If you use a dual-monitor setup on your Mac with a DisplayLink adapter and rely on your Apple Watch to unlock your system, this might save you some frustration.
I’ve always found unlocking my Mac with my Apple Watch incredibly convenient. But after upgrading my desk setup to dual monitors using a DisplayLink docking station, that convenience disappeared overnight.
It turns out that because of how DisplayLink works, macOS interprets the setup as if the screen is being shared. And when macOS thinks you’re screen-sharing, it automatically disables Apple Watch unlock for security reasons. Fair enough—but definitely inconvenient.
At first, it felt like I had to choose between keeping my dual-monitor setup or keeping the Apple Watch unlock feature. But after reading the login-screen error message more closely—specifically the part that said unlock is blocked while screen sharing—I realized there was a workaround.
💡 The Fix
All I needed to do was adjust my Lock Screen settings so that:
• The display turns off (on battery and on power) before or at the same time as
• “Require password after screen saver begins or display is turned off.”
In other words, I aligned the timers so that my Mac simply turns the display off rather than triggering the screen saver. And just like that—problem solved. Apple Watch unlock works again, without sacrificing the dual-monitor setup.
The trade-off? My screen saver no longer runs. But personally, that’s a small price to pay.
Hope this helps someone running into the same issue. Cheers!
Top comments (0)