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Apple Watch Auto Unlock Questions [MERGED]
- Thread starter jsawy3r
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zhenya
macrumors 604
Similar for me, but I still sit there waiting. It's a long time compared to say, unlocking an iPhone or iPad.
Have you ensured the setting is enabled in security settings on Sierra? Make sure your watch is definitely on watchOS3
it is (My Mac, iPhone and watch are all up to date), But for some reason on my Apple ID page it is still showing watchOS 2.2.2 and i think it is the reason for my issue.
Not sure how i can update it in my Apple ID page.
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I checked them all, looks legit.
The only thing that i can think of is that my watch is registered as OS 2.2.2 when in fact i am running OS3.
Hoosier317
Suspended
I am having the same problem, with fully updated OS's on all devices, and a 2013 13" MacBook Pro Retina. I had an hour long conversation yesterday someone from Apple...he's a senior tech or something. He spoke to someone on an engineering team and they asked him to collect info and pass it off to them. They are supposed to contact me within a day or two. I can't even see the option to do this on my MacBook...I also can't maintain a bluetooth connection to my iPhone. I even tried the newest public betas for my Mac and phone. I just picked up my watch yesterday. Maybe whatever I find out will help others.
Just checked my AppleID page and that shows it thinks the watch is running 2.2.1, but I know I'm running 3. It still unlocks my Mac.
Are you trying to unlock after a restart? as it only works when unlocking from sleep.
Thanks for sharing, i hope they will come with something
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i tired both as i was not aware of the restart thing, but it still not unlocking my mac after a sleep or after logout.
Hoosier317
Suspended
I may have discovered the source of my problem. The early 2013 MacBook Retina has 802.11n. This feature requires 802.11ac. It's a $30 part on Amazon. I've ordered it and it will be here in two days. All reports are that this will solve my problem. I'll talk to the Apple engineers before switching it out however.
If this is all true, Apple needs to far more clear about compatibility. It may not simply be 2013 or newer, but those which also have the AC wireless cards.
If this is all true, Apple needs to far more clear about compatibility. It may not simply be 2013 or newer, but those which also have the AC wireless cards.
Strange, they never mentioned that.
I have the AC wireless card but for me is still the same.
Hoosier317
Suspended
Even if this does fix that part of the problem for me, I cannot get my watch, which I only got yesterday, to stay connected to my phone via bluetooth. It constantly disconnects.
Best of luck to you though. I'll report back with whatever I hear from Apple.
fischersd
macrumors 603
Pretty sure they said "late 2013" did they not?
BLE and 802.11AC are required for the feature. (that's been known for some time due to the beta program).
It's very temperamental in many cases to get it working, however, there's lots of checks in your iCloud settings that often require toggling many of the settings (handoff, iCloud, messenger, FaceTime).
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At least the original Apple Watch had a very weak Bluetooth radio. (not sure how much it's been improved for S1 & S2).
You should certainly have at least 20-30 feet (line of sight) between the watch and iPhone.
The watch switches over to wifi when the bluetooth connection is lost (when you do the initial setup, you should have your iPhone on a 2.4GHz network, as the watch wants to be on the same network as the iPhone but doesn't have a 5GHz radio).
Hoosier317
Suspended
fischersd
macrumors 603
To everyone beating their heads against the wall trying to get this working....it appears that Apple may also have some issues with their bluetooth code in Sierra (that they're aware of). I thought I'd give MacID a whirl (an app that does the same thing, only with your iPhone....but also has some support for Apple Watch, though not natively via bluetooth).
I got this (likely automated) response back from Kane when I sent him some feedback on the app:
"An update to fix compatibility issues on macOS Sierra and iOS 10 is currently being tested and will be released very soon. Please note though that Sierra has some significant issues with Bluetooth so MacID may not work properly until Apple issue a fix."
It's quite probable that some of the inconsistencies we're seeing are with Apple's Bluetooth stack itself - which this feature is HUGELY dependent on, so if you're seeing hit/miss performance with the feature, that'll be why.
I got this (likely automated) response back from Kane when I sent him some feedback on the app:
"An update to fix compatibility issues on macOS Sierra and iOS 10 is currently being tested and will be released very soon. Please note though that Sierra has some significant issues with Bluetooth so MacID may not work properly until Apple issue a fix."
It's quite probable that some of the inconsistencies we're seeing are with Apple's Bluetooth stack itself - which this feature is HUGELY dependent on, so if you're seeing hit/miss performance with the feature, that'll be why.
FINALLY!!!, i managed to fix this issue.
1. i unpaired and paired my apple watch
2. Following Hoosier317 tip i started to think that the apple watch is using WIFI and not bluetooth(logical) so i disconnected my lan cable and connected to the WIFI network.
now it seems to be working properly!
Thank you all for helping.
1. i unpaired and paired my apple watch
2. Following Hoosier317 tip i started to think that the apple watch is using WIFI and not bluetooth(logical) so i disconnected my lan cable and connected to the WIFI network.
now it seems to be working properly!
Thank you all for helping.
Make sure your watch is logged into your Apple ID. On your iPhone go to Watch.app -> General -> Apple ID. The option to unlock will not appear on your Mac unless you do this.
Wifi has to be on, not necessarily connected, but you do require an internet connection.
fischersd
macrumors 603
Yep - iCloud connectivity is required (at least initially) for the creation of the shared keys between your watch and Mac. I'm guessing they likely also have a timeout built in (that if either side has lost connectivity to Apple's cloud for x period, the key becomes invalid) - a further security measure.
Interestingly, I was wondering what it was in 802.11AC that Apple could be using for this feature. (as the Apple Watch doesn't support 802.11AC), but the newer Mac's do.
A good right-up here: https://networkingnerd.net/2016/09/21/apple-watch-unlock-802-11ac-and-time/
It seems it's the 802.11v "time of flight" feature that's being used - which wasn't implemented in the older BroadCom chipsets.
Edit: I tested it previously - you don't have to have an active connection to the cloud for unlocking to work (pulled the power on my WAP/router for the test).
Mines required internet connection every time. My buildings internet has an 8 hour reset where you have to click ok on a splash page before you have access again and each time that's occurred, my MacBook has stated internet connection required to unlock via Apple Watch.
fischersd
macrumors 603
Hmm. Can't remember if I also disabled the iPhone's radios - that could have been the path, as the watch will utilize the iPhone's internet connection when wifi's not available.
The Mac, however, didn't have internet connectivity and it unlocked.
It won't be that, as I have wifi off on my phone most the time as the 4G is faster than the building wifi.
fischersd
macrumors 603
??? The point was that the mac didn't have internet connectivity at the time, but the watch did as it would have been using the iPhone's cellular connection.