As we all know, the time we spend staring at a device screen can often get away from us, whether it’s a phone, a tablet, or a computer. Before you know it, you could spend two hours scrolling through social media, when it only seems like 5 minutes have gone by. Fortunately, there are various apps designed to help you limit your screen time. If you have an iPad, there are two built-in apps that can help you: Screen Time and the Clock app.
In this article, we’ll show you how to set a timer to turn off your iPad, along with some other useful tips for keeping your screen time to a minimum.
How to Set a Timer to Turn Off the iPad
It’s not a secret how addictive our phones and tablets can be. According to a BBC News article, the average person spends 4.8 hours on their mobile phone every day. Another site states that a person spends 2 hours and 24 minutes, on average, on social media alone. Even though tablets and iPads are used less frequently than phones, a lot of people prefer these devices due to their enlarged screens. Not to mention that tablets are a better option for watching series and movies.
People have become so addicted to their electronic devices that numerous apps were designed to help you stay away from them. Whether you need to focus on your studies, make sure your children are not online, or if you simply want to minimize your screen time, there are various apps that can help you achieve your goal.
How to Set a Timer to Turn Off an iPad with Screen Time
If you have an iPad, you already have one great app at your disposal, and that’s Screen Time.
Screen Time is an app that’s already installed on all iPhones and iPads, located within your device’s Settings. It basically measures how much time you spend on your device. Every time your screen lights up, Screen Time records it. With this pre-installed app, you can get notifications and weekly reports about how much time you’ve spent on your iPad. These reports offer all kinds of details about your activity, including how much time you spend on certain apps, how many times you turned the device on, and the total screen time on a daily and weekly basis.
Users who start paying attention to their Screen Time reports are often surprised by the amount of time they spend on their electronic devices, which is the whole point of this app. One of the best things about Screen Time is that it lets you set daily limits, helping you manage your time better.
Apart from measuring the time you spend on your iPhone or iPad, Screen Time can also be used to set a timer to turn your device off. The feature we’re interested in is called Downtime, and it’s used to schedule a specified amount of time away from the screen.
If you enable Downtime, people will still be able to contact you through a phone call. Otherwise, you won’t be available. Think of Downtime as a less strict version of the Do Not Disturb feature. If you’re thinking of enabling Downtime, but you’re worried about missing important emails or messages, don’t fret. You also have the option to allow certain apps to send you notifications.
This app is also a great solution if the entire family uses one iPad. You can make sure your children don’t spend too much time on the iPad without having to physically take it away from them. You also have the option to block inappropriate content and limit time spent on certain apps.
Before setting a timer, you need to make sure both Screen Time and Downtime are enabled on your iPad. Here’s what you need to do next:
- Go to “Settings” on your iPad’s home page.
- Find “Screen Time” on the menu.
- Tap on the “Downtime” tab under your daily activity diagram.
- Turn on “Downtime” if it isn’t already.
- Choose between “Every Day” and “Customize Days.”
- Select when your iPad will be turned off (for example, from 11 p.m. to 8 a.m.).
This way, you can schedule your time away from the screen. It’s a much better option than turning your iPad on and off manually every day. If you don’t want to use Downtime anymore, you can simply disable this feature anytime you want.
When you go to the Screen Time app in your iPad’s settings, you will see that it says “On until tomorrow” under the Downtime tab. Once you schedule the exact time you want Downtime to control your screen time, this shortcut will help you enable this feature faster.
Along with Downtime, Screen Time comes with another useful feature called App Limits. It works the same as Downtime, but it only applies to apps installed on your iPad. If you want to set a timer to turn off your iPad so your children wouldn’t use it, you can also set a Screen Time passcode. If your children are clever and resourceful, they might try to go around the Downtime feature, which is why this passcode is so handy.
How to Set a Timer to Turn Off iPad with the Clock App
While Screen Time is a great app, it may not be exactly what you had in mind. If you’re looking for an app that will turn off your iPad and stop music or videos that might be playing in the background, you can do this with the Clock app. Just like Screen Time, the Clock app is also pre-installed on iPhones and iPads, so you won’t be required to visit the App Store.
To do this, we will be using a feature called Stop Playing. It allows you to set a timer that will automatically turn off whatever is playing in the background. It’s ideal for those who like to fall asleep listening to music or watch a calming nature documentary in hopes of drifting off to sleep. What’s also great about this feature is that you can set the exact amount of time it takes for that video to finish.
This is how you can use the Clock app to set a timer to turn off your iPad:
- Open the Clock app on your iPad.
- Tap on the “Timer” icon in the bottom-right corner of the screen.
- Set the exact time when you want the timer to end.
- Go to the “When Timer Ends” option below.
- Scroll down to “Stop Playing.”
- Select the “Set” option in the upper-right corner of the screen.
- Tap on the “Start” circle below the timer.
That’s all there is to it. This is a quick solution, and it prevents you from having to manually turn off the music, series, or movie that you have been watching. Not to mention that your iPad will automatically lock when the background music or video stops playing, allowing you to sleep peacefully.
Have More Control of Your Time
In most cases, putting our phone or tablet down isn’t easy, especially if we like spending a lot of time on them scrolling through social media and watching videos. With Screen Time, you will be able to monitor how much time you spend on your iPad and schedule your device to turn off at a certain time of the day. With the Clock app, you’ll be able to turn off your iPad automatically without having to worry about background music playing throughout the night.
Have you ever set a timer to turn off your iPad before? Did you use the Downtime feature, the Clock app, or some other app? Let us know in the comments section below.
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