Apple Watch Auto Unlock Questions [MERGED]

[sigjuice]

Now I just need a new router that supports 802.11 ac, should make Airdrop a lot more useful

AirDrop does not involve your router. AirDrop is a direct connection between the two participating devices. The only requirement is that both devices have wifi and bluetooth turned on. The devices do not have to be on the same wifi network.

 

[AaronG123]

You need wireless card BCM94331PCIEBT4CAX in order to upgrade to AC and BT 4.0. Available on eBay for around £40.
[doublepost=1474375950][/doublepost]

BCM94331PCIEBT4CAX - search eBay for this model number, that's the compatible card for the A1278.

Thanks for this; finally got around to ordering! Fitted the card today, however Bluetooth is not working (ie. not turning on) and Wifi whilst is on and showing available connections - is not allowing any connections.

Do I need to do anything after installing? - I have already tried PRAM reset or could it be a faulty stick, as have placed the old card back in and working fine again.

Thanks!

 

[fischersd]

Thanks for this; finally got around to ordering! Fitted the card today, however Bluetooth is not working (ie. not turning on) and Wifi whilst is on and showing available connections - is not allowing any connections.

Do I need to do anything after installing? - I have already tried PRAM reset or could it be a faulty stick, as have placed the old card back in and working fine again.

Thanks!

Hopefully wherever you bought that, they have a good return policy.
Looking at the specs for your Mac - MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2012) (MacBookPro9,2), you likely already have the same BroadCom 4331 chipset as that card that @slears advised you to order.

The 4331 does NOT support 802.11AC. Your system already supports 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0, so I don't see that card giving you anything you don't already have.

If you want to have the auto unlock feature, you need a card with the newer Broadcom chipsets (such as 4360) that supports the proprietary ribbon connector used in that era of MacBook.
The uCard from Quickertek is one such card, but they've been sold out for awhile now - you can contact them to get on their waiting list, if you're interested - http://www.quickertek.com/products/Ucard.html

 

[Ritte]

Hi, I've problem with unlocking my mac when little snitch is active. If I turn of little snitch unlock works as it should.

Little snitch is very important to me, more so than the semi-gimmick feature of unlocking the computer. But it's still nice to unlock the mac with the Watch.

Does anybody know if there is any rules so need to modify in little snitch?

 

[Deliro]

Is there any way to unlock a MBP after it auto locks from inactivity, without closing the lid and reopening it?

 

[fischersd]

Is there any way to unlock a MBP after it auto locks from inactivity, without closing the lid and reopening it?

You must be having it go to sleep, not just locking. (the scenario you're describing is the one that it was designed for).

Edit: Just did that myself as well and I just had to hit a key on the keyboard to wake the computer up, and the auto-unlock worked.

Normally I don't have the MBP power down at all when it's connected to power - so I have the screen saver being the locking mechanism. In that circumstance, you need only to get near to it and it unlocks.

 

[MyAppleWorld]

Hello

Does anybody know the proximity distance that the watch must be in, in order to use unlock?

 

[akash.nu]

 

[MyAppleWorld]

Thanks...way too much range IMO

I share a mac so the other person could easily logon when i'm around.

 

[fischersd]

Thanks...way too much range IMO

I share a mac so the other person could easily logon when i'm around.

True, but you are notified on the watch when it unlocks the MB. As for the 9 feet - they were standing there, stationary. You need to stay within range of the MB for a second for it to unlock. (and you could also have a short timeout for your screen saver or power saving - whichever option you're using for being the locking mechanism) - so if there isn't user activity quickly, it locks again.

 

[blasto2236]

I had this set up and working flawlessly, but it stopped working altogether in the latest 10.12.4 and watchOS 3.2 betas. Not sure which is the culprit. I have checked and unchecked the setting in System Prefs 100x. It appears to enable without issue, but when I wake the Mac from sleep it immediately prompts for a typed password rather than showing the "Unlocking with Apple Watch..." dialog.

In the past, I'd had issues with it saying "Unlocking" and then failing and prompting for a pass, but now its like the Mac does not even recognize the feature is enabled at all. I know, I'm in beta. These things are to be expected. I've submitted a feedback report, just wondering if anyone has seen this same behavior in a previous build and how they might have fixed it.

 

[karnsculpture]

I had this set up and working flawlessly, but it stopped working altogether in the latest 10.12.4 and watchOS 3.2 betas. Not sure which is the culprit. I have checked and unchecked the setting in System Prefs 100x. It appears to enable without issue, but when I wake the Mac from sleep it immediately prompts for a typed password rather than showing the "Unlocking with Apple Watch..." dialog.

In the past, I'd had issues with it saying "Unlocking" and then failing and prompting for a pass, but now its like the Mac does not even recognize the feature is enabled at all. I know, I'm in beta. These things are to be expected. I've submitted a feedback report, just wondering if anyone has seen this same behavior in a previous build and how they might have fixed it.

