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'Knock' iOS App Uses Bluetooth 4.0 to Replace Password Unlocking on Macs

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Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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Knock, a newly released app for both iOS and Mac, is designed to allow users to unlock their Macs via Bluetooth with an iPhone, replacing traditional password logins.

After downloading the Knock app for iOS and the accompanying app for the Mac, an iPhone can unlock a connected Mac with two knocks on the back of the iPhone. The iOS app pairs specifically with the Mac app, which creates a secure connection between the two, and the process does not require opening the Knock app.

Faster and safer than typing a password, for iOS and Mac.

You keep your iPhone with you all the time. Now you can use it as a password. You never have to open the app-- just knock on your phone twice, even when it's in your pocket, and you're in.

Using Knock won't drain your iPhone's battery, even if you use it all day every day. Knock securely communicates with your Mac using Bluetooth Low Energy, a new technology that draws very little power.
Click to expand...
Because it uses Low Energy Bluetooth 4.0, Knock is compatible with the iPhone 4s or newer, along with the 2011 MacBook Air or newer, the 2012 MacBook Pro or newer, the 2012 iMac or newer, the 2011 Mac mini or newer and the 2013 Mac Pro.

Knock for iOS can be downloaded from the App Store for $3.99 [Direct Link]. The accompanying Mac app can be downloaded from the Knock website for free.

Article Link: 'Knock' iOS App Uses Bluetooth 4.0 to Replace Password Unlocking on Macs
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2013/11/05/knock-ios-app-uses-bluetooth-4-0-to-replace-password-unlocking-on-macs/
Watching him knock on the glass of that phone just made me cringe.
 
Just make sure you remember to knock the back of your iPhone!

Unless you have a naked iPhone 4S, that is. Given how easily I've seen the backs of iPhone 4/4S break, knocking it anywhere is probably best avoided.
 
'Knock' iOS App Uses Bluetooth 4.0 to Replace Password Unlocking on Macs

Berserker-UK said:
Just make sure you remember to knock the back of your iPhone!

Unless you have a naked iPhone 4S, that is. Given how easily I've seen the backs of iPhone 4/4S break, knocking it anywhere is probably best avoided.
Click to expand...

I think you're exaggerating. They said knock, not punch :p

Sure drops might break it but simply knocking can't possibly break the back unless there was already serious structural damage.
 
Excited for expansion

From what I can tell it only supports one Mac at a time the functionality to unlock multiple computers simultaneously would be preferable.:D
 
I guess this using the new iBeacons technology in iOS 7?

The Mac acts as an iBeacon, and when the iPhone comes within range, iOS wakes up the Knock app automatically so it can listen for the "knock" using the accelerometer.

Cool idea and a novel use of Bluetooth LE. Well done!
 
I decided to get it just to try it out, its actually very easy to unlock, I accidentally unlocked by picking my iPhone 5 off the table.
It also works on just tapping. So don't worry about knocking hard!

I will continue to use this however, living in a uni house everyone is trying to hack others computers etc as pranks. This is going to help greatly!
 
I would have liked unlocking my mac by simply keeping my iPhone "gently" next to it.

But Bluetooth 4 is picking up now, hope Apple upgrades battery hungry MagicMouse to a low power one!
 
OK so I know this come across as totally shill-y, but hell, - the idea of this sounded too much fun so I just grabbed it. Honestly, even the installation process is more polished than I could imagine.

And it works, perfectly. I put my phone in my pocket, glass facing in, in the Apple iPhone 5s leather case, and tapping the back of the phone twice unlocks the iMac perfectly.

I did find that the accelerometer sensitivity is lower at the bottom of the 5s than the top, so I just tap more toward the top of the phone (which is actually at the bottom of my pocket).

Anyway, A+ to the developers, - this is a seriously slick app.

PS Using this with 2012 iMac.
 
The guy in the video looks like a giant douche with his silly beard. I'd like to "knock" him. In the face.
 
Why doesn't it work with the MBP late 2010? I checked the bluetooth and I have 4.0. Any ideas?
 
Reason077 said:
The guy in the video looks like a giant douche with his silly beard. I'd like to "knock" him. In the face.
Click to expand...

Honestly, I expected the beard to magically disappear in sync with the ease of unlocking the computer. I was shocked to see his beard intact at the end.
 
3bs said:
I think you're exaggerating. They said knock, not punch :p
Click to expand...

Depends who's doing the knocking. :p

Yes, it takes force to break an iPhone4 back, but not as much as you'd think. I know somehow who simply misjudged the position of a shelf and caught the corner of their iPhone4 on it. Crack! :(

Apple replaced it of course, but still inconvenient, and they could call deliberate damage in this App's case.
 
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