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Screen Time breaks in a handful of predictable ways. Work down this list in order — the first three fix the large majority of cases.
1. The app is on Always Allowed
This is the most common cause by far. Apps on the Always Allowed list ignore both App Limits and Downtime entirely.
Go to Settings › Screen Time › Always Allowed and check what's there. Phone and Messages are on it by default, and apps get added here more often than people remember doing it.
2. The limit is on a category that doesn't include the app
Category limits are based on Apple's own classification, and it isn't always what you'd expect. An app you think of as social might sit under Entertainment or Productivity.
Fix it by limiting the specific app rather than the category: App Limits › Add Limit, tap the arrow next to a category, and pick the individual app.
3. Screen Time is off, or off for this device
Check Settings › Screen Time is actually switched on. If you use Share Across Devices, a limit set on one device applies everywhere — but if that setting is off, each device keeps its own, and you may have set it on the wrong one.
4. Limits reset or vanish after an update
iOS updates occasionally clear Screen Time settings, and the sync between devices can overwrite a local change with an older one from iCloud.
Turn Share Across Devices off, set your limits again on the device you care about, and check them the next day.
5. Downtime starts but doesn't block
Downtime only blocks apps that aren't on Always Allowed, and it has a one-minute grace period at the start. Also check the schedule actually covers the hours you think — an overnight window that runs to 7am is easy to set as 7pm to 7am by accident when you wanted 9pm.
6. Screen Time shows no data, or wrong numbers
Usually a reporting lag rather than a fault. Try:
- Restart the iPhone.
- Check the date and time are set automatically (Settings › General › Date & Time).
- Turn Screen Time off, wait a minute, and turn it back on. You'll lose history but reporting usually recovers.
7. You keep tapping Ignore Limit
Not a bug, but the most common reason people say Screen Time "doesn't work".
Set a Screen Time passcode under Settings › Screen Time › Lock Screen Time Settings, and use one you don't know by heart — have someone else set it, or generate it and don't memorise it. Without this, the block is a suggestion.
If you set a Screen Time passcode and forget it, you'll need your Apple ID to recover it. Don't pick something with no recovery path.
8. A third-party blocker has stopped blocking
Apps that block for you use Apple's Screen Time framework underneath, so they inherit all of the above. In addition, check the app still has Screen Time permission under Settings › Screen Time › Apps with Screen Time Access, and that it hasn't been offloaded (Settings › General › iPhone Storage).
9. Nothing above worked
As a last resort, turn Screen Time off completely, restart the phone, then set it up from scratch. You lose your history and your limits, so note them down first.
If it still misbehaves after that, it's worth contacting Apple Support — persistent Screen Time faults after a clean setup are usually account- or device-level.
When the problem isn't technical
A lot of "Screen Time isn't working" turns out to mean "Screen Time works and I go around it". That's not a fault you can fix in Settings, because the mechanism is sound and the bypass is one tap by design.
Pico uses the same Apple framework, so the block is equally real, but the way through it is different: your apps unlock when you've walked for them, at one hundred steps per minute. There's no Ignore button, and there's no willpower required either — just a cost.
Common questions
Why is my iPhone app limit not working?
Most often the app is on the Always Allowed list, or the limit was set on a category that doesn't contain it. Check both before anything else.
Why does Screen Time keep turning off?
Usually Share Across Devices syncing an older configuration from another device, or an iOS update clearing settings. Turning off Share Across Devices and re-setting limits locally fixes most cases.
Can someone get around Screen Time limits?
Yes, easily, unless a Screen Time passcode is set — and even then there are known workarounds like changing the device date. Treat it as friction rather than an unbreakable lock.
Does Screen Time work without a passcode?
It applies the limits, but anyone can dismiss or remove them in seconds. The passcode is what turns a reminder into a block.
Where to go next
- How to block apps on iPhone — the full setup, step by step
- Walk to unlock your apps — blocking with a cost instead of an Ignore button
