ms family account screen time limits not working

After several years using this feature, let me explain what I've observed.

The HOURS schedule of allowed Screen Time, do appear to work well, if your child isn't inside of a game.  However if they are when the time expires it rarely kicks them out.  If they start the PC outside of the schedule, it also works.

The SCREEN TIME LIMIT does NOT work well.  With a 3 hour limit, my kids regularly use much much more than that.  The issue is there is a Windows Service that is easily stopped which is used by the limits to kick them off.  So unless you set them up as a limited user, WHICH WON"T WORK FOR MOST SOFTWARE, they will have permissions to disable/stop the windows service.

Here is an example from the summary email this week.  My son is limited to 3 HOURS in an 8 HOUR PERIOD schedule.  But as you can see he is able to use much more, and the sad thing is, Microsoft knows he is exceeding the limit.  The only reason he has less than 3 hours fro Thu is because I went to the web console, and BLOCKED him.

My 12 yo son figured how to workaround both app limits and screen time limits in one week after I gave to him Windows PC. Before he had Apple iPad where Screen limits work OK (most of the time, sometimes they were not enforced right after update pushed by Apple is installed, but that's totally different system than Microsoft Family security for Windows).

This is what the kid does on Windows 10 1909 (up to date with all updates), to disable the app and screen time limits:

1. Screen time shows that time is out, PC is blocked with a button to request more time
2. Kid press the button to ask me for more time (he says to me he just needs 15 minutes more)
3. I approve more time by clicking the link in the email message I receive from Microsoft, for this example it is 15 minutes
4. Kid's PC starts to work again
5. Kid reboots the PC
6. App limits are GONE! He is now able to install Chrome (it does not require admin rights, kid does not have them, he is a standard user) and Chrome is working, so no any blocking of sites, weekly reporting will no longer register the sites he visits. Chrome, Discord, YouTube etc. apps and sites are blocked in app restrictions, but none of restrictions are enforced, all apps work OK and of course all sites via Chrome.
7. After 13 minutes message is shown that 2 minutes are left until time limit.
8. Kid press CLOSE button, and then closes ALL applications, then doing nothing on PC. He says most important is not to touch keyboard and not to do even single mouse move, so no touch of table where mouse is  to avoid its single movement - it shall be no any events on PC
9. Clock passes past the time limit and nothing happens (no blocking)
10. After 2 minutes pass after the limit time - no any messages, no blocking. Child can simply use PC again, now 24x7 without ANY time limits and no app limits.

I tested this myself today - fully works, just one reboot and then closing all apps and do nothing for 4 minutes after warning that 2 minutes left, makes kid account free of app restrictions and with no time limits.

Tested 2020/06/24, Windows 1909, completely up to date at the moment of testing.

UPDATE: system is easily fooled if kid changes time zone. Ok, I disabled ability to change time zones by non-administrators (via Local Security Policies). Next thing the kid found is he can fool the limits by entering BIOS before booting PC and changing the PC time from BIOS menu. Ok, I put the password on BIOS entry, so now the kid cannot use PC before allowed time comes or if I give some time limit to use the PC clicking the link in the email, that is being sent if the kid sends request for more time. But as soon as he gets the time, he does the procedure above and then time is not counted and there is no restriction. Of course Microsoft shall easily see it - just make a query how many cases are with Chrome disabled and still many hours of using Chrome in the weekly report. The setting is enabled to run only apps from the Store but that does not work too, Chrome is quickly installed the next time kid is allowed to use the PC.

I am writing this with the hope parental controls will be seriously fixed. There is some bug and the only quick way to fix it is to write all the steps how to reproduce it. That is the purpose of the instruction above - to replicate the problem and fix it.

The kid does not have administrative account, only general User account.

MICROSOFT - FIX THE PARENTAL CONTROLS, PLEASE! They are really needed to protect kids from burning their time and from getting to adult only information unrestricted.

This hasn't worked since Day 1, and I have been trying and looking for solutions since they launched it.  I fully appreciate the complexity of such a cross-platform solution (or think I do), but if it's so broken (boots users before time used, time available = o when no log ins have occurred on any device, "My parent is here" function completely broken, etc), but if it's so broken, REMOVE IT.  Otherwise, it's EXTREMELY frustrating to those of us who need or want the features promoted in the service.   

I guess the marketing dept. thinks that would be a PR disaster (maybe they're right).  Kind of a Sophie's choice - do you admit to your customers that you are incapable of making a content/time restriction function work by removing it, or do you leave it in, broken, and hope the frustration caused by a broken garbage function doesn't piss people off TOO much.    Obviously they chose the latter.

Either one of those options, or they just don't pay attention to it at all (quite possible).  It's not a priority, it's a HUGE time sink/technical problem, and there is very little reward from getting it to work.  They can still tout it in the marketing as a feature.

Hi Mik834,

You might want to check the suggested fix regarding Screen Time Limits.

You can follow this link:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-ph/help/402690...

If these suggestions help, feel free to leave feedback.

Thanks and regards,

This is not working. This feature is broken. Fresh install of freshly downloaded Windows 10 1909 and this is not working. I followed all the guides i could find and no luck.