Screen time is confusing and extremely buggy

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Screen time is confusing and extremely buggy

Screen time has been malfunctioning for me since day one. It’s unreliable and erratic. Sometimes, it works fine. Recently, it doesn’t work at all. This is how:

My son, who is a family member of whom I am the organizer, has a screen limit of two hours per day.

Also, the screen time is also restricted every day between 10 pm and 7 am (I guess this is what ”down time” is..?).

This is all set up remotely on my iPhone 12 for his iPhone X.

Some apps, like the audio book app Nextory, are in the ”always allowed” category. However, it still disappears from the home screen for no reason when the 2 hr time limit for the disallowed apps has been reached.

Not only that, but the rest of the apps, which are greyed out, can still be accessed because the ”Ask for more time”-option (which required the passcode) has recently and unexplicably been replaced by ”Ignore limit” which bypasses the block entirely - also without having to enter the passcode. The passcode IS set by me and I have changed it multiple times to no effect.

This happens EVEN THOUGH I have toggled the ”block at limit” and ”block at downtime” buttons.

So, screen time works completely opposite to how it is supposed to: the allowed apps disappear, and the limits for the other apps can be ignored. Trying to move the aforementioned apps between

”allowed” and ”disallowed” does no good. It’s like the phone is **** bent on not allowing one particular app unless I turn screen time off completely.

Things does not get better when the list of allowed apps sometimes changes from alphabetical order to random order, and then the Nextory app is suddenly gone and cannot even be selected as an allowed app?!? This behaviour

comes and goes.

Both phones are updated and force restarted many times by now…

How can something as simple as screen time be this crappy???

iPhone 12 mini

Posted on Jan 23, 2023 01:07 PM

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Answer 1

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Miche11e_P

Community Specialist

Jan 25, 2023 12:05 PM in response to GusHell

Hi GusHell,

Thanks for contacting Apple Support Communities!

We understand that you need some help with Screen Time.

Based on the behavior you're describing; we'd suggest that you refresh the Screen Time settings on both your child's device and your device. You can do this by turning Screen Time off on both devices then restart both devices and enable Screen Time and set it up again. To turn off Screen Time, you can go to Settings > Screen Time > Turn Off Screen Time. This article will help you to set up Screen Time again after refreshing it: Use parental controls on your child's iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch - Apple Support

"Set Content & Privacy Restrictions

Go to Settings and tap Screen Time.
Tap Turn on Screen Time, then tap it again. Choose "This is My [Device]" or "This is My Child's [Device]."

If you're the parent or guardian of your device and want to prevent another family member from changing your settings, tap Use Screen Time Passcode to create a passcode, then re-enter the passcode to confirm. After you confirm your passcode you'll be asked to enter your Apple ID and password. This can be used to reset your Screen Time passcode if you forget it.
If you're setting up Screen Time on your child's device, follow the prompts until you get to Screen Time Passcode and enter a passcode. Re-enter the passcode to confirm. After you confirm your passcode you'll be asked to enter your Apple ID and password. This can be used to reset your Screen Time passcode if you forget it.

3. Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions. If asked, enter your passcode, then turn on Content & Privacy Restrictions.

Make sure to choose a passcode that's different from the passcode that you use to unlock your device. To change or turn off the passcode on your child's device, tap Settings > Screen Time > [your child's name]. Then tap Change Screen Time Passcode or Turn Off Screen Time Passcode, and authenticate the change with Face ID, Touch ID, or your device passcode.

With iOS 16, while you're setting up Screen Time for a child's device, you can set age-related restrictions for content in apps, books, TV shows, and movies. Just follow the onscreen instructions during setup."

If you still experience the same behavior, we'd suggest that you reach out to Apple directly to investigate this behavior further. They'd be best suited to assist you. You can reach them here: Apple Support

Take care!

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Screen time is confusing and extremely buggy

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