Screen Time Limit Not Working on iPhone? Fixes for iOS 27

A Screen Time limit that doesn't work is one of two problems. Either it's broken (a missing setting, a sync issue, an iOS bug), or it's working as designed and you're tapping straight past it. The first takes five minutes to fix. The second needs a different kind of lock.

On iOS 16 to 26, most broken limits need a Screen Time passcode plus Block at End of Limit. On iOS 27, App Limits are gone, replaced by Time Allowances. Check your version in Settings → General → About.

Quick answer

• No block at all (iOS 16 to 26): passcode + Block at End of Limit.
• No block at all (iOS 27): check the app's category, Always Allowed, and version 27 on every device.
• Odd timing: update iOS, check Share Across Devices and the clock.
• It blocks but you get past: that's the design. You need a code you don't know.

What's wrong? Find your symptom

How do I fix limits on iOS 16 to 26?

1. Turn on Block at End of Limit. Settings → Screen Time → App Limits, tap the limit, switch it on. It only appears once you have a passcode.
2. Set a Screen Time passcode. Lock Screen Time Settings ("Use Screen Time Passcode" on iOS 16), with a code different from your phone's. Without it, Ignore Limit is always one tap away.
3. Update iOS. iOS 26 had reported bugs, including One More Minute during Downtime locking every app for 60 seconds, and limits kicking in early after an update. Partial fixes shipped across iOS 26.2 to 26.4.
4. Delete, restart, recreate. A corrupted limit is a surprisingly common culprit.
5. Check Share Across Devices. It combines usage from iPhone, iPad and Mac; a device out of sync can make limits fire at odd times. Toggle it, or turn it off if only your iPhone matters.
6. Check the category. Under App Limits → Add Limit you can see which apps each category holds.
7. Block the website too. Content & Privacy Restrictions → App Store, Media, Web & Games → Web Content → Limit Adult Websites, then add the site under Never Allow (on iOS 16 to 18.0 the menu is Content Restrictions or Store, Web, Siri & Game Center Content).
8. Stop resets. iTunes & App Store Purchases → Deleting Apps → Don't Allow, and Date & Time → Set Automatically on.

How do I fix limits on iOS 27?

iOS 27 split Screen Time in two: Time Allowances for how long, Screen Time Schedule (Downtime's replacement) for when.

1. Update every Apple device to version 27. Apple says the new features, and Share Across Devices, need it on all of them.
2. Set your allowances. Settings → Screen Time → Time Allowances: drag the slider for your daily total, then tap a category such as Social Media to set its own. Apps stay usable until either runs out.
3. Check categories. Manage Categories shows each category's apps; + creates a new one. A category with a single app is the closest thing to an old App Limit.
4. Trim Always Allowed. Anything there ignores your allowances and schedules.
5. Lock it. Manage Screen Time → Lock Screen Time Settings, with a code different from your phone's.
6. Check Share Across Devices, now under Manage Screen Time.
7. Use a Screen Time Schedule for evenings. For late-night scrolling, a daily allowance is the wrong tool. Turn on Schedule, add one, and set which categories each window allows. Details in Downtime not working.
8. Recreate a misbehaving category. Manage Categories → Delete [name] Category, restart, create it again.

Apple's iOS 27 guide doesn't say what the limit screen offers for self-set allowances. Early hands-on reports say Ignore Limit is still there, and that with a passcode set, extending asks for it.

A Time Allowance covers an app's website only if the app declares it, so the browser can still be a back door.

What if Screen Time still doesn't stop me?

Then it probably isn't broken. Screen Time was built for parents managing a child's phone: the parent holds the code. On your own phone you're both parent and child, and the person deciding whether to type the code at 11pm is the one who wants to keep scrolling.

There's a second issue: App Limits and Time Allowances are a daily total. Burn 30 minutes of Instagram on quick checks by lunch and you're locked out of anything useful; save it for the evening and it goes in one sitting. More in why daily Screen Time limits don't work.

What works when Screen Time doesn't?

Every fix that lasts is a limit you can't undo in the moment:

• Give the passcode to someone else. The best free option. Step by step: how to remove "Ignore Limit".
• Use an app built for self-control. Detox limits continuous use instead of a daily total, so quick checks stay free and only a long session gets blocked. Strict mode stops you editing or deleting the block while it's active, and there's one emergency unblock a day. Paid, with a free trial. Full comparison: the Apple Screen Time alternative.

The bottom line

Check the settings first. On iOS 16 to 26, Block at End of Limit plus a passcode fixes most cases, and an update fixes the rest. On iOS 27, put the app in the right category, keep Always Allowed short, lock it, and update every device. If it is blocking and you walk straight past it, it's not a bug. You need a lock the 11pm version of you can't open.