Auto Unlock Mac using your Apple Watch is a nice feature to avoid entering the password. This feature is available with all Apple Watch but limited to Macs manufactured in 2013 and later. For any reason, if you can't unlock Mac with Apple Watch, there's nothing to disappoint. There are certain things to keep in mind to get it to work correctly.
Apart from the pre-requisites, we have also penned down some fixes that may resolve the issue. Before you jump to the fixes, I'll insist you go through some basic troubleshooting and then move to the advanced part of the post.
Disable Automatic Login on Mac. If you have enabled Automatic Login on Mac, you'll need to disable. Apr 23, 2020 Hit the Apple icon in the top-left corner of your MacBook's display. Choose Restart from the drop-down menu and be ready to press some keys on your keyboard. When the Apple logo reappears on your MacBook Air's display, press and hold down ‘ Command + R ‘ on your keyboard. Therefore, this post is written to help those in need to unlock an iPad without a password or unlock the disabled iPad. The methods can be used to get into locked iPad Pro, iPad 2/3/4, iPad Air 1/2, iPad Mini 1/2/3 without the passcode.
Unable to Unlock Mac with Apple Watch? Try below-given fixes
Important Notes:
- Make sure your Mac is of 2013 or later model
- Check whether your Apple Watch and Mac have the same iCloud account
- You'll need two-factor authentication enabled and setup on both, Mac and Apple Watch
- You'll need watchOS 3 or later and macOS Sierra or later to use Auto Unlock
- Your Mac and Apple Watch should have Passcode enabled and set up
Now that you have an idea of pre-required things let's start with fixes if troubleshooting mentioned above hasn't helped you.
#1. Disable Automatic Login on Mac
If you have enabled Automatic Login on Mac, you'll need to disable it. To do so, open System Preferences by clicking the Apple logo, followed by clicking Users & Groups.
Click the lock icon at the bottom-left to make changes, enter the administrator password.
Then click on Login Options.
On the right side of the window, select Off from the dropdown menu beside Automatic Login.
Now check if you can unlock Mac using Apple Watch. If it doesn't, keep reading.
#2. Boot Up Password required for Apple Watch and Mac
When you restart your Mac or Apple Watch, you need to enter the password before you can use the auto-unlock feature. This is identical to Touch ID on iPhone, which requires you to enter Passcode after you restart your iPhone. It is a security feature and not a bug. If you have restarted your Apple Watch, or Mac, or both, you need to enter the password/Passcode for the first time.
#3. Is your Apple Watch Paired Correctly?
To operate different devices flawlessly in the Apple ecosystem, you need to keep basic things in mind. Same iCloud account and proper pairing. Check whether you have paired your Apple Watch correctly with your iPhone.
Without proper pairing, Auto-Unlock feature won't work. Still, haven't fixed the unlocking issue? Keep reading.
#4. Check Radios
Auto-Unlock feature requires Wifi and Bluetooth turned on. Check whether you have accidentally turned off the same on Apple Watch and your Mac.
Try unlocking your Mac with Apple Watch. Did it work? Nope, let's try something else.
#5. Reset Radios on Mac and Apple Watch
Sometimes big problems have one of the tiniest solutions. Try resetting Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on Apple Watch and Mac.
On Apple Watch:
- Swipe up on the watch face to open the control center on Apple Watch
- Tap on Airplane Mode to switch off all radios
- After a minute, tap Airplane Mode again to restart radios.
On your Mac:
- Click Wifi icon → Turn Wi-Fi off
- Click Bluetooth → Turn Bluetooth off
After a minute, Turn both of them back ON and check if you can unlock your Mac using Apple Watch. If not, keep reading.
#6. Disable/Enable Allow Apple Watch to Unlock on your Mac
On your Mac, open System Preferences → Security & Privacy. By default, you'll be on the General tab. If you are not, click on General tab and then uncheck the box beside Allow Apple Watch to unlock your Mac. Check again in few seconds to turn it back on.
