Why Is My iPhone Screen Time Not Accurate? [Fixed]

Elsa Updated on Aug 20, 2025 Filed to: iOS Parental

Screen Time is a helpful iOS feature for calculating how much you spend on your Apple Devices. It helps to monitor app usage, set limits, and encourage your digital well-being. Sometimes, reviewing the data can be confusing and it might appear inaccurate after evaluation.

You might see incorrect reports, missing app usage, or parental controls that are not working. If you are wondering why your iPhone Screen Time is not showing the right information, this article shows what may be wrong. We will also show you how to fix these issues.

Common Signs and Reasons for iPhone Screen Time Not Accurate

Here, we discuss the most common signs and reasons iPhone Screen Time may not be accurate.

Signs of iPhone Screen Time Not Accurate

You may notice one of the following if your Screen Time data is unreliable.

Incorrect Total Usage Time: The recorded time significantly differs from the actual usage time. The hours shown are much more or less than your real usage.

Zero Usage for Certain Apps: Some apps may show zero usage time, which means they are not recorded at all. These could be apps you often use that do not appear in the report.

Downtime or App Limits Not Working: You may enable the Downtime or App Limits feature on Screen Time but they are not effective. These apps may fail to block usage, which makes them usable even after limits are supposed to start.

Parental Controls Stop Working: If Family Sharing mode is enabled, but parental restrictions for children fail. Restrictions on your child’s phone may turn off automatically or not apply at all.

Reasons of iPhone Screen Time Not Accurate

If you see any of the signs discussed above in your Screen Time, here are some likely causes.

Common iOS Version Bugs or Cache Issues

iOS updates are consistently introduced to fix old bugs, but sometimes new ones appear. Screen Time data might stop working due to temporary glitches or outdated cache files. You may want to check with your friends and online reviews for similar comments about the issue. Your iOS might have these software issues because of corrupted documents, rooting your device, changing system settings, and other similar causes.

System/Account Settings

A major system setting that can affect Screen Time accuracy is an incorrect date and time setting. Screen Time relies on the correct system time to track usage. Hence, the data may get confusing if the time is wrong. For instance, some Screen Time might be lost if you backdate your device. Another core system function affecting Screen Time accuracy is enabling the Low Power Mode. This mode may pause background activity and interfere with Screen Time tracking.

Misconfigured Features

Incorrect settings in Screen Time such as Share Across Devices. Issues with syncing your Apple ID across multiple devices may affect your Screen Time report. Your syncing process may fail, which may lead to the wrong reports. The misconfiguration could be in Parent/Guardian roles. For example, you may have apps listed as Always Allowed or not enable Block at End of Limit. These apps will not be limited during Downtime. Also, parents need to set their child’s device to This is My Child’s iPhone, for parental controls to apply.

Known Family Sharing Bugs

Some of the cause of the signs can be traced. A typical case is when there are inconsistent device versions. If devices in the family group run different iOS versions, syncing can break. Hence, Screen Time report glitches can be expected when the sync is slow or unsuccessful.

Also, your children may bypass restrictions by changing their system time, recording screens to capture passwords, using app duplicates like Safari or YouTube in the browser, or other methods.

General Checks and Fixes

Now that you know the signs and reasons, here are simple fixes for your Screen Time accuracy issues.

1. Restart Your Device

Sometimes, a quick restart clears up minor system bugs. It can also reset some system settings leading to iOS glitches.

2. Check and Update iOS Version

New iOS updates often fix bugs, especially when there are several complaints about the same anomaly. Also, phones connected to the same Family Sharing should have the same iOS. You can also turn on automatic updates or update iOS manually.

3. Ensure Correct Date and Time

To change the date and time on your iPhone you need to turn off Set Automatically. However, changing this setting can affect your Screen Time report. This means you need to avoid manually changing the date or time.

1. Open the Settings > General setting > Date & Time, and turn off Set Automatically.
2. Tap Time Zone to enter the city name, and then select the right one.

4. Turn Screen Time Off and On

If Screen Time keeps malfunctioning, you can allow it to reset. Resetting it can fix sync issues too. To do so, you can turn it off for a while and then, turn it back on.

1. Just open the Settings > Screen Time.
2. Scroll down and you will see Turn off App & Website activity. Tap on it and then confirm.
3. Re-enable it after a few minutes.

