Also, note that unlocking a Mac with an Apple Watch requires a computer from 2013 or later. If you already have that set up, it's time to turn on the feature to pair your Apple Watch with your Mac.

If you’ve resisted requiring a password on your Mac after it wakes up or comes out of the screen saver because it’s too much work to enter repeatedly, an Apple Watch can make authentication much easier. In previous versions of macOS, just wearing an unlocked Apple Watch is enough to enter your Mac’s password; in Catalina, the Apple Watch can also enter your password when prompted by apps. First, make sure your Apple Watch has a passcode (in Watch > Passcode), is on your wrist, and is unlocked. Then, in System Preferences > Security & Privacy > General, select “Use your Apple Watch to unlock apps and your Mac.” From then on, most of the time your Mac or an app wants your password, your Apple Watch will provide it automatically. (This feature requires that the Mac dates from mid-2013 or later, that all devices use the same iCloud account, and that the Apple ID uses two-factor authentication instead of two-step verification.)

(Featured image based on an original by Christin Hume on Unsplash)

Unlock Mac Apple Watch Not Appearing

You’ve been able to unlock your Mac with your Apple Watch for some time now. If your Mac is asleep, and you wake it up, if you’ve activated this feature, the Mac confirms your identity via your Apple Watch and wakes up.

This is an interesting chain of identification. It requires that you have two-factor authentication turned on for your Apple ID, and having authenticated on your iPhone by entering your passcode, your Apple Watch then inherits this authentication (or you can authenticate on the Apple Watch by entering its passcode), and the Mac then accepts this as proof that the watch belongs to you.

To activate this feature, go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > General and check Use your Apple Watch to unlock apps and your Mac.

This allows you to wake up your Mac, and approve certain secure actions in macOS. For example, if you want to access a secure preference pane – one that shows a padlock at the bottom left of the window – click the padlock then authenticate on your watch by pressing the side button twice (this is the same gesture you use to authenticate for Apple Pay).

Apple Watch Unlock Mac Mini

Another action where you can use your Apple Watch to authenticate is if you want to delete files in certain folders. For example, to delete an app downloaded via the Mac App Store, you need to authenticate:

Unlocking Mac With Apple Watch

If you have a Mac with Touch ID, the Mac defaults to using that option for authentication, but if you have an iMac, which doesn’t offer Touch ID, this can make it a lot easier to perform secure tasks.

Apple Watch Mac Unlocker Apps

Unlock Mac With Apple Watch App

Note that this feature is only available to recent Macs, ones that support Continuity and Handoff, not all recent Macs can perform all of these operations. See this Apple support document for more information.