We have been using screen time successfully for several years to manage our kids devices. Recently, I upgraded to the iPhone 14 pro and now all their screen time settings keep resetting and turn off almost daily. Downtime, content restrictions and time limits - all off. 4 kids - two iPhones and two iPads. Each has a different screen time passcode that were all reset. Software has been updated on each device. Still keeps happening. Please advise!
iPhone 14 Pro
Guess what. Apple apparently has decided to reset screen time EVERY SINGLE DAY AT MIDNIGHT. It just finally showed up as a comment when you turn on app limits at the top of the screen. I’m beyond angry as no one has told costumers, Apple Support has no freaking clue this is a new “feature” and the entire reason for parental control on devices is for the parents to choose, NOT APPLE. I shouldn’t have to update my kids permissions, every single day!!!!!! Not happy at all.
Guess what. Apple apparently has decided to reset screen time EVERY SINGLE DAY AT MIDNIGHT. It just finally showed up as a comment when you turn on app limits at the top of the screen. I’m beyond angry as no one has told costumers, Apple Support has no freaking clue this is a new “feature” and the entire reason for parental control on devices is for the parents to choose, NOT APPLE. I shouldn’t have to update my kids permissions, every single day!!!!!! Not happy at all.
I’m having the same issue. iPhone 14 ProMax for me (didn’t know that could potentially be an issue), 4 kids with iPads and iPhones. ScreenTime is resetting CONSTANTLY. Sometimes it will actively reset WHILE I’m setting it up again. As in, I’ll turn off in-app purchases and watch it switch back on right before my eyes. This is incredibly frustrating. One of my kids will absolutely immediately start using all apps he knows he’s not allowed to use, will go to websites he knows are not allowed, and will stay up all night long on his iPad. We also use the iPads for homeschooling for 2 of the 4 kids. We have 2 Macs, a MacBook, 4 active iPhones and a drawer full of old ones, 4 apple watches, along with 8 iPads. I am so frustrated by ScreenTime resetting that we are considering trading in all apple devices and switching to Android devices and Windows machines.
So far I have tried:
-turning off and on all iPads.
-making sure all are devices are up to date.
-signing all devices out of iCloud and signing back in.
-turning off ScreenTime on all devices and turning it back on.
-changing ScreenTime passcodes.
-turning off the time limit so “one more minute” isn’t an option.
I have no idea what else to do to fix the problem. Not interested in calling Apple Support because the last time I did that, the Rep broke my new Mac and it resulted in lost access to my “User” along with all of my files and half of the storage space all because updating to a new iOS got hung up during install. Still angry and still using half of the Mac because I’d had it less than a year and spent way too much money on customizing it to my desired specs.
Anyone been successful in getting ScreenTime to “stick”?
Since i upgraded to the 14 Pro I have has the same issues! The app limits I have set for my children as well as the downtime continually reset. Some days I have to re enter it 20 times, other days maybe only once or twice but either way I only started with this problem when I upgraded to a new phone. I have called Apple Support and they said they had other calls similar yet they didn’t have a fix. This is so frustrating!
This is a HUGE oversight by Apple! I stay with the Apple ecosystem because of the ease of use and ability to monitor and restrict my child’s screen time! Samsung and Google have similar features that are free and I might just have to explore all my options at this point. The new Samsung will be out soon, might have to make a big switch. Protect our children, do what’s right apple. There’s a lot of ****** off Parents in the comments.
I’m having the same issue having upgraded to an iPhone 13 from an 11! It’s driving me nuts! My children keep getting unlimited screen time! I’m fed up with having to keep turning it back on! Please fix this Apple 🙏🏼
This has been driving me crazy since I purchased an iPhone 14 Pro. Earlier today, I did some testing and am wondering if this is what the rest of you are seeing.
TLDR: In my case, Screen Time on the Child iPhone is never off, it just shows a default position of off (on the Parent phone) while the Child phones are syncing with iCloud. If I start making changes (on the Parent phone) before the sync is complete, it causes a ton of problems and everything gets out of sync for hours or days.
Longer version....
3 devices, all running 16.4.
