The next update to iOS 14.5 will allow you to unlock your iPhone wearing a mask without having to enter the security code, thanks to your Apple Watch. We explain how it works, its advantages and disadvantages.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Face ID has gone from being the best unlocking system for safety and convenience, to a real nuisance because it is completely useless when we have half a face covered. At least until the arrival of iOS 14.5, the version of which we are releasing the first Beta for developers, and that allow you to use your Apple Watch to unlock your iPhone when wearing a mask. How does it work? What are its advantages and disadvantages? We explain everything to you in this video.
Requirements
The first thing we need is that our iPhone and Apple Watch are updated to iOS 14.5 and watchOS 7.4 which at the time of writing are in Beta 1, available to developers only. The final version of these updates should not take too long and will appear in your device settings as soon as it is available to all users. Once updated to this version (at least) you will be able to make use of this new feature that allows your iPhone to be unlocked even with a mask on. But you must take into account several more requirements:
- iPhone and Apple Watch must have both WiFi and Bluetooth enabled.
- We must activate the option "Unlock with Apple Watch" within the iPhone Settings, in the Face ID menu.
- Both devices must be located close to each other (maximum two meters).
- The Apple Watch must have an unlock code, and it must be unlocked and on our wrist.
With all these requirements completed, when we try to unlock our iPhone with a mask, the terrible screen of the unlock code will no longer appear, but We can see how the iPhone tells us that it has been unlocked with the Apple Watch, and on our Apple Watch we will receive a notification that indicates this fact. There will also be a button on the screen of our watch that will allow us to lock the iPhone if the unlocking has been unwanted.
A comfortable and fast system
The operation of this system is quite transparent for the user once we have activated it. As I have already said, you just have to try it with a mask on and you will see how your iPhone is unlocked at the same time as on your Apple Watch the sound of a lock rings and it vibrates on your wrist. However, there are situations in which this unlocking system will not work, to provide it with greater security:
- When we restart the iPhone we must first enter the unlock code before being able to use Face ID and therefore unlocking with the Apple Watch.
- The first time we try to unlock the phone with a mask, it will ask for the unlock code.
- If the Apple Watch is more than two meters away, it will ask us for the unlock code and Face ID or unlocking with Apple Watch will not work again until we enter it manually.
- If we block the iPhone through the notification that appears on our Apple Watch we will have to enter the code manually so that Face ID and unlocking with Apple Watch work again.
- It does not work with Sleep mode on.
But with drawbacks
It is not the perfect solution far from it. It is a relief for those of us who spend many hours a day with the mask on, but there are security problems that Apple itself recognizes. In fact you cannot use this unlock with Apple Watch to make payments with Apple Pay on our iPhone, neither to open applications protected with Face ID, nor to fill in passwords using the iCloud Keychain. The problem that comes to mind is what happens if someone picks up our phone and unlocks it within two meters of our watch? The answer is simple: the iPhone is unlocked. This has a lot of fine print, but it does unlock. The other person must wear a mask, us too and have already unlocked the iPhone sometime with it on, must remain very close to us, and we must not notice the sound or vibration on our Apple Watch when the iPhone is unlocked.
It is a first Beta in which we released a new unlocking system, so hopefully it will improve in future versions, for example, doing a partial reading of our face, enough that anyone who takes it with a mask cannot unlock it. Even with these improvements, I think that it is not a solution that will be final, and Apple will surely continue working on other alternatives to solve the mask problem, but in the meantime, I think this solution perfectly fulfills its mission.
