How to Fix Apple Watch Auto Unlock Issues on Your Mac

Last Updated on August 14, 2023 by Freddy Reyes

If your Apple Watch isn’t unlocking your Mac, the issue could be related to a corrupted pairing between your Mac and Apple Watch. Follow these steps to resolve the problem:

  1. Launch “Keychain Access.”
  2. Under “View,” enable “Show Invisible Items.”
  3. Search for “Auto Unlock.”
  4. You should see numerous application passwords for “Auto Unlock: XXXX’s …”
  5. Select and delete all records (note that this will reset/disable auto unlock on other Macs if you use multiple devices).
  6. While still in “Keychain Access,” search for “AutoUnlock” (without a space).
  7. You should find four entries: “tlk,” “tlk-nonsync,” “classA,” and “classC.”
  8. Select these four records and delete them (don’t worry if they reappear; the system will automatically repair them).
  9. Open “Finder” and navigate to “~/Library/Sharing/AutoUnlock.”
  10. Locate two files: “ltk.plist” and “pairing-records.plist.”
  11. Delete both files.
  12. Open “System Preferences” and attempt to enable auto-unlock. The first try may fail, so you must allow it to be twice.
  13. If the issue persists, sometimes it is due to random connectivity issues with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth that can stop your Mac from communicating with your Apple Watch. The quickest way to fix that is to reboot both device’s Wi-Fi and Bluetooth modules: Disable and Enable Bluetooth and WiFi on Mac / Disable and Enable Bluetooth and WiFi on Apple Watch.