iOS 14.7 Bug May Prevent iPhones With Touch ID From Automatically Unlocking Apple Watch

Following the release of iOS 14.7, watchOS 7.6, and several other operating system updates this week, Apple has acknowledged that a bug in iOS 14.7 could prevent users from being able to unlock their Apple Watches by simply unlocking their paired Touch ID-equipped iPhones.

iphone unlock apple watch
Apple's temporary workaround for the bug is for the user to type their passcode into their Apple Watch to unlock it rather than relying on their iPhone, and Apple says the issue will be addressed in a future software update.

Users who have forgotten their Apple Watch passcodes will need to reset their Apple Watches. Enterprise users whose iPhones are loaded with MDM profiles that require alphanumeric passcodes will need to work with their MDM administrators to remove the passcode requirement and then unpair, erase, and set up their Apple Watches again.

We have seen a few signs of iOS 14.7.1 in our site analytics over the past few days, so this will presumably be a relatively short turnaround on a bug fix update rather than a more significant update with an extended beta testing period. We have not seen any sign of a larger iOS 14.8 update in our analytics, and we expect that we will only see minor bug fix updates until Apple officially releases iOS 15 in a few months.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 10
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Caution)
Related Forum: iOS 14

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Top Rated Comments

MacDevil7334 Avatar
50 months ago
I just don’t understand how this keeps happening with iOS updates. 14.7 went through like 5 beta versions that were publicly available. Does Apple just go and drop untested code into the final release version? We get these “bugs that didn’t show up in the betas” like every 2-3 releases it seems. What is going on?
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
insomniac86 Avatar
50 months ago
Good work beta testers ?
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Marshall73 Avatar
50 months ago
This rarely ever works for me anyway.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Wildkraut Avatar
50 months ago

Good work beta testers ?
Well, it’s not the unpaid beta testers responsibility to test such things. Apple is sitting on a pile of money, and simply should invest more into QM and testing. Voluntary software testers can‘t replace paid testers. Anyway, I bet if you could go through all the existing bug reports, You’ll find it there.

?
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Stuipdboy1000 Avatar
50 months ago
I had an issue unlocking on a Face ID phone this morning so I think it’s maybe a bit more widespread than just Touch ID phones.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mr. Dee Avatar
50 months ago
This is exactly why I have not upgraded from iOS 13.7 yet, waiting on 14.7.1.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)