Resolved watchOS 7 Beta 5 - unlock mac doesn't work

[trifero]

Deleted

 

[SaguaroSeven]

The steps on LongZheng's post work for me, but I have to do the whole process every time I reboot. It's only happening on a MacBook Pro and Watch S5. The same watch pairs right away and unlocks an iMac without issue.

I had the problem on 2 macs, but couldn't get unlock to work on either one; @LongZheng's procedure worked for me. I think the issue some are having is related to Keychain replication occuring in the background.

As a next step, I would follow @LongZheng procedure on both Mac's (not clear if you did on both).
- At step 11, shutdown each Mac, watch, and iPhone. (iPads should not matter, but maybe shutdown also)
- Boot Macs in Safe Mode
- Verify the Auto Unlock keys for devices have not returned (leave the tlk and class AutoUnlock keys)
- Reboot Macs normally (** Not sure you can enable auto unlock in Safe Boot -- maybe try that)
- Boot iPhone and Watch
- Try enabling Unlock on each Mac

Disclaimer: Haven't tried this in your situation, but logically it should do no harm.

 

[trifero]

I've finally fixed it! I found a bunch of errors related to "AutoUnlock" in the Console that was hinting to me that there was some invalid state on my Mac with keys and plists not being reset properly. After clearing/resetting them, I can now successfully pair my watchOS 7 Series 3 to macOS 10.15.6.

Steps (follow at your own discretion)

1. Open "Keychain Access"
2. In "View", enable "Show Invisible Items"
   View attachment 954412
3. Search for "Auto Unlock"
4. You should see a whole bunch of application passwords for "Auto Unlock: XXXX's ..."
   View attachment 954403
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"
   View attachment 954382
8. Select 4 records and delete (don't worry if they re-appear, the system repairs this automatically)
9. Open "Finder" and navigate to "~/Library/Sharing/AutoUnlock"
10. There should be two files "ltk.plist" and "pairing-records.plist"
    View attachment 954386
11. Delete both files
    (Some users have reported better success restarting macOS at this stage)
12. Open "System Preferences" and try enabling auto unlock. You may need to enable it twice, the first attempt will fail.

@LongZheng thank you SO MUCH for sharing. Been many months trying to fix Unlock by Watch in one of my Macbooks Pro. Read and tried everything I found. Nothing worked. Your method worked 100%. Again, thank you.

 

[lisadavies31]

FINALLY worked for me but only after booting in Safe Mode and re-deleting the Auto Unlock. Thank you SOOOOO much.

I've finally fixed it! I found a bunch of errors related to "AutoUnlock" in the Console that was hinting to me that there was some invalid state on my Mac with keys and plists not being reset properly. After clearing/resetting them, I can now successfully pair my watchOS 7 Series 3 to macOS 10.15.6.

Steps (follow at your own discretion)

1. Open "Keychain Access"
2. In "View", enable "Show Invisible Items"
   View attachment 954412
3. Search for "Auto Unlock"
4. You should see a whole bunch of application passwords for "Auto Unlock: XXXX's ..."
   View attachment 954403
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"
   View attachment 954382
8. Select 4 records and delete (don't worry if they re-appear, the system repairs this automatically)
9. Open "Finder" and navigate to "~/Library/Sharing/AutoUnlock"
10. There should be two files "ltk.plist" and "pairing-records.plist"
    View attachment 954386
11. Delete both files
    (Some users have reported better success restarting macOS at this stage)
12. Open "System Preferences" and try enabling auto unlock. You may need to enable it twice, the first attempt will fail.

 

[creativetags]

I've finally fixed it! I found a bunch of errors related to "AutoUnlock" in the Console that was hinting to me that there was some invalid state on my Mac with keys and plists not being reset properly. After clearing/resetting them, I can now successfully pair my watchOS 7 Series 3 to macOS 10.15.6.

Steps (follow at your own discretion)

1. Open "Keychain Access"
2. In "View", enable "Show Invisible Items"
   View attachment 954412
3. Search for "Auto Unlock"
4. You should see a whole bunch of application passwords for "Auto Unlock: XXXX's ..."
   View attachment 954403
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"
   View attachment 954382
8. Select 4 records and delete (don't worry if they re-appear, the system repairs this automatically)
9. Open "Finder" and navigate to "~/Library/Sharing/AutoUnlock"
10. There should be two files "ltk.plist" and "pairing-records.plist"
    View attachment 954386
11. Delete both files
    (Some users have reported better success restarting macOS at this stage)
12. Open "System Preferences" and try enabling auto unlock. You may need to enable it twice, the first attempt will fail.

