Vramin

Q: Unlock OS X Sierra with Apple Watch does not work

I just updated to Sierra on my Retina MacBook Pro. Enabled Apple Watch unlock in System Preferences. Apple Watch has the latest OS on it (Watch OS 3).

 

Now when I open the lid on my MacBook it says "Unlocking with Apple Watch". The spinner goes around a few times, then it goes around a few more times, and then it asks for my password.

 

All I've succeeded in doing is adding ten or fifteen seconds to the login process. A few articles on the web claim to have "the fix" but generally just parrot the setup instructions.

 

Anyone else having any luck unlocking with the watch?

MacBook Pro with Retina display, macOS Sierra (10.12)

Posted on Sep 20, 2016 8:55 PM

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Q: Unlock OS X Sierra with Apple Watch does not work

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  • by Ivan Robertovich,

    Ivan Robertovich Ivan Robertovich Sep 21, 2016 7:32 AM in response to Vramin
    Level 1 (53 points)
    Notebooks
    Sep 21, 2016 7:32 AM in response to Vramin

    Same here.  My 13" MBP retina says it is unlocking, and then asks for password

     

    My 27" iMac (last one before 4K) unlocks just fine.  Something with the MBP.

  • by Dvaladze,

    Dvaladze Dvaladze Sep 21, 2016 11:01 AM in response to Ivan Robertovich
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Sep 21, 2016 11:01 AM in response to Ivan Robertovich

    Same problem for MacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2013)

  • by maxcapelle,

    maxcapelle maxcapelle Sep 21, 2016 12:34 PM in response to Vramin
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Notebooks
    Sep 21, 2016 12:34 PM in response to Vramin

    Same thing here with MacBook Pro (Retina, 13 pouces, mi-2014)

  • by Feltcher,

    Feltcher Feltcher Sep 21, 2016 1:00 PM in response to Vramin
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Notebooks
    Sep 21, 2016 1:00 PM in response to Vramin

    ---

  • by alex.arias1974,

    alex.arias1974 alex.arias1974 Sep 21, 2016 1:37 PM in response to Vramin
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Notebooks
    Sep 21, 2016 1:37 PM in response to Vramin

    MBPro Mid 2014, two factor authentication enabled and WatchOS3 yet mine also hangs up, says "unlocking with Apple Watch"..."hangs up" for a few seconds while displaying this message only to then revert to password entry field where pw is now required! Fix Please!!

  • by ffocused101,

    ffocused101 ffocused101 Sep 21, 2016 2:45 PM in response to Vramin
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Notebooks
    Sep 21, 2016 2:45 PM in response to Vramin

    Late 2013 rMBP, not working either. Set up correctly and getting the unlocking with apple watch message only to be kicked back to log in screen.

  • by Vramin,

    Vramin Vramin Sep 21, 2016 6:21 PM in response to Vramin
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Notebooks
    Sep 21, 2016 6:21 PM in response to Vramin

    The good news is that you don't have to wait for it to time out, you can just start typing your password and it will interrupt the spinner.

  • by Ivan Robertovich,Helpful

    Ivan Robertovich Ivan Robertovich Sep 21, 2016 6:21 PM in response to Vramin
    Level 1 (53 points)
    Notebooks
    Sep 21, 2016 6:21 PM in response to Vramin

    I got mine to work!

     

    To be clear from my earlier reply:  I have an early 2015 MBP 13" with force touch.  I was having trouble with mine and kept turning the "unlock with apple watch" in the security system pref pane.  It would take the password.  One time it said it could not connect with the watch.

     

    because my watch easily unlocks my iMac, I suspected the bluetooth on my MBP.

     

    What has solved this for me (for now):

    1.  go to /Library/Preferences (the system library, NOT the user folder).  Trash all bluetooth preferences, old ones and any .lockfile with bluetooth in the name.

    2. empty trash

    3. shut down the mac.  (full shut down).

    4. I don't know if this was necessary, but I reset the SMC (see Reset the System Management Controller (SMC) on your Mac - Apple Support)

    5. restart.   Give your Mac some time to got rolling.

    6.  toggle the "unlock with Apple Watch" option in the system prefs pane

    7.  My sys pref pane was still open and for as long as I left it open, I could see my apple watch as a "Devices" in the bluetooth menu.

    8.  Close the system preferences window.

    9.  lock the mac and open it, it spins saying unlocking, and then unlocks!

     

     

    hope it works for you guys.  For me, it looks like I had something gumming up the bluetooth operation!

  • by hgiordano,

    hgiordano hgiordano Sep 21, 2016 9:00 PM in response to Ivan Robertovich
    Level 1 (9 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 21, 2016 9:00 PM in response to Ivan Robertovich

    I have a 2015 macbook pro, and I've done the updates on the devices, authorizations etc.. and now I've tried your tricky moves but it still doesn't work .  iWatch will show up in the bluetooth window for a short period of time until I try to use it

  • by kio-ku-micu,

    kio-ku-micu kio-ku-micu Sep 22, 2016 4:23 AM in response to Vramin
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 22, 2016 4:23 AM in response to Vramin

    I have the same problem on iMac (27-inch, Late 2013) (((

    And no any bluetooth show up on iWatch

  • by IronchefJoBo,

    IronchefJoBo IronchefJoBo Sep 22, 2016 10:01 AM in response to Vramin
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 22, 2016 10:01 AM in response to Vramin

    I had the same issue.  Here's two things I did that now has it working. As to which one did the trick I'm unsure.

     

    1. In System Preferences > Security & Privacy I set require password to "immediately."
    2. Disconnect the MacBook Pro from wifi and instead connect to hotspot on iPhone.  After that I locked the MBP and was able to get it to unlock with my Apple Watch. I then switched back to my normal wireless network and it still continues to unlock just fine.
  • by ahorstmann,Solvedanswer

    ahorstmann ahorstmann Sep 22, 2016 4:57 PM in response to Vramin
    Level 1 (14 points)
    Sep 22, 2016 4:57 PM in response to Vramin

    Restarting my Apple Watch did the trick for me.

  • by Vramin,

    Vramin Vramin Sep 22, 2016 4:58 PM in response to ahorstmann
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Notebooks
    Sep 22, 2016 4:58 PM in response to ahorstmann

    Sometimes the simplest solution is the best. Good catch. This one worked for me as well.

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