Why is screen time not working?

Screen Time is an innovative feature that allows you to keep track of how much time your device is being used. You can set limits for yourself and your family to limit the amount of time you spend using certain apps. Unfortunately, there are still many software bugs and other factors that cause this feature to stop working or not work properly. If Screen Time is not working on your device, this article will help you find solutions to the problem.

Table of Contents

Restart the device to restart Screen Time.

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A normal reboot can get the feature working again. ^{[1] X Research Source} If your device does not have a home button, restart it by pressing either the volume buttons on the left side of the body and the button on the right side of the body at the same time. Next, drag the Power Off slider to the right and wait 30 seconds. The rest is to press the button on the right side of the body to start the device. ^{[2] X Research Source}

If your device has a home button, press the button on the right side of the body until you see the Power Off slider. Drag the slider to the right, and then wait 30 seconds. Start the device by pressing the button on the right side of the body again.

Refresh settings by turning Screen Time off and on

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Sometimes the app just needs to be refreshed to work again. This solution is useful when the feature is stagnant or not showing the limit you have set up. First, open Settings, select Screen Time. Swipe down to the Turn Off Screen Time section at the bottom of the screen. Next, return to Settings, select Screen Time. Swipe down to turn on Screen Time. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

If you have a Screen Time passcode, you’ll be asked to enter it before turning off Screen Time. Enter the passcode and confirm that you want to disable the feature.
Note, turning this feature off and on will cause you to lose all previous Screen Time data. However, if the feature doesn’t work properly, you should still give it a try!

Turn off Low Power Mode.

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This feature sometimes causes Screen Time to fail. To turn off Low Power Mode, you’ll open Settings and click Battery. Next, push the slider button to the right of Low Power Mode to turn it off. Next, return to Settings and select Screen Time to check if the feature is back up and running. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

Update device to fix Screen Time error

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Here’s how to fix software bugs that affect the Screen Time feature. To check if your device has the latest updates, open Settings and select General. Next, click Software Update. This will help you check if the latest update has been installed. If not, you need to proceed with the device update. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

This will fix issues like slow and inaccurate screen time reports.

Make sure the date and time are set correctly.

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The user can bypass the limit by changing the date and time. If you notice that your child has crossed the limit set by you, check that the date and time are displayed correctly on the child’s device; If not, please correct the information. To do this, you’ll open Settings and click General. Next, select Date & Time. To make sure the date and time are displayed correctly, select Set Automatically. Your device will automatically switch to the time zone where you live. ^{[6] X Research Sources}

Or, change the date and time manually. To do this, you’ll push the Set Automatically slider to the left. The current date and time on the device is displayed below. Click on that date to switch to the correct date and time if the information is incorrect.

Check if Downtime is enabled.

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If not, the Screen Time feature cannot block apps and enable time limits. This will be a problem when the child crosses the Screen Time limit set by you. To check Downtime, open Settings and select Screen Time. Next, tap Downtime. Check if Downtime setting is enabled (slider is green). If not, you can enable the feature by tapping the slider button. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

Make sure Communication Limits is turned on.

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If not enabled, your communication limit will not work. To check, you need to go to Settings, select Screen Time and Communication Limits. This will take you to a page that lists the people you or the child are allowed to communicate with while Screen Time is on. Click both options to edit and set limits on who can be contacted while these features are on. ^{[8] X Research Sources}

Turn on sharing between devices.

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You need to enable this feature to set up limits via Family Sharing. If you don’t see a Screen Time report on your child’s device or the limits don’t work, the Screen Time setting may not be enabled on the child’s device. Enable these restrictions across all devices in Family Sharing by opening Settings, selecting Screen Time. Next, set the limit to your liking. Finally, swipe down to the Share Across Devices section and tap the slider to turn it green. ^{[9] X Research Source}

This imposes a limit you set up for all devices connected to Family Sharing. You can also access the full Screen Time report.
Children need their own Apple ID to be added to Family Sharing. To set it up for your child, you’ll go to Settings and click on your name. Next, press Family Sharing and click Add Member. Select Create an Account for a Child to begin the setup process. ^{[10] X Research Source}

Sign out of your Apple ID and sign back in.

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This will reset the Screen Time settings which should fix the problem. Open Settings and tap your name at the top of the page. Swipe down and click Sign Out. Next, enter your Apple ID and password. To make sure all data is safe, you should choose to allow copies of iCloud data. Click Sign Out again. Wait 5 minutes, then return to Settings and select Sign In. Re-enter your Apple ID and password, and enter the 6-digit verification code Apple sends to your device. ^{[11] X Research Source}

After you enter the verification code, return to Screen Time and set the Screen Time limit to your liking.

Check Apple’s server status.

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Sometimes Apple service crashes because of technical error. If you’ve tried all the solutions and still have issues with Screen Time, it’s probably Apple’s service that’s having problems. Visit https://www.apple.com/support/systemstatus/ to check if service is experiencing temporary interruptions. Scroll through the list until you see Screen Time. If you see a red triangle on the left side of the device with the note “Outage”, it means Screen Time is not working. ^{[12] X Research Source}

If the Screen Time service is down, wait for Apple to resolve the issue. Once the feature is back up and running, you’ll see a green circle replacing the red triangle.

Reset all settings on the device.

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This is the option to try when you have run out of options. To do this, you’ll click Settings, select General, and Transfer or Reset. Next, press Reset. To reset the settings without losing data, you need to select Reset All Settings and make sure you don’t select Erase All Content. This is an operation that returns all the application’s settings to default, including Screen Time. Finally, return to Settings and select Screen Time. Turn on Screen Time and set the limit as you like. ^{[13] X Research Source}

You should back up your settings before trying this method. That way, if Screen Time still doesn’t work, you can return to factory settings without much effort.

Steps