How to use an Apple Watch, an iPhone and a Mac to unlock each other

If biometric authentication did not exist, we would unlock our devices to the classic: with an unlock code. But Touch ID and Face ID have made our lives more comfortable, allowing us to use our fingerprint or even our face to access our terminals.

And now that we have so many devices on us, it is possible combine their functions so that they unlock each other. And at certain times, this is very useful. We are going to see all the cases in which this is possible.

Unlock a Mac with an Apple Watch

You can use an Apple Watch to unlock a Mac, even if it has Touch ID. For this you need:

• A Mac with macOS 10.12 Sierra or a later version installed
• Have the same Apple ID on your Mac and iPhone, with no pending password requests
• Two-factor authentication activated

If you meet these requirements, simply go to System Settings (System Preferences in earlier versions of macOS) on your Mac and locate the “Touch ID & Password” or “Login Password” option depending on whether your Mac has or does not have Touch ID:

There you should find your Apple Watch listed, along with the option to turn on unlocking your Mac with it. Remember that in order to do it correctly, the Apple Watch must be protected with a code and be unlocked on your wrist.

Unlock an iPhone with an Apple Watch

This is one of the very few benefits that the pandemic has given us: Apple launched a way to unlock iPhones with Apple Watch while wearing a mask while researching ways to refine Face ID, and we can activate it from Settings:

In this way, when you wear a mask (or a scarf now that the cold has arrived), the iPhone can resort to the Apple Watch if it does not recognize your face well. Please note that Face ID has to be activated for this option to work.

Unlock an Apple Watch with an iPhone

This is perhaps the option that you are going to use the least, but it is worth mentioning: you can unlock an Apple Watch through the iPhone. For those who have mobility problems, this can bring a lot of comfort.

In order to activate it you have to enter the iPhone Watch application, section ‘Code’ and there you will find the option ‘Unlock with the iPhone’:

There are combinations that are not possible at the moment, such as unlocking a Mac with an iPhone or any interaction with an iPad. The main idea here is not to gain comfort, but to facilitate unlocking in more complicated moments such as when we wear masks or when we cannot move our wrist well if we want to unlock the Apple Watch. But it is always good to know all these possibilities.

Image | brina blum