Scenario 1: About 50% of the time on the Parent iPhone, I open Screen Time and select one of the Child accounts. The 'Daily Average' chart is trying to load (ie, no chart is not visible and the 'updated' section is spinning)
Scenario 2: About 50% of the time. On the Parent iPhone, I open Screen Time and select one of the Child accounts. The 'Daily Average' chart is already loaded and visible. The 'updated' section may be spinning, but you can see the bar chart.
Under Scenario 1, if I go into Downtime, Content & Privacy, etc. (on the Parent iPhone) it will show Screen Time settings are OFF. However, if I pick up the same Child's iPhone in my hand and open up Screen Time directly on the child iPhone, the Screen Time show ON. Under this scenario, in the past I was getting anxious and would panic and start turning Screen Time settings back ON via the parent iPhone. However, if I did this, before 'Daily Activity' had fully loaded, it seems as if iCloud gets really confused and the settings get out of sync - sometimes they stay on, other times they stay off. Then later in the night, the settings may flip again (assuming they try to sync with iCloud again) and turn on/off - its a huge mess.
Under Scenario 2, the Parent iPhone will show the Screen Time settings are ON and Child iPhone shows the settings are On.
In the end, I was the source of my own problem as I nervously kept turning things back on when I would see them as off on my phone. If I had been more patient and either checked the Child phone or waited for the sync to complete, it would have shown the settings are still in place and everything is as I want it to be. Once I started waiting for the chart to load before changing things, I never had the issue happen again - it took about 48 hours for everything to sync and 'settle'.
Apple needs to fix this as it never used to be a problem. Parents shouldn't have to blindly trust that the Child phone is secure, the Parent phone should always indicate the right status of the Child's phone.
Maybe I'm the only one with this specific scenario, just wanted to share.
Side note... over the past few months I have been getting a somewhat regular notification on my iPhone in Settings right under my name at the top to re-enter my passcode for some kind of sync to iCloud. Ever since I stopped messing with the Screen Time settings pre-sync, iCloud has stopped asking for this. I'm wondering if this was coincidental or a symptom of iCloud just being super confused by what settings were the correct ones.
I have reached out to apple support and got no where. They said to sign out of my Apple ID and then sign back in. That worked for about a week and now the app limits keeps turning off daily. I had to create a daily reminder to check screen time settings so my kids don’t get unlimited screen time. Sometimes it keeps for a few days and sometimes it doesn’t even go a whole day without turning off. Apple needs to fix this bug!!
Same exact thing is happening to me for the last few weeks. Three different kids, three separate passcodes and I know it’s not them resetting it. I just reset my entire phone thinking it was hacked but it’s still doing it!
After experiencing this myself and reading this thread, there’s only one conclusion.
Apple doesn’t care. It’s (literally) the largest company in the world and they make 8 of the top 10 selling smartphones in the US. They employ an army of engineers, programmers and user experience experts. And they are clearly aware of this issue.
If they wanted to solve this, they would. (Clearly they don’t consider it a “problem.”)
Makes you wonder why they don’t.
(Rhetorical question. They want our kids addicted to their devices.)
I went in here looking for answers and all I've found are more questions from frustrated parents that are finding exactly the same issue I have. I've been having this issue over 6 months, when my kids changed their Samsung phones to iPhone. It seems like Apple is simply not listening, so here is my suggestion: switch to Android. I have an iPhone for work and a Samsung (Android) for personal use and I can tell you that Android's parental control work perfectly. I never had any issues like this. Ever since my kids moved to iPhone, the screen time "controls" have been useless. It resets almost daily and it is super annoying to set it up all over again. Some times it resets within seconds of setting it all up! And I've tried several things:
But nothing works.
There is no charge for using parental controls or screen time restrictions.
Dear Apple;
Please allow me to not allow my teenage daughter to use Snapchat and to not be able to turn off Parental controls. It is effecting her socially and academically as well as not supporting her mental health.
We are strongly considering a Bark phone due to your lack of motivation to correct this issue.
A screen time related update!!!!
About this Update:
This update includes the following enhancements and bug fixes:
Some features may not be available for all regions or on all Apple devices. For information on the security content of Apple software updates, please visit this website:
Apple security updates - Apple Support
Make sure you provide exact instructions as to how to reproduce your issue, either directly to Apple Support:
or via the appropriate Apple Feedback page:
Screen time keeps turning off
