Apple’s Revamped Screen Time Hits Setup Delays Over OS 27 Requirement

The requirement applies even when a parent does not intend to use Screen Time on a particular device. In the case reported by The Verge, the son is 18 and away at college four hours from home, so he is beyond parental controls. But because his MacBook Neo remained on an older operating system, the new Screen Time features could not be enabled on his sister’s iPhone.

Apple says older devices that cannot be updated to the latest OS cannot use the new Screen Time at all. The company says these “legacy devices” will not prevent the new Screen Time from working on newer devices, but The Verge reported that some users found they could turn on the new features only after deleting old gadgets from their accounts.

The Verge reporter also encountered other obstacles. A Mac Mini that had been updated to macOS 27 more than a week earlier was still shown by Apple as running macOS 26. A sixth-generation iPad Mini that had been handed down to the son was still listed under the reporter’s name and as running iPadOS 18. A daughter’s iPad Pro was too old to update to the latest software.

The new Screen Time uses a redesigned iCloud architecture, so every eligible device must be updated to OS 27 for the feature to work on any device, according to the report. The reporter updated the son’s iPad Mini when he was last home, but Apple still showed that iPad Mini under the reporter’s account as needing an update. Removing it from the account eventually fixed the problem, but only after several attempts through settings menus and a full weekend for the change to clear.

The Verge said all attempts to meet Apple’s requirements took time to take effect, suggesting a delay between updating a device and the service becoming available. The reporter’s editor updated all his devices but still did not have access; the option appeared only after waiting and removing all legacy devices that could not be updated to OS 27 from his account.

Apple acknowledged the issues. “This is our biggest child safety update yet, designed to give families even more tools to help keep children safe,” Apple spokesperson Katie Lowry told The Verge. “We’re continuing to improve the rollout of the new parental controls so parents can get set up quickly and easily, and we’re working to resolve delays some families are seeing.”

Apple’s Screen Time is the company’s parental-control feature. It was introduced in 2018 and has been beset by issues, including settings that do not sync reliably across devices and difficulty managing contacts and time limits remotely. The Verge also noted that children have found ways to override settings through Reddit threads, YouTube videos and guesses. When Apple devoted a large part of its 2026 WWDC keynote to Screen Time, the reporter hoped the company had taken parent feedback seriously and built a more robust, easier-to-use experience. The updates and new features look promising, the report said, but setup issues have prevented the reporter from trying them.