Lost or forgot the passcode that you use for Screen Time on your iPhone or iPad? Don’t start panicking. Thankfully, resetting your Screen Time passcode without losing all your settings is a pretty straightforward process on iPhone and iPad.
Screen Time makes it easy to keep track of device usage, and also functions as a set of parental controls that can be passcode protected so that settings aren’t changed. That passcode lock prevents children and other users from making any changes to personalized Screen Time settings, but unfortunately like any other password, they can be forgotten.
If you’re trying to figure out how you can regain access to your Screen Time settings on an iPhone or iPad, read along to learn the steps to reset Screen Time passcode on an iPhone or iPad.
How to Reset Screen Time Passcode on iPhone or iPad
All you need is access to your Apple account and you will be able to reset your Screen Time passcode within a matter of seconds. Simply follow the steps below to reset Screen Time passcode on an iPhone or iPad:
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
- Choose Screen Time.
- Tap Change Screen Time Passcode, then tap Change Screen Time Passcode again.
- Enter the Apple Account email address and password that you used to set up the Screen Time passcode.
- Enter a new Screen Time passcode, then enter it again to confirm.
There you go, crisis averted. You’ve successfully managed to reset your Screen Time passcode and regained access to those Screen Time settings on your iPhone or iPad.
If you have Share Across Devices turned on, your new Screen Time passcode will automatically update on those devices after you reset it.
If you can’t reset your Screen Time passcode
If you can’t reset your Screen Time passcode on your iPhone or iPad, make sure that you’re using the same Apple Account email address and password that you used when setting up the Screen Time passcode. This might be a different Apple Account than the one that you’re signed in to on your device. If you’re part of a Family Sharing group, it might be a family member’s Apple Account or your child’s Apple Account.
See also: Where to Find your Apple Account email address on your iPhone, iPad, Mac and the Web