Apple Watch ceases to unlock MBP

[Rod]

This is just soooo annoying. Despite this being a recognised issue over some time and Apples claim that the current update to macOS 11.1 improves Apple watch connectivity this still happens for no apparent reason.
The only stategy that seems to work is unpairing and pairing the watch with an iPhone all over again. A process which takes over an hour and involves re entering all your Wallet credit card details again, a tedious and sometimes unsuccessful process. It's about time Apple solved this issue once and for all.
Even the message received is frustratingly misleading as inevitably the Watch is already signed into the same Apple iCloud account.
Has anybody found an easier way to solve this persistent, frustrating problem without the re-pairing process?

 

[MacInWin]

Rod, I have never seen that message on any of the Watches I have had. The one issue I occasionally get is that the Wifi signal is too weak to unlock, which happens if I come into my office and immediately tap a key to wake the Mac from sleeping. I think it is not so much signal strength as it is the Watch hasn't registered with the Mac yet.

So, I don't have a solution because I've never faced the issue.

 

[Rod]

The message is in Security & Privacy on the MBP when trying to tick the box to allow Apple Watch to Unlock this Mac.
It's frustrating because it's so clearly untrue.
I logged into iCloud just to prove it to myself. I was asked to enter the 6 digit code as usual and I received the code on both my iPhone and the watch. So there is no doubt that the watch is logged into the same iCloud account.

 

[MacInWin]

Have you tried calling Apple support about it? Or getting on a chat with them? I've never had that message, as I said, but I have only one AppleID and all my devices are on it. Do you have more than one AppleID account and if so, is it possible that the Watch and Mac are signed into different accounts? I know that's a stretch, but that's about the only way I can think of for the message to come up.

 

[Rod]

Calling Apple is about the only thing I have not tried and because I am in Bali now it's a little difficult but I fear their advice will be the same; re-pair the watch. This happened in Melbourne too with the old AW 3 once as well as the new AW SE and after trying everything that was the only remedy that worked. Since that episode it's been absolutely fine until yesterday. Nothing changed, I didn't do anything other than read a few emails and reply, didn't download anything ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
It's just such a handy feature that you don't miss it till it's gone and then it's so annoying.

Here is a thread on the issue from Mac Rumours (FYI) if you want to read up on it. https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/cant-unlock-mac.2256671/?post=29180198#post-29180198

 

[MacInWin]

Interesting reading. Never had the issue. But as I said, I have one AppleID and everything is logged into it at the same time. The issue 7.1 fixed was, I think, a communication between the Watch, iPhone and Mac. As I understand it, the Mac detects the Watch, asks the iPhone if it's unlocked (i.e., you are you) and if it gets the answer that it is, it unlocks the Mac. They use both WiFi and BlueTooth for this conversation as a security measure. At least that is what I read when I first set it up. And the AppleID comes in because the Mac wants to know that the iPhone is yours as well as the Watch. So maybe it's actually the AppleID login on the iPhone that is creating the issue for you? That's pure speculation, but maybe worth a check?

 

[Rod]

Yep, I did check that and for sure it's some sort of "handshake" thing. This solution is interesting (an I tried it);

"1. Open "Keychain Access"
2. In "View", enable "Show Invisible Items"
3. Search for "Auto Unlock"
4. You should see a whole bunch of application passwords for "Auto Unlock: XXXX's ..."
5. Select all records and delete (this will reset/disable auto unlock on other Macs if you use multiple Macs)
6. Whilst still in "Keychain Access", search for "AutoUnlock" (no space)
7. There should be 4 entries for "tlk" "tlk-nonsync" "classA" "classC"
8. Select 4 records and delete (don't worry if they re-appear, the system repairs this automatically)
9. Open "Finder" and navigate to "(User Name)/Library/Sharing/AutoUnlock"
10. There should be two files "ltk.plist" and "pairing-records.plist"
11. Delete both files
12. Open "System Preferences" and try enabling auto unlock. You may need to enable it twice, the first attempt will fail."

