Screen Time not working? 8 fixes for limits and reports

Why is Screen Time not working?

Screen Time is a set of rules your iPhone checks against a clock and a usage counter. When it fails, one of four things is usually wrong. The limit is set to warn instead of block. The person using the device knows the passcode. The device clock or time zone has been changed. Or the device is not syncing with the parent or with iCloud, so the rules and reports are out of date. Bugs after an iOS update also happen, and Apple has fixed several of them in later point releases.

Match the problem to the fix

• Limit shows a warning but the app still opens: turn on Block at End of Limit and set a passcode.
• Child keeps getting more time: they know the passcode, or you keep approving Ask For More Time requests.
• Downtime does not start: check the schedule, the time zone and Always Allowed apps.
• Reports are blank or stuck: Share Across Devices, iCloud sign-in and a restart of both devices.
• Parent cannot see child's settings: Family Sharing membership and the child's age setting.
• Websites are not blocked: Content & Privacy Restrictions, and other browsers.

Make limits block instead of warn

Open Settings › Screen Time › App Limits, tap a limit and make sure Block at End of Limit is on. Without it, the limit screen shows an Ignore Limit button that anyone can tap. Each limit has its own switch, so check them one by one. For a child, do this from your own iPhone under Settings › Screen Time › the child's name.

Use a passcode only you know

Limits mean little if the child knows the code. Open Settings › Screen Time › Lock Screen Time Settings (or Change Screen Time Passcode) and choose a code different from the phone's unlock code. Do not type it while they watch. If you set Screen Time through Family Sharing, the child cannot change it from their device at all. If you forgot the code, see resetting a forgotten Screen Time passcode.

Close the date and time loophole

Changing the clock used to be the most common way around Downtime. On the child's device open Settings › General › Date & Time and turn on Set Automatically. With a Screen Time passcode in place, this switch is locked so it cannot be turned off again. Also check that Location Services is on for setting the time zone in Settings › Privacy & Security › Location Services › System Services.

Screen Time not syncing between devices

Reports and settings travel through iCloud. Both devices need to be signed in with the right Apple Account, online, and up to date. Check Share Across Devices in Settings › Screen Time on each one. In Family Sharing, open Settings › your name › Family and make sure the child is listed as a member, not just invited. Then restart both devices. A sync can take several minutes, and sometimes up to a day after a big change.

If the parent's iPhone shows an old report, try turning Screen Time off and on for that child from the parent device. This often restarts syncing, but it can remove the limits, so write them down first.

Downtime not working

Downtime blocks everything except the apps in Always Allowed. If a game still works during Downtime, check that list. Messages and Phone are allowed by default, and many children use Messages or third-party chat apps that you may have added without thinking. Also turn on Block at Downtime for the schedule so it cannot be skipped with one tap. A custom schedule by day can override the one you see at the top, so open Customize Days and check each day.

Websites still open

Website limits apply in Safari and in apps that use Apple's web view. They do not stop every third-party browser. Go to Content & Privacy Restrictions › App Store, Media, Web & Games › Web Content and choose Limit Adult Websites or Allowed Websites Only. Then use App Limits or the age rating to block other browser apps, or remove them.

Screen Time on Android or mixed families

Screen Time only manages Apple devices. If your child has an Android phone, use Google Family Link instead. Our guide to parental controls on Android covers it step by step, including how to set daily limits and approve apps.

Known bugs after updates

Apple has fixed several Screen Time problems in iOS point releases, including limits not resetting at midnight and reports showing zeros. Open Settings › General › Software Update on both devices and install anything waiting. If a problem started right after an update, see iPhone problems after an update for other checks.

Still not working?

1. Write down your limits, then turn Screen Time off and on again.
2. Sign out of iCloud and back in on the child's device. Back up first.
3. Remove the child from Family Sharing and add them again, as a last step before a reset.
4. Contact Apple Support if limits still fail on fully updated devices.

Screen Time works best as one layer. Talking with your child about the rules, keeping chargers out of bedrooms and checking reports together each week do as much as any setting. If you need a quick break instead of rules, Guided Access locks the iPhone to one app.

Ask For More Time keeps unlocking apps

When a child taps Ask For More Time, you get a request on your iPhone with options for 15 minutes, an hour or all day. Each approval adds time for that app or category. If the limit seems to vanish, check your notifications history for approvals you tapped by mistake. Requests arrive as notifications from Screen Time, so a quick tap on the wrong button is easy. On the child's device, the One More Minute option appears only when there is no Screen Time passcode, so setting one removes it.

Communication Limits not working

Communication Limits control who a child can call, message and FaceTime. They depend on contacts stored in iCloud. If the setting has no effect, turn on Contacts in Settings › your name › iCloud on the child's device, then set Communication Limits again from your iPhone. Calls to emergency numbers always go through, whatever the limits say.

App limits reset at the wrong time

App Limits count usage from midnight to midnight on the device's own clock. If a child travels to another time zone, or the clock is off, the limit can reset early or late. Automatic date and time fixes this. A limit for a category like Games also counts every game together, so a child who used one game for most of the allowance will hit the limit quickly in another.

Reports show usage you did not expect

Screen Time counts time an app is on screen, not time the phone is in your hand. Videos playing with the screen on count, and so do apps in Picture in Picture. If Share Across Devices is on, the report adds time from an iPad or Mac signed in to the same account. Tap a day in the report to see which device and which app used the time. Pickups and notifications are listed separately and can help you see habits, not just totals.

Should you turn Screen Time off and on?

It works for many stuck problems, but it is a reset. Limits, Downtime schedules and content settings may be cleared, and the history in reports starts again. Write everything down first, and do it from the parent device for a child. If you only want to stop using it, here is how to switch Screen Time off properly.