Apple Watch not unlocking Mac (resolved)

It's one network/SSID creating two networks (2.4GHz and 5GHz) with one device. I'll try turning off or other of the networks and see if it makes a difference.

Tried toggling each off in turns and I never got the option to unlock with my watch after locking the screen. It generally will say it's trying to for a moment and then going back to Touch ID/password.

So this is not 100% reliable. Maybe it will be fixed someday.

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

I also have multiple wifi networks/ssid's. As you do, I have to make sure everything is on the same net. For autoswitching, I changed some SSID's to remove auto-join since I don't often need to join those nets. That helped but I still experience the problem. Since this was not a problem with my Intel Mac I don't believe this is problem is my AP or other devices. Before I got the M4 Mini it rarely happened. And, all my devices are up to date with the most recent OS releases.

My most recent solution is to toggle off the wifi in the watch and iPhone. Then toggle on iPhone, and after that toggle on watch. Verify they are on same SSID. It has worked for me twice now but I need more fails to be sure this approach is a valid solution. Another time I also toggled wifi off my iMac and toggled it back on first. Not sure if this was necessary. Still experimenting.

I have done everything listed here and it's good for one unlock and one unlock only. Touch ID is not a hassle but it's inconsistent that the watch doesn't work each and every time. There is another post on here that puts 2.4Ghz networking in the bullseye as not being fast enough (monitoring "time of flight" between devices, etc) but my router shows my Air as being on a wired connection (which it is not). So I can't even test that theory by toggling off 2.4 or 5Ghz to constrain them to the same network. Hard to believe this hasn't been observed at Infinite Loop…maybe it's like Theory, that famous place where everything works.

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.

I had this issue running MacOS 15.6 (Sequoia) and WatchOS 26.1 and following these steps resolved the issue. Thank you.

On Mac mini 2018 running 15.0.1 with Watch Gen 7 os 11.1. Didn't work. Message in setting says "Your Mac was unable to communicate with your Apple Watch. Make sure your Apple Watch is unlocked and on wrist, and your iPhone is unlocked."

Further, no problem with my MacBook Air tho it's running OS 14.

Any suggestions?

06DEC2024 - Thank you pars33ker! I was having the exact same issue. Your "recipe" worked for me as well. I followed the instructions exactly as written and I am writing this reply to confirm to other readers that your 7-step instructions do indeed work. Guess you can call this confirmation of step 7.

Thanks again and best wishes to others who have or are experiencing this problem.

Turn off password and watch activation from Settings, Quicken security. Close Quicken. Restart Quicken. Activate password and change it. Close Quicken and restart it. Activate watch setting. Close. It should work. :) Make sure watch activation is on in Mac OS settings, security first.

I have a 2018 Mac Mini and it has never been able to use my Apple Watch (Ultra 2 at this moment in time) to reliably Unlock my Mac. What I do know is that is a collection of strategies work for some and don't work for others regardiing this issue. So for those of you who are still looking for a resolution to this problem, I created a video of what FINALLY worked for me about a month ago and continues to work EVERY SINGLE TIME. It's a incredibly hidden setting. If you watch the video, you'll understand why it took me so long to discover it. https://youtu.be/1rkKNyg-d4U?si=8G-hFiRfsoIQg0M2

Hi,

this worked but only temporarily. When I shut down and then start iMac next time, the Watch doesn't unlock the screen again (even though the settings are unchanged).

Current software macOS Sequoia 15.2

Is there a permanent solution?

Many thanks,

Dee

Thanks, I learned something. I just checked my settings. I had not selected automatic logout. I can see now why that setting is "advanced." By the way, my Apple Watch was unlocking my Mac up until yesterday, but after I changed my password for my Apple Account, it no longer did. After some time, I finally figured it out. So, I learned another thing. Changing one's password is easy, but then one has to change settings on all one's devices. I have 11 devices so It's a bit of a pain.

I have tried all of that. This may be an artifact of running a single SSID across two different wifi networks but that's not something I care to change. As I mentioned, it works once and then doesn't work again. The only consistently repeatable part of this is turning it on, watching it work, and then watching it fail every other time.

pdb206 wrote: It's one network/SSID creating two networks (2.4GHz and 5GHz) with one device.

You are saying two networks but unless you have set up different subnets the radio frequency does not make a difference, they are on the same subnet and thus the same network. My access point has both radios working on the same SSID (thus same network) and it works for me. I posted on Jan 13th how I got it working for me and so far, only a bit over 2 weeks, and my watch unlocks every time now. Before it rarely worked on a following day. Not saying my solution works for everyone but it works for me.

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.