Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Locked out of my watch!

Pagemakers

Pagemakers

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Mar 28, 2008
2,913
1,203
Manchester UK
My watch has just said "Your iPhone has a policy that requires a new passcode".

It then offers a numeric screen to enter my old passcode. Problem is my old passcode is a complex alpha-numeric code with symbols!!!

Seems I am totally locked out of my phone now. I have a totally useless ugly plastic brick on my wrist.
 
Are you confusing your iPhone passcode with your :apple:Watch passcode? The :apple:Watch can only use a numeric passcode.
 
  • Like
Reactions: iBlazed
My phone is not locked. My watch is.

For the past months my watch remains locked until I unlock my phone with Touch ID.

Now my watch is asking for a passcode. A passcode that I have never set for my watch in my life. I have never needed to unlock my watch with a numeric code.

If I remove the exchange account on my phone and reboot my phone and my watch I still can't get into my watch.
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    729.3 KB · Views: 447
Pagemakers said:
My phone is not locked. My watch is.

For the past months my watch remains locked until I unlock my phone with Touch ID.

Now my watch is asking for a passcode. A passcode that I have never set for my watch in my life. I have never needed to unlock my watch with a numeric code.

If I remove the exchange account on my phone and reboot my phone and my watch I still can't get into my watch.
Click to expand...

You did set a passcode on watch when you set it up, but have forgotten it, you can't set touch id unlock without having entered a passcode first, even if you never actually used it.

If you can't think what it might be, you'll probably have to erase and re-setup the watch.
 
  • Like
Reactions: T-Will, Rok73, melman101 and 1 other person
I'm 99% certain I did not set a passcode. You can see from this Apple screenshot (at the bottom) that a passcode is not required.
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    83.5 KB · Views: 258
Pagemakers said:
I have NEVER set a passcode for my watch. It unlocks when I unlock my phone.
Click to expand...

If your watch unlocks when you unlock your phone then you have a passcode and you set it during setup. If you have Apple Pay setup, you have a passcode. In the watch app under passcode you have the option to change the passcode. No need to do it on the watch. Try there and see what it tells you.

I set my watch code to match my phone code. It sounds like your Exchange policy is forcing an update on your phone with a new passcode and now your watch is asking the same.
 
Pagemakers said:
I'm 99% certain I did not set a passcode. You can see from this Apple screenshot (at the bottom) that a passcode is not required.
Click to expand...

You can bypass this step if you are not connected to an Exchange server that forces passcodes on all connected devices or using Apple Pay. You may have passed this step and been asked later maybe?
 
gsmornot said:
If your watch unlocks when you unlock your phone then you have a passcode and you set it during setup. If you have Apple Pay setup, you have a passcode. In the watch app under passcode you have the option to change the passcode. No need to do it on the watch. Try there and see what it tells you.

I set my watch code to match my phone code. It sounds like your Exchange policy is forcing an update on your phone with a new passcode and now your watch is asking the same.
Click to expand...

You see here it is giving the option on turning a passcode ON. Why I try I get an error.
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    107.6 KB · Views: 194
  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    102 KB · Views: 209
Now that I’m back into my watch the passcode feature works totally differently now. If the watch is off my wrist I am now able to enter a code to access the watch. This was never possible before. I had to put the watch on and unlock via my phone.
 
Pagemakers said:
Now that I’m back into my watch the passcode feature works totally differently now. If the watch is off my wrist I am now able to enter a code to access the watch. This was never possible before. I had to put the watch on and unlock via my phone.
Click to expand...

That is how the Watch is designed to work. The unlock from phone only works if it is strapped on your wrist.

Pagemakers said:
I have a totally useless ugly plastic brick on my wrist.
Click to expand...

Wondering why you even bought a Watch :confused:
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: T-Will and Armen
Before, if my phone was off my wrist, a message was displayed telling me to put wear the watch and unlock by my iPhone.

Now I am able to enter a code with the watch off my wrist. I wasn’t able to do that before. That makes me think even more that I never entered a passcode for my watch initially and that’s why I couldn’t change the code before, because there never was one.
 
Pagemakers said:
Before, if my phone was off my wrist, a message was displayed telling me to put wear the watch and unlock by my iPhone.

Now I am able to enter a code with the watch off my wrist. I wasn’t able to do that before. That makes me think even more that I never entered a passcode for my watch initially and that’s why I couldn’t change the code before, because there never was one.
Click to expand...

The current behavior is the normal behavior. Either you're confused or your watch was buggy for allowing you to skip a step (before you erased it).
 
Pagemakers said:
I'm just erasing the entire watch now. This bloody thing has been nothing but frustrating.
Click to expand...
Do you have a corporate profile on your iPhone? That could be what's causing it. We are required to have alphanumeric passwords on our phones at my office. When the Watch came out, at first I couldn't set any password at all, but then our profile was updated to require the "unlock Watch with phone" option.

Try erasing and starting over again. Otherwise, you may need to have the genius bar ship it out to have the firmware updated.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back