If Screen Time is not working on your iPhone or your child's iPhone, the cause is usually one of a few things: a setting that quietly lets apps through (like Always Allowed), changes that haven't synced through Family Sharing, or a phone that needs an update or restart. Work through the fixes below in order. Most families find the problem in the first five.
Quick fixes to try first
1. Restart both iPhones
It sounds too simple, but restarting both your phone and your child's phone clears many sync and enforcement glitches. Turn each one fully off, wait a few seconds, and turn it back on.
2. Update iOS on both phones
Go to Settings → General → Software Update on each device. Screen Time bugs are often fixed in updates, and mismatched iOS versions between a parent's and a child's phone can cause odd behavior.
3. Check the date and time
Downtime and daily limits run on the phone's clock. Go to Settings → General → Date & Time and make sure Set Automatically is on. If the time or time zone is wrong, limits can kick in at the wrong moment or not at all.
Fixes for limits that don't block
4. Check the Always Allowed list
Any app in Settings → Screen Time → Always Allowed ignores Downtime. If your child can still use an app at bedtime, it may be on this list. Remove anything that doesn't need to be there. Many parents keep only Phone, Messages (if needed), and Maps.
5. Turn on Block at End of Limit
Open Settings → Screen Time → App Limits, tap each limit, and make sure Block at End of Limit is on. Without it, your child can extend the limit without your passcode. For Downtime, look for Block at Downtime and turn it on if your version shows it.
6. Set (or reset) a Screen Time passcode
If there's no Screen Time passcode, or your child knows it, limits can be dismissed or changed. Go to Settings → Screen Time and set a new code that is different from the phone's unlock code. Our guide on how kids bypass Screen Time covers the other gaps worth closing.
7. Lock app installs and deletes
If a limited app keeps "coming back" without its limit, it may have been deleted and reinstalled. In Content & Privacy Restrictions → App Store Purchases, set Installing Apps and Deleting Apps to Don't Allow.
Fixes for Family Sharing and syncing
8. Confirm your Family Sharing setup
When you manage a child's Screen Time from your own iPhone, both phones need to be set up correctly:
- Go to Settings → [your name] → Family and check your child is listed in your group.
- Make sure your child's iPhone is signed in with their Apple account, not yours.
- Make sure you're the organizer or a parent/guardian in the group.
- Check that your child's age is set correctly. Some options only appear for child accounts.
9. Check that both phones are online and synced
Family Sharing changes travel through iCloud. If either phone is offline, in Low Data Mode, or signed out of iCloud, changes may not arrive.
- Check Wi-Fi or mobile data on both phones.
- On your child's phone, open Settings → [their name] and confirm iCloud is signed in.
- Look at Share Across Devices in Screen Time. If it's on, limits and reports are combined across all devices signed in to that account, which can make numbers look wrong.
10. Turn Screen Time off and on (last resort)
If nothing else works, turning Screen Time off and back on can reset a stuck configuration. This usually clears your limits and history, so screenshot or note your settings first, then set everything up again carefully.
Web filter not blocking sites?
If adult or specific websites still open:
- Go to Content & Privacy Restrictions → App Store, Media, Web & Games → Web Content and confirm Limit Adult Websites (or Only Approved Websites) is selected.
- Add any site that slips through to Never Allow.
- Test every browser installed on the phone, and remove or limit browsers that don't behave.
See how to block adult websites on iPhone for the full setup.
When Screen Time keeps letting you down
Even when everything is set up correctly, parents often describe the same frustrations: changes made on their own phone take a while to reach the child's phone, settings are spread across many menus, and it's hard to tell whether a limit actually triggered.
If that sounds familiar, a dedicated app can make the same Apple technology easier to manage.
How Skydo can help
Skydo is an iPhone parental control app built on Apple's own Screen Time technology (Family Controls). It uses the same system-level blocking, so blocked apps genuinely don't open, but presents it in one simple place.
- Changes arrive in seconds. Pair your phone once with an 8-character code (no accounts, no Family Sharing needed) and adjust bedtime, daily limits, and school hours from your own phone. You can also pause all apps for 30 minutes.
- One clear setup on the child's phone. Block chosen apps or whole categories (such as all social media) in a tap, set a daily limit and bedtime, and turn on School Mode for school days.
- Lock it down. Prevent deleting and installing apps, and protect settings with a parent PIN plus Face ID.
- See whether it's working. A blocked-attempts count and a weekly report show when your child tried to open something blocked.
Things to know
- Skydo needs to be installed and set up on your child's iPhone, running iOS 26.5 or later. Which apps are blocked is chosen on the child's phone.
- Because Skydo relies on Apple's Screen Time framework, keeping iOS updated still matters.
- The app is free to download; turning protection on needs a Skydo Premium subscription. One subscription bought on the parent's phone also unlocks the child's phone.
Summary checklist
- Restart and update both phones.
- Set Date & Time to Set Automatically.
- Trim the Always Allowed list.
- Turn on Block at End of Limit.
- Set a private Screen Time passcode.
- Block app installs and deletes.
- Double-check Family Sharing accounts and iCloud sign-in.
- If you'd rather manage it all from your phone with fast updates, try Skydo. You can also read how to control your child's iPhone from your phone.