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iPhone 13 Users Experiencing 'Unable to Communicate with Apple Watch' Bug With Mask Unlocking

Dumb question, but why would this be an iPhone 13 issue and not an iOS 15 issue?

edited to clarify: I understand that it only affects iPhone 13. My question is *why* does it only happen with 13s? If X, 11, 12 and 13 are all running iOS 15, why is it only the 13s with the issue? From what it sounds like, it seems it would be more of a software issue than hardware.
I hope that clarifies things.
 
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Unrelated but related, I’m also experiencing issues with unlock from iPhone on my AW. Either it takes a few minutes to unlock the watch after I have unlocked the phone, or it just won’t do it and I have to unlock on the watch.
 
thought my watch was broken after moving to 13pro… but my partner’s watch 4 was stuck on updating and unusable for now. will keep it restarting until it allows to be paired again
 
So I'm waiting on my 13 Pro. Confused. A few posts say it only affect the unlock\mask thing, others are saying it won't pair with the new phone? I'm scared now, lol. My watch is more important to me then the phone itself.
 
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rotlex said:
So I'm waiting on my 13 Pro. Confused. A few posts say it only affect the unlock\mask thing, others are saying it won't pair with the new phone? I'm scared now, lol. My watch is more important to me then the phone itself.
Click to expand...

For me, at least pairing was fine (twice) the only issue I have found is the enabling of using the Watch to unlock the iPhone when wearing a mask…… which has been a godsend for me.
 
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Same issue here. I have been using this feature with my iPhone 12 Pro Max since it came out. It stopped working when I switched to my new iPhone 13 Pro.

I also gave up after trying to unpair/repair a few times.
 
I sold my watch, but it was having the reverse issue. With the setting toggled for unlock watch with iPhone, my watch would stay locked in the morning and I'd have to manually enter passcode.
 
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Just updated to my iPhone 13 mini with the wireless transfer and my watch prompted me to switch and just worked. So thankfully not a universal issue. I haven’t tried mask unlock since I’m at home and don’t need to wear one…
 
My 13 Pro wouldn't unlock with the Apple Watch. Just had to go to Settings --> Face ID & Passcode and re-enable unlocking with the AW. For some reason, even though I did a direct transfer from my 12 Pro to the 13 Pro, the unlocking feature got turned off. Now it works as expected.
 
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MacRumors said:


Several iPhone 13 users have taken to online forums and social media to report that after receiving their brand new iPhones, they're experiencing a bug preventing it from communicating with their Apple Watch, making what's supposed to be a seamless experience an annoyance.

iphone-13-apple-watch-bug.jpeg

As outlined on Reddit, after receiving an iPhone 13, some customers cannot toggle on the "Unlock with Apple Watch" feature, allowing users to unlock their iPhones while wearing a mask thanks to their Apple Watch. When attempting to activate the feature, some customers are prompted with an "Unable to communicate with Apple Watch" prompt, with no clear solution.

Posts and comments on Reddit suggest that typical problem-solving solutions aren't working, such as restarting both devices and even unpairing and repairing the Apple Watch to the iPhone. Posts on Twitter and Reddit indicate that the issue is widespread amongst new iPhone 13 users, but at least so far, we aren't seeing reports of other iPhone models being impacted.

The iPhone 13 initially shipped with an outdated build of iOS 15, so customers experiencing the bug should first ensure they're running the latest iOS 15 and watchOS 8 version. Still, even then, reports suggest that does little to amend the issues.

The new bug joins a growing list of bugs related to iOS 15 and the new iPhones, including a bug that may result in Apple Music being inoperative after a restore, a bug that may cause widgets to reset, and a bug impacting reported iPhone and iPad storage.

Apple is currently testing iOS and iPadOS 15.1, but given the growing number of issues experienced by users, the company may decide to release iOS 15.0.1 before its first significant dot update for iOS and iPadOS 15. We've reached out to Apple for comment on the bug, and we'll update this if we hear back.

Article Link: iPhone 13 Users Experiencing 'Unable to Communicate with Apple Watch' Bug With Mask Unlocking
Click to expand...
I'm having this same problem. I was about ready to throw my watch against the wall but came across this post.
 
That why I alway been waiting till all the bugs are worked out! Apple watch is another division and iPhone is a completely different division of Apple. They never speak to one another and the developers do not get the others upcoming devices to test with their products!

Rumor has it that the division have to wait for their order get delivered from Apple's warehouse after they place their sales order. No early freebies like the influencers get either!
 
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filchermcurr said:
Poor Apple. :( They're only a small $2 trillion dollar company. They can't be expected to test that things work before releasing them! We expect too much.

Joking aside, before people start screaming at me about the complexity of software, I know. However... I also know that it would be easy enough to have a list of major features, say, one that includes unlocking with the watch or 'using Apple Music'. And to have a small team who is given the list. This team, we could call them something fancy sounding like "Quality Assurance", would then test these features to ensure that they work as expected.

I dunno. Just a crazy thought I had.
Click to expand...
Oh, Apple has a Quality Assurance team. They report to the EVP of Quabbity, guy named Creed Bratton…
 
rotlex said:
So I'm waiting on my 13 Pro. Confused. A few posts say it only affect the unlock\mask thing, others are saying it won't pair with the new phone? I'm scared now, lol. My watch is more important to me then the phone itself.
Click to expand...
I had both problems at first now I only have the unlock with apple watch bug.

I choose the "pair to existing Apple Watch" option and at first I thought everything was good I wasn't getting any notifications on my watch. Noticed there was an update for both my Apple Watch and 13 Pro. Did both and it's been fine ever since.

EDIT: It was previously paired to my iPhone 12 Pro on iOS 15 without any issues.
 
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