You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!

When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

User profile for user: sabinscabin
sabinscabin Author
User level: Level 1
22 points

parental controls settings won't save

I just installed El Capitan. In Parental Controls / Web, there are three radio buttons: 1) Allow unrestricted access to websites 2) Try to limit access to adult websites 3) Allow access to only these websites. Right now, the second option is selected (I selected it previously). However, I'm trying to change to 3). I click radio button 3), then exit out of the parental controls, but when I come back, radio button 2) is still selected. I tried many combinations of clicking the "lock icon", restarting the computer, using different user accounts to do this, but for some reason every time I come back it is always radio button 2) that is selected.


I am successfully entering my administrator password multiple times the entire time, and not getting any error messages saying that I don't have permissions or anything like that. The radio button is just quietly always moving back to 2), whether I select 1) or 3), whether I "click the lock to prevent further changes", whether I restart the computer, whether I'm standing on my head wearing a chicken suit when I'm doing all these things, etc. etc.


Anyone know how to fix this problem?

Mac mini, OS X El Capitan (10.11)

Posted on Oct 10, 2015 9:42 AM

Reply
60 replies
User profile for user: cyril1972
cyril1972
User level: Level 1
4 points

Jan 20, 2017 10:27 PM in response to Király

Hi,

Jan 2017, running El Capitan and Sierra and still the problem remains unsolved 😠

Reading all the above messages, Apple obviously does not care.

It seems that Apple is better at making customers paying a lot to for their computers than caring about after sale service and solving bugs.... Apple is obviously not better than Microsoft .....

Reply
User profile for user: cyril1972
cyril1972
User level: Level 1
4 points

Jan 21, 2017 5:43 AM in response to cyril1972

Hi again,

In case it can help someone, I kept searching on solutions, and based on my trial and error process and on some infos retrieved here and there and a numerous number of hours wasted, I was able to partly solved my issue when it comes to blocking the access to an app. for a user with Parental Control enabled.

I am sharing it here under, knowing that even though it partly worked for me, it does not mean it will solve the problems for everybody.

For the ref. I am using El Capitan on a 2009 iMac.

For what it is worth of, the steps I followed are :

1- Connect to your ADMIN account (don't do the below with another type of user, it will screw a little bit more the set-up of the parental controls)

2- Open System Preferences

3- Click on "User/Group" icon (do not go directly to the "Parental Control" icon)

4- Unlock the functionality (your ADMIN pwd)

5- Select the User on which you need to update the Parental Control,

6- Open the Parental Control panel

7- Unlock the functionality (your ADMIN pwd)

8- Click on Previous page (top-left of the Preference panel) then click on next page to come back where you were (it should still be unlocked)

9- Update the app you want to give or remove access to

10- Click on Previous page (top-left of the Preference panel) then click on next page to come back where you were

11- Check that your update is still there (for most of my updates, I had to re-do steps 9 and 10 a couple times before it was ultimately taken into account - don't ask me why it did not work from the first time)

12- When OK, lock the panel

13- Close ADMIN session, cross your fingers and try with the Controlled session if it is working

The above seems weird but so far this is only solution I found that was (almost) working

Good luck

C.


I forgot to thank Apple for the "great" help on solving this long lasting bug 😠 (I am being sarcastic of course)

Reply
User profile for user: Dad123456
Dad123456
User level: Level 1
12 points

Jan 29, 2017 9:01 PM in response to cyril1972

I ran into this same problem today, 1-29-2017, on new MacBook I just bought from Apple Store. It was set up to run Yosemite. I was so frustrated trying to set up the Parental Controls for my two children. I set up each child to have their own account, under admin parental control. I tried the incantations listed in this Tech Support thread, such as going back and forth with the System Preference left and right arrows, and some how, after an hour, got the settings to stick, with a lot of swear words thrown in at Apple. I wonder if Apple even reads these tech support missives written by there poor struggling customers.

Reply
User profile for user: sabinscabin
sabinscabin Author
User level: Level 1
22 points

Oct 11, 2015 1:27 PM in response to sabinscabin

Okay, I found a way to get the setting to stick. I have to click the lock icons in the right order. There are two lock icons, one from the Users and Accounts window, and the other in the Parental controls window. I had to set the radio button to 1) or 3), then click the "back" button at the top and then "forward" button to make sure my setting "sticks", then I had to lock the icon of the Parental controls, window, then finally I had to lock the icon of the Users and Accounts window. If I didn't do these steps in that order, then my settings did not stick.


The fact that I have to perform this set of actions to get my settings to stick, without any kind of error message warning my that my settings are not sticking is a pretty substantial bug in El Capitan that I don't remember getting in previous versions of OSX. Hopefully it gets fixed in a future patch.

Reply
User profile for user: WernerYue1004
WernerYue1004
User level: Level 1
6 points

Dec 1, 2015 1:04 AM in response to sabinscabin

Hi sabinscabin,


I have tried your suggestion, however the parental control setting cannot be saved.


Even I unlock parental control->config the setting->lock the panel, then when I unlock it again to check, all setting are refresh to default.


Both Yosemite and El Capitan are not work for me. I have tested AD user account and local account on the iMac, but no luck.


Is anyone have this experience and solution?

Reply
User profile for user: iachelini
iachelini
User level: Level 1
28 points

Dec 5, 2015 11:27 PM in response to macvinod

Same here. I am really really surprised that they released a major update without even bothering to check this functionality. I mean, isnt it used at schools, many homes and so forth? Will try the suggestion from the original post. But I doubt it.

Any infos about a patch would be appreciated, because until then my kids cant really use the computer because all settings are simply at default stage, which is pretty much no control at all.

Reply
User profile for user: tony200910041
tony200910041
User level: Level 1
0 points

Dec 7, 2015 8:59 AM in response to sabinscabin

Same problem here. It's not only the parental control that's not working. Guest user settings are not saved either. Even if I disable the parental control, close the system preferences window and re-open it, the parental control (under Guest user tab) is automatically enabled (and indeed all the settings under parental control are lost).

Worse still, when I was in El Capitan before, all settings were saved. But the problem was found soon after I erased my drive and reinstalled my Mac yesterday. 😠😠😠 No Time Machine backup... 😠😠😠


MacBook Air, OS X El Capitan (10.11)

Reply
User profile for user: superdriveme
superdriveme
User level: Level 1
0 points

Dec 20, 2015 9:21 PM in response to sabinscabin

Spent 6 hours on an online chat with Apple support on this issue - tried may things - reset a bunch of things in terminal. Set-up different account in root menu administrator accounts, etc. Everything tried didn't resolve the issue. Last recommendation was to transfer all files and create a different admin account and use that as the primary account.

Reply

parental controls settings won't save

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.
Learn more Sign up