Worked for me, many thanks!

 

[jollino]

This worked for me once, but not today (after restoring both phone and watch due to the infamous activity bugs). What eventually worked for me was changing the passcode on the watch. I was seeing similar errors on the Console, and "Passcode validated" just gave me the idea to give it a go. I guess setting a passcode re-generates some key on the watch or something, but whatever it is, it looks like it fixed it for me.

I was filtering the Console for "AutoUnlock", and as soon as I changed the passcode on the watch I saw a bunch of messages from secd, including a couple of about "fetching account keys". After that, the first attempt at signing failed, but it tried again and it worked, and updated the remote LTK. To be clear, I only clicked on the checkbox once; it's just that in Console it shows it tried to do it twice, and ultimately it worked and updated something somewhere and whatnot (I just lost track of all these bugs at this point, bear with me.)

Anyway, if the Keychain surgery stops working, I'd suggest also changing the passcode. It may not work, but it's worth a try.

 

[Richard Ripley]

Happy, happy, joy, joy!
I tried the solution twice and no luck and then rebooted my Apple Watch ⌚️ and all is good. Thanks VERY much!

 

[CMac474]

I've tried these steps over and over in every combination possible, and still I just end up with

Watch missing LTK and is unable to communicate with Companion to potentially sync it

 

[wilberforce]

I've tried these steps over and over in every combination possible, and still I just end up with

Watch missing LTK and is unable to communicate with Companion to potentially sync it

Are you using a Big Sur beta?

 

[CMac474]

No sooner after I posted that, I changed the passcode on the watch (from the phone app) and tried again and it worked. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[carlsson]

I have done all the steps twice, numerous restarts on all devices, changed passcode on the watch, re-installed the watch. It still refuses to work.

I'm on Big Sur b9 now, and all this started after I reformatted my drive and tried to go back to Catalina (which eventually didn't happen because it is too muck work).

Two basic functions that refuse to work now:
- Unlock the computer with the AW.
- Send and recieve SMS from the Mac.

 

[qtaran111]

I've finally fixed it! I found a bunch of errors related to "AutoUnlock" in the Console that was hinting to me that there was some invalid state on my Mac with keys and plists not being reset properly. After clearing/resetting them, I can now successfully pair my watchOS 7 Series 3 to macOS 10.15.6.

Steps (follow at your own discretion)

1. Open "Keychain Access"
2. In "View", enable "Show Invisible Items"
   View attachment 954412
3. Search for "Auto Unlock"
4. You should see a whole bunch of application passwords for "Auto Unlock: XXXX's ..."
   View attachment 954403
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"
   View attachment 954382
8. Select 4 records and delete (don't worry if they re-appear, the system repairs this automatically)
9. Open "Finder" and navigate to "~/Library/Sharing/AutoUnlock"
10. There should be two files "ltk.plist" and "pairing-records.plist"
    View attachment 954386
11. Delete both files
    (Some users have reported better success restarting macOS at this stage)
12. Open "System Preferences" and try enabling auto unlock. You may need to enable it twice, the first attempt will fail.

Thanks so much! It worked for me too. I had to do the whole procedure twice (and reboot Mac twice) before it worked.

 

[MuppetGate]

I've finally fixed it!

You sir, are an absolute legend.

I ran through your instructions. First attempt didn't I got the same error, clicked the checkbox again and it went straight through.

No idea how you managed to figure this out.

 

[snowghost]

Worked for me iike a charm--and didn't have to reboot. Took two tries to enable the Apple Watch unlock box.

Spent a day looking for a fix. Many thanks!

 

[trifero]

Worked for me iike a charm--and didn't have to reboot. Took two tries to enable the Apple Watch unlock box.

Spent a day looking for a fix. Many thanks!

I spent months for this!

 

[TheSunday]

I've finally fixed it! I found a bunch of errors related to "AutoUnlock" in the Console that was hinting to me that there was some invalid state on my Mac with keys and plists not being reset properly. After clearing/resetting them, I can now successfully pair my watchOS 7 Series 3 to macOS 10.15.6.

