home Screen. It still “works” it’s just less convenient now than using the code on my watch, which is what I was trying to avoid for the most part.
TheChrisDaniel,
Thank you for the response. Since you have updated to 14.7.1 and it didn't resolve the issue, our next recommendation would be to contact Apple Support directly from the link below.
Stay healthy.
Unlock watch update?
