iOS 17.1 Improves Screen Time Syncing Across Apple Devices

iOS 17.1 improves syncing of Screen Time settings across Apple devices, according to the release notes for the upcoming software update.

Screen Time iOS 16
Screen Time provides parents with settings to remotely manage a child's device, allowing them to restrict device usage to certain times, set time limits for apps, and block inappropriate content. However, some parents had complained that Screen Time settings sometimes reset or failed to sync across all devices within a Family Sharing group.

"We are aware that some users may be experiencing an issue where Screen Time settings are unexpectedly reset," an Apple spokesperson said, in a statement shared with The Wall Street Journal in July. "We take these reports very seriously and we have been, and will continue, making updates to improve the situation."

Apple already attempted to improve Screen Time settings syncing with iOS 16.5, but the issue persisted for some users on later software versions.

Screen Time launched in 2018 as part of iOS 12, providing parents with a built-in option for the type of controls that previously required third-party apps.

iOS 17.1 should be released next week. A final beta version known as the Release Candidate was made available to developers for testing today.

Related Forums: iOS 17, iPadOS 17

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Top Rated Comments

Misheemee Avatar
18 months ago

Most useless feature prize winner!
Not useless at all, quite the opposite actually! I have screen time set on my 14yo son’s iphone so he can’t modify account settings or remove his iCloud account. Somebody attempted to rob him at the bus stop but couldn’t remove the iCloud account from the iPhone which made the iPhone useless to him so he didn't end up stealing it because he knew he'd be tracked.

Above aside - I’ve been using screen time on my kids devices for years - a few features of screen time have been reliable are content settings, downtime and app settings
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bobcats9498 Avatar
18 months ago
Let’s just hope you can finally approve screen time requests from the messages app on Apple Watch and Macs. Been broke for over a year.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
arnoz Avatar
18 months ago
Screen Time settings on Mac show I've been using Instagram for 24 hours a day since the update to Sonoma.
Thing is… I've never used Instagram, never downloaded the app, never created an account, and I can safely say I may have clicked on Instagram links from my May maybe a few times over the course of a year.
So yeah, not even tracking my kids, but even my data is useless...
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Ridge Racer Avatar
18 months ago
I just wish they'd let you set more than one DownTime period in a day. I need at a minimum two - one for school time and one for bedtime.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
siddavis Avatar
18 months ago

Screen Time settings on Mac show I've been using Instagram for 24 hours a day since the update to Sonoma.
Thing is… I've never used Instagram, never downloaded the app, never created an account, and I can safely say I may have clicked on Instagram links from my May maybe a few times over the course of a year.
So yeah, not even tracking my kids, but even my data is useless...
This happens for my kids all of the time. It is incredibly annoying when you set limits and they are always blocked from doing anything because the Mac screen time shows 24hrs.

Like many of the iCloud based services... hot garbage.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nostaws Avatar
18 months ago

Most useless feature prize winner!
Screentime isn’t just an app to summarize phone usage. It is Apple’s app for parents setting restrictions and monitoring kids phones. It has been broken and Apple is fixing it.

Also, we as a family sit down every so often and we look at each others phone usage as a family and talk about how we use our devices: parents included (we are usually the worst offenders).
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)