Placing time restriction on iphone usage

Poppy1234

Hi, I was hoping this might be a good place to get some advice! Is there any way to get a time restriction placed on an iphone? Say for example, have usage restricted to the hours of 7am to 10pm? I've heard that this can be done in America but can't seem to find any way of doing it here...

January

How about just removing the iPhone from their possession for those hours and keeping it safe yourself?

Poppy1234

Thanks for replying, that's absolutely something that I can do at the weekend but he's away in school during the week so I have no control over it. He has to have the phone with him for safety etc when he's away but he comes home on Fridays with black circles under his eyes from being on the phone during the night. I have Qustodio installed so that I can track his internet activity (maybe a little over protective but it scares me how much is available to kids nowadays on the internet). I just wondered if there was a technical answer to this? Any help / advice would be much appreciated

paulheu

Frankly speaking, if you are so concerned why did you provide for the phone in the first place. If you want to be able to reach your kid and/or want him to be able to reach you get them a cheap dumb phone which they can use to call/be called with and nothing else.

What you are doing is giving the mouse a lump of cheese and telling not to eat it. It's not going to work.

January

paulheu wrote: »

Frankly speaking, if you are so concerned why did you provide for the phone in the first place. If you want to be able to reach your kid and/or want him/here to be able to reach you get them a cheap dumb phone which they can use to call/be called with and nothing else.

What you are doing is giving the mouse a lump of cheese and telling not to eat it. It's not going to work.

This, if you physically have no control over it during the week then I'd give him a basic phone that does not allow him on the internet at all.

January

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/parental-timelock-time-limit/id689577280?mt=8

There is this, but if your son is in anyway tech savvy there are ways around it.

Poppy1234

Dear Moderator

Many thanks for your reply, I'll take a look at this now. (It amuses me how people spout opinions like weeks on these forums without actually answering the question! Your advice is most welcome)

Owenw

It can be done but is a little technical if you never dealt with IP addresses before.


1. Borrow the iphone and set a static IP address in the wifi settings.
If the phone is connected using DHCP, look at the existing number under DHCP and use that. Write down the old Subnet, Router and DNS numbers.
If a Static address is already setup, just take a note of the IP address and dont change anything.

2. Install the app above as a diversion. Teen might remove app but might not notice change to wifi settings.

3. Write down this IP address.


Restricted access can be setup on most broadband routers. This can be applied to one or several devices so they are blocked during certain hours.

Google search for "scheduled access on eircom router" (or whatever the make and model of router you have).
With a little variation most routers should follow the following basic steps:

1. Add the static IP address to the reserved address list.

2. Setup a schedule in the security or firewall settings to block access during certain hours

3. Apply schedule to the IP address you added in the reserved list.

Important: Make sure you change the default router password (which is printed on the base usually) but make a note in case you forget it !

Remember kids are devious and with enough determination will evade these measures.

Poppy1234

That's fantastic!!! Thank you!!!

RedXIV

The above will only work if you control the wifi he's connecting to. otherwise you need to lock down the device itself.

If he's at a boarding school for example, you can't do the above.

You could try something here instead?
http://www.howtogeek.com/177366/how-to-lock-down-your-ipad-or-iphone-for-kids/

Moonbeam

Owenw wrote: »

It can be done but is a little technical if you never dealt with IP addresses before.


1. Borrow the iphone and set a static IP address in the wifi settings.
If the phone is connected using DHCP, look at the existing number under DHCP and use that. Write down the old Subnet, Router and DNS numbers.
If a Static address is already setup, just take a note of the IP address and dont change anything.

2. Install the app above as a diversion. Teen might remove app but might not notice change to wifi settings.

3. Write down this IP address.


Restricted access can be setup on most broadband routers. This can be applied to one or several devices so they are blocked during certain hours.

Google search for "scheduled access on eircom router" (or whatever the make and model of router you have).
With a little variation most routers should follow the following basic steps:

1. Add the static IP address to the reserved address list.

2. Setup a schedule in the security or firewall settings to block access during certain hours

3. Apply schedule to the IP address you added in the reserved list.

Important: Make sure you change the default router password (which is printed on the base usually) but make a note in case you forget it !

Remember kids are devious and with enough determination will evade these measures.

I presume that it is 3G that he is using during the week.

Owenw

No, I hadn't considered if he's using 3G, nor the school providing students with wifi access.

Is it possible to bypass the restrictions without running a complete iPhone restore?

Glinda

I have an old Nokia 'brick' phone which I use as a threat. I suggest having a chat with your son and telling him that if you find he has been using the iPhone between 10pm and 7am you will take it away and replace with a brick. (I presume you have already tried firmly telling him not to use the phone at night and he is ignoring you, so you now need some concrete reason for him to comply).

Althougth it can be uncomfortable, it is better to deal directly with issues rather than seeking a hands-off, technological solution - even if it is uncomfortable, the lesson that needs to be learned here is very important (i.e. manage your time on the internet or your life will start to fall apart!).

Of course you may already have done all this and be at your wits end OP - I suppose my advice would apply more where a person is trying to seek a tech solution in order to avoid a confrontation. This is easier in the short term, but much less effective in terms of life learning for a child!

riffmongous

Can you maybe get him a SIM card with a limited contract or one where you pay for the usage per MB instead of flat rate unlimited? And make sure he pays for it. If it's the internet he's on till all hours only of course and not playing games or whatever