Screen Time Keeps Ticking Away Even Though User Is Signed Out

Jayfore · Feb 7, 2019

I have recently set screen time limits for my son. I have definitely noticed how inaccurate the reporting is, when I get the activity reports or check activity on the site, but until recently I had not limited the time. My son complained that his time
was being used when the Xbox was not even powered on, so I have started investigating.

I have just conducted a test that shows there is a problem:

Son attempts to sign in after using up his 2 hours

Parent extends expired screen time by 2 hours, on son's Xbox

Once this is complete, son is signed into his account successfully

Son does not want to play right now, so he signs out and then turns off the Xbox One

Son comes back more than 2 hours later and it says he is out of time. Activity report shows only 24 minutes used today.

This is so frustrating. I want my son to be able to plan out the use of his limited time, but it seems the feature is not really usable for us at all. Is there something I am missing here? I have already reviewed the KB to confirm that his signing out
of the account (and not using any other devices) should be all that he needs to do in order to stop the screen time timer.

:)

Jayfore

Could be he did not completely sign out of hes account . .

Nope, I did it with him for the test, just to make sure.

XBF Diego M

Hi Jayfore,

The timer should indeed be stopping if your son is signing out from his account before he turns off the Xbox. Turning off the Xbox before signing out could affect screen time limits. Also make sure your son's account isn't signed into any Xbox Live services
on PC since this can also count against the timer if you have one screen time schedule set that applies to the Xbox and Windows 10.

It's possible this only occurs when adding extended screen time after the initial time runs out. The extended time may not save over once the account signs out since it was time extended past what you have set on the parent account. I'm not sure if this
is the case but merely an assumption based on the situation.

Have you had any screen time errors or activity report errors when not adding extended time?

I recommend setting up the screen times again to re-save the settings and then go ahead and do a

hard reset and power cycle. Hold down the power button on the console for about 10 seconds until it shuts down and then remove the power cable from the Xbox and the power outlet for about 2-3 minutes. Then re-connect and
turn on the Xbox. This will clear some system cache and also reset the power supply unit in the console.

Let us know if the issue remains after troubleshooting the Xbox and screen time limits.

Jayfore

Yes, he was signed in and able to start up a game after I extended it.

Dragonlord Brad

Could be he did not completely sign out of hes account . .

Jayfore

It's possible this only occurs when adding extended screen time after the initial time runs out. The extended time may not save over once the account signs out since it was time extended past what you have set on the parent account. I'm not sure if this
is the case but merely an assumption based on the situation.

Have you had any screen time errors or activity report errors when not adding extended time?

I am not sure about this, and will need to test. A few more questions...

Does the timer reset at midnight (time on the Xbox) every day?
Is there a quick and easy way for my son (on his Xbox) to see how much time remains in his allotment (at any given time)?
Is there a way for me extend his time (other than editing the schedule/settings on the web site) before he actually gets the warning where he can have a parent extend it?

Screen Time Keeps Ticking Away Even Though User Is Signed Out