What happens when kids' devices are used offline?

When kids' devices lose connection to the internet (for example by going out of wifi range without a SIM/cellular service), the Screenable service still works – but there are a few things to know.

Will screen time rules still apply?

Yes, kids' devices will still have the same screen time rules as they did before going offline. This is true even if the device is offline for many days.

So for example, if your kid gets 60 minutes of daily screen use, even if they're offline, they'll still get the "time's almost up" warning and then the "you're out of time" reminders. Similarly, if overtime is disallowed, they will not be able to go over their time when their device is offline.

What will be limited?

While offline, there are a few things that cannot be accomplished:

1. Parents will not receive notifications when kids decide to start their screen time or go over time. That's because the device cannot talk to the internet at those moments.
2. Parents cannot update their kids' screen time settings.
   • The only potentially problematic situation is if you have disallowed overtime, because it means if your kid's device is offline they will not be able to go over time, and you will not be able to unblock them – e.g. by making a one-off change to today's limits – until their device is back online. Just something to be aware of.

What happens when the device comes back online?

When a kid's device regains internet connection, then the items above are restored, specifically:

1. Parents will immediately start receiving notifications again. These notifications will correctly identify how much total time the kid has used for the day, even when it was offline.
2. Any settings that were updated will be applied to their kid's device within about 5 minutes. (You can always force-sync it if you need it to apply faster.)