Opal not working or not blocking apps? What to check

Why iPhone app blockers break in the same ways

Every app blocker on iPhone, Opal and The Doorpost included, works through the same permission: Apple's Screen Time access. The blocker never closes other apps itself. It asks iOS to shield the apps you chose, and iOS does the blocking. That is why the fixes below are the same whichever blocker you use, and why so many problems start with an iOS change rather than an app update.

For anything about an Opal account, subscription or a feature that is specific to Opal, contact Opal's own support. The checks here cover the part every blocker shares.

Check Screen Time and the blocker's access

Open Settings, then Screen Time, and make sure Screen Time is turned on. Turning Screen Time off removes every third-party block at once, and some people switch it off while tidying settings without realising what it controls.

Then check that the blocker still has Screen Time access. Settings lists the apps that have been given it; if the blocker is missing or switched off, open the blocker and grant access again. Access can be withdrawn by a restore from backup, a device transfer, or tapping the wrong button on an iOS prompt.

After an iOS update, reopen the blocker

The most common report is "it worked until the update." After a major iOS update, open the blocker once, let it load fully, and check that your blocked list is still there. If blocks still do not appear, restart the phone. If the list is empty, choose your apps again.

It is worth updating the blocker from the App Store too, since developers often ship fixes in the days after a new iOS version.

Re-select apps you deleted and reinstalled

iOS hands blockers an opaque token for each app you pick, not the app's name. If you delete an app and install it again, the old token can stop matching, and the reinstalled app walks straight past the block. Open the blocker's app picker and select that app again.

The same applies to websites and categories: if a site still opens, check that it is actually in the blocked list rather than a similar address.

Screen time numbers that look wrong

If a blocker's screen time report disagrees with Apple's own Screen Time figures, that is common and usually not a fault. Reports are built from activity data that iOS delivers on its own schedule, so they can lag, and a setting that shares Screen Time across devices can mix iPad or Mac usage into the totals. Compare the same day on the same device before assuming data is missing.

When it works but you get past it anyway

Sometimes the blocker is working perfectly and the problem is that you have learned your way round it: the snooze, the break, the "just five minutes" button. That is not a bug a setting can fix. It is a sign that a timer asks you to resist, and resistance wears out.

The Doorpost takes a different approach for the first part of the day. The apps you name stay closed until you open your own printed Bible and write out a verse; there is no timer to wait out and no snooze. It uses the same Screen Time permission, so the checks above apply to it too. It is free to download and free to use.