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Q: WatchOS 2 and activation lock not reliable

... doesn't sound to be too reliable. I experienced the following yesterday: for unrelated reasons here I did a "reset all settings" on my phone. Once the phone restarted I noticed that the watch couldn't communicate with the phone anymore (clear message from the watch app as well as apps refusing to connect on the watch). Resetting all settings on iPhone does NOT deactivate "Find iPhone"(required to activate "activation lock" on the watch) but still, to solve the issue I decided to reset the watch from the watch itself (there was no other choice) ... watch code was required ... and it worked. It shouldn't have. That's one thing. The other thing and that's worse: when I attempted to re-pair the watch with my phone I was NOT prompted to enter my Apple ID and password. This proves that activation lock wasn't on anymore. Interesting ! And no I don't think that after a full reset the watch was able to recognize my phone. Could be that the phone could identify the watch no idea ...

 

Another thing, today, after a restore from backup on my phone I had to re-pair my watch again (unpaired it before phone backup and restore ). It took ages until I was able to unlock the watch with Touch ID and it took ages until I saw that activation lock on the watch was on again (the option "mark as missing" in the watch app must appear to confirm). I had to restart both the watch and the phone to get things right.

 

Anyone experienced similar issues ? Thanks.

 

adding: there are two distinct screens when setting up the watch, one to just associate the watch with your Apple ID, and a second one that comes first actually stating precisely that Activation Lock protects the watch and also asking you to enter your Apple ID. I'm talking about that screen of course; it just didn't come up.

Apple Watch, watchOS 2, null

Posted on Oct 1, 2015 7:49 AM

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Q: WatchOS 2 and activation lock not reliable

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  • by John Galt,Solvedanswer

    John Galt John Galt Oct 1, 2015 8:42 AM in response to arrow7
    Level 8 (49,429 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 1, 2015 8:42 AM in response to arrow7

    Merely erasing the Watch is not sufficient. You have to explicitly mark the Watch as missing using the iPhone with which it is paired. Your Apple ID and password will be required to pair that Apple Watch again.

     

    To learn how to use Activation Lock read About Activation Lock on Apple Watch - Apple Support. Read "Mark your lost or stolen device as missing".

  • by arrow7,

    arrow7 arrow7 Oct 1, 2015 1:02 PM in response to John Galt
    Level 1 (34 points)
    Oct 1, 2015 1:02 PM in response to John Galt

    ok thanks; I definitely should have read this in the first place. Couldn't find that doc. I initially thought of "mark as missing" as an additional step when it actually is a required step to maintain "activation lock" active.

  • by arrow7,

    arrow7 arrow7 Oct 1, 2015 1:19 PM in response to arrow7
    Level 1 (34 points)
    Oct 1, 2015 1:19 PM in response to arrow7

    another question: in case the watch is actually lost or stolen, if marking it as missing prevents anyone from pairing it to another phone, there must be something done remotely: my input when I mark it, then Apple servers input to prevent someone else from re-pairing the watch, by requiring my Apple ID ... this should should bring the ability to locate the watch as soon as someone attempts to pair it, but I don't see it documented. Or am I missing anything ? Thx.

  • by arrow7,

    arrow7 arrow7 Oct 1, 2015 1:35 PM in response to arrow7
    Level 1 (34 points)
    Oct 1, 2015 1:35 PM in response to arrow7

    adding... I know the watch has no GPS ... but thieves have IPs ... probably too complicated and unreliable to locate the watch. Never mind

  • by John Galt,

    John Galt John Galt Oct 1, 2015 1:43 PM in response to arrow7
    Level 8 (49,429 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 1, 2015 1:43 PM in response to arrow7

    I don't thing you're missing anything, but the precise methods by which Apple implements device security can be opaque. Yes, I do believe that once a Watch is "marked" as lost or stolen, its eligibility to be paired with an iPhone again requires confirmation of that iPhone's Apple ID with Apple. That means that if you were to lose both the Watch and its paired iPhone, enabling Lost Mode on the iPhone precludes pairing the Watch with anything, until you cancel Lost Mode.

     

    You can read about some of those security features here:

     

    http://images.apple.com/privacy/docs/iOS_Security_Guide.pdf

     

    At present, there is no way to remotely locate a lost Apple Watch the same way there is an iPhone. Though the Watch has no GPS or cellular data receiver, it does have Wi-Fi, and can connect to wireless networks whose location may be known. There are a few conditions associated with that: for example, it can only connect to Wi-Fi networks that its paired iPhone connected to in the past, while it was also connected to the Watch's Bluetooth. So, a standalone Watch equivalent to "Find my iPhone" may not be forthcoming.

  • by arrow7,

    arrow7 arrow7 Oct 1, 2015 1:48 PM in response to John Galt
    Level 1 (34 points)
    Oct 1, 2015 1:48 PM in response to John Galt

    Thanks again for the great feedback !