How to Open Your Apple Watch with Your iPhone

By Amy Spitzfaden–Both Updated 03/04/2021

Learn how to unlock an Apple Watch with an iPhone. Knowing how to unlock your Apple Watch from your iPhone not only saves you from entering your passcode each time you unlock your smart watch, but also offers the convenience of not having to type on your tiny screen.

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How to Unlock an Apple Watch with an iPhone

We've already gone over how to unlock your iPhone with your Apple Watch, even with a mask on, how to lock and unlock an Apple Watch with a Water Lock, and how to unlock your iPad or iPhone if it's disabled. For more tips about how to unlock your Apple devices, check out our free Tip of the Day.

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Open the Watch app.
In the My Watch tab, scroll until you see Passcode and tap.
Toggle Unlock with iPhone on. When it is on, the toggle will be to the right and the bar will be green.
Enter the Apple Watch passcode on your Apple Watch screen.

Once this is set up, your Apple Watch will be unlocked every time you unlock your iPhone. They do need to be within Bluetooth range of each other for this function to work.

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Author Details

Amy Spitzfaden–Both

Amy Spitzfaden Both is a Feature Writer at iPhone Life, an award-winning novelist, and an iPhone enthusiast. Over the past decade, her work in the publishing industry has included live coverage of industry events including the Yale Publishing Course and Magazine Innovation’s ACT 9 Experience, providing editing services for several start-up publishing houses, and acting as newsstand consultant for magazines such as The Old Farmer’s Almanac and The New York Review of Books. She graduated from M.I.U. with a Bachelor’s in Literature and Writing, and has gone on to publish two novels and two short stories. Her debut novel Untold won the 2014 Chelson Award for Fiction.
Writing everything from book reviews to skincare tips, Amy discovered a passion for bringing exciting and useful information to even the most casual researcher. The mix of usability and endless possibilities is what drew her to Apple products originally, and the more she learns, the more she loves.
Amy lives in New Hampshire with her husband and daughter. When she’s not writing or glued to her iPhone, she enjoys hiking, traveling, and creating her own tea blends.