5 Ways to Fix Screen Time Not Working on iPhone/iPad

Apple in iOS 12 introduced a significant feature – Restriction (Screen Time), which is designed to help users better understand and control the time they and their kids spend with apps and websites. With Screen Time, you can see which apps are wasting your time, how often you pick up your device, place numerous limits on app usage for your kids, or even yourself, etc. It is definitely a cool yet thoughtful design.

Why Is My Screen Time Not Working?

For example, you can set up Screen Time controls on your iOS device to prevent your kid from using a specific application. However, recently, lots of iOS users reported that their Screen Time not working on their device. Some users reported that their Screen Time not working after the iOS update. Also, there are other factors that may result in Screen Time not working.

• You might misconfigure the Screen Time
• You kids might have interfered with the feature.

No matter what the reason is, if you are the one who experiencing iPhone Screen Time not working issue recently, follow the proven solutions below to fix the problem quickly. We are going to address the problem using the official methods so that you don’t need to install any third-party program. Let’s get started!

Method 1. Disabled and Re-enabled Screen Time

One of the easiest methods you should try is to disable and re-enable Screen Time. In most cases, disabling and re-enabling the feature can refresh its settings and get it to work again. However, before turning off and turn on Screen Time, you should know that taking these actions will erase all your “Screen Time Data“. If you don’t mind losing your Screen Time data, please take the following instructions as a try.

1. Go to the Setting app on the home screen and click on Screen Time.

2. Scroll down to the bottom and tap on the Turn Off Screen Time option.

3. Enter the Screen Time passcode and click on Turn Off Screen Time again.

4. Open the Settings app again.

5. Go to Screen Time, choose Turn On Screen Time, and hit Continue.

6. Select This is My [device] or This is My Child’s [device].

Method 2. Force Restart Your Device

Force restart iPhone or iPad will close all the programs and processes running on the system, and return all the things back to normal.

Restart iPhone 11/XS (Max)/XR/X, iPhone 8/8 Plus

• Press shortly the Volume Up button.
• Press shortly the Volume Down button.
• Hold the Side button and wait for the Apple logo to appear.

Restart iPhone 7/7 Plus

• Hold both the Side and Volume Down buttons.
• Wait for the Apple logo to appear.

Restart iPhone 6s and earlier, iPad

• Hold both the Home and the Top (or Side) buttons.
• Wait for the Apple logo to appear.

Method 3. Set Time & Data Automatically

This simple method works perfectly for some users to fix Screen Time not working error. Follow the steps below to handle this.

Open Settings > General > Date & Time > Turn on Set Automatically. Now, go to the main screen of Settings and choose Screen Time to enjoy it.

Method 4. Allow Settings to Use WLAN & Cellular Data

According to user feedback, this can cause the iOS Screen Time not working issue. So, just make sure that you have allowed your Settings to use WLAN and cellular data.

Go to Settings > WLAN > Apps Using WLAN & Cellular > Select Settings > Tap on WLAN & Cellular Data option.

Method 5. Reset All Settings

Before resetting all settings on your iPhone, you may wonder does resetting iPhone delete everything? The answer is no since only the system settings will be reset and you will not lose data on your device. To perform a resetting action, you can:

Go to Settings > General > Scroll down and choose Reset > Tap on Reset All Settings. After the process completes, try to turn on Screen Time to see whether it is working now.

How to Turn Off Screen Time on iPhone/iPad

If you don’t want to use the “Screen Time” feature anymore, you can turn it off in “Settings” on your device. Once you turn off this feature, it does not save any data nor does it begin collecting data.

Open Settings on your device > Screen Time > Scroll down and tap on the “Turn Off Screen Time” option.

Bonus Tip. How to Turn Off Screen Time without Passcode

All those above tips would solve the Screen Time Not Working issue easily if you did give them a try. As a time-limit or time-optimized feature on iOS, sometimes, you may forget the passcode as it is different from the screen passcode. Therefore, what do you do if you forget your restrictions passcode? Well, it won’t be so difficult to unlock the Screen Time passcode. You just need to get the help of AnyUnlock – iPhone Password Unlocker.

The following detailed steps will lead to an easy and quick way to remove the Screen Time passcodes.

Step 1. Download AnyUnlock and run it on your computer, then connect your iPhone to the computer with a USB cable > Choose the Unlock Screen Time Passcode on the right corner.

Step 2. To tap on the Unlock Now, AnyUnlock will start the screen time passcode unlock journey.

Step 3. On this page, you will see AnyUnlock backing up your iPhone in case of data loss. The data will be encrypted before it starts the backing. Please remember the passcode. Also, it is analyzing your device.

Step 4. Wait for a while and you will get an iPhone without Screen Time passcode.

The Bottom Line

Hope the above simple tips have helped you fix Screen Time not working on iPhone/iPad error successfully. If you find this guide useful, share it to help more iPhone iPad users. With AnyUnlock, you can easily remove the Screen Time passcode. Why don’t you give AnyUnlock a try now?