Use Your Apple Watch to Authenticate Passwords & More on a Mac

[OneMoreThing2...]

With macOS Big Sur (and Catalina), you can use your Apple Watch  to authenticate passwords or approve app installations when you double-tap on the Side button. This is especially handy on Macs (mid-2013 and later) that don’t have Touch ID, which is all desktop Macs, including my iMac. However, to use these features, make sure that: […]

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[Slydude]

If you have an Apple Watch, or you're going to take advantage or Prime Day deals to buy one, give this a read. I knew how to unlock my Mac from the Apple Watch, but there are a few tricks here that I didn't know.

 

[MacInWin]

I use my  Watch to unlock my Mac. The article says this:

After you set up this procedure, you’re going to have to enter your password on your Apple Watch to authenticate it each time you put it on or raise your wrist.

I think that is incorrect. My iPhone can unlock my Watch with facial recognition. It does take a few seconds for the sync of unlock to work, but all I do is put on my Watch, pick up my iPhone, let it ID me, and a few seconds later the Watch is unlocked and ready to unlock my Mac. And as long as the watch stays in contact with me, it does NOT need the password just when I raise it. I suspect the author has the watch band too loose and it is losing contact with the skin long enough to think it has been removed.

 

[Slydude]

I'll have to try that and see what happens. I've used the watch to unlock my phone and the Mac but I haven't tried to unlock the watch with my phone.

 

[MacInWin]

It's under "Set Passcode" in the phone app. Just turn on "Unlock with iPhone." And "Wrist Detection" is a security measure to relook the watch if it loses contact with your wrist. That way nobody can use you Watch to open your Mac, even if they have your iPhone. All of that does take facial recognition to work, of course.