Apple Screen Time app limits not working

I've had the same problem for a while now. I have spent hours on the phone with 3 different Apple Support reps. Going over every setting, signing in and out of both our icloud accounts, making sure both phones have the same iOS version, change my pass code for screen time, searched my kid's phone for any hacker apps like Any Unlock (but now were found), etc. etc. I know it happens every time there is an update to the iOS if you don't update the phones at the same time, which is annoying enough. But it also happens randomly! I've tried everything, including taking my kid's phone at night, setting ALL the Screen Time settings correctly, then locking it in my safe overnight. When I retrieved it the next morning, all the settings had changed on their own. I reported that to Apple Support and they said that's not possible. I noticed since the update to iOS 17 it's a little better. Some of the settings stay put but not all. And now, I've found kids can get in and change the settings easily. Recently I've tried it on my kid's phone (after making sure all the screen time settings were correct) and I could change them without even being prompted for a pass code!!!! So what the heck kind of security is that? I love my iphone but it's insane that Apple doesn't care enough to fix this. I guess I am going to have to get my kid an Android phone and if I'm getting him an Android I might as well switch mine over too. Very disgusted with Apple about this.

When discussing this with my college age computer science majoring son this is his theory. Apple could fix it but those who have created the system are at where they are because they had more access and learned how to game the system.

However I did want to mention a third party all that I am having success with limiting apps and access. It is called Qustodio. I can see which apps are being used and turn off access to the internet, individual games, etc.

I resolved the issue of Downtime failing to work which gave my daughter uncontrolled, unmonitored access 24x7 to social media and messaging. It was quite simple. I bought her a new Android phone and activated Family Link which has proven to be rock solid reliable in controlling her access. Now I feel relieved that my daughter can't use her phone behind my back at night and potentially get herself into trouble with all the dangers that exist online. Every parent needs to up their game to protect their kids from online abuse, cults and predators. If it means switching phone brands then so be it. Child safety must be every parent's priority.

Nope. Restarting won’t work. The software has a ton of bugs and it won’t get better till Apple fixes it.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/apples-parental-controls-are-broken-55a2aa52

Wiping all devices did not solve the problem for our household, fyi. I avoided this step for a long time so naturally made it my last option (nuclear, if you will).

Seemed to work for a couple days then app limits began disappearing again. Might be a worthwhile step for you but it was a waste of a Saturday for me.

I did this on Sunday and it has worked since.

It has been a pain to reset all settings but I’ve just been tweaking as things turn up.

you could try just turning screen time off then signing out of iCloud and turning off and on again and see if that works before you try resetting.

I've been dealing with this issue for months since iOS 16 came out. Similar to other users' comments, customer service communicated it's a known issue. A rep continues to check in with me, but she's clueless about a solution to this or the status of a fix. I've been a loyal Apple user since 2002, and I can't believe I'm thinking about leaving Apple because of this one bug. It's a huge source of pain in my family because we cannot manage our child's screen time without settings repeatedly deleting themselves and settings not saving.

Similar issue for me, and I am usually controlling the kids screen time on my device through the family feature.

Under screen time of family member, the “App Limits” in particular is flaky, and kids suddenly can use all apps on all devices without time limits.

Whenever opening screen time in settings on iOS, Apple tries to sync the screen time settings and app activities, which is slow and can take up to a few mins to complete.

It’s becoming more frequent that the “App Limits” got reset and stopped working after the sync, even though other settings like “downtime” continue to work.

How does Apple deal with these issues reported by parents, is there a way to get hold of an Apple technical member to show the problematic user experience?

I can confirm that after one week, the steps followed from the post - Not all apps locked during downtime in Fa… - Apple Community are still holding on all the devices my kid uses (iPhone, iPad, and iPod).

Another IPhone user chiming in, I (the parent) have an IPhone 13 Pro max, on iOS 16.5. I have two children using IPhones one using IPhone 8 Plus which uses the latest iOS and works perfectly fine with screen time, never had any issues with this one. However my daughters mobile which is an IPhone 6s which just recently had an update to 15.7.6 which I hoped would fix the screen time reset issue but it did not. The IPhone 6s resets the screen time setting that were set up at random intervals, and have been onto Apple support since April about this issue. I will update when I have any further information, as I am disappointed that Apple has such bugs in their system especially when it comes to protecting our children with parental controls.

This has been a pain for way too long. Sometimes restarting my phone (parent) and my child’s phone will allow me to make changes that stick but it’s almost to the point of giving up on screen time and using a different solution.

I have the same issue, I took my son’s phone with me to be sure that he hasn’t got any other way to remove the downtime and effectively; all restrictions were disabled without anyone touching or even unlocking the phone.

It is clearly a software issue.

I've done all the steps (run updates on both phones, sign out of both iClouds, sign back in, done factory resets, etc) at least 10 times now and every time it works for a week or so then it reverts back to not working again. Apple Support said my son must be doing something to hack it so on several occasions, I took his phone after he went to sleep, did all the steps (made sure we both had the same iOS, ran updates if needed, signed in and out of both iCloud accounts, etc.) set all his Screen Time settings the way they should be, turned off his phone and put it in my safe overnight. The next morning, almost all of the ScreenTime settings were off with nobody able to touch the phone (it was in my safe overnight)! I've spent countless hours on the phone with at least 6 different Apple Support Reps., to no avail. I'm so done with Apple.

Here is ta link to tech support. You just select your device and follow the prompts.

Official Apple Support

And Product Feedback:

Product Feedback - Apple

16.4 update, so far has fixed, but time will tell if time limits/down time stay. Fingers crossed!