Unlocking your Mac with your iPhone or Apple Watch

Apple is very safety and security conscious. That’s why you have to use a login password to unlock your Mac before you can use it. That’s a great feature because it means random people can’t access your stuff. However, it can sometimes be a minor annoyance to put in the password. Isn’t there another way? I’m glad you asked. Because we are going to look at how you can use your Apple Watch or your iPhone to unlock your Mac.

Everyone knows all the neat things you can do with Apple Watch that make it useful. You can use your Apple Watch to keep track of your vital signs and alert you to changes. It can be a high-priced pedometer and heart rate monitor. It can be used for checking and responding to messages. And, of course, it tells time. A feature that might be especially useful for those of us who like using as little energy as possible, is for logging in to your Mac with a single touch.

It’s so simple to login to your Mac with your Apple Watch. All you have to do is tap unlock on your Apple Watch, and your Mac is ready to go. You do have to be within range to do this. And you do have to wake up your Mac if it’s fully asleep. If you are out of range, you won’t be able to send unlock your Mac and you will either need to get closer to it or get up and walk over to it and type in your password like you’d normally have to do.

Steps to unlock your Mac with your Apple Watch

To unlock your Mac with your Apple Watch, you need the MacID app for iOS and the counterpart to that app for your Mac. You can use this on multiple Macs that you own. Here’s the rundown on how to unlock your Mac.

The first step to unlocking your Mac with your iPhone is to download and install MacID on your Macs. Once you have downloaded this program and have installed it and opened it, you simply launch it and follow the instructions you’re given. You will have to enter your password when you set your Mac up initially, but you won’t have to do this again unless you change your Mac’s password.

To use your iPhone or Apple Watch to unlock your Mac, wake your Mac. When you do this, your Apple Watch or iPhone will ask if you want to unlock the Mac using a tapping feeling on your wrist.

You can also lock your Mac remotely. You simply launch the MacID app using your iPhone or Apple Watch. Choose the Mac and the option you want. One really neat thing is that you can wake your Mac and unlock it as long as it’s not fully asleep and it’s not closed.

What are some reasons you might want to unlock your Mac remotely? Well, one reason is that you might want to play your iTunes from your Apple Watch. Another reason is so you can ping clipboard contents and move them from one of your devices to another.

Other uses for MacID

Since you have MacID anyway, you might as well use it to support URL schemes. Use it with Launch Center Pro to create some quick actions (shortcuts) like using it to unlock or wake your Mac right away.

Launch Center pro is an app used to help support productivity. You would use it to make some quick shortcuts in your iPhone. You can quickly and easily setup this app and use it to send emails, send a tweet, go to your favorite website, and much more.

If you don’t use Mac ID, there are other options for unlocking a Mac with an iPhone or Apple Watch. MacID is arguably the most reliable and versatile. And it’s so easy that nearly anyone can use it.