Discovered 2021-06-01(?), iOS 14.6, watchOS 7.5
Fixed 2021-10-11(?), iOS 15.0.2, watchOS 8.0.1
Description Unlocking iPhone no longer unlocks Apple Watch

Details

2021-08-01

  • Apple says that the issue appeared in iOS 14.7 on iPhones with Touch ID, but I started to have it with iOS 14.6 and on iPhone with Face ID
  • Apple also says that the issue was fixed in iOS 14.7.1, but I have iOS 14.7.1 and watchOS 7.6.1, and the issue is still present

2021-10-26

With iOS 15.0.2 and watchOS 8.0.1 this seems to be fixed. It works differently than it was before, though:

  1. Make sure Apple Watch display is on, so you see something on the screen;
  2. Unlock iPhone, and then Apple Watch unlocking process will start (a banner on top of the iPhone screen will appear).

If you unlock iPhone while Apple Watch display isn’t on, then unlocking Apple Watch won’t start and it will stay locked.

Also, unlocking process now takes much more time than it was before.