# Unlox — Unlock your Mac with your face > Unlock and control your Mac remotely with your iOS device. (iPhone/iPad app by Kane Cheshire.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/unlox/id1313188193 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Kane Cheshire](https://appshunter.io/developer/948478739) - Category: Utilities, Productivity - Price: $3.99 - Rating: 4.19/5 from 1,005 App Store ratings · 189 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 11.2 · 46 MB - Languages: English - Released: 2018-01-03 - Data updated: 2026-06-10 - Monetization: paid - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/unlox/id1313188193/reviews.md ## What is Unlox? Requires a Mac with Bluetooth LE running macOS High Sierra or newer, and an iOS device with Bluetooth LE running iOS 11.2 or newer. Please make sure your devices fully support before purchasing Unlox. –––––––––––––––––––––––––– FEATURES • Works with multiple Macs, iOS devices and Apple Watches at once. • Unlock your Mac using Touch ID, Face ID, passcode, or Apple Watch.. • Interactive notifications – you don't even have to unlock your iOS device! • Control your Mac's audio and volume – works with iTunes & Spotify! • Manually lock your Mac or start screensavers. • AutoLock when your iOS device moves away from your Mac. • AutoWake & automatic unlocking when returning to your Mac. • 3D Touch shortcuts. • Notification Center widget – unlock your Mac from anywhere on your iOS device. • See your MacBook's battery level in the widget. • Share clipboard text to and from your Mac. • Choose from beautiful colour schemes and change the app icon. • Use to authorise tasks that require your macOS admin password. (Admin accounts only) • Never connects to the Internet without your consent. • Your macOS password is never broadcast and never leaves your Mac. • Incredibly simple to use but packed full of features and options. INTERACTIVE NOTIFICATIONS You don't need to open the app to unlock your Mac. Unlox Intelligently sends notifications when one of your connected Macs is woken up, which you can action directly from your iOS lock screen using either your fingerprint, face or passcode. AUTHORISE Action notifications when tasks require your macOS admin password, like moving protected files to Trash or changing a setting. (Admin accounts only) AUDIO CONTROLS You can also play, pause and skip iTunes & Spotify on your Mac remotely. Audio controls work anywhere the physical keys would on your Mac. Now you can even control your Mac's volume level! 3D TOUCH Press hard on the app icon to quickly access settings or to lock and unlock your Macs. URL SCHEMES: Create URL schemes to lock and unlock your Mac from other apps like Shortcuts. CLIPBOARD SHARING Clipboard sharing is built right in – share any piece of text quickly and reliably. AUTOLOCK Enable AutoLock and your Mac will automatically lock when your iOS device moves away from it. You will even get notified when your Mac locks itself. AUTOWAKE Enable AutoWake and your Mac will wake its display when your iOS device gets near, with the option to automatically unlock it. WIDGET Includes a handy Notification Center widget, which will show all your currently connected Macs and give you quick access to lock and unlock them from anywhere on your iOS device. iPad HARDWARE KEYBOARD SUPPORT Great support for hardware keyboards so you can zip about the UI really quickly and intuitively. The iOS app needs to be paired with the free Unlox for macOS companion app, which you must download from unlox.it/get Pairing Unlox for iOS with Unlox for macOS will enable Tap to Unlock, an exclusive way to unlock your Mac by tapping a custom tap pattern into your Magic Trackpad or Magic Mouse. Exclusive to Unlox. Unlox is not compatible with MacID. ## Key features - Unlock Mac with Face ID, Touch ID, or Apple Watch - Remote audio and volume control for Mac - AutoLock and AutoWake functionality - Clipboard sharing between devices - Authorize tasks requiring admin password - Notification Center widget for quick access ## What do users think of Unlox? Overall sentiment: negative **Pros** - 🚀 Convenient unlock - 🔒 Secure authentication - 👍 Easy setup - 🚀 Instant unlock - 🚀 Works well - 👍 Useful app - 👍 Great app **Cons** - 🐛 Unreliable connection - 🐛 Frequent disconnects - 🐛 Inconsistent performance - 🐛 Doesn't work as advertised - 🐛 Buggy - 🐛 Doesn't work with newer Macs - 🐛 Requires constant app