iOS 15.1 Beta 2 Fixes Bug Preventing iPhone 13 Users From Unlocking With Apple Watch When Masked

Apple today seeded the second beta of iOS 15.1 to developers, and the update includes a fix for an annoying bug that's been affecting iPhone 13 owners who also have an Apple Watch.

FaceID Masked Triad
With beta 2, the Unlock with Apple Watch feature that was broken has been fixed, and an authenticated Apple Watch can once again be used to unlock an ‌iPhone‌ 13 model when wearing a mask.

Prior to the update, attempting to enable the Unlock with Apple Watch feature under Settings > Face ID & Passcode would result in an error that said the ‌iPhone‌ was unable to communicate with the Apple Watch. That error message has now been addressed, and the feature can be successfully toggled on after updating to iOS 15.1 beta 2.

Apple in a support document promised that a fix for the issue would be coming in a future update, and it appears that update may be iOS 15.1. It's not clear if we'll also see an iOS 15.0.1 update that has a fix, as it could still be several weeks before iOS 15.1 sees a public release.

Related Forums: iOS 15, iPhone

Popular Stories

iOS 26

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2

Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below. Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
Intel Inside iPhone Feature

Apple's Return to Intel Rumored to Extend to iPhone

Friday December 5, 2025 10:08 am PST by
Intel is expected to begin supplying some Mac and iPad chips in a few years, and the latest rumor claims the partnership might extend to the iPhone. In a research note with investment firm GF Securities this week, obtained by MacRumors, analyst Jeff Pu said he and his colleagues "now expect" Intel to reach a supply deal with Apple for at least some non-pro iPhone chips starting in 2028....
ive and altman

Jony Ive's OpenAI Device Barred From Using 'io' Name

Friday December 5, 2025 6:22 am PST by
A U.S. appeals court has upheld a temporary restraining order that prevents OpenAI and Jony Ive's new hardware venture from using the name "io" for products similar to those planned by AI audio startup iyO, Bloomberg Law reports. iyO sued OpenAI earlier this year after the latter announced its partnership with Ive's new firm, arguing that OpenAI's planned "io" branding was too close to its...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

10 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Monday December 1, 2025 2:40 am PST by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
iPhone 14 Pro Dynamic Island

iPhone 18 Pro Leak Adds New Evidence for Under-Display Face ID

Monday December 8, 2025 4:54 am PST by
Apple is actively testing under-screen Face ID for next year's iPhone 18 Pro models using a special "spliced micro-transparent glass" window built into the display, claims a Chinese leaker. According to "Smart Pikachu," a Weibo account that has previously shared accurate supply-chain details on Chinese Android hardware, Apple is testing the special glass as a way to let the TrueDepth...
Photos App Icon Liquid Glass

John Gruber Shares Scathing Commentary About Apple's Departing Software Design Chief

Thursday December 4, 2025 9:30 am PST by
In a statement shared with Bloomberg on Wednesday, Apple confirmed that its software design chief Alan Dye will be leaving. Apple said Dye will be succeeded by Stephen Lemay, who has been a software designer at the company since 1999. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Dye will lead a new creative studio within the company's AR/VR division Reality Labs. On his blog Daring Fireball,...
maxresdefault

iPhone Fold: Launch, Pricing, and What to Expect From Apple's Foldable

Monday December 1, 2025 3:00 am PST by
Apple is expected to launch a new foldable iPhone next year, based on multiple rumors and credible sources. The long-awaited device has been rumored for years now, but signs increasingly suggest that 2026 could indeed be the year that Apple releases its first foldable device. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Below, we've collated an updated set of key details that ...
Johny Srouji

Apple Chip Chief Johny Srouji Could Be Next to Go as Exodus Continues

Sunday December 7, 2025 10:41 am PST by
Apple's senior vice president of hardware technologies Johny Srouji could be the next leading executive to leave the company amid an alarming exodus of leading employees, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. Srouji apparently recently told CEO Tim Cook that he is "seriously considering leaving" in the near future. He intends to join another company if he departs. Srouji leads Apple's chip design ...
Apple John Ternus 2019

Will John Ternus Really Be Apple's Next CEO?

Friday December 5, 2025 9:01 am PST by
There is uncertainty about Apple's head of hardware engineering John Ternus succeeding Tim Cook as CEO, The Information reports. Some former Apple executives apparently hope that a new "dark-horse" candidate will emerge. Ternus is considered to be the most likely candidate to succeed Cook as CEO. The report notes that he is more likely to become CEO than software head chief Craig Federighi, ...
ios 18 to ios 26 upgrade

Apple Pushes iPhone Users Still on iOS 18 to Upgrade to iOS 26

Tuesday December 2, 2025 11:09 am PST by
Apple is encouraging iPhone users who are still running iOS 18 to upgrade to iOS 26 by making the iOS 26 software upgrade option more prominent. Since iOS 26 launched in September, it has been displayed as an optional upgrade at the bottom of the Software Update interface in the Settings app. iOS 18 has been the default operating system option, and users running iOS 18 have seen iOS 18...

Top Rated Comments

macduke Avatar
55 months ago
They really need to push this through ASAP through a smaller update. Not sure why they wouldn't be able to pull that git branch as a patch into 15.0 and push it out there.

Love the timing of this, with my first vacation since before the pandemic starting on Saturday, I'm going to be in and out of a couple airports towing luggage and children and was going to be using this a ton. Probably not gonna travel on beta software.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
applefanboysince93 Avatar
55 months ago

And those of us who doesn’t have an Apple Watch? When is Apple going to solve the unlocking of the latest iPhones for us?
Would have been grand if they could figure out Touch ID on the power button like the iPads…
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
applefanboysince93 Avatar
55 months ago
Just when I thought I was done with betas for another year… ah F it here goes…
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
applefanboysince93 Avatar
55 months ago

Someone downvoted Touch ID?!?! That's ... wow
Right? Even though the Apple Watch unlock is pretty good it doesn’t work maybe 20% of the time for me… having Touch ID as a backup would be great
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
deeddawg Avatar
55 months ago

But seriously, I also use a password locker with a password combination that's not that insane, still long enough, and pretty much been ingrained to the point of muscle memory. It's not so hard.
So... gotta ask... :)

How do you unlock your phone to access your password locker so you can access your phone password to then unlock your phone which you'd already unlocked so you could access the password locker? :D


Joking aside - the mask/watch/phone unlock is important functionality for so many people that it's rather surprising that bug got past Apple and into the release version. Apple hopefully realizes they need to push the fix out ASAP for this reason and not lollygag around until a x.1 release.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
justperry Avatar
55 months ago

Or keep the mask on, and punch in your code / password. Beats getting attention on the plane, and ending up on a no flight list, even though it's a wee bit overboard.
Yup, convenient when a (my) password is 16 alphanumeric characters long.:rolleyes:
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)