Unlock with Apple Watch not working on iPhone 13 Pro with AW6

Question

Level 1

4 points

Unlock with Apple Watch not working on iPhone 13 Pro with AW6

Hi.

I got a new iPhone 13 Pro. Previously I had an iPhone 12 Pro where everything worked just fine. I use the new iPhone 13 Pro with my Apple Watch 6 that I used with my previous iPhone 12 Pro. Apple Watch OS is 8.0 (19R346). iPhone OS is 15.0. I did full reset of Apple Watch before pairing them with the new iPhone and I did not restore any backup (neither for iPhone nor Watch) - I configured both devices from scratch as they were my first Apple devices.

The problem I have is that I can't enable the Unlock with Apple Watch feature. I use a full passcode (not the simple one) on AW6. Unlock with iPhone is enabled. Wrist Detection is enabled. Face ID on iPhone is turned on and working. Require attention is enabled. Attention aware features are enabled. iPhone is paired with the Apple Watch and I have the Apple Watch unlocked on my wrist. But when I try to enable the Unlock with Apple Watch feature on iPhone, I get error saying "Unabled to communicate with Apple Watch". Bluetooth and WiFi is enabled on both iPhone and Watch.

I tried restarting both iPhone and AW. I tried resetting Face ID. I tried disabling wrist detection. I tried disabling unlock with iPhone. I tried unpairing Watch and then pairing them again with iPhone. But none of it worked and I still see the same error.

What can be wrong? Does anyone have the same problem? It seems to me like an issue of the new iOS or watchOS that enablement of this feature does not work.

Posted on Sep 26, 2021 12:07 AM

Reply

Answer 1

SravanKrA

Level 10

432,530 points

Sep 26, 2021 12:12 AM in response to LukasBeran

What you need

Unlocking your iPhone with your Apple Watch requires these devices:

An iPhone that uses Face ID (iPhone X or later) and has iOS 14.5 or later
An Apple Watch Series 3 or later with watchOS 7.4 or later

The feature also has these requirements:

Your Apple Watch needs to be paired with your iPhone.
Your iPhone and Apple Watch need to have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned on. (You don't need to be connected to a Wi-Fi network.)
Your Apple Watch needs to have a passcode, and wrist detection must be turned on.
Your Apple Watch needs to be on your wrist and unlocked.
You need to be wearing a mask that covers your mouth and nose, or sunglasses or ski goggles that cover your eyes.

Reply

Answer 2

SravanKrA

Level 10

432,530 points

Sep 26, 2021 12:13 AM in response to LukasBeran

I would recommend unpair the Apple watch and pair again.

For Apple Watch to pair with an iPhone you need

To use your Apple Watch Series 3 or later with watchOS 7, you need to pair your Apple Watch with an iPhone 6s or later with iOS 14 or later. Setup assistants on your iPhone and Apple Watch work together to help you pair and set up your Apple Watch.
To use your Apple Watch Series 1 or later with watchOS 6.2, you need to pair your Apple Watch with an iPhone 6s or later with iOS 13 or later. Setup assistants on your iPhone and Apple Watch work together to help you pair and set up your Apple Watch.
To use your Apple Watch Series 1 or later with watchOS 5, you need to pair it with an iPhone 5s or later with iOS 12 or later—Apple Watch models with cellular require an iPhone 6 or later. Setup assistants on your iPhone and Apple Watch work together to help you pair and set up your Apple Watch.