I can’t use Apple’s new Screen Time controls because my son won’t update his MacBook

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Apple’s revamped parental controls are surprisingly difficult to enable if you have multiple Apple devices. The company says it’s working on improvements.

Apple’s revamped parental controls are surprisingly difficult to enable if you have multiple Apple devices. The company says it’s working on improvements.

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After suffering years of frustration with Apple’s parental control features, I’ve been eagerly anticipating the revamped Screen Time that launched last month with iOS 27. Unfortunately, I can’t use it.

Technically, this is because my 18-year-old son hasn’t got round to updating his MacBook. But mostly, it’s because Apple’s rollout of the new feature has been confusing and frustrating, with fiddly requirements that might have you digging through drawers for your old devices.

I’m not even trying to use Screen Time on my son’s devices. He’s 18, away at college, and well beyond my parental controls. The problem is I apparently need him to update his MacBook Neo before I can use Apple’s new Screen Time features on my 15-year-old daughter’s iPhone. His college is four hours away, and like many college kids, he’s an expert at ignoring text messages from his mom asking him to do a boring chore.

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My problem stems from Apple’s requirement that, to use the new Screen Time on any device in your connected household, every iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac, and even Vision Pro in your Apple Family Sharing group has to be updated to the relevant OS 27.