Parental Controls Reset and Turn off

I bought my son an iphone 11. I set up the parental controls. Within 10-30 minutes the controls reset and turn off, giving him full access to everything iphone.


The parental controls I want in place are:


scheduled downtime

time limits on apps

communication limits (he can call/reach out to anyone in our family even during scheduled downtime)

limited "always allowed" apps to just messages, phone

Content & Privacy restrictions:

not allowed apps: safari, mail, shareplay, siri, wallet, airdrop, carplay, itunes store, book store, podcasts, news

not allowed to delete apps

always require passcode to install apps

no gaming with anyone ever basically, and no changing settings.


So - here's what I've tried to fix it:

1)Update his iphone and mine

2)Turn off/on

3)Hard reset his phone

4)Create a new and change his apple id

5)Buy a new phone and start over

6)Spend almost 3 hours on the phone with apple support

7)Visit tmobile (carrier) to see what they know

8)Delete old apple id's and start a 3rd apple id

9) Put in a new sim card, start over


With each of these steps it "looks like it worked" for a good 10-30 minutes. And then out of nowhere everything will reset (I know because Safari shows back up on the homescreen). You don't have to put in a password, or make a request or anything. One moment it seems to work, the next moment everything is just turned off!


Also, it should be noted, I have two other children with phones. Their parental controls have worked (and are still working). I'm hesitant to reset my phone/id because of that.


Does anyone know if this is a problem that can be solved? It seems like with multiple id's, multiple phones, and multiple sim cards, I can't see where to go from here. GAAAAAHHHHHH I've been working on this for about a month - 10-20 hours A WEEK. This is so frustrating. What are my options at this point?



iPhone 6s, iOS 12

Posted on Sep 28, 2023 02:32 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Oct 1, 2023 11:52 AM

This is just one thought …


…I honestly do not know if it will matter.


Have you attempted restricting the ability of the child to change his/her AppleID and Passcode ???


(Located within Other Features and Settings)

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3 replies

Oct 1, 2023 11:45 AM in response to indiacharleston

Hello indiacharleston,


Welcome to Apple Support Communities. We understand that when you set up parental controls for your child’s iPhone that they turned off on their own.We are happy to help.


Please try the steps here: Set up Screen Time for a family member on iPhone - Apple Support

"Set up Screen Time for a family member

  1. On your device, go to Settings  > Screen Time.
  2. Scroll down and select a family member below Family.
  3. To schedule downtime for your family member, follow the instructions in Schedule time away from the screen.
  4. If your child requests more screen time, you can approve or decline the request in Settings > Screen Time or in Messages.
  5. To set limits for app use for your family member, follow the instructions in Set limits for app use.
  6. To choose apps and contacts to allow your family member to use at all times, follow the instructions in Choose apps and contacts to allow at all times.
  7. Note: If your family member needs health or accessibility apps, make sure they’re in the Allowed Apps list. If Messages isn’t always allowed, your family member may not be able to send or receive messages (including to emergency numbers and contacts) during downtime or after the app limit has expired.
  8. To help reduce your family member’s risk of myopia or eye strain, turn on Screen Distance.


Allow or block communication on a family member’s device

You can block incoming and outgoing communication on your family member’s device—including phone calls, FaceTime calls, and messages—from specific contacts, either at all times or during certain periods.

  1. If you haven’t already turned on Contacts in iCloud on your family member’s device, go to Settings  > [child’s name] > iCloud, then turn on Contacts.
  2. Note: You can only manage your family member’s communication if they’re using Contacts in iCloud.
  3. On your family member’s device, go to Settings  > Screen Time.
  4. Tap Communication Limits, then do any of the following:
    • Limit communication at any time: Tap During Screen Time, then select Contacts Only, Contacts & Groups with at Least One Contact, or Everyone.
  • Limit communication during downtime: Tap During Downtime. The option you selected for During Screen Time is already set here. You can change this setting to Specific Contacts.
    • If you select Specific Contacts, tap either Choose From My Contacts, Choose From [child’s name] Contacts, or Add New Contact to select people you want to allow your family member to communicate with during downtime.
  • Manage a child’s contacts: If you’re using Family Sharing, you can view, edit, add, or delete your child’s contacts. Tap Manage [child’s name] Contacts.
  • If your child already has contacts in iCloud, they receive a notification on their device asking them to approve the request to manage them. If they don’t have contacts, they don’t get a notification and you can immediately add contacts.
    • When you manage your child’s contacts, a new row appears beneath Manage [child’s name] Contacts to show how many contacts your child has. Tap the row to view and edit the contacts.
  • Allow contact editing: Tap Allow Contact Editing to turn off this option and prevent your child from editing their contacts.
    • Turning off contact editing and limiting communication at any time to Contacts Only is a good way to control who your child can communicate with and when they can be contacted.

If someone who’s currently blocked by the Communication Limit settings tries to call your family member (by phone or FaceTime), or send them a message, their communication won’t go through.

If your family member tries to call or send a message to someone who’s currently blocked by the Communication Limit settings, the recipient’s name or number appears in red with an hourglass icon, and the communication won’t go through. If the limit applies only to downtime, your family member receives a Time Limit message and can resume communication with the contact when downtime is over.

To allow your family member to communicate with contacts who are blocked by the Communication Limit settings, change the settings by following the steps above.


Check for sensitive images on a family member’s iPhone

You can have your family member’s iPhone detect nudity in images before they’re sent or received in Messages, AirDrop, Contact Posters, FaceTime messages, the Photos app, and third-party apps that adopt Apple’s Communication Safety framework. If nudity is detected in an image, the image is blurred and resources are provided to help your child handle the situation (not available in all countries or regions). This feature doesn’t give Apple access to the photos. See the Apple Support article About communication safety in Messages.

Note: For children under 13 in a Family Sharing group, Communication Safety is turned on by default.

  1. On your device, go to Settings  > Screen Time.
  2. Scroll down and tap the name of your family member.
  3. Tap Communication Safety, then turn on Communication Safety.
  4. You may need to enter the Screen Time passcode.

Note: When you turn on Communication Safety, it turns on the Sensitive Content Warning in Settings  > Privacy & Security. See Receive warnings about sensitive content on iPhone.

If no resolution, please contact Apple Support here: Get Support


Block inappropriate content on a family member’s device

You can help ensure that the content on your family member’s device is age appropriate by limiting the explicitness ratings in Content & Privacy Restrictions.

  1. On your family member’s device, go to Settings  > Screen Time.
  2. Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions, then turn on Content & Privacy Restrictions.
  3. Choose specific content and privacy options.
  4. Note: To protect your family member’s hearing, scroll down, tap Reduce Loud Sounds, then select Don’t Allow. (This prevents changes to the maximum headphone volume.) See Check your headphone audio levels on iPhone.
  5. To restrict SharePlay in FaceTime calls for your family member, go to Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions > Allowed Apps, then turn off SharePlay. To allow SharePlay, turn it on.
  6. Tap the Back button at the top left."


These steps may help. Please let us know if you have further questions.


Take care.

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Parental Controls Reset and Turn off

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