This guide is for managing Screen Time on your own iPhone, or a device you're the account holder for. If a parent or another family organizer set up Screen Time on a device, the passcode belongs to them, not the person using the phone — ask them to make the change rather than trying to reset around it.
Quick answer: on iOS 26, change your Screen Time passcode from Settings → Screen Time → Change Screen Time Passcode → Change Screen Time Passcode (Apple renames this row Passcode & Management in iOS 27 and later). If you've forgotten it, you can reset it by signing in with the Apple Account email and password you used when you first set the passcode up.
Change a passcode you remember
- Open Settings and tap Screen Time.
- Scroll down and tap Change Screen Time Passcode, then tap Change Screen Time Passcode again. (In iOS 27 and later, Apple puts this under Passcode & Management, and asks you to authenticate with Face ID or your device passcode.)
- Enter your current Screen Time passcode.
- Enter a new four-digit passcode, then enter it again to confirm.
Forgot your passcode? Reset it with your Apple Account
Apple builds recovery into Screen Time for exactly this. Open the same Change Screen Time Passcode screen. If you cannot enter the old passcode, use the recovery option there. You'll be asked to sign in with the Apple Account email and password you used when you originally set the Screen Time passcode up — which may not be the Apple Account you're currently signed into on the device, especially on a shared or hand-me-down phone. Enter the correct credentials and you'll be able to set a new passcode.
This only works if Screen Time Passcode Recovery was turned on when the passcode was created. Apple recommends enabling it at setup for exactly this reason. If it wasn't turned on, the Apple Account reset option won't be available to you.
If the Apple Account reset doesn't work
A few things to check before assuming you're stuck:
- Try every Apple Account you've used on this device. The passcode is tied to whichever account was signed in when it was set, which is easy to lose track of after an account switch.
- Repeated wrong attempts trigger a timed lockout (users report delays in the range of minutes to an hour), so wait rather than guessing rapidly.
- If neither account recovery nor the guesses above work, Apple's support article points to contacting Apple Support directly as the next step, since there's no way around the passcode from Settings alone at that point.
Resetting a child's Screen Time passcode
If you're the parent or Family Sharing organizer, you don't need the child's device at all. From your own iPhone on iOS 26: Settings → Screen Time → [family member] → Manage Screen Time → Change Screen Time Passcode → Change Screen Time Passcode, then enter the passcode you use to unlock your own iPhone. (In iOS 27 and later the path is Settings → Family → [child's name] → Passcode & Management and Apple asks for the old Screen Time passcode.) If you cannot reset it, Apple says to use the Apple Account you entered when the passcode was first set up, which may be a family member's or the child's.
Turning off the passcode, or Screen Time entirely
Once you're past the passcode (changed, reset, or simply known), you can go further:
- Remove the passcode but keep your settings: tap Change Screen Time Passcode, choose Turn Off Screen Time Passcode and enter the current passcode. Your app limits and downtime stay configured but are no longer locked.
- Turn off Screen Time entirely: open Settings → Screen Time and scroll to the bottom for the option to turn it off. This clears your app limits, downtime and communication limits, and stops the weekly reports.
If your goal is really "stop Screen Time from blocking an app I need," a narrower fix is usually better than turning the whole thing off: edit or delete the specific App Limit from Screen Time → App Limits instead, and leave the rest of your settings in place. To cap a single app instead, see the guides to an Instagram time limit and a TikTok screen time limit; if a passcode is not enough friction, there are Brick alternatives that add a physical or app-based lock.
The opposite problem is just as common: a limit you set for yourself that you keep skipping with Ignore Limit. A passcode you hold yourself does not fix that, because you can enter it any time. We explain what actually makes a limit hold in how to stop skipping Screen Time limits, and if a limit or Downtime seems to do nothing at all, see why iPhone app limits stop working.
Not sure how much screen time is typical for your child's age? The screen time by age checker compares it with the published guidance and national averages.
Common questions
How do I turn off Screen Time on my iPhone?
Go to Settings → Screen Time and scroll to the bottom for the option to turn it off entirely, which clears your app limits and downtime. If you only want to stop one specific limit, remove just that App Limit instead of turning off Screen Time altogether.
What is a Screen Time passcode?
It's a separate four-digit code from your device passcode, used specifically to lock your Screen Time settings so app limits, downtime and content restrictions can't be changed or bypassed without it.
I forgot my Screen Time passcode. What do I do?
On the Change Screen Time Passcode screen, use the recovery option and sign in with the Apple Account email and password used when the passcode was first set up. This only works if Screen Time Passcode Recovery was enabled at setup; if it wasn't, contact Apple Support.
How do I reset my Screen Time passcode without losing my settings?
Resetting through Apple Account recovery only changes the passcode itself — your app limits, downtime and other Screen Time settings stay exactly as configured.
My parent set a Screen Time passcode on my phone. Can I remove it myself?
Not without their involvement, and that's by design — the whole point of a parent-set passcode is that the person using the phone can't remove it unilaterally. If you want a limit changed, ask the parent or family organizer who set it; they can adjust it from Settings → Family on their own device.
Can I stop myself from tapping Ignore Limit?
Set a Screen Time passcode, turn on Block at Downtime, and have someone else keep the passcode. Apple documents Block at Downtime as the setting that stops limits from being ignored once reached; the full walk-through is in our Ignore Limit guide.
Sources
If the goal behind resetting a Screen Time limit is really "I want fewer feeds pulling at me, not more friction," our screen time calculator and average screen time by age are a good next stop, and Stillfeed removes the endless-scroll feeds themselves rather than just timing them.