Same happening with me since the latest beta. When I go to enable the feature I get a message saying "you must be signed into icloud to enable this feature" - but I am!

 

[blasto2236]

Same happening with me since the latest beta. When I go to enable the feature I get a message saying "you must be signed into icloud to enable this feature" - but I am!

Odd, I have zero issues activating the feature, it just doesn't actually work.

Edit: for me it was the watchOS beta. The latest watchOS beta update resolved it completely.

 

[rezwits]

I just started having issues, but the culprit is when I sleep my MacBook Pro, upon waking the bluetooth gets shut off. So no unlock.... I hope I don't have to service.

 

[rezwits]

Well I went into my backup account, and reset bluetooth, and now when I sleep my mac, the bluetooth doesn't turn off. But if I turn on Watch unlock. Does nothing but ask for password... sucks welp 12.4! here we go... the wait starts now...
[doublepost=1488245379][/doublepost]Well another report, after going in to my backup local admin account and resetting bluetooth, then going into my network user account doing some sleep wake sleep wake, the bluetooth was working. After 30 minutes of stable Bluetooth, I disabled Wake from Sleep Require Password Screen (Watch unlock was already disabled). I shutdown my iPhone, shutdown my Watch. Powered on iPhone, waited then put in passcode, while still awake, turned on Watch, waited. After making sure I was completely authenticated via iPhone and Watch, first I slept the MacBook Pro and woke. Bluetooth was still kicking. I went back into Security and turned on Screen Wake Password, and unlock via Watch. Slept and woke with UNLOCKING via Watch. It does stop working from time to time, but it's not a HARDWARE issue. It's this CRUMMY macOS Sierra (12.3), power management... But the bluetooth doesn't conk out after restarts or sleeps anymore... whew...

added: The unlocking dies, and only works one time when you first turn it on and then it's done. But the Bluetooth stays on.

 

[rezwits]

FINALLY, Here is my fix...

in System Preferences -> Security & Privacy
Turn on Disable automatic login
Turn off Allow your Apple Watch to unlock your mac

in System Preferences -> Bluetooth
Turn off Bluetooth

in System Preferences -> Network
Turn off WiFi

Shutdown your mac, and DISCONNECT ALL DEVICES:
USB Drives, Dongles etc,
Thunderbolt,
Video, etc

Disconnect the power for 10-15 seconds.
Plug just the power in to your mac.
Restart your mac with Command-Option-P-R (PRAM Zap)

After login, go into:
in System Preferences -> Network
Create a New Location (Home, Home2, etc)
In the left column, Delete all but WiFi, (Bluetooth PAN, etc,
this is a new location all your OLD settings should be in [Automatic Location])
Turn on WiFi, you should pick up setting, do to your iCloud settings, if not select your WiFi.

Go into:
in System Preferences -> Bluetooth
Turn on Bluetooth

in System Preferences -> Security & Privacy
Leave on Disable automatic login
Turn ON Allow your Apple Watch to unlock your mac
wait for spinner to stop, and quit Sys Pref

Sleep your machine with power button, wait 60 seconds, and wake with keyboard and unlock with watch
wait 2 minutes
repeat the sleep test again,
you should be good to go!

And I guess don't plug any USB devices in for an extended time at this point in macOS Sierra, and if you restart you might have to unplug them... (Thanks Apple, and macOS Sierra)

Over and Out...

 

[blasto2236]

Just wanted to provide a quick update: my issue started recurring in later betas. The solution? Unplug my MacBook Pro's MagSafe charger. Fixes it every single time, at least for a bit. I'm wondering it it causes some sort of magnetic interference?

 

[jagooch]

FINALLY, Here is my fix...

in System Preferences -> Security & Privacy
Turn on Disable automatic login
Turn off Allow your Apple Watch to unlock your mac

in System Preferences -> Bluetooth
Turn off Bluetooth

in System Preferences -> Network
Turn off WiFi

Shutdown your mac, and DISCONNECT ALL DEVICES:
USB Drives, Dongles etc,
Thunderbolt,
Video, etc

Disconnect the power for 10-15 seconds.
Plug just the power in to your mac.
Restart your mac with Command-Option-P-R (PRAM Zap)

After login, go into:
in System Preferences -> Network
Create a New Location (Home, Home2, etc)
In the left column, Delete all but WiFi, (Bluetooth PAN, etc,
this is a new location all your OLD settings should be in [Automatic Location])
Turn on WiFi, you should pick up setting, do to your iCloud settings, if not select your WiFi.

Go into:
in System Preferences -> Bluetooth
Turn on Bluetooth

in System Preferences -> Security & Privacy
Leave on Disable automatic login
Turn ON Allow your Apple Watch to unlock your mac
wait for spinner to stop, and quit Sys Pref

Sleep your machine with power button, wait 60 seconds, and wake with keyboard and unlock with watch
wait 2 minutes
repeat the sleep test again,
you should be good to go!

