Activate Fitness
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Lock it down in 5 minutes
If your child’s iPhone stopped checking in with Activate Fitness, these five steps make sure it can’t be switched off. Sometimes there’s a simple reason, like a trip or a new phone. If not, this is how to close the gap.
Last checked: iOS 26.4 · November 2026The most common cause: on iOS versions before 26.4, Face ID can turn off Activate Fitness’s Screen Time access, and no setting can stop it. Updating iOS (step 2) closes this.
Grab your child’s iPhone
Every step below is done on your child’s iPhone, not on your phone.
Update iOS
Open Settings → General → Software Update and install iOS 26.4 or later.
Why: before iOS 26.4, Face ID can switch off Activate Fitness no matter what else you set.
Set a Screen Time passcode
In Settings → Screen Time, tap Lock Screen Time Settings and set a passcode your child doesn’t know. When asked for a recovery Apple Account, enter yours, not your child’s.
Why your Apple Account: if your child’s account is used for recovery, they can tap “Forgot Passcode” and reset it themselves.
Turn on Content & Privacy Restrictions
Back on the Screen Time screen, turn on Content & Privacy Restrictions and leave its other settings as they are.
Why: this is what makes the passcode protect Activate Fitness. On its own it doesn’t block anything; everything inside it stays set to “Allow”. Once the passcode is set, your child can’t turn it back off without it.
Open Activate Fitness
Open Activate Fitness on your child’s iPhone. If it asks, allow Screen Time access again. It checks in right away, and the parent dashboard shows “Active recently”.
Nothing wrong? If your child is just away or the phone is off, you don’t need to do anything. It checks in again the next time Activate Fitness is opened.
My child knows the Screen Time passcode.
Change it in Settings → Screen Time → Change Screen Time Passcode, and make sure your own Apple Account is set for recovery.
The app says the device isn’t paired.
On your phone, open your child’s profile in Activate Fitness, tap Add Device and follow the steps to get a new 6-digit code.
My child has a new iPhone.
Install Activate Fitness on the new phone, tap “Setting up a child’s device?” and pair it with Add Device, then do steps 2 to 4 on it.
Do I also use Apple’s own Screen Time limits?
You can, but keep them off the apps Activate Fitness manages. If both block the same app, time your child earns won’t unlock it.
Still stuck?
Email andrew.armour@activatefitnessapp.com and include which step didn’t match what you see.