How do I stop my kid from locking when watching something on iPhone?

Question

Level 1

4 points

How do I stop my kid from locking when watching something on iPhone?

Hiya,

So my 6yr (severe ADHD) old is using my old phone (without sim card) to watch stuff and play some games every now and then, however last night he called our emergency services just to have a chat and I woke up to them coming for a visit to make sure everything is okay.

I've since put it on Assistive Access, however when he's watching something, the phone will automatically lock itself every now and then and it's getting really frustrating. Does anyone have any work arounds?

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: Please help! Assistive access & disable calling

iPhone 13, iOS 18

Posted on Jul 11, 2025 1:01 AM

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Answer 1

brbo

Level 8

37,753 points

Jul 14, 2025 7:12 PM in response to MiniPockets

Hi MiniPockets,

welcome to this Apple (user-to-user) Community!

Re: Please help! Assistive access & disable calling

Am no expert in this area, yet your request certainly deserves some response.

To side-step issues with an older iPhone:

It may be important to have the old iPhone using the newest compatible iOS version for that model

You can check if an update is available in Settings > General > Software updates

(If you choose to update the iOS: Please remember to back up iPhone first, to keep any data secure)

Seems there's quite a difference between

✽ using Assistive Access (various accessible features you can choose and limit)

and

✽ using "Guided Access" (restricts child to a single app you choose)

Eg: If you haven't seen and used it already:

You could check out this video below to see the best way to have Assistive Access set up for use:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73e7MHNxFcs

More info: See how to: Enter and exit Assistive Access on iPhone - Apple Support using a passcode

_____________________________________

If you want to try "Guided Access" instead, so your child has less opportunity to do other than intended:

See how to: Use Guided Access with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch - Apple Support

or

There's a video for how to set that up too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_O0iq4WwMs

Hope this helps you :-)

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