5. Sign Out and Back into Apple ID

If you have issues syncing your Family Sharing account or Screen Time, you should consider signing out of your Apple ID on the devices. After a while sign in again and your account will be refreshed with no sync errors.

1. Open the Settings app on your device.
2. Click on your Apple ID Name at the top of the screen.
3. Select Sign Out at the bottom of the Apple ID menu.

Shut down your phone, restart it after a while, then sign back in.

6. Disable Low Power Mode

If Screen Time is not working, you may have the Low Power Mode interfering with it. Also, it might stop background apps and tracking. Hence, you need to charge your device and disable this mode.

1. Open the Settings app on your device.
2. Click on the Battery setting.
3. Turn off the Low Power Mode.

7. Enable Focus Mode

Focus mode is another digital well-being tool on iPhone. It corroborates Screen Time by filtering out non-productive usage and prevents false pickups. You can use this feature to check the inconsistent use of apps.

1. Swipe down from the top-right corner of your screen.
2. Tap the icon with a crescent moon to activate the Focus mode.
3. Choose a mode like Do Not Disturb, Personal, or create a custom one.

8. Reset All Settings

If you are unsure about tampering with system settings, this is an approach for you to resolve that issue. Resetting all settings does not delete your personal data but resets your system preferences.

1. Open the Settings app on your device.
2. Click on the General setting.
3. Select Transfer or Reset iPhone
4. Click on the Reset option.
5. Tap on Reset All Settings.

9. Erase All Content and Settings

This option is widely considered the last resort because it removes all the data on your device. Hence, you should only use it if nothing else works. Also, you should back up your data before using it.

1. Open the Settings app on your device.
2. Click on the General setting.
3. Select Transfer or Reset iPhone.
4. Click on Erase All Content and Settings > Continue > Erase iPhone.

10. Contact Apple Support

If the issue persists after erasing all your device content and settings, you should contact Apple Support. You should make a device-specific complaint on the Apple Support app or visit support.apple.com.

Additional Tips in Family Sharing and Parental Controls

Managing Screen Time for kids requires extra care. That is why parents need tips in this section.

Ensure Consistent Device Updates

All devices in your Family Sharing group should be on the same iOS version. This reduces likely sync issues. That way, you can keep a close eye on your kids. You can also activate the automatic update feature.

Review Parental Control Settings

Check if you have applied every setting correctly to your child’s device. You should check settings like Downtime, App Limits, and Content & Privacy Restrictions. Also, ensure you indicate that the account belongs to your child with the This is My Child’s Device feature.

Monitor for Workarounds

Kids are usually more tech-savvy than their parents. However, what parents lack in skill they can make up for in experience and keen observation. Hence, you need to use a strong password, disable Change Date and Time, disable app deletion under iTunes & App Store Purchases, etc.

Educational Approach

Instead of blocking some of their apps and setting time limits, you can explain the importance of screen balance to your kids. This approach will help them to understand how it helps their sleep, study time, and well-being.

Try Third-Party Parental Control Apps

Tradition iPhone parental control tools have limited features. With third-party apps like AirDroid Parental Control parents can monitor their kids in real-time. The app also offers app and time limit restrictions that are harder to bypass, alert features, content restrictions, and several other features. With AirDroid, you can also lock the settings to prevent uninstallation or Apple ID changes.

Hide the app when the time limit is due, which makes time limits hard to bypass
Block a special app or the whole device with one click
Set parental controls on iPhone from Android or any device with a browser
Restric explicit content and only allow age-appropriate apps
Block inappropriate URLs more completely and thoroughly

Final Thoughts

In case your Screen Time has been having issues, this post is a comprehensive guide to identifying and resolving these issues. When you notice inaccuracy with total usage time, you might want to consider if Screen Time is working well, your iOS update, or the system setting.

It could also be a wronged configuration such as Always Allowed. You can make the data more reliable with the fixes preferred like software updates and adjusting settings.

However, parents might need more reliable solutions like AirDroid Parental Control to keep kids aligned with proper screen usage.

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Elsa

Elsa has worked on a number of iOS & Android solutions, she can always find her way around almost any application. She is an accomplished, skilled and versatile writer with more than 7 years of technical article writing experience.

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