#7. Disable Internet Sharing on Mac
Auto Unlock does not work with Internet Sharing enabled on your Mac. If it is enabled, make sure you disable it by going to System Preferences → Sharing and then, unchecking the box beside Internet Sharing in the left sidebar of the window.
#8. Update OS Your Mac and Apple Watch
Radios on Mac and Apple Watch usually receive updates when Apple find any bug in their connectivity. Check whether watchOS or macOS update is available. If it is, make sure you update it right away and then see if things are working usually.
Update watchOS
Step #1. Open Watch app on your iPhone and then select My Watch tab at the bottom.
Step #2. Now, tap on General → Software Update.
Check out if there is an update waiting for you. Install the update if it's there.
Update OS on your Mac
Step #1. Open Mac App Store and select Updates tab in the top left corner.
Step #2. If you find macOS software update, click to install it.
After the software update, you will, most likely, be able to overcome the issue.
#9. Restart devices
Restarting things is generally not required with Apple devices, yet it is always better to give a try when nothing seems to be helping. Restart your Apple Watch and Mac and then unlock them the first time with Passcode and password respectively. Now check again if you can open your Mac using Apple Watch. If it doesn't, keep reading.
#10. Unpair and Re-pair your Apple Watch
I know this is really a tedious thing to do, but this mostly solves the most critical Apple Watch issue. On your iPhone launch the Watch app → My Watch and then tap the [Name]'s Apple Watch.
Next, tap on the Info button on the right and then, touch on Unpair Apple Watch. After it is unpaired, pair your Apple Watch with your iPhone again and check if Auto Unlock is working now. If everything fails to work, the last option is to get in touch with the Apple Support.
That's all for now!
Wrapping up…
I hope some of the above fixes have helped you resolve your issue of unlocking Mac with Apple Watch. Apart from these fixes, if you have got any other way to get it done, don't forget to share it.
You may also like to refer:
Do share your feedback with us in the comment section?
Jignesh Padhiyar is the co-founder of iGeeksBlog.com who has a keen eye for news, rumors and all the unusual stuff that happens around Apple products. Macbook pro com windows 7. During his tight schedule, Jignesh finds some moments of respite to share side-splitting contents on social media.
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Many users forgot their iPad passcode/pin after they haven't used the iPad for a long time. We have received such requests from time to time: how to unlock iPad if I forgot passcode? Therefore, this post is written to help those in need to unlock an iPad without a password or unlock the disabled iPad. The methods can be used to get into locked iPad Pro, iPad 2/3/4, iPad Air 1/2, iPad Mini 1/2/3 without the passcode.
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Before removing passcode from the iPad Pro/Air/Mini, there are a few facts you should know about the iPad passcode.
After entering the wrong password on your iPad for 6 times in a row, your iPad will be disabled for a certain time. As the incorrect password attempts increase, the interval will become longer.
After too many unsuccessful attempts, the iPad will be completely disabled and need to connect to a computer.
If you have enabled Erase data in Settings > Touch ID & Passcode, the iPad will automatically delete all data on it after 10 wrong attempts. You'll be able to use the iPad again but all data are gone.
If you forgot the password for Apple ID/iCloud account, read how to retrieve/reset the iPad password for Apple ID.
How to Unlock Disabled/Locked iPad Without iTunes
Apple suggests us to restore the disabled/locked iPad with iTunes when we cannot remember iPad passcode/pin code. However, if your iPad has not been synced with the iTunes before, iTunes won't let you restore the iPad and ask you to enter the password (which you forgot) on the iPad.
Fortunately, there is another way for you to reset the locked/disabled iPad without iTunes: using FonePaw iOS Unlocker. The program can remove the passcode from your iPad by wiping the locked iPad. After the passcode has been removed, your iPad will be unlocked. You can then set up the device again and restore the iCloud backup to get back all your data.
