Remove an existing Screen Time passcode

Hard Mode works by Fokyo setting the Screen Time passcode. iOS only lets one exist, so if you — or someone else — already set one, it has to come off before setup can continue. Your Screen Time data and limits are not deleted by this.

Turn the passcode off

1. 1Open Settings › Screen Time.
2. 2Tap Change Screen Time Passcode, then Turn Off Screen Time Passcode.
3. 3Enter the current passcode to confirm.
4. 4Go back to Fokyo and continue setup. It checks again by itself.

Apple moves these labels around between iOS versions. If yours reads differently, look for the passcode options near the bottom of the Screen Time screen.

If you do not know the current passcode

• If you added your Apple Account for recovery when that passcode was created, iOS shows Forgot Passcode? on the entry screen and lets you reset it with your Apple Account password.
• If the passcode was set by a parent or a Family Sharing organiser, it is theirs. Ask them; Fokyo cannot take over a passcode somebody else controls.
• Otherwise Apple’s own support pages describe the remaining options. Fokyo has no way around another Screen Time passcode.

Why Fokyo then asks you to skip recovery

When Fokyo dictates the new passcode, iOS will offer that same Apple Account recovery. Setup asks you to skip it. A passcode you can reset with a password you know is not a lock, and entering your Apple Account there would let you undo Hard Mode in seconds.