Learn what to do if you manage your Apple Family Sharing account but are unable to make important changes to Screen Time, subscriptions, and other settings for family members.
For starters, you (an adult member) can add your kids, spouse, parents, or other family members to your Apple digital Family group.
The organizer (that is, you – the person who set up the Family group) can decide which purchased apps and subscriptions to share. Plus, the organizer, along with the parent/guardian, can also manage Screen Time settings and parental restrictions for any child accounts added to that Family group.
To make these changes, all you need to do is open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad, or System Settings on your Mac, and then go to the Family option at the top. Next, dive into a setting or tap the child’s name to manage the options visible there.
You can also go to Screen Time settings on your device, select your child’s name under the Family heading, and manage restrictions from there. Changes you make will automatically apply to the chosen kid’s devices wirelessly. This way, you don’t necessarily have to physically take their iPhone or iPad to tweak the Screen Time controls.
Usually, everything works well, and the Family group organizer is free to make the changes as they want. However, in the rare event you (the organizer) can’t, here are the steps to fix that.
Check Apple’s server status
Visit Apple’s System Status page and make sure the following options are working without issues (i.e., they have a green dot before their name or the word ‘Available’):
- Apple Account
- iCloud Account & Sign In
- Screen Time
If there is an issue, you’ll have to wait a few hours until Apple fixes it.
Restart all devices
In many cases, it’s just temporary glitches that prevent you from making many changes to your Family settings. Start by restarting your iPhone, iPad, or Mac from where you’re trying to make the change. If that doesn’t help, restart the devices of your kids and family members added to your Apple Family group.
Make sure the child’s device has been used in a while
Imagine you want to view your child’s device usage in Screen Time on your iPhone, but it appears empty. This could be because your child’s iPhone or iPad:
- hasn’t been used in a while,
- isn’t connected to the internet,
- is no longer signed in to their Apple Account,
- or has technical issues that weren’t resolved with a simple restart.
Check Apple Account is added to the family member’s device
You won’t be able to make changes to your family’s device remotely if their Apple Account is no longer signed in. So, ask if they recently signed out of their Apple Account or changed its password and didn’t authenticate with the new one in Settings.
Once the Apple Account is added or working correctly on your family member’s iPhone, iPad, or Mac, you should be able to do everything that you normally can by going to Settings > Family or Settings > Screen Time on your (the organizer) device.
Update all devices
Make sure your iPhone, iPad, and Mac, as well as those of your family members, are running the latest version of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS.
Remove and add a family member again
If the problem continues, try adding another person to your Family group. If you don’t have someone you can add, or if you have already added 5 people, remove one and then add them again.
Reset all settings and try again
Follow the steps in our dedicated guide to reset all iOS settings to their defaults. This won’t delete apps, photos, videos, and other personal data.
Not everything can be managed
Lastly, one important thing to remember is that not every option you see in the ‘Family’ or ‘Screen Time’ settings can be managed at all times.
For instance, if you have a child under 13 added to your Apple Family account, then you can’t dissolve the family group until that child is moved to another digital family group (like one managed by your spouse).
When it comes to sharing media, apps, and subscriptions, not all of them can be shared with family members. In this case, you’ll either have to opt for the family plan of that app, or every member will have to subscribe separately.
And unlike kids, you cannot manage Screen Time restrictions for a device belonging to an adult (over 18) family member.
In case a purchase by you or family members doesn’t go through, make sure a valid credit card or supported payment method is added to your Apple Account.