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Help: I need to find a way to block the Phone app at night

Thor774

Thor774

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 14, 2007
227
30
I have a teenager and her iPhone is configured with Screen Time. Downtime is set to block many apps late at night when it's time to sleep. Lately, I have noticed that she has started to make and receive phone calls very late at night when the rest of the house is asleep. You can block every app in iOS removing them from the Always allowed list but not the Phone app. How could I block her iPhone from making or receiving calls late at night?

The solution seems to be using Screen Time > Communication limits > During downtime > Allow Communication From specific contacts and choosing only her parents here. The only thing is that I am not sure if this also blocks incoming calls or is it just for calls initiated by her that get blocked. I need that both incoming and outgoing calls get blocked.

Blocking the SIM card at night is not an option.

Any ideas are greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot.
 
When I was a teenager I’d talk on the phone until late at night constantly. Sometimes until the battery died. And I used the home phone.
 
Screen Time still won't prevent 100% both ways, as far as I am aware. Short of removing Face ID and setting up a password only you know when it is time for her to go to bed, I don't believe there is anything else you can do.
 
macsound1 said:
When I was a teenager I’d talk on the phone until late at night constantly. Sometimes until the battery died. And I used the home phone.
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Me too 😂. At that time we still had "wired" phones. My parents used to put a lock on the dial disks on them but you learned how to dial by pressing the hang-up buttons 😅
Apple_Robert said:
Screen Time still won't prevent 100% both ways, as far as I am aware. Short of removing Face ID and setting up a password only you know when it is time for her to go to bed, I don't believe there is anything else you can do.
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Thank you. I am going to have to test if it blocks incoming calls when she comes home next time. It is a pity that there is so little info about Screen Time on the net and that you have to find so much about the system by yourself. It works really well most of the time and has been a key piece in helping us set limits.
 
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Could you maybe set up an automation with the shortcuts app? I know its possible to automatically turn off wi-fi and mobile data between certain times. I don't know if she’d be able to just turn them back on again though
 
TorbenIbsen said:
How about replacing "screen time" with "iPhone time"? - You go in there and say "lighs off" like in the old days. And take the iPhone with you when you leave the room.
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I think that’s the best, when you’re the parent sometimes you just have to be the parent. Having a cell phone or any phone in a teenager‘s room is not required for safety or emergencies as might be the case when a teen is out of the house. No teen has ever been irreparably harmed by not having phone access after a certain hour when at home.
 
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