Wednesday, December 25, 2024
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How to unlock your Mac with your Apple Watch

With macOS Sierra and watchOS 3.0 you can unlock your Mac using your Apple Watch. To do this, you’ll have to enable Apple’s new two-factor authentication and make sure your Mac is running macOS Sierra and your Apple Watch is running watchOS 3.0. 

On the Mac, go to Settings -> Security & Privacy -> Allow your Apple Watch to unlock your Mac. Also, make sure that Disable Automatic Login is unchecked. If the option is grayed out, click the padlock icon at the bottom of the window to make the change.

On the Apple Watch, go to Settings. Scroll down and tap Passcode. Turn Passcode On. Enter a passcode to lock and unlock your Apple Watch.

Now Auto Unlock will be invoked just by waking your Mac. If you try to unlock your Mac without wearing your Apple Watch, the normal password screen will appear.

Dennis Sellers
the authorDennis Sellers
Dennis Sellers is the editor/publisher of Apple World Today. He’s been an “Apple journalist” since 1995 (starting with the first big Apple news site, MacCentral). He loves to read, run, play sports, and watch movies.