When Apple introduced iOS 14.v in Apr, it introduced the ability to unlock your iPhone with Confront ID while wearing a mask, so long as you are wearing an Apple Watch.

In the current health climate, many people are wearing masks that cover their faces when going outside, visiting stores, and other tasks, which is why Apple tree added the "Unlock With Apple Scout" to the ‌Face ID‌ settings in iOS. Notwithstanding, some users take plant this office has been inconsistent or fifty-fifty failed to work at all. If that sounds like your experience, try the tips in this article to come across if yous can get it working again.

But before you do, let'southward quickly recap how the feature works.

How Unlock With Apple Watch Works

When you look at your locked ‌iPhone‌ and ‌Face ID‌ recognizes that you have a mask on, it checks if you're wearing your Apple Sentinel, and if so, unlocks your phone. The process is similar to what happens when unlocking a Mac with an Apple Sentry. When the unlock occurs, the user receives a haptic buzz and a notification on the Apple Sentry informing them that the unlocking procedure has been successful. Information technology'south worth noting that you tin simply use your Apple tree Watch to unlock your ‌‌iPhone‌‌ while wearing a mask – it can't be used for authenticating Apple tree Pay or App Store purchases.

watch
For the feature to be bachelor, y'all need to brand sure that you're running iOS 14.five or afterward on your ‌‌iPhone‌‌ and watchOS seven.four or after on your Apple tree Watch. As far as hardware goes, you need an Apple Scout Series iii or later, and obviously an ‌iPhone‌ Ten or after with ‌Face ID‌.

The "Unlock ‌iPhone‌ With Apple tree Watch" option tin can exist switched on in Settings -> Confront ID & Passcode on your ‌iPhone‌. To use your Apple Lookout to unlock your ‌‌iPhone‌‌, your watch needs to exist nearby and on your wrist, and yous need to accept unlocked it with your passcode.

settings
The first fourth dimension you attempt to unlock your ‌‌iPhone‌‌ with Apple Watch when wearing a mask, your ‌‌iPhone‌‌ will ask you to enter your passcode. One time yous've done that, y'all should be able to unlock your ‌iPhone‌ when wearing a mask (and you practice need a mask on – information technology won't work without one). Similarly, y'all'll need to re-enter your passcode if you lot've since removed your watch and put information technology back on, or it won't piece of work.

If all those conditions are met and you lot still tin can't get Unlock ‌iPhone‌ With Apple tree Watch to work, the following suggestions might help you lot get information technology up and running.

i. Check Apple Sentinel is Communicating With iPhone

Your Apple Watch might be paired with your ‌iPhone‌, but is it actively connected? You can easily bank check on your Apple tree Sentry by swiping upwards from the bottom of the screen to bring upwards the Control Center. If there's a green ‌iPhone‌ icon in the top-left corner, your sentry is successfully connected to it.

control center
If the green icon isn't showing, information technology's worth checking that Bluetooth is enabled on your ‌iPhone‌ (Settings -> Bluetooth) and that your Apple Sentinel is displayed as connected in the "My Devices" list.

2. Turn Off "Unlock With iPhone" on Apple Watch

On Apple Watch, there'due south an option in watchOS that lets your ‌iPhone‌ unlock your lookout as long as the ‌‌iPhone‌‌ is unlocked (Settings -> Passcode -> Unlock With iPhone).

watch
Some users have found that disabling this characteristic so restarting both devices makes Unlock With Apple Watch work on ‌iPhone‌. Of course, this is a workaround rather than a fix, considering you're turning off 1 feature to resurrect another, so you'll take to counterbalance up whether the compromise is worth information technology in your particular utilize instance.

iii. Turn Apple tree Watch Passcode Off And so Back On Again

Given that enabling an Apple tree Sentry passcode is i of the requirements of Unlock With Apple Watch, it'south worth turning this setting on and off again to come across if it triggers something.

watch
Open the Watch app on your ‌iPhone‌, and in the Spotter tab, select Passcode -> Turn Passcode Off. You'll exist asked to enter your electric current passcode on your Apple tree Watch to confirm. Once that's done, reboot your Apple Watch and ‌iPhone‌, so re-enable the passcode setting.

4. Reset Face up ID

Unlock With Apple Watch relies on ‌Face ID‌ detecting a mask on your face, so it'due south worth resetting ‌Face ID‌ just to make sure it's not the crux of your problem.

setting
Open the Settings app on your ‌iPhone‌, select Face ID & Passcode, enter your passcode, then tap Reset Face ID.

five. Make Sure Wrist Detection is Enabled

Apple Sentinel uses Wrist Detection to know if youre wearing information technology, and if you aren't, it requires you to enter a passcode to admission. Wrist Detection has to be enabled for Unlock With Apple tree Watch to work. So head into the Watch app on your ‌iPhone‌, and in the Sentry tab, select Passcode and ensure the Wrist Detection switch is in the green ON position.

watch

6. Unpair Then Re-pair Your Apple Watch

Unpairing Apple Sentinel from ‌iPhone‌ has worked for some people suffering from the issue. It takes a bit of time, but if yous miss the "Unlock With ‌iPhone‌" characteristic on your Apple tree Watch, so it's probably going to be worth the try as a concluding resort.

  1. Bring your ‌iPhone‌ and Apple Watch close together, then open the Watch app on your ‌iPhone‌.
  2. In the My Lookout tab, tap All Watches.
  3. Tap the info (i) button side by side to the sentinel that yous want to unpair.
  4. Tap Unpair Apple Lookout. (For GPS + Cellular models, choose to go on your cellular plan.)
  5. Tap again to ostend. You might need to enter your Apple ID countersign to disable Activation Lock.

Before erasing all content and settings on your Apple Watch, your ‌iPhone‌ creates a new backup of your Apple Watch. You can use the backup to restore a new Apple tree Scout. After your Apple Spotter unpairs, you'll see the First Pairing message. Then you lot can pair your watch to your ‌iPhone‌ again in the normal style.

  1. Press and hold the side button on your Apple tree Lookout man until you encounter the Apple tree logo.
  2. Wait for the "Use your ‌iPhone‌ to prepare this Apple tree Watch" message to appear on your ‌iPhone‌, then tap Go along. If you don't run into this message, open up the Lookout man app on your ‌iPhone‌, tap All Watches, then tap Pair New Watch.
  3. Follow the on-screen instructions to re-pair your scout.

Concluding Thoughts

If none of the above suggestions worked for you, it'due south likely y'all'll take to look for Apple to prepare whatever's going incorrect in a future update. Apple tree has been working to solve similar unlocking problems between ‌iPhone‌ and Apple Picket in recent versions of iOS, so hopefully we'll see a fix in the adjacent software update to iOS xiv or with the release of iOS 15 in September.

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