Why is Decide asking me to unlock it?
Short answer: Decide shows Unlock Decide when Apple answers that this Apple Account has no active plan: a subscription ended, the purchase was made with another Apple Account, or Apple hasn’t yet caught up with a purchase.
Common reasons
- A subscription ended. Cancelling only stops the next renewal, so Decide stays unlocked until the paid period ends; Decide learns that a plan has ended when you open it.
- This iPhone uses a different Apple Account from the one that bought Decide.
- You just bought or renewed, and Apple’s records haven’t caught up yet. This can take a minute; Decide checks again each time you open it.
- You reinstalled Decide: it usually unlocks by itself; if not, tap Restore Purchases.
What to do
- Open Settings and look at Plan. Checking… means Decide is still waiting for Apple.
- If you have a plan, tap Restore Purchases rather than buying again.
- If it still says Not unlocked, close Decide and open it again a little later.
What still works while Decide is locked
Your areas, apps and times are kept, and you can still change them. While Decide is locked it starts no protection: Home says “This time isn’t protected until Decide is unlocked.” Scheduled times start again once Decide is unlocked.
Decide learns that a plan has ended when you open it. Until then, times that were already scheduled may still start.
To remove anything still protected, open Decide and tap End protection, or use Stop all protection in Settings; neither needs a plan. If an app is still blocked afterwards, see “An app is still blocked, or End doesn’t respond”.
Still need help?
Write to us by email. It helps to say what happened, what you expected, and your iOS version. In Decide, Settings → Contact Us opens a message to the same address.