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Parowdy

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 16, 2024
78
39
Europe
First time it happened I thought I imagined things, recently it became obvious though.
Unlock with Apple Watch is, at least for me, broken in the worst of ways.

I sometimes thought that it unlocked my iPhone either very slowly or way faster than expected, sometimes I was astonished it unlocked despite the phone, an iPhone 11 Pro, which doesn't support vertical Face ID unlock, being in an odd angle to recognise even part of my face.
Sometimes when I receive a notification that turns on the screen the phone is being unlocked without me even looking at it directly, no eye-to-sensor contact or even presenting my face to it. I just feel the vibration from my watch and see its unlocked. That by itself wouldn't be too concerning.

However, to cut forward to the event that changed my perception of this feature entirely, I once had my watch unlock my phone in my pocket. This didn't just happen once, though. It happened a few times but often I figured I moved the phone in a way for it to wake and get a glimpse of my face before putting it in my pocket, giving it enough for my watch to unlock it a second or two after I put it away. It felt weird but I didn't want to think much of it.
Then, recently, I used my phone, put it away, didn't use it for some 10-15 seconds and then felt the vibration on my watch. I figured it must have been something else but surely enough, it said my phone was unlocked and indeed it was when I got it out my pocket.

I also had my watch tell me it unlocked my phone which was in a different room... how????
I often notice that, when my phone is laying somewhere and it tries to unlock, it keeps on trying and vibrates the entire time without a face or anything present, it just tries until the screen is off again. Turn it on and it continues.

I don't know why this works, but that's a serious concern in my eyes. Have any of you experienced something similar, where you thought it shouldn't have unlocked the device but it did?
 

russell_314

macrumors 603
Feb 10, 2019
6,376
9,730
USA
If you’re wearing the Apple Watch, then your iPhone will unlock without Face ID. That’s the whole purpose of unlock with Apple Watch.

This is one of those features that trades some security for convenience. It’s not really necessary unless you’re wearing a mask all the time. That was its big benefit. I would just turn it off if you’re not using it.

I’m assuming something in your pocket or maybe the pocket itself is touching the screen in a way to make it unlock.
 

Parowdy

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 16, 2024
78
39
Europe
If you’re wearing the Apple Watch, then your iPhone will unlock without Face ID. That’s the whole purpose of unlock with Apple Watch.

This is one of those features that trades some security for convenience. It’s not really necessary unless you’re wearing a mask all the time. That was its big benefit. I would just turn it off if you’re not using it.

I’m assuming something in your pocket or maybe the pocket itself is touching the screen in a way to make it unlock.
Sorry, but that's not true, at least according to Apples own documentation.

How to unlock your iPhone with your Apple Watch​

  1. Make sure that you're wearing a mask, sunglasses, or ski goggles and that your Apple Watch is on your wrist and unlocked.
  2. Wake your iPhone by raising it or tapping its screen.
  3. Glance at your iPhone to unlock it. Then you can swipe up from the bottom of your iPhone screen to begin using it.

I understand that it might also work with only a partial scan, for example when only part of the face is in range of the IR illuminator, but that doesn't explain my experiences. Even if it worked without any face scan at all, which it doesn't as anyone with this feature enabled should be able to confirm by blocking anything anywhere in their face compared to just both eyes, it wouldn't explain my phone being unlocked while I'm in a different room and not close to the phone or it unlocking in my pocket. The screen was facing outwards by the way.
I appreciate the feature because it does make unlocking in bright sunlight or at weird angles that the 11P can't handle on its own faster and more reliable, I don't see why I should turn it off.

With all regards, obviously in this case i'm biased, but the user isn't the problem here if they don't even interact with the device. This behaviour should just simply not happen.
 

MacCheetah3

macrumors 68020
Nov 14, 2003
2,244
1,199
Central MN
Have any of you experienced something similar, where you thought it shouldn't have unlocked the device but it did?
No.

I did (just now) discover that setting/preference wasn’t transferred from my X to the 15 PM. My guess is I haven’t noticed because the TrueDepth system has improved recognizing from much wider angles. Anyway, I don’t recall any such unlocking behavior when I had the unlock via watch setting on my iPhone X — it worked fairly well as described by Apple.
 
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