Apple Watch SE Screen time App Limits are not working

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Level 1

5 points

Apple Watch SE Screen time App Limits are not working

I have problems on getting the Screentime / App Limits -functionality working on my kids Apple Watch SE.

The iPhone and the Apple Watch SE are paired and I have enabled Screen Time from the iPhone. Both devices have the latest firmware installed. Screen time settings have the "Share Across Devices" enabled.

When I active the App Limit e.g. for Messages or some App like Spotify for 5 minutes, a notification is displayed on the Apple Watch saying there is 5 more minutes before the limit is reached.

However, when Messages or the limited app is being used on the watch, the time limit is never reached.

I have also tried to set up Screen time using Family Sharing but App Limits do not work with that method either.

I have seen screenshot on some webpages showing a list of devices in the upper right corner of screen time statistics. In my case, no such list is available in the screen time statistics-page.

Apple Watch SE

Posted on Aug 29, 2022 1:27 AM

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Answer 1

Opus_456 Author

Level 1

5 points

Oct 14, 2022 12:08 AM in response to faith185

Hello,

Update on the case. I have updated the paired phone to iOS version 16.0.3 and the SE watch to watchOS version 9.0.2

Unfortunatelly the updates have not fixed this major bug, screentime app limits still do not count app usage from the watch as part of used time.

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Answer 2

giantcat

Community Specialist

Aug 30, 2022 8:45 AM in response to Opus_456

Hi Opus_456,

Welcome to Apple Support Communities. You'll want to make sure that both the Apple watch and the iPhone that it's connected to are up-to-date with the software. Use the steps here: Update your Apple Watch

Good luck!

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Answer 3

faith185

Community Specialist

Sep 1, 2022 8:27 AM in response to Opus_456

Hi Opus_456,

Great troubleshooting so far. It may also help to make sure that "Block at Downtime" or "Block at the End of Limit" is enabled from Settings > Screen Time > [Family Member] > App Limits. Each app has its own block settings. If needed, reference Use parental controls on your child's iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch - Apple Support to make any needed changes to settings.

If everything looks right and this continues, reach out to Apple Support for further assistance.

Take care.

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Answer 4

Opus_456 Author

Level 1

5 points

Sep 1, 2022 12:13 AM in response to giantcat

Hello,

My iPhone has iOS 15.6.1 and the watch has watchOs 8.7 which are the latest ones available at the moment.

I have also tried:

Re-pair the watch as a new watch.
Reboot both devices few times
Checked that time on the iPhone is set to automatic
Renamed the watch

Nothing seems to help :(

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Answer 5

alma1090

Community Specialist

Oct 14, 2022 6:13 AM in response to Opus_456

Hey there Opus_456,

Since the update did not work, you'll want to reach out to Apple Support so this can be looked into further.

Regards.

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Apple Watch SE Screen time App Limits are not working

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