monitoring - 🐛 Loses connection **Commonly reported bugs** - Doesn't work with macOS Mojave - Incompatible with M1 Macs - Disconnects when Mac is sleeping - Fails to detect iPhone/iPad - Causes Bluetooth issues on Mac **Most requested features** - Add support for multiple devices - Improve auto-reconnect functionality - Add customizable notification options - Integrate with password managers - Add ability to control media playback ## Recent user reviews (10 of 189) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/unlox/id1313188193/reviews.md ### 1/5 — Pointless *2025-03-26, version 3.0.4* It only works AFTER you’re signed in. You cannot unlock your Mac with this app. Completely pointless. ### 4/5 — Convenient *2025-03-25, version 3.0.4* This makes locking and unlocking my computer very convenient. My one gripe is with the annoying reminder popups about turning on Bluetooth when it is off. If I have Bluetooth off I probably don’t want to use this app. There should be an option to silence these or they need to be much less frequent. ### 5/5 — Works like a charm *2025-01-31* I have a M1 MacBook Pro. It may appear like this app hasn’t been updated in a long time, but it works great. I’m so tired of the finicky Apple Watch that sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t open my Mac and my fingerprint reader that doesn’t work most of the time. This little app needs to have the i phone nearby of course to unlock the Mac, but you just look at your phone and it unlocks the Mac pronto. I would say the one issue it has as far as I’m concerned is that it does add to the battery drain on your phone so that would be one consideration but given that I am very pleased with this app. It even allows you to change the app icon on your iPhone to a different color! ### 5/5 — Excellent App *2025-01-21, version 3.0.4* It works sometimes but if the Mac has been asleep for a while Unlox needs a nudge by opening the phone settings and opening the Bluetooth settings and trying to connect the phone to the iMac. We know it won’t connect because Apple will not allow it but trying seems to prompt the app to work.I’ve added a star because the app seems to get too know the iMac, I still sometimes have to give it a “ nudge “ by clicking the mouse but I think it’s brilliant 👍.it keeps auto locking when not asked to 😢 IT KEEPS AUTO LOCKING EVEN WHEN THE AUTO LOCK FEATURE IS TURNED OFF , IT DOES IT WHILST I’M AT MY MAC , CAN YOU SOLVE THIS PLEASE 🙏🏽 ITS A PAIN. DO YOU TAKE ANY NOTICE OF THESE REVIEWS? IT KEEPS AUTO LOCKING !!!!!! Hello again, just thought I would update you on this app , well it was good before but since I upgraded my phone to an iPhone 12 it’s even better, more or less instant. Great.I don’t know what you’ve done but it seems to work great now 👍 ### 2/5 — Bluetooth required *2024-12-20, version 3.0.4* This should be said before you buy. Also, after I declined because I value privacy, no I have to open up settings and do more work to make it function. Regret. ### 5/5 — Worth It! 💯 *2024-11-22, version 3.0.4* This app is worth the money and saves time. Surprised that M1 MacBook Pro does not innately have the feature built in considering the fact that it has the dynamic island but no Face ID. ### 1/5 — No working *2024-11-19, version 3.0.4* I purchased the IOS version but can download the Mac OS version it say it is not compatible with my laptop . I am running Sequoia 15.1 . I can get a hold of the developer. I don’t use twitter. No email support. ### 5/5 — Better than Apple *2024-10-18, version 3.0.4* It provides an unlocking mechanism for devices like mac mini without touchscreen or facial recognition and is quick. Performs infinitely better than the orginal Apple Watch feature because there's always an excuse for it not to work from Apple. Nicely done work and thank you . ### 3/5 — Excellent App *2024-06-14* It works sometimes but if the Mac has been asleep for a while Unlox needs a nudge by opening the phone settings and opening the Bluetooth settings and trying to connect the phone to the iMac. We know it won’t connect because Apple will not allow it but trying seems to prompt the app to work.I’ve added a star because the app seems to get too know the iMac, I still sometimes have to give it a “ nudge “ by clicking the mouse but I think it’s brilliant 👍.it keeps auto locking when not asked to 😢 IT KEEPS AUTO LOCKING EVEN WHEN THE AUTO LOCK FEATURE IS TURNED OFF , IT DOES IT