Apple Watch User Guide
- Welcome
- What’s new
-
- Apps on Apple Watch
- Open apps
- Organize apps
- Get more apps
- Tell time
- Status icons
- Control Center
- Use Focus
- Adjust brightness, text size, sounds, and haptics
- See and respond to notifications
- Change notification settings
- Manage your Apple ID
- Use shortcuts
- Set up Handwashing
- Connect Apple Watch to a Wi-Fi network
- Connect to Bluetooth headphones or speakers
- Hand off tasks from Apple Watch
- Unlock your Mac with Apple Watch
- Unlock your iPhone with Apple Watch
- Use Apple Watch without its paired iPhone
- Use your Apple Watch with a cellular network
-
- Alarms
- Blood Oxygen
- Calculator
- Calendar
- Camera Remote
- Compass
- Contacts
- ECG
- Medications
- Memoji
- News
- Now Playing
- Reminders
- Stocks
- Stopwatch
- Timers
- Tips
- Voice Memos
- Walkie-Talkie
-
- About Wallet
- Apple Pay
- Set up Apple Pay
- Make purchases
- Send, receive, and request money with Apple Watch (U.S. only)
- Manage Apple Cash (U.S. only)
- Use Wallet for passes
- Use rewards cards
- Pay with Apple Watch on Mac
- Ride transit
- Use your driver’s license or state ID
- Use digital keys
- Use COVID-19 vaccination cards
- Weather
- World Clock
-
- VoiceOver
- Set up Apple Watch using VoiceOver
- Apple Watch basics with VoiceOver
- Apple Watch Mirroring
- Control nearby devices
- AssistiveTouch
- Use a braille display
- Use a Bluetooth keyboard
- Zoom
- Tell time with haptic feedback
- Adjust text size and other visual settings
- Adjust motor skills settings
- Set up and use RTT
- Accessibility audio settings
- Use accessibility features with Siri
- The Accessibility Shortcut
- Copyright
Unlock your Mac with Apple Watch
If you have a Mac (mid-2013 or later) with macOS 10.13 or later, your Apple Watch can instantly unlock your Mac when it wakes from sleep. You need to be signed in to iCloud using the same Apple ID on both your Mac and Apple Watch.
Tip: To find the model year of your Mac, click the Apple menu in the top-left corner of your computer screen, then choose About This Mac. The year your Mac was made is listed next to the model—for example, “MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2018).”
Turn on Auto Unlock
Make sure that your devices are set up as follows:
Your Mac has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned on.
Your Mac and Apple Watch are signed in to iCloud with the same Apple ID, and your Apple ID is using two-factor authentication.
Your Apple Watch is using a passcode.
Do one of the following:
If you’re using macOS 13 or later, choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Login Password.
If you’re using macOS 12 or earlier, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Security & Privacy, then click General.
Select “Use Apple Watch to unlock apps and your Mac.”
If you have more than one Apple Watch, select the watches you want to use to unlock your apps and Mac.
If you don’t have two-factor authentication turned on for your Apple ID, follow the onscreen instructions, then try selecting the checkbox again. See the Apple Support article Two-factor authentication for Apple ID.
Unlock your Mac
While wearing your watch, just wake up your Mac—no need to type in your password.
![Apple Watch screen showing the message, “Joe’s MacBook Pro Unlocked by this Apple Watch.”](https://help.apple.com/assets/6398A9D9257A2C1D9026967A/6398A9DD257A2C1D9026968B/en_US/c6b13b14146061ffd7cff69badf5ee07.png)
Tip: Make sure your Apple Watch is on your wrist and unlocked and you’re near your Mac.
Download this guide: Apple Books | PDF