Compared to a traditional fingerprint or Touch ID sensor, Apple’s Face ID unlocks your iPhone automatically by scanning your face. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work when you’re wearing a mask. Thankfully, there’s a workaround if you own an Apple Watch.
To work, Face ID needs your eyes, nose, and mouth to be visible. That’s obviously not possible while wearing a mask. But as long as you’re running iOS 14.5 or higher on your iPhone, you can authenticate yourself using an Apple Watch running watchOS 7.4 or higher. You can use any Series 3 or newer Apple Watch to unlock your iPhone.
Any Apple Watch Series 3 or newer will be able to unlock your iPhone for you when you’re wearing a mask.
