How to use Downtime on iPhone for sleep, including the iOS 27 changes

Downtime on iPhone is a Screen Time feature that blocks apps and notifications for set periods, such as dinner or bedtime. During downtime, only calls, messages and the apps you choose to allow are available.¹

It is one of the most useful sleep tools already on your phone. It also has a catch that trips up a lot of people, and in iOS 27 Apple changed how it is described. Both are covered below.

What does Downtime on iPhone do?

Apple Screen Time downtime is a timetable for your apps. You pick the hours, and outside your allowed list, apps become unavailable. Apple sends a reminder five minutes before scheduled downtime begins.¹

Here is the catch. When Block at Downtime is off, you see a reminder that it is downtime, but you can choose to keep using the app. When it is on, restricted apps cannot be opened and appear dimmed with an hourglass icon.¹ Apple says the choice to fully block apps during downtime comes once you set a Screen Time passcode.¹

How to schedule Downtime on iOS 26 and earlier

These steps follow Apple's iOS 26 guide.¹

1. Open the Settings app and tap Screen Time.
2. Tap App & Website Activity, then turn it on if you have not already.
3. Tap Downtime. Tap Turn On Downtime Until Tomorrow for a one night test, or tap Scheduled to plan it in advance.
4. Choose Every Day or Customize Days, then set the start and end times. Customize Days lets weekends differ.
5. Set a Screen Time passcode: in Screen Time, scroll down and tap Lock Screen Time Settings, then enter a four digit code twice.²
6. Go back to Downtime and turn on Block at Downtime.
7. Tap Always Allowed in Screen Time and keep the list short. These apps stay available during downtime.¹

Downtime in iOS 27: Screen Time Schedule

If your iPhone runs iOS 27, you will not find the old Downtime steps. Apple's iOS 27 guide instead describes a Screen Time Schedule, which manages which apps you can use at different times of day, and Time Allowances, which set how long you can use categories like Entertainment, Games and Social Media.³

To build a bedtime window on iOS 27, following Apple's guide:³

1. Go to Settings, tap Screen Time, tap Screen Time Schedule, then turn on Schedule.
2. Tap Add Schedule, tap the days you want, then confirm.
3. Tap a Time Window. Rename it (for example, Night), set the start and stop times, and choose which Time Allowance categories are available in it.
4. Tap Always Allowed to check the apps and contacts that stay available at all times.
5. Lock the settings: Settings, Screen Time, Manage Screen Time, then Lock Screen Time Settings.⁴

At the time of writing (September 2026), Apple's iOS 27 guide does not say whether you can skip past a time window. Test it on your own phone one evening before you rely on it.

What Downtime does not do

• It does not block by default. Without a passcode and Block at Downtime, it is a polite reminder.¹
• It does not stop the passcode holder. If you set the passcode, you can change it. Turning off App & Website Activity also turns off Downtime entirely.⁵
• It does not touch your Always Allowed apps. If a tempting app is on that list, it stays open all night.¹
• It does not track sleep or wake you. Sleep schedules and their wake up alarms are set in the Health app.⁶

Using Downtime for bedtime

For most of us, the phone comes to bed too. In a 2023 survey of 2,005 US adults for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, 87 percent said they regularly sleep with their phone in their bedroom.⁷ That makes a bedtime block worth setting.

Start the window before you plan to sleep, not at lights out. The AASM advises turning off electronic devices at least 30 minutes before bedtime,⁸ and the NHS suggests trying not to use phones, tablets or computers for an hour before bed.⁹ If you want to sleep at 11pm, a 10pm or 10.30pm start fits that advice.

Two small tweaks help. End downtime a little after your alarm, so you are not scrolling the moment you wake. And ask someone you trust to hold the passcode, because the 11pm version of you will want it. Our guide to why Screen Time limits are not working explains the passcode trap in more detail.

Downtime vs Sleep Focus: which should you use?

They do different jobs, and they work well together. Sleep Focus is part of Apple's sleep features: it can filter out notifications and phone calls, and signal to others that you are not available.¹⁰ You can schedule a wind down period from 15 minutes to 3 hours before bedtime, and Sleep Focus begins at the start of wind down.⁶

Apple lets you turn Sleep Focus off quickly from Control Center or the Lock Screen.¹⁰ Focus is built to help you concentrate by minimising distractions, for example by silencing notifications and switching to a Home Screen page you choose.¹¹ Silence helps, but the apps are still one tap away. Use Sleep Focus for quiet, and Downtime for the apps.

If the problem is less about notifications and more about opening the apps yourself, our tips on how to stop scrolling in bed go further.

Where SETL fits

SETL is an iPhone app blocker built bedtime first, on Apple's Screen Time framework. You set your bedtime once, your chosen apps are blocked automatically every night, and you can plan nights off in advance for things like weddings or night shifts. If Downtime keeps slipping, see how SETL Sleep, the bedtime app blocker, works.

This article is general information, not medical advice. Speak to your doctor about ongoing sleep, attention or mental health concerns.