Forgetting your Screen Time passcode is more common than you'd think, especially if you set it months ago, or someone set it for you to keep you off certain apps. The good news is that there's usually a way back in. Which way depends on one thing: whether the passcode was linked to an Apple Account when it was created.
Work through the steps below in order. This is about the Screen Time passcode (the 4-digit code that protects app limits and restrictions), not your main iPhone unlock passcode, which is a different recovery process entirely.
First: make sure it's actually the Screen Time passcode
If your phone unlocks normally but you're blocked when trying to change Settings > Screen Time, change a limit, or turn restrictions off, then yes, it's the Screen Time passcode you've forgotten. Read on.
If you can't unlock the phone at all, that's the device passcode, and you'll need Apple's separate device-recovery process instead.
Option 1: Reset it with your Apple Account (if recovery is on)
On recent versions of iOS, you can set the Screen Time passcode up with Apple Account recovery. If you did that, resetting is quick:
- Open Settings > Screen Time.
- Tap Change Screen Time Passcode, then Change Screen Time Passcode again.
- Tap Forgot Passcode?
- Enter the Apple Account email and password you used when you first set the passcode.
- If they match, you'll be allowed to set a brand-new Screen Time passcode.
If there's no Forgot Passcode? link, or your Apple Account isn't accepted, recovery wasn't enabled, move on to the next option.
Option 2: Make sure your software is up to date
Older versions of iOS didn't offer Apple Account recovery for the Screen Time passcode at all. If you're on an old release and don't see the Forgot Passcode? option, updating to the latest iOS can add it, but only for passcodes set after the recovery feature existed. Updating won't retroactively attach recovery to a code you set years ago.
Option 3: If recovery was never set up
This is the hard case. If the passcode was created without linking an Apple Account, Apple has no "back door" to reset it, that's by design, for security. Your realistic options are:
- Ask whoever set it. If a partner, parent, or friend set the passcode for you, they may simply remember it. This is the easiest fix by far.
- Erase the device and set it up as new. Removing the Screen Time passcode without recovery means erasing the iPhone and not restoring from a backup that contains the same Screen Time settings. This wipes everything, so treat it as a last resort and back up your photos and data first.
There's no legitimate shortcut beyond these. Be wary of "instant unlocker" tools that promise to strip the passcode, many are scams or carry malware, and some simply erase the phone anyway.
How to never get stuck like this again
Here's the thing: a forgotten Screen Time passcode is usually an accident. But forgetting it on purpose is actually one of the most effective ways to stick to your limits, as long as you have a safe way to get it back when you genuinely need it.
That's the gap WaitToUnlock fills. Instead of choosing a passcode you'll either remember (and override on a whim) or forget completely (and risk wiping your phone), WaitToUnlock generates a random Screen Time passcode, guides you through entering it without memorising it, and stores it encrypted for you.
When you truly need it back, you request it and wait out a countdown, then it's revealed. You get the discipline of a forgotten passcode without the nightmare of being permanently locked out. No erasing the phone, no scammy unlocker apps, no awkward "can you remember the code you set?" conversation.
The short version
If you set up Apple Account recovery, reset the passcode under Settings > Screen Time > Change Screen Time Passcode > Forgot Passcode? If you didn't, ask whoever set it, or, as a last resort, back up and erase the device. And if you want the benefits of a forgotten passcode without the risk, let something hold it for you and hand it back after a wait.