And I guess don't plug any USB devices in for an extended time at this point in macOS Sierra, and if you restart you might have to unplug them... (Thanks Apple, and macOS Sierra)

Over and Out...

Wow. I might do this someday when I have the time. I'm still burned from all the Apple iCloud logout/logins I did last week to fix text replacement syncing. It was like, 100 times for all of my device ( ok, it was 5, but still a lot of work! ).

 

[ersan191]

FINALLY, Here is my fix...

in System Preferences -> Security & Privacy
Turn on Disable automatic login
Turn off Allow your Apple Watch to unlock your mac

in System Preferences -> Bluetooth
Turn off Bluetooth

in System Preferences -> Network
Turn off WiFi

Shutdown your mac, and DISCONNECT ALL DEVICES:
USB Drives, Dongles etc,
Thunderbolt,
Video, etc

Disconnect the power for 10-15 seconds.
Plug just the power in to your mac.
Restart your mac with Command-Option-P-R (PRAM Zap)

After login, go into:
in System Preferences -> Network
Create a New Location (Home, Home2, etc)
In the left column, Delete all but WiFi, (Bluetooth PAN, etc,
this is a new location all your OLD settings should be in [Automatic Location])
Turn on WiFi, you should pick up setting, do to your iCloud settings, if not select your WiFi.

Go into:
in System Preferences -> Bluetooth
Turn on Bluetooth

in System Preferences -> Security & Privacy
Leave on Disable automatic login
Turn ON Allow your Apple Watch to unlock your mac
wait for spinner to stop, and quit Sys Pref

Sleep your machine with power button, wait 60 seconds, and wake with keyboard and unlock with watch
wait 2 minutes
repeat the sleep test again,
you should be good to go!

And I guess don't plug any USB devices in for an extended time at this point in macOS Sierra, and if you restart you might have to unplug them... (Thanks Apple, and macOS Sierra)

Over and Out...

Didn't work for me - I can't physically remove the power because it's a MacBook Pro, but I did everything else.

EDIT: I tried like 40 different things involving the keychain and re-pairing things and what ended up working was logging out and in to iCloud on the Mac - not sure what combination of things fixed it but it would be nice if they cleaned this feature up so it just worked.

 

[rezwits]

PLEASE disregard the previous FIX, because it was only for when the Watch unlock feature just came out, I think now, just a like a simple toggle of the Watch Unlock in Security, fixes things easily, that or a log in or log out, or just a simple restart and login...

 

[testcard]

WatchOS 4 needs High Sierra to work. Monday.

 

[UKenGB]

I tried searching through this thread to find out about the Mini, but couldn't find anything relevant. So...

What sort of WiFi/Bluetooth card is used in a Mac Mini 6 (i.e. 2012) and can it be exchanged with a later one to enable 802.11ac and hence Watch Unlock etc?

Is there a ribbon cable connected BT4/ac card that can be used to enable this?

 

[chabig]

Only Mid-2013 Macs and later are supported. I doubt there is anything you can do.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204689
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT206995

 

[h9826790]

Only Mid-2013 Macs and later are supported. I doubt there is anything you can do.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204689
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT206995

Not entirely true, because that's assume with stock hardware.

If the user upgraded the BT / Wifi card, even older Mac can use Apple Watch unlock.

e.g. My 2009 Mac Pro didn't even come with Wifi card. But after I install a BCM943602CS, I can use Apple Watch unlock and all other Handoff function.

I tried searching through this thread to find out about the Mini, but couldn't find anything relevant. So...

What sort of WiFi/Bluetooth card is used in a Mac Mini 6 (i.e. 2012) and can it be exchanged with a later one to enable 802.11ac and hence Watch Unlock etc?

Is there a ribbon cable connected BT4/ac card that can be used to enable this?

The 2012 Mac mini use a different connector than the 2014 Mac mini. So, I don't think it's that possible (at least can't be a plug and play solution) to achieve that by "replacing" the wifi card.

However, it may be possible to install a USB BT 4.0 dongle to active this functions (may still required CAT to patch the kext).

 

[UKenGB]

Not entirely true, because that's assume with stock hardware.

If the user upgraded the BT / Wifi card, even older Mac can use Apple Watch unlock.

e.g. My 2009 Mac Pro didn't even come with Wifi card. But after I install a BCM943602CS, I can use Apple Watch unlock and all other Handoff function.
View attachment 805866

View attachment 805867



The 2012 Mac mini use a different connector than the 2014 Mac mini. So, I don't think it's that possible (at least can't be a plug and play solution) to achieve that by "replacing" the wifi card.

However, it may be possible to install a USB BT 4.0 dongle to active this functions (may still required CAT to patch the kext).

Yes, I've updated my cMP and also my Retina MacBook Pro to later wireless cards, but they're either a simple swap or there's an adapter available. What I've not been able to find is a newer card with the ribbon connector of the Mini. Sounds like no-one else has either.