abbjoer
Level 1 (12 points)
Mac OS X

Q: Unlock with watch won't work, despite being enabled

I am unable to unlock my mid 2014 Macbook Pro Retina with my Apple Watch.

I have managed to enable it in the System Preferences, and all options should be fine, but when I open my Mac, it just asks me for my password. I have rebooted both my Mac and my watch, but it still won't work.

 

Does anyone know how to solve this?

MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Mid 2014), iOS 10, Fully updated watch, phone and Mac

Posted on Sep 22, 2016 5:13 AM

by léonie,Solvedanswer
léonie léonie
Level 10 (108,884 points)
iCloud
A:

Have you checked, if your watch is on the same Wi-Fi as your Mac? Sometimes the watch is using a different Wi-Fi if it cannot connect to the iPhone, but remembers a Wi-Fi it connected to previously.

 

Is Blue Tooth enabled on the Mac?

You have checked all items in this list:  Automatically unlock your Mac with your Apple Watch - Apple Support ?

Posted on Sep 22, 2016 6:52 AM

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abbjoer

Q: Unlock with watch won't work, despite being enabled

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  • by Diego Luna,

    Diego Luna Diego Luna Oct 6, 2016 10:34 AM in response to léonie
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iCloud
    Oct 6, 2016 10:34 AM in response to léonie

    It is important to highlight that Apple Watch only supports 2.4GHz band, it does not support 5GHz like the iPhone (iPhone 5 and above). This can be a problem if you connect to just to the 5GHz network on your iPhone, as your Apple Watch won’t be able to connect to a Wi-Fi network as it is not aware of the 2.4GHz network. This link shows a work around to force the watch to connect to a 2.4GHz band while your iPhone is connected to a 5GHz band.  http://www.iphonehacks.com/2015/05/how-to-ensure-apple-watch-is-connected-to-a-w i-fi-network.html

  • by femitchell,

    femitchell femitchell Oct 6, 2016 11:25 AM in response to Diego Luna
    Level 1 (27 points)
    Notebooks
    Oct 6, 2016 11:25 AM in response to Diego Luna

    Brilliant!

     

    Having tried everything else unsuccessfully - this worked. Many thanks.

     

    Followed the instructions about 'forgetting' the 5ghz network, renaming it, and then ensuring I was connected to the 2.4ghz. After that it all worked. -thank you.

     

    Frank

  • by dgeens,

    dgeens dgeens Oct 12, 2016 7:26 AM in response to abbjoer
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 12, 2016 7:26 AM in response to abbjoer

    Could it be that using Filevault makes it impossible to use automatic unlocking?

  • by Joseph Delaney,

    Joseph Delaney Joseph Delaney Oct 12, 2016 7:49 AM in response to dgeens
    Level 3 (853 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 12, 2016 7:49 AM in response to dgeens

    dgeens wrote:

     

    Could it be that using Filevault makes it impossible to use automatic unlocking?

    It's not likely. Filevault encrypts your disk, it does not change the login process (it does disable "automatic login", but so does turning on the watch option).

     

    Plus I'm not using filevault and still see the problem. It's actually become sporadic for me. Some days, it will work great on both my Macs. Other days, my home Mac won't unlock unless I first toggle bluetooth on my phone.

  • by JimmyJT,

    JimmyJT JimmyJT Oct 16, 2016 11:30 AM in response to abbjoer
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Oct 16, 2016 11:30 AM in response to abbjoer

    I tried everything on My 2015 MBP and it still doesn't work. Too much effort for a simple feature like this...fck it. I ain't use it. "It Just Works", my ***, Apple.

  • by Spog,

    Spog Spog Oct 16, 2016 6:11 PM in response to léonie
    Level 1 (13 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 16, 2016 6:11 PM in response to léonie

    I have tried the above but can't get the MacBook Pro to communicate with the watch.  I get an error message to that effect when I go through the security and privacy settings and tick the box.

     

    Have reset watch, ensured bluetooth is enabled. Same Apple ID on all devices, Mac and iPhone on same wifi  (not sure now to do this on the watch).

     

    This had worked previously without issue across work and home without a problem. But today....

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