Family safety screen time for Xbox Cloud Gaming uses wrong time zone

Chrisau233 · Aug 2, 2023

I use Xbox Cloud Gaming and when I tried to load games within my allowed time frame and time limit it would tell me "You can't play this title because you don't have any screen time". To try and find out the issue I did some testing as follows:

Logged into Microsoft Family Safety in my parent's account

Went to the 'Screen time' for myself, the child

Under the 'Devices' tab there is a toggle called 'Use one scheduled for all devices'. I disabled this. This then let me change the screen time for 'Windows 10 devices' and 'Xbox consoles' separately.

I don't have an Xbox, I only play Xbox Cloud Gaming on my Windows 10 PC in a web browser, so under the 'Xbox consoles' section it says 'No devices connected'. It still lets me set 'Screen time' limits in this 'Xbox consoles' section though as usual, which seems to be what is used for Xbox Cloud Gaming.

For the given 'Day' I tested different values for 'Time limit' and 'Available times'.

I found out that the Xbox Cloud Gaming was assuming my time zone was GMT-7, when in fact it is GMT+10. If I set the desired 'Available times' I wanted but using the times in GMT-7, it worked as I expected. For example if I wanted to be allowed to play at 5pm (GMT+10) in my time, I would set the start of the 'Available times' setting as 12am (GMT-7) and it worked.

I tried to find time zone settings in the Microsoft accounts for both the parent and the child accounts and only found 'Region' when going to 'Microsoft account' > 'Your info' > 'Edit profile info'. I set this Region to 'Australia' where I live, but this doesn't fix it.

Can you please tell me, when playing Xbox Cloud Gaming in a web browser, where does it take the user's time zone information from when determining if they are allowed to play in line with their 'Screen time' limits?

I want to fix this because I want one 'Screen time' configuration for all devices, but at the moment the Windows devices 'Screen time' limits use my proper time zone of GMT+10 (where the time zone setting is presumably taken from the Windows 10 device itself), but the Xbox Cloud Gaming 'Screen time' uses GMT-7, so I can't combine them under one 'Screen time' configuration as a result and it's quite frustrating.

This could potentially be a bug. I am a software developer so happy to test further if needed as this 'Screen time' feature is important to me.

:)

Zahir_Ramathula

You can try speaking to xbox on the phone using this link.

https://support.xbox.com/en-AU/contact-us

Zahir_Ramathula

From what i gather your pc time zone should match the limits that you set. I cant find any info on where it takes the time zone from. I assume its from the server locations and i am not sure where the servers are located. It could be in usa, depending if you test the ping or latency.

Chrisau233

Thanks Zahir. If it is using the server's time zone and not the user's local time zone then that would be a bug in the software.

I will give Xbox support a call when I get a free chance and see if they can provide any more insight.

I'll keep this thread updated for others also.

Zahir_Ramathula

Hello Chrissau, this is a tricky one. I cant find any information for time zone changes on xcloud gaming. All i see is how to change time zone on console, as follows below...

In order to change your location settings on your Xbox One or Xbox Series X | S, you’ll need to perform the following steps:

1. Open your Settings menu.
2. Scroll down to System, then select the Language & Location option.
3. Click the Location dropdown menu, then select the location with the timezone you want. Typically, New Zealand is the best option.
4. Restart your console. The changes will not take effect until your console has been fully restarted.

Rob 'CyberDrac' King

Thank you for that insight, it explains the behaviour that I am seeing with my son's time restricted account in the UK being unable to play Cloud gaming from his unrestricted time on a phone and tablet, but allows him to play on the proper console. I'll get him to do some testing tomorrow, and establish the time difference between us and the servers. I'll also see if there is a way to force some more local servers in the app.

Regards

Rob King

Family safety screen time for Xbox Cloud Gaming uses wrong time zone