How to Unlock Your iPhone With Your Apple Watch When Wearing a Mask

[watchmainspring]

I wear mine while sleeping and in the shower, the two most typical times people charge their AW, and I still have no issues with battery life. I charge mine at some point during a time I’m going to be sitting for an hour or so, and that’s plenty.

It's so disproportionate to other brands out there, though. I have a Garmin forerunner 935 and it lasts weeks. My Fitbit charge 4 lasts like a week or so. I don't want to have to remember to take it off; if I forget even for one days the Apple watch is a useless expensive bracelet. I'd pay double its current price if they make it last a week.

I've gone running in the morning with the Apple watch and it drains it so substantially that it won't even last a day. This is not acceptable.

 

[Suckfest 9001]

Super hokey implementation. I have to bring the watch super close to the phone to make it work. Whereas my ancient Galaxy Note 3 and Gear watch did unlocks just fine if you were in the same room basically. Now THAT’s smart functionality, not this super limited half baked stuff

 

[Apple_Robert]

Super hokey implementation. I have to bring the watch super close to the phone to make it work. Whereas my ancient Galaxy Note 3 and Gear watch did unlocks just fine if you were in the same room basically. Now THAT’s smart functionality, not this super limited half baked stuff

You keep repeating the same thing. The watch doesn't have to be super close (inches away) from the phone to work.

 

[Suckfest 9001]

You keep repeating the same thing. The watch doesn't have to be super close (inches away) from the phone to work.

I have the betas installed on my iPhone XS Max and series 5 watch. It refuses to unlock unless I bring the watch almost touching the phone. Hokey. Garbage.

 

[Apple_Robert]

I have the betas installed on my iPhone XS Max and series 5 watch. It refuses to unlock unless I bring the watch almost touching the phone. Hokey. Garbage.

That is not SOP. And that is also not unexpected for an early beta of the feature. I think you are railing on Apple very harshly on this matter without any valid reason. If this was a well established OS feature, you would have a valid point.

Why do you continue to use Apple given you express such animus about the quality of the software? It doesn't make sense to continue using the products.

 

[Suckfest 9001]

That is not SOP. And that is also not unexpected for an early beta of the feature. I think you are railing on Apple very harshly on this matter without any valid reason. If this was a well established OS feature, you would have a valid point.

Why do you continue to use Apple given you express such animus about the quality of the software? It doesn't make sense to continue using the products.

Yeah yeah I’m using it wrong, get a windows phone, etc etc. Same answer all apple people give when you point out some hokey crap in Apple’s implementation

 

[Ntombi]

I have the betas installed on my iPhone XS Max and series 5 watch. It refuses to unlock unless I bring the watch almost touching the phone. Hokey. Garbage.

I have an iPhone 12 Pro, and a series 6 Apple Watch, both with the public beta. It unlocks immediately when my phone is near my face and my watch is by my waist.

I don’t know why yours doesn’t, but I haven’t heard anyone else say they have to bring it weirdly close, so I’m assuming your experience is some sort of glitch that will be worked out in future beta updates.

 

[Suckfest 9001]

I have an iPhone 12 Pro, and a series 6 Apple Watch, both with the public beta. It unlocks immediately when my phone is near my face and my watch is by my waist.

I don’t know why yours doesn’t, but I haven’t heard anyone else say they have to bring it weirdly close, so I’m assuming your experience is some sort of glitch that will be worked out in future beta updates.

Hope so. But either way i wish it was available at all times, not just when wearing a mask. I wish it didn’t tap the watch every time it did it. Basically I wish they implemented it the way every major competitor did like 6 years ago

 

[krspkbl]

Edit: it’s working again. I had WiFi turned off. Apparently that needs to be on (don’t need to connect to a network) for it to work.

 

[Kermetajb]

This feature seemed to stop working in the past day or so. Restarted both devices to no avail.

 

[Fat_Guy]

Apple Pay does work on the AW and the passcode isn’t needed prior to using it.

I could be wrong but perhaps the people who still get the passcode on the watch for Apple Pay don’t have wrist detection on in the setting.

Also you have to have mask detection switched on in the settings and it’s a new setting. Wifi and Bluetooth should be on in both devices.

