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Apple Watch no longer unlocking Mac after Ventura 13.3 installation? [MERGED]

macmus12 said:
What about handoffs?
Click to expand...
So far, handoffs seem to be working well for me since updating to 13.3.1 and 16.4.1.
That said, I’m not entirely sure how much I can attribute that to the update, as I did kill and reset bluetooth yesterday, and that took me from completely nonfunctional to at least somewhat functional (working, but inconsistency). Handoffs and apple watch unlocks are seeming to be more consistent since the update, but we’ll see if this continues.
 
jekjones1558 said:
Today's 13.3.1 update seems to have fixed this problem for me.
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Yes, 13.3.1 fixed it for me too... until an hour ago.

Quite suddenly I no longer got "unlocking with apple watch". I turned the Settings switch off and when I tried to turn it back on I got a different (to the 13.3 issue) error message, namely “your mac was unable to communicate with the apple watch…”. I rebooted the MBP and the watch, and then was able to turn on the Settings switch for watch unlock - but now upon screen unlocking I get "unlocking with apple watch" for 5 seconds, then a spinning 'clock-dial-of-death' to the left of that message for another 10 seconds, then the unlock message changes to "touch ID or password" (entering the password doesn't change anything for future attempts BTW).

I've never seen this behaviour before.

The MBP, watch and iPhone are all within inches of each other, and all connected to (the same) WiFi.

I sent a problem feedback to Apple (the only one so far), but I'm curious if anyone else sees this issue occurring.

Screenshot 2023-04-09 at 17.58.41.jpg
 
Just adding a little information: Apple Watch still does not unlock both an M1 as well as an Intel MBP under 13.4 Beta 2.
This problem first appeared for me in the 13.3 Betas (before 13.3).
 
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So I still don't have the option for Apple Watch unlock at all. I used to be able to do it on my iMac and MacBook Pro and now since I've updated its been months since I haven't been able to. I'm not sure if it's just me or what.
 
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Apple should stop putting in **** software without any QA and causing so much of issues to users. Very sad that Apple has stooped to this level.
 
Ah, just to let you know, with the latest 13.4 beta on a M1 MBP now allows the Apple Watch to unlock it. I don't know if this is a permanent fix, but will find out over the next few days.
 
Just chiming in that since 13.3 (including 13.3.1) I am experiencing the same issues. Tried removing watches from auto-unlock, turning it back on (if I do this, it auto-unlocks while I'm sitting there testing it, but if I leave for an hour or so and come back, it tries and fails).

This feature worked flawlessly in 13 up until 13.3... I was actually rather impressed since I had issues with it all through 12.x too, but it worked great till 13.3 - Crossing my fingers that 13.4 finally brings it back to a functioning state 🤞🏼
 
dmccloud said:
Go to System Settings - Touch ID & Password, then check that the option to unlock using your watch is enabled at the bottom of the preferences pane.
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What am I missing here...apple watch isn't listed...
 

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  • Wow
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Can anyone share some insight on why Apple Watch options are no longer in my System Settings (Ventura v.13.4)?

Thanks in advance!

Cheers.
 
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Unlocking setting shows on my System Setting under Touch ID and password (Ventura v.13.4) but it no longer unlocks my Mac. Tried turning it off, restarting, turning function back on, still doesn't work.
 
chabig said:
This used to work, but I can't make any promises:

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.
It seems not to work at first, and then a few hours later it will be fine. Maybe it has to sync with iCloud. I don’t know.Not working for me.
Click to expand...
 
Chyp16 said:
Can anyone share some insight on why Apple Watch options are no longer in my System Settings (Ventura v.13.4)?

Thanks in advance!

Cheers.
Click to expand...
I'm seeing the same issue. Watch unlock stopped working, I tried logging out of iCloud then back in. Now Setting is gone completely... cool.... I'm on Ventura 13.5 with a Apple Watch 6. Was working great until 13.5 update 🤷‍♂️
 
supairish said:
I'm seeing the same issue. Watch unlock stopped working, I tried logging out of iCloud then back in. Now Setting is gone completely... cool.... I'm on Ventura 13.5 with a Apple Watch 6. Was working great until 13.5 update 🤷‍♂️
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Same. The option is just...not there. I'm upgrading to 13.5.1, so maybe that will fix it?
 
jagooch said:
Same. The option is just...not there. I'm upgrading to 13.5.1, so maybe that will fix it?
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Are you guys absolutely sure that you're looking at the right spot in the new system settings?
Having no issues here on 2 Macs on 13.5.1...and I also saw almost no reports on AW Unlock at least since 13.5, so just asking...
The relevant setting should be located on the "Login Password" tab:
 

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I to the "unlock with Apple Watch" option to re-appear by unpairing and re-pairing my Apple Watch to my phone. Doing that also remove the "unknown" data that was taking up 80% of my watch's storage.

I can't guarantee that this will fix it for everyone, but it's something to try if you haven't tried it yet.

Now I need to figure out why my watch battery is draining fast since the last WatchOS update. It used to be good for 2 days and now I charge it twice a day!
 
Unlock with Apple Watch will unlock my MacBook pro until after I haven’t used it for a few days. It then asks for a password or Touch. Then it continues to work but if I don’t use the laptop for a while it reverts to asking for a password again. Is this normal?
 
Like others in this thread, my Apple Watch Unlock on my M2 Mac Mini has stopped working...again. I've verified that my watch and Mac are on the same Wifi network. My watch is signed in under the same Apple ID. I've restarted a dozen times and after the restart, the first thing I check is to see if I can enable the Unlock with Apple Watch feature. Every time this morning, it hasn't worked.

But it's been working fine for the past 2 days and literally nothing has changed on my Mac or my Watch so I have no idea how to troubleshoot this except to call it a bug that they refuse to fix.

Edit: Restarted my watch and voila...Unlock Mac with Apple Watch suddenly works again...
 
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No working for me. New M2 MBA, Ventura 13.5.1. I tried #15 s process. I couldn't get past this step because I didn't seem to have that folder. Watch unlock currently works well on new MacMini.
  • 8. Next, open the Finder tool and search for Library. Double-click it and open Sharing -> AutoUnlock.
 
ThoRus said:
No working for me. New M2 MBA, Ventura 13.5.1. I tried #15 s process. I couldn't get past this step because I didn't seem to have that folder. Watch unlock currently works well on new MacMini.
  • 8. Next, open the Finder tool and search for Library. Double-click it and open Sharing -> AutoUnlock.
Click to expand...
Did you see my post? I had to unpair and pair my Watch to get that option to appear.

Even after I enabled , it disabled itself a day later, and I had to enable it again.
 
Well it was working this morning. At least until I took my dog for a walk. Came back home and now this wont work again. I've restarted my Mac and Apple watch multiple times. Airplane mode, wifi on/off etc... and nothing works.
 
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