Unlock your Mac and approve requests with Apple Watch
When you’re wearing your Apple Watch and are near your Mac, you can use your Apple Watch to unlock your Mac or approve app requests, without having to enter a password.
Note: To use these features, make sure you’re wearing your unlocked Apple Watch with your Mac nearby, you’re signed in with the same Apple ID on your Mac (a mid-2013 or later model) and Apple Watch and two-factor authentication is turned on for your Apple ID.
Turn on Auto Unlock and Approve with Apple Watch
Choose Apple menu
.Open Security & Privacy preferences for me
If the lock at the bottom left is locked
, click it to unlock the preference pane.Click General, then select “Use your Apple Watch to unlock apps and your Mac” (available if your Apple Watch has watchOS 6 or later installed).
If your Apple Watch has watchOS 3, 4 or 5 installed, select “Allow your Apple Watch to unlock your Mac” (you can’t approve app requests).
Unlock your Mac
Wake your Mac from its idle state by pressing any keyboard key or, on a Mac notebook computer, by opening the display. The screen indicates that your Mac is being unlocked.
Approve app requests
When an app requires authentication on your Mac — for example, to view passwords, unlock notes or preferences and approve app installations — an approval request from your Mac appears on your Apple Watch.
Double-click the side button of your Apple Watch to approve the task request.
If you’re not sure your Mac supports Auto Unlock and Approve with Apple Watch, choose Apple menu > About This Mac, then click System Report. In the sidebar, in the Network section, click Wi-Fi, then look on the right for “Auto Unlock: Supported”.
If you’re the administrator for another user on your Mac, you can log in to their user account and turn on Auto Unlock or Approve with Apple Watch for them, as long as their Apple ID uses two-factor authentication and their Apple Watch has the required watchOS installed.