 

[Daniel L]

I have an iPhone 12 Pro, and a series 6 Apple Watch, both with the public beta. It unlocks immediately when my phone is near my face and my watch is by my waist.

I don’t know why yours doesn’t, but I haven’t heard anyone else say they have to bring it weirdly close, so I’m assuming your experience is some sort of glitch that will be worked out in future beta updates.

The implementation is very flaky now. Have 12PM and TiS6 and it works maybe 50% of the time for me

 

[Unregistered 4U]

unlocks just fine if you were in the same room basically.

Not even on your wrist? Doesn’t sound too secure, but then again, this IS Android.

I have an iPhone 12 Pro, and a series 6 Apple Watch, both with the public beta. It unlocks immediately when my phone is near my face and my watch is by my waist.

I don’t know why yours doesn’t, but I haven’t heard anyone else say they have to bring it weirdly close, so I’m assuming your experience is some sort of glitch that will be worked out in future beta updates.

I had to bring mine close the first time, but not since then. Maybe the Ultra Wideband helps with the newer systems?

 

[Grayburn]

I could be wrong but perhaps the people who still get the passcode on the watch for Apple Pay don’t have wrist detection on in the setting.

Also you have to have mask detection switched on in the settings and it’s a new setting. Wifi and Bluetooth should be on in both devices.

Not sure, I’ve always had wrist detection on all the 3 watches I’ve had so I can’t confirm.

Yes I know it’s a new setting and if you didn’t have Bluetooth on either the Watch or the phone then this new function would not work.

 

[AWindsor]

“Your Apple Watch must be nearby, on your wrist”

I didn’t know it could be far away, on your wrist

🙄

Pray you never find out! There are some clear downsides of biometric locks. See, for example, Demolition Man.

 

[Grayburn]

Finally installed both betas on phone and watch and this has worked perfectly so far.

 

[madeirabhoy]

Was working for me every time and then all of a sudden from yesterday it goes to work then says can’t find Apple Watch and asks for pin.

 

[Ntombi]

Was working for me every time and then all of a sudden from yesterday it goes to work then says can’t find Apple Watch and asks for pin.

Did you do a hard reset? Submit feedback?

It has worked for me all but once since I updated. Don’t know why that once didn’t work, but I didn’t even need to do anything for it to work again.

Unfortunately, my podcasts app isn’t working at all, which is super annoying. The risks we take with a beta!

 

[madeirabhoy]

Did you do a hard reset? Submit feedback?

It has worked for me all but once since I updated. Don’t know why that once didn’t work, but I didn’t even need to do anything for it to work again.

Unfortunately, my podcasts app isn’t working at all, which is super annoying. The risks we take with a beta!

weirdly it just snapped back into working today. at least half a dozen times and 100% pass rate.

 

[Daniel L]

Beta 2 on watch and iphone have improved the unlocking significantly. It's been 100% for me today

 

[jakja83]

But it doesn't work on touch-id-devices?

That would be awesome, sometimes you have some moist on your finger or touch-id sometimes fail then it would be great if the watch had bypassed this and you got you in.

 

[Loke2112]

Just sought out this thread to see how other are felling about this new feature. I am really hoping it works better soon. I have a X so maybe the newer phones handle it better. Will try bringing the two closer together but so far its wonky at best.

 

[MacCheetah3]

It is still in beta. Do you submit feedback?

 

[incoherent_1]

Just sought out this thread to see how other are felling about this new feature. I am really hoping it works better soon. I have a X so maybe the newer phones handle it better. Will try bringing the two closer together but so far its wonky at best.

It hasn’t been release to the public yet, so I haven’t tried it (I only have one phone so I don’t install betas). Hopefully they overcome the issues you’re experiencing before they get to their launch candidate!

 

[Ntombi]

Just sought out this thread to see how other are felling about this new feature. I am really hoping it works better soon. I have a X so maybe the newer phones handle it better. Will try bringing the two closer together but so far its wonky at best.

It’s worked about 95% of the time for me. It’s so seamless that I don’t even think about it anymore.

I have a 12 Pro and the series 6 Watch.