[MikeElmendorf]

I cannot seem to enable Unlock my Mac with my new Apple Watch Series 3. Worked fine on my Series 1, but is telling me my Mac is not compatible and needs to be updated. Anyone else? Any ideas?

[MikeElmendorf]

(My MacBook Air is telling me the same)

[TripleOne]

Is your Mac on the latest MacOS?

[MikeElmendorf]

Yes.

[MikeElmendorf]

Tried a restart of the Mac and getting the same.

[doogald]

The Macs are mid-2013 or later?

See also https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT206995 ?

[metllicamilitia]

I’ll check on my own probably much later tonight after Xcode downloads on this slow wifi.

[doogald]

It’s definitely still working on my 2016 MacBook Air (Sierra and WatchOS 4 on Series 2).

[MikeElmendorf]

Yes. New iMac and 2 year old MacBook Air. Running 10.12.6. Worked fine on both machines before upgrading to the new watch.

[doogald]

I do recall that I had issues with unlocking with watch when I first tried setting it up - and I can't remember what I did to get it working. What's weird is that you had it working with your old watch.

If you were me, I think I'd try turning off the unlock with watch setting, and then unpairing the new watch. Restart the phone and the Mac. Pair the watch again. Restart the phone, watch, and Mac. And then see if you can set it up successfully.

Or call AppleCare and see if they have any suggestions...

[MikeElmendorf]

I talked to Apple Support at length this morning.

They had me turn off handoff on everything, unpair the watch, repair the watch (which takes forever). Still didn't fix it.

Then they told me that they think the issue is that you need High Sierra to make it work with Series 3. He was a senior advisor and eventually found some notes from someone else who had the same issue.

For those of you who report it is working, are you using High Sierra (beta I guess?)

[doogald]

Looks confirmed on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/AppleWatch/...unlocking_mac/

That just sounds wrong? Why would the S3 be different from all of the other watches?

[MikeElmendorf]

Very odd.

[sshadmand]

I talked to Apple Support at length this morning.

They had me turn off handoff on everything, unpair the watch, repair the watch (which takes forever). Still didn't fix it.

Then they told me that they think the issue is that you need High Sierra to make it work with Series 3. He was a senior advisor and eventually found some notes from someone else who had the same issue.

For those of you who report it is working, are you using High Sierra (beta I guess?)

I am using Sierra 10.6.12 and it says I need to upgrade OS to use the feature on my 2016 mac pro. However, I AM on the latest OS.

[doogald]

I am using Sierra 10.6.12 and it says I need to upgrade OS to use the feature on my 2016 mac pro. However, I AM on the latest OS.

Right, but it appears that this requires High Sierra (10.13) - which is being released Monday.

[Mac Guy]

Very odd.

I'd say it's not that uncommon.

Apple does this frequently. A new bit of kit for some reason needs new software. Sometimes phones or some feature needs a new iOS, new OS, or new iTunes.My feeling is that this is in part to move everybody forward in software for whatever reason.

I don't know there's a technical reason Apple couldn't make the S3 unlock your Mac, though there could be.

[TripleOne]

iMore just published an article regarding this issue. The current MacOS does not support Series 3 yet, we’ll have to wait until Monday, update to High Sierra, and it’ll start working again.

[metllicamilitia]

Can confirm, Series 3 unlocks High Sierra. I’ve been on beta since day one. Had to reconnect my iPhone for some reason to get my watch to talk to my MacBook though, weird.

[TripleOne]

Can confirm, Series 3 unlocks High Sierra. I’ve been on beta since day one. Had to reconnect my iPhone for some reason to get my watch to talk to my MacBook though, weird.

Does the Series 3 unlocks the Mac at a faster rate?

[metllicamilitia]

Does the Series 3 unlocks the Mac at a faster rate?

If it is faster it’s not by a lot. Maybe a second or two.