WHILST I’M AT MY MAC , CAN YOU SOLVE THIS PLEASE 🙏🏽 ITS A PAIN. DO YOU TAKE ANY NOTICE OF THESE REVIEWS? IT KEEPS AUTO LOCKING !!!!!! Hello again, just thought I would update you on this app , well it was good before but since I upgraded my phone to an iPhone 12 it’s even better, more or less instant. Great. ### 5/5 — Works as expected *2023-12-18* Was a little weary as there hasn’t been a recent update and some of the other solutions found no longer seem to be available. Happy to report this has been working great with my M2 Mac mini and paired with the remote pro app does everything I need. Hope the dev continues to update as needed, made me a happy customer ## Frequently asked questions about Unlox ### What does Unlox do? Unlox allows you to unlock your Mac using your face, Touch ID, or Apple Watch. It also provides remote control features for your Mac, such as audio playback and volume adjustment, clipboard sharing, and the ability to authorize tasks that require your macOS admin password. ### What are the key features of Unlox? Key features include unlocking your Mac with biometric authentication or Apple Watch, interactive notifications for unlocking, remote audio and volume control for apps like iTunes and Spotify, AutoLock and AutoWake functionality, clipboard sharing, and the ability to authorize administrative tasks. ### How much does Unlox cost? The application is a paid app. The provided data indicates it is a one-time purchase and does not mention any subscription fees or in-app purchases for core functionality. ### What are the compatibility requirements for Unlox? You need a Mac running macOS High Sierra or newer with Bluetooth LE, and an iOS device running iOS 11.2 or newer with Bluetooth LE. A companion macOS app, available from unlox.it/get, is also required. ### What are common use cases for Unlox? Common use cases include quickly unlocking your Mac without typing a password, controlling music playback remotely, automatically locking your Mac when you step away, and waking your Mac's display as you approach it for an automatic unlock. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 3.0.4 — 2019-12-18 Hello, everyone! Thank you for your continued support. Independent developers like me truly appreciate everyone's support and patience while working on updates. The best thing you can do to continue to support us is to leave a review in the App Store. Thank you! Unlox 3.0.4: - Provides a fix to stop Unlox for iOS' underlying database file from growing way too large, eventually crashing the app. - Provides a fix for people who's database files were too large to load into the app, causing the app to crash before Unlox for iOS could apply the regular fix added. Unfortunately the only fix for this once it's crashing is to delete the underlying database file, so you'll need to set up again if this affects you. Apologies! - Fixes the widget not working correctly with Dark Mode. - Improves Unlox for watchOS, but I would like to completely re-write the Apple Watch app to make it faster and more useful.. ### 3.0.0 — 2019-07-31 Unlox v3 is here! Please note v3 is not compatible with v2 and you will need to update Unlox for macOS to v3 as soon as possible to keep using Unlox. Unlox v3 is a free update for all existing Unlox users. Here's what's changed: NEW! - Unlox for iOS can now control your Mac's volume level. - Unlox for iOS has an option to manually start the screensaver from the context menu. - Unlox for macOS can now connect to multiple iOS devices, meaning you can connect one or more iOS devices to one Mac, and one or more Macs to one iOS device. I recommend adding no more than two iOS devices per Mac (an iPhone and iPad work nicely!), but you're welcome to add as many as you like. - Each iOS device you add to Unlox for macOS has independent AutoLock and AutoWake controls. - Added logging to the iOS app that will never leave your iOS device unless you want it to. If you're ever experiencing issues with Unlox, you can share those logs with me by tapping on the option in Settings and then sharing over email etc. Your privacy and trust has always been Unlox's top priority and it always will be. - Unlox for iOS is now more power-efficient. Unlox has always been one of the most power-efficient apps on your phone, but now it's even better, and you'll likely never even see it show in the battery usage section of your phone settings for a lot of the time. - Some