Apple will fix Touch ID failing to unlock Apple Watch in a future iOS 14.7 update

If you've discovered that you can't unlock your Apple Watch with the connected iPhone's Touch ID after the update to iOS 14.7, you're not alone — and Apple is working on a fix.

In a new support document, Apple has noted that some customers can't unlock their Apple Watch with a Touch ID-equipped phone, like the new iPhone SE. The company doesn't give a solution to the problem in the support document, but it does provide a work-around.

The document says that a passcode entry will still work to unlock the iPhone. Apple also says that, like always, "this is required only one time, as long as you keep your Apple Watch on your wrist. If you forgot your passcode, you need to reset your Apple Watch."

This is a little more complicated and requires more drastic action if the Apple Watch has been provisioned with a Mobile Device Management profile that requires an alphanumeric password. Apparently, the iOS 14.7 update removes the ability to enter those on managed devices.

What to do if you can't enter a passcode on an Apple Watch with a MDM profile

1. Have the administrator remove the password requirement
2. Unpair and erase the Apple Watch
3. Re-sync the Apple Watch

The support document also recommends that MDM administrators defer updating supervised iPhones until the release of the software patch that will fix the issues.

It isn't yet clear when Apple will roll out the fix for the problem. It also isn't clear what percentage of users are impacted by the related bugs.

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