I think it sheds a little light on where the problem is occurring. I tried this in Melbourne but it failed again after 24hrs.
One way or another this really is a problem for Apple to sort out, in the end I fear I may just have to re-pair.

PS. Thanks for taking an interest, you have been a great help to me over the years, I value your advice and camaraderie and I hope you had a good Christmas and wish you an even better New Year.

 

[MacInWin]

Very interesting. I am not having problems, so I didn't touch anything but the dates on the list go back quite a ways. The earliest is an Apple Watch password that was set when I first paired with this new Watch, so that is consistent. I wonder what is going wrong with the folks with the issues? Sounds like a bug in Keychain more than inherent to the Watch itself. Somehow the password is getting overwritten or changed. And given it's intermittent and not consistent for all users, it's going to be a tough nut to crack for Apple.

EDIT: And a very Happy New Year to you, too!

 

[IWT]

I know you said that you had the problem in Melbourne, but I think that was once and a while ago.

Do you think your problem could be related to changing Time Zones?

I have absolutely no idea what's going on, Rod, made worse by the fact I don't even own an Apple Watch; but my "wild card" idea came about because that's the only thing that has really changed.

Shoot me down if you will

Ian

 

[Rod]

Ha, well it worked perfectly for three weeks so it's impossible to say positively but that may have played a part although how I can't say without a better understanding of what the problem actually is. I'm pretty sure Keychain is involved in some way.
Happy New Year to you and your lovely wife and stay safe. We have 4 days off at the beach as of tomorrow so I'll re-pair the AW (again) don't need the Wallet here so hopefully all will be well in 2021.

 

[Rod]

After returning from a New Years Eve weekend away with my lovely wife I unpaired and re- paired my Apple Watch and that seems to have fixed it. I didnt bother to put my credit cards back into the AW Wallet which saved a lot of time (they're useless here anyway, more of a liability) and unlike fixing the same problem with my AW 3 I did not setup as a New Watch but restored it from the backup it performs when you unpair a AW.
This all together saves about 50% of the time for initial setup plus all the time required to add Complications and customise watch faces after that.

So I can say that although it's a hassle and should be unnecessary it only takes about 30min to achieve.

PS. Jake, if you read this, to test the AW I put my MBP to Sleep and I immediately though of your problem. I know it's a long shot but could you Mac be going into Sleep Mode for some reason?

 

[MacInWin]

Rod, I had thought of that, but upon checking I have all of the sleep options turned off and I have checked in the Battery section NOT to allow the CPU to sleep when the display is off. No power nap either. So it COULD be going to sleep, but if that's it, it isn't any setting I can find.

 

[Rod]

It would fit most of the conditions though; black screen, fan off, no loss of internet connection, no logged events, the question would be why?

 

[MacInWin]

Yep, that's the question. With all of the options disabled, why? Maybe some obscure bug in Big Sur? But you would think others would have the same issue in that case.

 

[Rod]

Gosh darn it, it's happened again! And, just over 3 weeks after returning to Melbourne. Tried all the usual solutions short of re pairing the watch.

 

[Rod]

Okay, so this is weird. This morning I got up and put my watch on the bedside charger as usual. My phone is in the kitchen and I am in the lounge. I opened my MBP and logged in with my finger print. Just out of curiosity I went to Settings > Touch ID & Password and tried turning on Unlock with Apple Watch again. It asked for my password as it did every time last night and this time it just worked, no "Your Watch needs to be signed into iCloud..."
It's odd because this problem has never resolved itself before. When I first wrote this post in 2020 re-pairing the watch was required to fix the issue, no amount of restarting the devices worked as with last night, it seems like allowing all the devices to sleep o/night then waking them has done the trick. Just to be sure I put this MBP to sleep, went and got my watch, put it back on, unlocked it by unlocking my iPhone then woke the MBP and voila, the MBP unlocked with the Watch. Sometimes things just defy logical explanation. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