Perhaps you hate typing passwords but want to keep your phone and computer secure. Thanks to Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, you can adapt your mobile devices to automatically unlock your computer, themselves, and even your front door by using a couple of apps and defining a few rules.


Bluetooth connects your smartphone to a variety of devices, but only works in a limited range. This downside becomes a secret feature when you turn your Bluetooth-capable devices into a virtual skeleton key. When your smartphone comes into range, you can set up rules to make it unlock your computer automatically. When it connects to your Wi-Fi network, you can tell it to disable its passcode lock because it's safe at home. This way you don't have to bother entering any passwords when you aren't concerned with your device's security. In this post, we'll show you how to set it all up.

What You’ll Need

For the most part, you already have everything you’ll need and just need to download a few apps. In some cases you’ll need extra gadgets. Here’s a basic overview, but you’ll find the details in each section:

A Bluetooth-enabled smartphone

A Bluetooth-enabled computer

A variety of apps, outlined in their respective sections in this post

Unlock Your Computer

You can already pair most computers with your smartphone over Bluetooth, but nothing really happens when you do. You can use this functionality to transfer files or share an internet connection through options already available in their operating systems, but with a little extra effort you can also use it to unlock your computer when you’re close by. The methods differ depending on your operating system, so just follow the instructions relevant to you.


Note: We’re not including Linux instructions in this post, but that doesn’t mean you can’t unlock a Linux machine with Bluetooth. Check out this tutorial for more information.



Windows

To accomplish a Bluetooth proximity unlock within Windows, you’ll need the BTProximity program. Download it and follow these instructions to set it up:

First you need to pair your smartphone with Windows. Open up your smartphone’s Bluetooth settings and make sure it’s on and discoverable, then head over to your Windows PC and right-click the Bluetooth icon in your system tray. From the pop-up list, choose Add Bluetooth Device and follow the on-screen instructions to pair your phone. Open up BTProximity. Click "Select" under Bluetooth Mobile Device and select your device. Click the button to install the Unlock Component. Click "Manage Credentials" to enter your username and password. Check the box next to “Lock when device goes out of range” and set the number of attempts you want your computer to make. It’ll attempt three times by default, but if you want quicker locking when you step away you should reduce this setting to one. Additionally, a higher check interval can cause battery drain if you’re using a laptop. Check the box next to “Unlock when device comes into range” and check the box next to “Faster Unlock” if you want BTProximity to perform fewer checks (less secure) and just do its job quickly.

That’s all you have to do. Once you’ve set things up your phone will unlock your computer when you step within its range.



OS X

To accomplish a Bluetooth proximity unlock within OS X, you can use a couple of apps. Proximity costs nothing but requires a bit of extra setup, but Bluetooth Unlock offers a more straightforward, scriptless process for $2. We’ll take a look at how to set up both options so you can pick your preference.


First, let’s look at Proximity. Download it, install it, and follow these instructions:

First you need to pair your smartphone with OS X. Open up your smartphone’s Bluetooth settings and make sure it’s on and discoverable, then head over to your MAc and open System Preferences (Hard Drive → Applications → Utilities → System Preferences) and choose Bluetooth. Click the + button in the lower left corner and follow the on-screen instructions to pair your device. From the main System Preferences window, choose Security, click on the General tab (if not already selected by default), and check the box next to “Require password immediately after sleep or screen saver begins.” Open up AppleScript Editor (Hard Drive → Applications → Utilities → Applescript Editor) and create a new script. Save it as UnlockComputer and put the following code into it: tell application "System Events" set ss to screen saver "Random" start ss end tell Create another script, save it as LockComputer, and put the following code into it:

tell application "System Events" set ss to screen saver "Random" start ss end tell Open up Proximity and find it in your menu bar. Click on it and choose Preferences. In the Bluetooth Device section, click Change Device and choose your smartphone. In the Out of Range Script section, click Change and choose the LockComputer script. In the In Range Script section, click Change and choose the UnlockComputer script. Close the Preferences window and give it a try.


