For many years in Mac OS 9 and earlier, the first line of defense for this behavior has been locking a file, making sure that it can’t be changed or deleted unless it is specifically unlocked. This ability remains in Mac OS X and applies even to the root user (locked files can’t be deleted without being unlocked first, period). Go to the menu bar at the top and select View. Click to Show Invisible Items. In the search field, type Auto Unlock. Select all of the entries in the list that begin with “Auto Unlock: ” (where the “” is one of your Apple devices) and delete them.
This is a non-rebooting workaround for the situation where your login screen gets locked up because you mis-entered your login password three times while trying to log into an account on a Mac that has set a master password for FileVault (it does not matter if the account uses FileVault or not). The login box displays the error 'Type the master password to reset this user's password and to unlock FileVault. Master Password hint: ..', with no ability to log in as the correct user with the correct password, or to log in as another user or back out of the FileVault password. Requirements:
- ssh enabled on the locked-up Mac.
- Administrator user name and password known for the locked-out computer.
- Both computers on the network.
Here's how to unlock the stuck Mac without a reboot:
- Determine the IP address of the locked out Macintosh. You can do this by clicking multiple times on the grey text just under 'Mac OS X' in the login window.
- Launch the Terminal application on the other Mac.
- In that Terminal window, type ssh -l admin_name 1.2.3.4, where admin_name is the name of the admin user on the locked-up Mac, and 1.2.3.4 is the IP address you found above.
- Enter in the administrator's password when prompted, then press Enter.
- Type in ps -aux | grep loginwindow.app and press Return. The results will look something like this:
- Locate the process ID (PID; the second column) for root's instance of loginwindow. There may be multiple entries due to multiple users being enabled, and someone else being logged in. In the example above, root's PID is 801.
- Type sudo kill PID#, where PID# is the number you just found, then press Return.
- Enter the administrator's password when prompted and press Return.
![Unlock Unlock](https://9to5mac.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2019/10/how-to-use-voice-control-mac-macos-catalina-walkthrough-3.jpg?quality=82&strip=all)
[robg adds: It seems much simpler to me to just restart the locked-up Mac, but perhaps there are multiple users logged in, and you'd rather not lose their work. I haven't tested this one.]
After upgrading to macOS Sierra, users will be able to unlock their Mac using their Apple Watch. The new shiny feature is called Auto Lock. This feature was originally announced during the WWDC keynote. Some people were able to give Auto Lock a test drive using their Apple Watch on watchOS 3 beta 2 and Macbook on macOS Sierra (beta).
The first thing that I noticed was the setting up process. If you’re not familiar with activating Auto Lock on your Mac, you will have a hard time unlocking the computer using your Apple Watch.
Wow space party... mac os. Even though Apple has made the process relatively easy, some users still have trouble getting Auto Lock to work on their Mac and Apple Watch. In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to troubleshoot that problem.
The first thing we’re going to do is turn on Auto Lock on your Apple Watch. Be sure to follow the instructions below.
How to enable Auto Unlock on Apple Watch
- Make sure your Apple Watch is running watchOS 3 or higher. You can also find available firmware update by going to the Watch app (on your iPhone) > General > Software Update.
- Turn on Passcode for your watch. It’s in the Settings app under the Passcode page.
- On your Mac, go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > General, and look for Allow your Apple Watch to unlock your Mac.
- Click on the checkbox right next to it. If prompted, enter your Mac’s password.
To see if Auto Lock is working or not, close your Mac or log out and lift the screen back up.
If you see a message that says, “Unlocking with Apple Watch” and the lock screen turns into a regular Mac screen, then everything is working as expected.
If Auto Lock is Not Working on your Mac
In case Auto Lock doesn’t work on your Apple Watch or macOS computer, here are a few things you need to know to fix that problem.
- Apple Watch needs to run watchOS 3 beta 2 or higher
- Your Mac needs to have macOS Sierra Developer Preview Seed 2 or later
- Enable Two-Factor Authentication or 2FC for your Apple ID (see this)
- Auto Unlock will not work if the Apple Watch is not on your wrist
- If your Mac is awake but on the lock screen, click Cancel to activate Auto Unlock
As long as you satisfy the software requirements and features, then Auto Lock should start working again or for the first time. Tappy ball mac os.
If you see the error message that says, “Your Mac was unable to communicate with your Apple Watch,” it means either your Keychain is off (you will need to turn it on), or you should disable and re-enable Handoff from Settings > General.
Is My Mac Compatible with Auto Lock?
We forgot to mention that not all Macs will contain the Auto Lock feature.
To check if your Mac supports Auto Lock on the Apple Watch, do the following:
- Click on the Apple logo in the top left-hand corner of the screen
- Choose About This Mac
- Under the Overview page, click System Report…
- From the sidebar, select Wi-Fi option and look for Auto Unlock
- If your Mac does support this functionality, it should say “Supported” as shown below.
Be sure to let us know what you think and if this article has helped you fix problems with Auto Unlock.
Unlocking your Mac with an Android Phone
A lot of people sent me this:
I love Auto Lock, but I don’t have an iPhone or Apple Watch to unlock the device securely.
Well, here is an interesting application I recently discovered on Product Hunt.
DroidID is an Android application that allows you to unlock your Mac computer “with your device’s fingerprint sensor.”
Why is this important?
Catch To Unlock Mac Os 11
It depends on the person, really. If you own a Macbook or iMac you obviously also own an iPhone or Apple Watch.
This is nothing new!
I also happen to know a few people who owns a Mac yet an Android phone at the same time. One thing they complain a lot about was the ability to unlock their Mac with their Android device. I hope they can shut up now.
DroidID unlocks your Mac when:
- Your Mac is sleeping
- Screensaver is running
- Resume the power via a click or mouse movement
By default, the app will not unlock your Mac on the first boot-up. If you want to change that, just add DroidID to one of the Login items (Go to System Preferences > Users & Groups)
How to Use DroidID on Android and Mac
Unlike the Auto Lock feature, DroidID isn’t a built-in feature. This means you will have to connect both apps from your Mac and Android phone.
- Click here to download the Mac client app
- On your Android phone, click here or go to the Play Store and install DroidID
- Go through the on-screen setup process
A few more things to keep in mind:
- For Android: the device has to be running Marshmallow (or above) / Lollipop (or above)
- For Mac: running El Capitan or above
Catch To Unlock Mac Os X
So far, I think DroidID is the easiest and safest way to unlock your Mac using your Android phone’s fingerprint sensor.
Catch To Unlock Mac Os Catalina
You can skip the process of entering your password each time, especially if it’s long and complicated. Blocklock mac os.
P.S: Support for Windows is coming soon.