Steps (follow at your own discretion)

1. Open "Keychain Access"
2. In "View", enable "Show Invisible Items"
   View attachment 954412
3. Search for "Auto Unlock"
4. You should see a whole bunch of application passwords for "Auto Unlock: XXXX's ..."
   View attachment 954403
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"
   View attachment 954382
8. Select 4 records and delete (don't worry if they re-appear, the system repairs this automatically)
9. Open "Finder" and navigate to "~/Library/Sharing/AutoUnlock"
10. There should be two files "ltk.plist" and "pairing-records.plist"
    View attachment 954386
11. Delete both files
    (Some users have reported better success restarting macOS at this stage)
12. Open "System Preferences" and try enabling auto unlock. You may need to enable it twice, the first attempt will fail.

Thank you very much

 

[podycust]

I've tried these steps over and over in every combination possible, and still I just end up with

Watch missing LTK and is unable to communicate with Companion to potentially sync it

I keep getting that too and am on Catalina

 

[charlesdayton]

I've finally fixed it! I found a bunch of errors related to "AutoUnlock" in the Console that was hinting to me that there was some invalid state on my Mac with keys and plists not being reset properly. After clearing/resetting them, I can now successfully pair my watchOS 7 Series 3 to macOS 10.15.6.

Steps (follow at your own discretion)

1. Open "Keychain Access"
2. In "View", enable "Show Invisible Items"
   View attachment 954412
3. Search for "Auto Unlock"
4. You should see a whole bunch of application passwords for "Auto Unlock: XXXX's ..."
   View attachment 954403
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"
   View attachment 954382
8. Select 4 records and delete (don't worry if they re-appear, the system repairs this automatically)
9. Open "Finder" and navigate to "~/Library/Sharing/AutoUnlock"
10. There should be two files "ltk.plist" and "pairing-records.plist"
    View attachment 954386
11. Delete both files
    (Some users have reported better success restarting macOS at this stage)
12. Open "System Preferences" and try enabling auto unlock. You may need to enable it twice, the first attempt will fail.

Thanks! The issue popped up again on WatchOS 7.0.1 (non beta) and this fixed it!

Note I had to restart my Mac after step 11 and then enable unlock twice.

 

[amammothsparkler]

OMG - for such a petty little thing, Apple sure did not seem to know what to do about it. Finally resolved! All hail LongZheng!

 

[kylelinn87]

This worked for me once, but not today (after restoring both phone and watch due to the infamous activity bugs). What eventually worked for me was changing the passcode on the watch. I was seeing similar errors on the Console, and "Passcode validated" just gave me the idea to give it a go. I guess setting a passcode re-generates some key on the watch or something, but whatever it is, it looks like it fixed it for me.

I was filtering the Console for "AutoUnlock", and as soon as I changed the passcode on the watch I saw a bunch of messages from secd, including a couple of about "fetching account keys". After that, the first attempt at signing failed, but it tried again and it worked, and updated the remote LTK. To be clear, I only clicked on the checkbox once; it's just that in Console it shows it tried to do it twice, and ultimately it worked and updated something somewhere and whatnot (I just lost track of all these bugs at this point, bear with me.)

Anyway, if the Keychain surgery stops working, I'd suggest also changing the passcode. It may not work, but it's worth a try.

Finally! I've restored my phone and watch multiple times, cleared the keychain entries, signed in and out of iCloud and nothing worked. I decided to change my passcode on my watch and it worked instantly! Not sure if it matters, but I was using a different passcode on my watch than my phone. When I changed it, I made them both the same passcode. Thank you so much for posting this!

 

[smf72]

Has anyone tried this with multiple Macs? I have two that work with auto unlock and one that doesn't. Definitely do not want to mess up the ones that work?

 

[techno-Zen]

No dice for me, and I see apple watches listed that aren't paired to my apple id.

 

[CanucksRock]

new to Apple Watch. Learned about this feature, tried to turn it on - no dice. Then the next day my MBA asked if I wanted to turn it on and it worked ?‍♀️

 

[trifero]

Has anyone tried this with multiple Macs? I have two that work with auto unlock and one that doesn't. Definitely do not want to mess up the ones that work?

I have 5 macs under the same Id. No problem at all.

 

[smf72]

I have 5 macs under the same Id. No problem at all.

Did you go through the fix mentioned on this thread? Did you have to reactivate each mac with your watch? Just trying to understand what's involved. Appreciate your help