Apple’s new Screen Time rollout leaves families facing setup hurdles

Apple’s redesigned Screen Time parental controls require eligible devices in an Apple Family Sharing group to run the relevant OS 27 software. The requirement has prevented some families from accessing the new features, while setup delays and device-list errors have added confusion.

The Verge reporter Jennifer Pattison Tuohy says she has been unable to enable the controls for her 15-year-old daughter because her 18-year-old son has not updated his MacBook Neo. She also encountered a Mac Mini that Apple still listed as running macOS 26 after an update to macOS 27, and an iPad Mini that appeared under her account as running iPadOS 18 despite having been updated and handed down to her son.

Removing a duplicate iPad Mini entry from her account eventually resolved that issue, but it took several attempts and a weekend for the change to take effect. Tuohy says her editor gained access only after updating devices and removing older devices that could not run OS 27. She could not tell whether the delay or removing those devices made the difference. Apple’s documentation says older, incompatible devices should not block access on compatible ones, though some users report removing them helped.

Apple spokesperson Katie Lowry acknowledged that some families are experiencing delays. Lowry said Apple is continuing to improve the rollout and working to resolve them. The new Screen Time features were announced at WWDC 2026; Apple describes the release as its biggest child safety update yet.