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my iMac is from 2020, and iWatch is an 8.....all are updated with the latest....mac with Sonoma 14.0 and watch with 10.0.1. Since the latest updates, I'm unable to unlock the mac with the watch. Have put it in SafeMode, unplugged it and nothing seems to work. All are communicating....phone, watch, mac....I can usually figure this out, but have come to no solution....what am I missing???
Apple Watch Series 8, watchOS 10
John Galt wrote:
Far from it. If you are impatient you might consider the technique posted by CG5050 in unlock Mac with Apple Watch - Apple Community. That link should take you directly to the relevant post.
I have not been able to verify it, but given the number of steps and the apparent likelihood of success I lack the motivation to even try. Doing nothing for a little while has always worked for me.
Until now.
Last week I had shut down the iMac I use most often for a few days. Normally it never gets shut down.
Upon starting it again the unlock feature stopped working. Oddly enough I was still able to use the Watch to approve app installs, unlock system preferences etc. The only thing that did not work was unlocking the Mac. Another oddity was the upon restarting the Mac, the login screen still said "unlock with Apple Watch requires your password upon restarting" or words to that effect, even though I had turned that feature off in the interim.
After several days with no resolution forthcoming, I decided to follow CG5050's eleven step procedure (minus a couple steps; specifically Steps 1 and 6 because I can't imagine how they could possibly be involved) and it started working again.
So... try it.
Excerpted from CG5050's procedure, here the steps that worked for me:
Done.
John Galt wrote:
Far from it. If you are impatient you might consider the technique posted by CG5050 in unlock Mac with Apple Watch - Apple Community. That link should take you directly to the relevant post.
I have not been able to verify it, but given the number of steps and the apparent likelihood of success I lack the motivation to even try. Doing nothing for a little while has always worked for me.
Until now.
Last week I had shut down the iMac I use most often for a few days. Normally it never gets shut down.
Upon starting it again the unlock feature stopped working. Oddly enough I was still able to use the Watch to approve app installs, unlock system preferences etc. The only thing that did not work was unlocking the Mac. Another oddity was the upon restarting the Mac, the login screen still said "unlock with Apple Watch requires your password upon restarting" or words to that effect, even though I had turned that feature off in the interim.
After several days with no resolution forthcoming, I decided to follow CG5050's eleven step procedure (minus a couple steps; specifically Steps 1 and 6 because I can't imagine how they could possibly be involved) and it started working again.
So... try it.
Excerpted from CG5050's procedure, here the steps that worked for me:
Done.
Probably nothing.
This seems to happen with every macOS update and upgrade.
Follow the instructions in Unlock your Mac with your Apple Watch - Apple Support including the three numbered steps under If you need help.
Step 2 (Restart your Mac) is often overlooked.
If you followed all of them, my recommendation is to do nothing for a while. Wait at least 24 hours, and then try again. Because that's what I did, and it just spontaneously started working again. Yes it was on my wrist and unlocked. Yes I was signed into iCloud on everything. Yes all system requirements were met, 2FA enabled, everything exactly as it states. Having exhausted all those steps there was nothing else to do so I literally did nothing. No signing out / in... nothing. It just decided to start working again.
Far from it. If you are impatient you might consider the technique posted by CG5050 in unlock Mac with Apple Watch - Apple Community. That link should take you directly to the relevant post.
I have not been able to verify it, but given the number of steps and the apparent likelihood of success I lack the motivation to even try. Doing nothing for a little while has always worked for me.
Thanks. Helps to know my frustration isn’t alone😊
Can't unlock Mac with Watch since Ventura download
