How to fix Screen Time bug causing limited apps to turn off after rest time in iOS 26.2?

Go to Settings > General > Time Zone, then choose a time zone. Find out more about time settings. The option to turn Set Automatically on or off ...

If you can't change the time or time zone on your ...

Screen Time is obsessed with the clock. App limits, Downtime start/end, daily resets—everything is triggered by system time.

If Set Automatically is:

• OFF, or
• ON but pulling the wrong time zone, or
• briefly confused (travel, VPN, network hiccup, carrier sync lag)

then iOS may think, “Hmm… Downtime ended, but today’s app limits haven’t started yet.”

It's not always the iOS update's fault!  Many things can cause phone problems.  If you tell people you think it's an iOS update, it might make it harder to fix or find a solution for the real issue.

Remember, the right question often leads to the solution!

Was/Is your device Jailbroken? If that's the situation, please be informed that attributing the issues to iOS updates may not be accurate.

iOS updates aim to enhance user experience, boost security, and fix bugs rather than disrupt core features. The majority of the issues after updates might stem from underlying, unmentioned factors. Updates won't typically alter personal data but may refine settings or features. Backup before major updates for safety. Review Apple's update details and backup advice for a smooth process.

Kindly consider checking your settings and addressing any device issues before attributing the issue to external factors. This could be a pure coincidence that the iOS update affected the iPhone functions.

Before initiating a standard iOS update, it's advisable to create a backup. Have you completed this step? If yes, proceed with the restoration from the backup.

See what each update does: OS — iOS 26, About iOS 18 Updates, About iOS 17 Updates, About iOS 16 Updates, About iOS 15 Updates, About iOS 14 Updates, About iOS 13 Updates, About iOS 12 Updates, and so on...

Rest assured, this is not caused by iOS 26 or higher.

Your post only shows a few apps that have been disabled by downtime or App Limit. Unfortunately, your screen time settings are not provided, which makes it difficult to help you.

You may get faster and better responses to your query by --> Writing an effective Apple Support Commun… - Apple ...

Please re-post with details so that someone else can help.

Problem definitely appeared after updating to iOS 26.2 - there are loads of users reporting it online in the same way, we can't all be wrong, so it can't be a coincidence.. restarting the phone sometimes fixes it, other times it shortly comes back.

It's 14:45 here, I have 37 mins total screen time, with 20mins limit for Facebook and Instagram (combined). I have 4mins screentime for Instagram, 0 for Facebook, yet they're both locked as if I reached the limit.

I just updated to iOS 26.2 this week and immediately started having the same issue. It’s definitely the new OS.

What I am facing is, that if an app is the last one opened and then locking the phone, it still counts the time. This is not done in the correct category but as gray area in the bar chart. Example: Facebook is limited to me for 1hr per day. I kept FB open yesterday evening and then locked the screen directly. Today morning, FB is shown as locked and time is used.

Total time used was 11hrs, but I never used the phone this long.

I am experiencing this same problem. I set an app limit of 2 hours over 5 social media apps, and the block is enabled before I have even used my phone for 2 hours. Even when I check at midnight and the block is reset, by the time I wake up in the morning (having not used the phone), the block is enabled. It seems to be tracking my phone usage correctly - if I look at my daily usage, it does not show more than 2 hours of use.

I have recently been experiencing this issue too. I have tried all fixes recommended, to no avail. It’s quite frustrating because it’s causing me to miss important notifications not even one hour into my day, when the screen time limits are set at 2 to 3 hours and I haven’t even used the apps for more than five minutes. As far as I can see, many people are also having the issue of not been able to fix it. Is there any news of when an update with bug fixes will be available?