Downtime Not Working on iPhone? Fixes for iOS 27 and Older

If Downtime isn't blocking anything, set a Screen Time passcode and turn on Block at Downtime in Settings → Screen Time → Downtime. Without both, Downtime only dims your apps and shows a reminder you can tap past. If an app still opens after that, it's almost always in Always Allowed.

One catch: on iOS 27, Downtime has a new name. Check your version first.

Quick answer

• iOS 16 to 26: passcode + Block at Downtime + a short Always Allowed list.
• iOS 27: Screen Time Schedule, with Match Screen Time Schedule on in Time Allowances.
• Still opens? Check Always Allowed, Safari, and other synced devices.
• Wrong times? Turn on Date & Time → Set Automatically.

Which version of Screen Time do you have?

Go to Settings → General → About.

• iOS 27: Downtime became Screen Time Schedule and App Limits became Time Allowances. Apple says these need iOS 27, iPadOS 27 or macOS 27 on all your Apple devices.
• iOS 16 to 26: classic Downtime, App Limits and Always Allowed.

On iOS 27 but still seeing Downtime? Follow the iOS 16 to 26 steps; the new features only appear once every device on your account updates.

How do I fix Downtime on iOS 27?

On iOS 27 the schedule is a set of time windows, each saying which Time Allowance categories (Entertainment, Games, Social Media) you can use.

1. Settings → Screen Time → Screen Time Schedule, turn on Schedule.
2. Add Schedule, choose the days, then tap a Time Window to set its times and allowed categories.
3. In Time Allowances, turn on Match Screen Time Schedule, or the allowances ignore your windows.
4. Check Always Allowed. Anything there stays open whatever the schedule says.
5. Lock it with a passcode: Manage Screen Time → Lock Screen Time Settings.

Two iOS 27 details explain a lot of "it's not working":

• Websites can count too. If an app declares an associated website, its allowance applies there as well.
• Sync is all or nothing. Share Across Devices now lives in Manage Screen Time. On, your iPhone, iPad and Mac share settings; off, each keeps its own.

Apple's iOS 27 guide doesn't describe a "Block at Downtime" switch for your own schedules. The only lock it documents is the Screen Time passcode.

Why is Downtime not working on iOS 16 to 26?

Go down this list. The first two cover most cases.

1. Block at Downtime is off. In Apple's words, you "can choose to continue using the apps."
2. No Screen Time passcode, so that switch doesn't even appear.
3. The app is in Always Allowed. Phone, Messages, FaceTime and Maps are there by default.
4. Scheduled is off, or App & Website Activity is off (which also disables Downtime).
5. The clock or time zone is wrong.
6. Share Across Devices is pulling in another device's schedule.
7. An iOS bug. Several were reported on iOS 26.x.

How do I make Downtime actually block apps?

1. Set a passcode: Settings → Screen Time → Lock Screen Time Settings (Use Screen Time Passcode on iOS 16). Use a different code from your phone, ideally typed by someone else. See how to remove "Ignore Limit".
2. Turn on Block at Downtime. Blocked apps then "appear dimmed with an hourglass icon," and getting past needs the passcode.
3. Trim Always Allowed. Keep emergency essentials like Phone; remove the rest.
4. Check Communication Limits → During Downtime, which controls calls and messages separately. Emergency numbers always work.
5. Check the schedule and clock. With Customize Days, check today's times. Keep Date & Time → Set Automatically on.
6. Sort out syncing. If a schedule you changed keeps coming back, turn off Share Across Devices on each device, restart, and set it again on the device you care about.

Why isn't YouTube or TikTok blocked during Downtime?

• It's in Always Allowed.
• Block at Downtime is off, so it opens after you tap past the reminder.
• You're on the website. Downtime blocks apps. If Safari is allowed, youtube.com still works. Remove Safari or block the sites under Content & Privacy Restrictions.
• It's another device that isn't sharing the schedule.

Every gap, version by version: Screen Time loopholes.

What does "Ignore Downtime Until Schedule" mean?

During a scheduled Downtime, Settings → Screen Time → Downtime shows Ignore Downtime Until Schedule (or Turn Off Downtime if you started it by hand). It ends tonight's Downtime immediately; the schedule returns at its next start. That's why Downtime can seem to break for one night and then fix itself.

Apple also sends a reminder 5 minutes before Downtime starts, which lets you turn it on early. To switch Downtime off for good, turn off Scheduled.

Why won't Downtime start on time?

After re-checking the basics:

• Settings that reset themselves. In 2023 Apple told the Wall Street Journal that "some users may experience an issue where screen time settings are unexpectedly reset", Downtime included. Re-check after every update.
• iOS 26 bugs. Users reported One More Minute during Downtime applying to every app, then locking them all; on 26.2, some saw limited apps stay off after Downtime until a restart. Update iOS and restart if it acts up.
• A schedule synced from another device.

Still broken? Delete the schedule, restart, and create it again. More in Screen Time limits not working.

Why isn't Screen Time resetting at midnight?

Apple says App Limits "refresh every day at midnight," on your iPhone's clock, so a wrong time zone moves the reset. If a limit is already spent in the morning, Share Across Devices may be counting late-night iPad use. On iOS 27, Time Allowances work the same way per category.

What if Downtime works, but you don't stop?

Then it's the design, not a bug. You set the schedule and you know the passcode. Apple built these controls mainly for parents holding a code their child doesn't know.

Fixes that last can't be undone in the moment: someone else's passcode, or a tool built for self-control. Detox schedules blocks for your sleep hours with a strict mode, so the block can't be edited or deleted while it's on, and allows one emergency unblock a day. It's paid, with a free trial. For the bedtime routine, see no phone before bed.

The bottom line

On iOS 16 to 26, Downtime only blocks with a passcode, Block at Downtime on, and a short Always Allowed list. On iOS 27, set up Screen Time Schedule and turn on Match Screen Time Schedule. Keep the clock automatic and check what's syncing. And if you still tap past it, use a lock you can't open at 11pm.