If you prefer using Bluetooth Unlock, download it, install it, and follow these instructions:

Open up Bluetooth Unlock and click the Device button to pair and select your smartphone. Choose whether you want automatic unlocking to happen if the device is in range or has a minimum signal level. If you choose minimum signal level, you’ll probably want to set it fairly low. Enter and confirm a password to use to unlock your Mac in the event you don’t have your phone (or something just doesn’t work right). Change any other settings you’d like, click Save, and close the window.

That’s all you have to do. Now you can unlock your Mac with your smartphone.

Automatically Unlock Your Phone When You’re at Home

You lock and unlock your phone even more than you do with you computer, so a password gets pretty annoying when you have to keep entering it every five minutes (but you should have one). Nevertheless, you may want to protect your phone when you’re out and about in case it falls into the wrong hands. Using wireless proximity tricks, there’s a compromise: you can keep your smartphone password locked when out but unlocked when at home.


Because of iOS’ current restrictions, this feature only works on Android out of the box. That said, if you have jailbroken iPhone you can get the same functionality. Follow the instructions for your mobile operating system of choice.



Android



Tasker, which automates just about anything on your Android, can disable password lock when connected (or even near) a specified Wi-Fi network. Download it, install it, and follow these instructions to set it up:


Download and install the Secure Settings From the Profiles section, add a new State context. Select the Net category, then Wifi Connected. Specify the SSID of your Wi-Fi network in the settings. When finished, add add a new task to this profile and name it “Disable Lock.” Add a new action to this task and choose the Plugin → Secure Settings category. Tap the Edit button under the Configuration header. Under the DEV ADMIN ACTIONS header, tap Password/Pin. This should be set to Disabled by default. Check the box next to Device Admin Enabled. Click the disk icon to save your settings and then save your task in Tasker. Now you have to repeat the above steps to create a profile to enable your PIN or password lock. Start by creating a Profile for Wifi Connected like before. Enter the same SSID but this time check the box beside Invert before you save the profile. Add a new task to this profile and name it “Enable Lock.” Add a new action to this task and choose the Plugin → Secure Settings category. Under the DEV ADMIN ACTIONS header, tap Password/Pin. Tab the Disabled button to toggle it to Enabled. Choose a password or PIN option, and enter the password or PIN you want to use. Device Admin Enabled should be toggled on, but if not check the box beside it. Tap the disk to save, then save your task in Tasker.

Now you’ll have a PIN/password lock enabled only when away from home.



iOS (Jailbroken)


While we hope Apple allows this feature in iOS sometime in the future, right now you must jailbreak your iPhone in order to get it. You’ll also need an app called CleverPin ($2). Purchase and download it from Cydia, install it, and follow these instructions to set it up:

Open the Settings app on your iPhone. Scroll down the list of options to find CleverPin and tap on it. Slide the Enable switch to on, then do the same for the Connected to Network switch. Tap Networks. Provided you’re at home and connected to your primary Wi-Fi network, tap Add Current Network.


When connected to this network, iOS will not require a password to unlock your iPhone. You can also use CleverPin to disable password lock when playing music, charging the battery, or when you have airplane mode enabled. Feel free to turn on these features as well if you like them, or add any other Wi-Fi networks you’d like to use to disable password lock.

Unlock Even More Stuff

Using wireless proximity to unlock your devices just scratches the surface. If you want to take on a bigger project, you can even unlock your front door with Bluetooth. For a good chunk of change, products like Lockitron and UniKey will give you wireless locks for your home with corresponding smartphone apps. If you don’t want to spend a bunch of money, however, you can build a wireless unlocking device using an Adruino. As time progresses, we’ll see even more widely-available smartphone unlocking options like safes and vehicles. Until then, enjoy unlocking your technology with your presence.