iOS 27 Parental Controls: What happened to “During Downtime” communication limits?

I’m hoping someone can tell me if I’m missing something in the new iOS 27 Parental Controls, because it appears an important part of the previous Screen Time system has been removed.

Prior to iOS 27, Communication Limits had separate settings for “During Screen Time” and “During Downtime.” I could set “During Downtime” to Specific Contacts. When scheduled Downtime began, my kids could only call, text, or FaceTime those specific contacts. Friends who weren’t on that list couldn’t contact them, and my kids couldn’t contact those friends. Apps that I had designated as Always Allowed remained available during Downtime, just as Always Allowed apps can still be designated in the new Screen Time settings. I actually like some of the flexibility of the new iOS 27 Screen Time Schedules, especially being able to create multiple schedules throughout the day and control which apps are available during different time periods.

The problem is that the new schedules do NOT activate the communication restriction. The old “During Downtime → Specific Contacts” setting has been replaced with “When Device Paused or Unavailable → Always Allowed,” but being outside a scheduled time window does not appear to trigger it. Even when ALL apps are unavailable under the schedule, contacts who are NOT in Always Allowed can still call, text, and FaceTime my kids, and my kids can still communicate with them.

I want my 11-year-old’s communication with friends to stop at 9 PM and resume at 7:30 AM. I still want her to have her phone in her room so she can contact us if she needs us, especially in an emergency, or communicate with other family members we have specifically allowed during those hours. I also want her to be able to use apps I’ve designated as Always Allowed, such as Music. I simply don’t want friends calling, texting, or FaceTiming her late at night or early in the morning when she needs to sleep.

The ONLY way I have found to actually activate the Always Allowed contact restriction is to manually select Pause Device. As soon as I do that, the communication restriction works exactly as expected. However, Pause Device also blocks apps I intentionally want them to be able to use, including apps designated as Always Allowed, and I cannot schedule Pause Device for specific hours, such as 9 PM–7:30 AM.

I spent quite a bit of time working through this with an AppleCare advisor, including testing different settings, and we could not find a way to recreate the previous iOS 26 “During Downtime → Specific Contacts” behavior. I have submitted this issue to Apple through Support and have also filed a report through Feedback Assistant from my device running the iOS 27 beta.

I really can’t believe Apple would intentionally remove this restriction. Being able to control WHO my kids can communicate with during certain hours is completely separate from controlling WHICH apps they can use. Prior to iOS 27, Screen Time allowed me to do both.

Has anyone found a way to recreate the old “During Downtime → Specific Contacts” behavior in iOS 27? Is there a setting I’m overlooking, or has this functionality actually been removed?

Hello @KTBaby,

Thank you kindly for carefully documenting your efforts and experience so we can all benefit from what you have been learning. It is early days with the newer parental controls, and many of us are still getting to grips with them.

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If you haven't seen it already: Apple provides a new guide for parents:

"Everything you need to know about parental controls and setting up your child’s iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Watch".

Apple Devices for Kids and Families.

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However: "To use all the features described in this guide, you need version 27 or later of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, or visionOS"

The "Table of Contents" provides a good overview of just what is included:

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One of the articles in the guide is devoted to Screen Time schedules for app use etc:

Set up Screen Time Schedules and Time Allowances on your kid’s device

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Another article explains:

You can choose contacts and apps that are Always Allowed, so your child can reach you and use important apps no matter which Screen Time Schedules and Time Allowances you’ve set.

See: Choose apps and people to always allow on your child’s device.

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Also:

"You can choose who your child can communicate with using Phone, Messages, or FaceTime, and set those limits to apply all the time or only during certain hours. You can also manage the contacts on their device from your own, and have your child ask you before connecting with someone new."

See: Choose who your child can communicate with on their device

iOS 27 Parental Controls: What happened to “During Downtime” communication limits?

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