Articles on: Troubleshooting

Detox isn't blocking my apps. How do I fix it?

Start with the fix that resolves most cases: open Detox → Settings → Problems with blocks? → Apps not blocked? and tap Reset your blocks. If your apps still aren't blocking after that, the cause is one of a few specific situations, and the 2-minute self-check below points you to the right one.

If you meant something else: apps stay blocked after the schedule ended → see Why are my apps still blocked after the schedule ended?. A specific app is blocked that you didn't mean to block → see Detox is blocking an app I didn't mean to block. How do I fix it?. You need to unblock right now → see What is Urgent Unblock?. Some Home Screen icons look blank or white → see Why are some of my app icons blank or white?.

Why did all my blocks suddenly stop working?

If blocking stopped for everything at once, and it used to work, rule out a lapsed subscription before anything else. Detox can only block your apps while your subscription (or free trial) is active. If it expired, was cancelled, or was refunded, every block silently stops and the apps you had blocked simply open again.

Check in App Store → tap your profile icon (top right) → Subscriptions → Detox and confirm it's active. If it isn't, that's why blocking stopped, and renewing it restores your blocks. If your subscription is active, run the self-check below.

Start here: a 2-minute self-check

Run these four checks. Your combination of answers points to one of the situations below.

Screen-time data. On your Home page, is today's screen time showing and going up as you use your phone?
The Block Now test. Start a Block Now for a few minutes (Blocks tab → Block Now). When Detox asks Which apps?, pick the group that contains the app you're worried about (or pick Just these apps and add that app). A Block Now only blocks the apps in the group you choose, so the test only means something if the app is in that group. Then check: do all the apps in that group get blocked, or does one (or a few) still open?
The app that slips through. For any app that still opens, is its usage still being tracked (you can see time on it in your screen-time data)?
Which block did you expect? Auto Block (the automatic "too much continuous use" block, always tied to your initial group) or a Scheduled Block (a time window you set, on whichever group you assigned it)?

Find your situation

Situation 1: Even a Block Now blocks nothing (or no screen-time data shows)

If a Block Now doesn't block a single app in the group you chose, or your Home page shows no screen-time data at all, the issue is the Screen Time connection between iOS and Detox. That connection is the foundation every block relies on, so fix this first. Use the in-app guide:

Detox → Settings → Problems with blocks? → Apps not blocked?

On Step 1, tap Reset your blocks and wait for The blocking has been correctly refreshed. This resolves most cases on its own.
If it keeps coming back, tap Reconnect Screen Time (Step 3). iOS prompts you to Continue, then Allow. Accept both, and wait for Screen Time reconnected successfully.
Still nothing? Reboot your iPhone (the guide has a Learn how to reboot button for your iOS version). A reboot clears system-level Screen Time issues Detox can't reach from inside the app.

One cause that's easy to miss: if Screen Time access for Detox is turned off in iOS Settings (or revoked after an iOS update), Detox can't block your apps until you turn it back on. If you haven't opened Detox in a while, blocks can also stop updating in the background. Detox will send you a Reload reminder notification for exactly this. Opening the app refreshes them.

Also check that no other screen-time or focus app (Apple's built-in Screen Time limits, Opal, ScreenZen, etc.) has rules that conflict with Detox's. Two apps both managing Screen Time can produce unexpected results.

Situation 2: Most apps block, but one (or a few) won't, and their usage is still tracked

If the rest of the group blocks correctly during a Block Now and only one app keeps slipping through, even though its screen time is clearly still being tracked, that app's Screen Time registration on Apple's side has got stuck. This is a rare Apple-side glitch tied to that one app, not a Detox setting. The fix is to re-pair Detox with Screen Time from scratch, which clears the stuck registration:

In Detox, open Settings → Monitored Apps. This opens your list of groups. Open the group that contains the stuck app, tap Modify, deselect all its apps, and save.
On your iPhone, go to Settings → Screen Time, scroll to the bottom, and turn off Share Across Devices if it's on.
Still in Settings → Screen Time, turn off Detox's access to Screen Time. On recent iOS this toggle is App & Website Activity, at the very bottom. (This momentarily turns Screen Time off; you'll switch it back on in a moment.)
Restart your iPhone.
Go back to Settings → Screen Time and turn that access back on.
Reopen Detox, re-authorize Screen Time access if it asks, then re-open that same group, re-select its apps (including the one that wouldn't block), and save.
Start a Block Now on that group to confirm the app now blocks.

It takes a few minutes, but re-pairing the Screen Time connection is what resets the stuck app; reinstalling the app on its own doesn't. Your groups, blocks, and settings stay intact.

Situation 3: Block Now and your schedules work, but Auto Block never seems to kick in

If a Block Now blocks everything and your Scheduled Blocks fire, but Auto Block doesn't seem to, the cause is usually how Auto Block triggers, not a fault:

It fires only after continuous use past your limit (5 minutes by default). Short bursts with pauses in between don't add up, and the counter resets the moment you switch away. There is no daily-total limit.
It watches only your initial group. Auto Block is tied to your initial group, so it acts on the apps in that group, not apps that live only in other groups. To change what Auto Block watches, edit your initial group's apps (Settings → Monitored Apps, open your initial group, Modify).
It's suspended only while its own group is actively blocked. If a Scheduled Block or a Block Now is blocking your initial group's apps, Auto Block has nothing to do and stands down. A block on a different group does not suspend it.
It leans on your device clock. If you changed your time manually, or your time zone shifted while traveling, Auto Block can stall until real time catches up. Fix it in iPhone Settings → General → Date & Time → Set Automatically.

If none of those explain it, run Reset your blocks and Reconnect Screen Time from Situation 1.

Situation 4: When you actually test it, everything blocks

If a Block Now blocks every app in the group you picked and your schedules fire on time, then blocking is working, and what looked broken is probably just when each block applies, or which group it covers:

Auto Block waits for continuous use past your threshold, and only on your initial group. It won't block the instant you open an app, by design.
A Scheduled Block only blocks the group you assigned it, and only inside the days and time window you set. An app that lives in a different group won't be touched by that schedule.

See What is Auto Block?, What are Scheduled Blocks?, and What are App Groups? for exactly when each one steps in and which apps each block covers.

Still stuck?

Open Detox → Settings → Problems with blocks? → Something else. This opens our chat. Tell us: the symptom you're seeing, which block type is affected (Auto Block, Scheduled, or Block Now), which group it uses, which situation above fit, and what you've already tried. We'll look into it.

Updated on: 24/07/2026

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