Follow the following steps to restore disabled/locked iPad, iPad Pro/Air/Mini on iPadOS 13, iOS 12, or earlier without iTunes.
STEP 1. Free download FonePaw iOS Unlocker on a PC or Mac.
DownloadDownload
STEP 2. Connect your iPad to the computer via USB cable and open FonePaw iOS Unlocker.
STEP 3. Choose Wipe Passcode from the three options and it will detect your device automatically.
Please check and ensure the information is absolutely correct about your iPad. Click Start and it will download the firmware package for the device.
STEP 4. When the firmware package is downloaded, FonePaw iOS Unlocker will ask you to enter '0000' to confirm the unlocking.
Note:
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1. You should be aware that removing the lock screen will erase all data and settings.
2. You'd better make sure that Find My iPad is disabled before, or else the unlocking might be failed.
3. If Find My iPad is enabled and you unlock it successfully, you will need to enter the iCloud password to reset the device.
STEP 5. When you confirm the unlocking, the program will begin unlocking your iPad.
Note:
When the process bar goes to 20%, you will be asked to put your device into the Recovery Mode. Follow the prompt to put the iPad into Recovery Mode.
STEP 6. Wait till the unlocking process continues. When it finishes, your iPad will be unlocked successfully.
Again, before you try to remove the screen passcode with FonePaw iOS Unlocker, you should know that:
1. Remove your lock screen will erase all the data and settings. If you have backed up in iCloud before, you can restore data from iCloud.
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2. It would be better to turn off Find My iPad in advance. Or else the unlocking might be failed. If Find My iPad is enabled, you will need to enter iCloud passcode to reset the device.
3. Your device will be updated to the latest iOS version after the unlocking.
4. Remember to register before unlocking.
Now you can set up your iPad and restore everything from iCloud backup. You won't lose your data if you have an iCloud backup.
How to Unlock iPad Passcode without Restore
You may know that you can unlock and undisable iPad by restoring the iPad, however, if you don't have a backup, all data on the iPad will be lost after restore. Therefore, you may want to know how to unlock the iPad passcode without restore.
Unfortunately, there is no way to unlock the iPad without restore if you have forgotten the passcode. But if you suddenly remember the passcode and would like to unlock the disabled iPad without restore, there is one trick you can try.
STEP 1 Launch iTunes on your computer and connect your iPad to the computer.
STEP 2 Select your iPad and choose 'Back Up Now'. You'll be asked to enter the passcode.
STEP 3 Enter your passcode and cancel the backup. You can fix the disabled iPad immediately.
For those who have totally forgotten passcode, you can still reset locked iPad Pro/Air/Mini without losing data by managing to create a backup before the restore. The following methods will show you how to do so.
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How to Restore Locked/Disabled iPad with iTunes
If your iPad has been synced to iTunes before, you can reset disabled iPad 2/3/4, iPad Pro, iPad Mini 1/2/3/4, iPad Air 1/2/3 with iTunes when you forgot iPad lock code. Restoring the iPad with iTunes will remove all data (including passcode) of your iPad. But you can recover the data if you have an iTunes backup.
STEP 1 Open the computer that you have synced the iPad with. Launch iTunes on it and connect the locked/disabled iPad to the computer.
STEP 2 When your iPad is detected, make a backup of your iPad with iTunes or sync your iPad to iTunes.
STEP 3 After you have a backup, click Restore iPad. The iTunes will factory reset the locked iPad.
STEP 4 When reaching the setup screen, choose Restore from iTunes backup.
STEP 5 You can then get into your iPad without passcode.
How to Unlock iPad Passcode without Computer
If you cannot access to a computer right now, you can use Find My iPad to unlock iPad passcode without a computer.
STEP 1 Go to icloud.com and log into the iCloud account of your iPad.
STEP 2 Click Find My iPhone, choose your iPad, and click Erase iPad.
That's what you should do when you are locked out of your iPad. After you have unlocked the iPad, don't forget to set up an easy to remember the passcode for your iPad.