small tweaks to text used in the app, like saying "Unlock" instead of "Okay" when being asked to confirm if Unlox should unlock your Mac. This makes it clearer what confirming will actually do, which is great for everyone but even better for accessibility. - Confirmation alerts for unlocking/entering your password now automatically dismiss if your Mac is unlocked from another device or Tap to Unlock etc. FIXED! - Unlox for iOS and macOS have been re-written to fix the missing name bug on Mojave. - For some people, Unlox for macOS would see their iOS device as a "new" device periodically. This should be fixed in v3 by using a more robust system pairing when setting up your Mac. If you see a system pairing popup during setup, make sure you accept so that Unlox for macOS can securely connect to your phone as a trusted device. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your continued support. I know this update took much longer than people expected, including me! There have been some issues to work around but I think it's mostly there now. Let me know how you get on by tweeting me @UnloxHelp! ### 2.0.4 — 2018-08-16 Changes in v2.0.4 - Fixes an issue where Unlox would say "Unlox Beta" on your home screen. Changes in v2.0.3 - Fixes an issue where unlocking using the 3D Touch home screen quick actions or URL schemes would require Face/Touch ID, even if it's disabled in Unlox settings. - Fixes an annoying notification incorrectly being sent when Unlox reconnects while the screensaver is showing (even if you have Proximity Wake disabled). ### 2.0.3 — 2018-08-15 Hello! Thanks for supporting independent developers like myself. I know some of you had to pay again for Unlox even though you owned MacID before. Those of you who paid for an upgrade helped support future development of Unlox going forward. Thank you. Changes in v2.0.3 - Fixes an issue where unlocking using the 3D Touch home screen quick actions or URL schemes would require Face/Touch ID, even if it's disabled in Unlox settings. - Fixes an annoying notification incorrectly being sent when Unlox reconnects while the screensaver is showing (even if you have Proximity Wake disabled). Don't forget to update Unlox for macOS by selecting [Unlox menu] > [Updates] > [Check for update now...] Look out for smaller, more frequent releases going forward. I know there are things people miss like volume controls and the Apple Watch complication, so these are high on the list. Thanks again! Kane ### 2.0.2 — 2018-02-20 Please remember to update Unlox for macOS by clicking [Unlox menu] > [Updates] > [Check for update now...] This is just a small update to add the ability to refresh your user account image. Tap the three dots on a connected Mac to find the option! As ever, thank you to everyone who has supported Unlox. Your unwavering support is extremely motivational and I am truly thankful. Kane. ## Apps similar to Unlox | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [App Lock, Hide Passwords Apps](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/app-lock-hide-passwords-apps/id1614510749) | 4.6 (9,582) | Free | Utilities | | [App Lock - Lock Apps .](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/app-lock-lock-apps/id6469686557) | 4.6 (6,392) | Free | Utilities | | [App Lock - AppLock Apps](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/app-lock-applock-apps/id6452721618) | 4.6 (1,035) | Free | Utilities | | [AppLock - Passcode App Lock](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/applock-passcode-app-lock/id1661642866) | 4.3 (1,333) | Free | Utilities | | [File Explorer & Player](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/file-explorer-and-player/id1113281296) | 4.6 (118) | Free | Utilities | | [Magic Packet - Wake On Lan](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/magic-packet-wake-on-lan/id1488937601) | 4.5 (103) | $2.29 | Utilities | ## More apps by Kane Cheshire - [MacID](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/macid/id948478740) - [cookie cookie - say goodbye to cookie policy notices](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cookie-cookie-say-goodbye-to-cookie-policy-notices/id1042022646) - [Ride - track your eSK8 rides](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ride-track-your-esk8-rides/id1271234198) All apps by Kane Cheshire: https://appshunter.io/developer/948478739 --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-06-10.*