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critter13

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 23, 2010
374
477
Hi, thinking about getting an Apple Watch. Does the Auto Unlock feature only unlock the computer or does it also function like touchID on MacBooks where it will authenticate password autofills as well?

Thank you
 

deeddawg

macrumors G5
Jun 14, 2010
12,466
6,563
US
It does not authenticate password fills as best as I can tell. It does unlock the computer.

New in WatchOS6 the watch can display the 6-digital multifactor authentication code for Apple / icloud stuff, saving you digging out your phone.

If your company uses Microsoft MFA, the iOS MFA Authenticator app allows you to approve authentication from the watch.
 

chrfr

macrumors G5
Jul 11, 2009
13,702
7,264
Thanks, would be nice if it did or if apple release an external keyboard with touchID
Starting with watchOS 6 and macOS Catalina, the watch will be able to unlock more things. You'll be prompted to press the side button on the watch twice to confirm the prompt.
 
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critter13

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 23, 2010
374
477
Starting with watchOS 6 and macOS Catalina, the watch will be able to unlock more things. You'll be prompted to press the side button on the watch twice to confirm the prompt.
curious, the article mentions being able to view passwords but I wonder if their is wider functionality like autofill. if any Apple Watch owner with at least series 3 and Catalina can confirm that would be great
 

mofunk

macrumors 68020
Aug 26, 2009
2,421
161
Americas
adding to this...you can also use your Apple watch to pay online when connected to your Mac. For example if your phone is in another room or unavailable you can use your watch to pay.
 

NoBoMac

Moderator
Staff member
Jul 1, 2014
6,244
4,931
curious, the article mentions being able to view passwords but I wonder if their is wider functionality like autofill. if any Apple Watch owner with at least series 3 and Catalina can confirm that would be great

Well, it's a mixed bag.

Per the article, yes, can go into Safari > Preferences > Passwords and view the list after double tap of side button. As for auto-fill, not that useful, imo, and hence does not seem to be implemented, as need to select a password item first (eg. might have multiple entries for same site in Keychain).

Just tried Notes. Not as smooth. What finally got it to work, sorta, was to enter the password once. From then on, watch can open the note(s). But might take a couple of attempts before Notes registers the double tap.

However, depending on how you setup your accounts on Mac, might not always work. For example, I have an "everyday use" account and a separate admin account. I tried to turn on "Find My" on the Mac, buzzed the watch, double tap, nothing. Noticed the notification on the Mac said something akin to "use watch or enter admin credentials". Since my admin account is not tied to my Apple ID, a "mismatch". Had to enter the admin account name/password. Oh and: also have setup Settings to require admin account to unlock the panels.

ADD: just had the situation where I visited a site that does not use https (zap2it.com) and the option to set an exception for that site was offered via the watch.
 
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