Apple Watch not unlocking Mac (resolved)

someone else argued that the issue is with the network type (2.4GHz vs 5) and how the connection is made. the watch connects via bluetooth and then uses 2.4GHz to connect (he says). If 2.4GHz is too slow, it defaults to touch id/password. Right now both devices are on the same network SSID but the Air is IDed as being on a wired segment (it's not) and the watch is on 2.4GHz.

It hasn't ever worked reliably so I'm not losing sleep over it. I have tried locking the screen., closing the lid, nothing works. Just re-set the "unlock with watch" switch and it didn't even work that time.

If the single WiFi router (or Mesh WiFi devices) are providing both 2,4GHz and 5GHz, then it is all the same subnet, unless you have been playing games with the router.

For example, I have an eero Mesh router and eero Mesh extension WiFi that provides 2.4GHz, 5GHz and 6GHz WiFi, as well as Ethernet.

I have a personal Mac connecting via 5GHz WiFi and a work Mac Ethernet connected (but WiFi is enabled). Both systems have Bluetooth enabled.

I can reliably unlock either Mac with my Apple Watch 49 out of 50 tries, except when the Mac first wakes up, and then I can often get them to unlock if I press the Escape key to dismiss the login prompt, then press any key to get the login back, where the Apple Watch will most likely work.

My eero provides a single subnet across 3 different WiFi frequencies, plus Ethernet.

Just about every WiFi router will also provide the same subnet across multiple WiFi frequencies and Ethernet, UNLESS it is a more sophisticated router that allows detailed customization. Something like a Synology router or Ubiquity router, for example. And even then the customer would need to go out of their way to change the subnet setup.

Running a Mac mini with a wireless KB with no Touch ID, so Touch ID doesn't appear in System Settings. I've ensured that I've got a match on WiFi networks, Bluetooth is on, etc. Just upgraded to Sequoia 15.3 and it doesn't offer the option to connect using Apple Watch...

Where in system settings are you looking for for the option to connect?

It's a toggle in "Login Password" which is on the list of selections directly below "Privacy & Security"

To be clear, I do not have touch ID either, so that is not part of your issue.

I've tried all the above, but still can't get the watch to unlock the Mac. It used to until a few days ago. Did the keychain stuff, checked the wifi across the devices, restarted the watch and the mac, did the touch id toggle. Nothing working.

Hopefully there is a bug somewhere that gets sorted out, otherwise this neat bit of functionality is gone for me at least.

Tony

tccack, Did you make sure you do NOT have your mac set to log you out after a certain amount of time? If you do, your Watch will not unlock your Mac as the feature does not work when logged out. This explains how to check. https://youtu.be/1rkKNyg-d4U?si=8G-hFiRfsoIQg0M2

Thanks for the suggestion! No it's not an auto-logout problem - happens even when I manually click lock screen and try to unlock immediately. I had tried hard reset but tried again per your instructions and still same problem. On the unlock process starting, I see "Unlocking with Apple Watch" for maybe 1 second, then it disappears and wants the password. Other Mac/Watch integration works fine - installed a new app and was able to use the double-click button on watch to enable install instead of entering password on the mac. Any other ideas?

Hi,

I'd like to thank you and all the others for the various tips. At the moment the issue is fixed on my iMac although I'm not sure which bit did it. For a short period of time nothing worked so I accepted it and then suddenly the watch is unlocking the screen again... I found that the switching off and then on again the 'Unlock your applications and your Mac using Apple Watch' setting helped immediately (although initially it only worked until the iMac was shut down). In any case, it's fine now and I'm very grateful for all the advice. Thank you!

I have done everything listed but a hard reset. Fingers crossed and all that but I did that (side button and crown depressed until reboot) and now I have gotten a couple of unlocks. Maybe it's resolved?

Thank you for posting this solution! I found this to be the problem for me, as well (we have 2 wifi networks - watch was connected to one while mac was connected to the other). Made sure both were on the same network and problem solved. Simple solution I had not thought to check until I read your post. Thanks again!

The solutions presented in this thread are for the watch unlocking the computer. It has nothing to do with the apps on your computer.

That said, there is no password requirement for Safari. However, in the private browsing mode, you can protect it with a password. You don't mention private browsing but it sounds to me like your Safari is opening in private browsing that you have protected with a password. If that is the case, then you can delete the password for private browsing. That is found in Safari->Settings->privacy.

If this is not the case then I wish you luck finding a solution.

I had the same issues (started in April 2025) and the recommended solution worked for me with one additional action: In Step 3, I also had to restart the iPhone that my watch is paired with, before restarting the MacBook and turning the Open with Watch setting back on.

Sequoia 15.3.2

That solved the problem for me, maybe it will be good for others:

I've finally fixed it! I found a bunch of errors related to "AutoUnlock" in the Console that was hinting to me that there was some invalid state on my Mac with keys and plists not being reset properly. 

Steps (follow at your own discretion)

1. Open "Keychain Access"
2. In "View", enable "Show Invisible Items"
3. Search for "Auto Unlock"
4. You should see a whole bunch of application passwords for "Auto Unlock: XXXX's ..."
5. Select all records and delete (this will reset/disable auto unlock on other Macs if you use multiple Macs)
6. Whilst still in "Keychain Access", search for "AutoUnlock" (no space)
7. There should be 4 entries for "tlk" "tlk-nonsync" "classA" "classC"
8. Select 4 records and delete (don't worry if they re-appear, the system repairs this automatically)
9. Open "Finder" and navigate to "~/Library/Sharing/AutoUnlock"
10. There should be two files "ltk.plist" and "pairing-records.plist"
11. Delete both files
12. Open "System Preferences" and try enabling auto unlock. You may need to enable it twice, the first attempt will fail.

Yeah, same here

The switch off "Touch ID" worked for me immediately

1 switch off Touch ID. all the switches

2 Switch on the Apple Watch direct got the contact with my watch.

3 switch Touch ID back on... all is good now

Did one more step:

Turned Use Touch ID to ON

Turned Apple Watch to ON

Closed Settings

Put MacBook to Sleep

Woke MacBook

Unlocked with Apple Watch

Restarted

Logged on with credentials

Opened Settings

Opened Touch ID & Password

NOW Use Touch ID and

Apple Watch are set to ON

The system settings were retained.

Resolved.