Pause internet
Pause your child's Windows PC (Screen time)
Use Microsoft Family Safety to set screen-time limits and bedtime.
📌 Your phone (Family Safety app), with your child already linked.
Do this, in order
- 1
On your phone, open Microsoft Family Safety
Tap your child.
- 2
Tap Screen time
Toggle "Use one schedule for all devices" ON, or set Windows separately.
- 3
Tap each day of the week and set hours
Example: weekdays 4 PM to 8 PM only. The PC will lock outside those hours.
- 4
Tap Block device to pause instantly
Their account is signed out until you unblock it.
Now let's make sure it actually works
We don't tell you setup is complete until you've tested it with your own eyes.
1. Open a normal website
On the device you just set up, open a regular site like google.com or your local news. It should load normally.
2. Try a blocked test website
Now open this safe test URL — it's a harmless page that adult-content filters block. If your blocker is working, the page will NOT load (you'll see an error or a block screen).
Open test page →
Both tests didn't pass — what to try
Restart the device's Wi-Fi (off then on). On a phone, turn cellular data off so it has to use Wi-Fi. Then try the test again.
Both tests must pass before we mark this complete.
Honest limits — what this won't catch
No parental control catches everything. Here's what slips through, and what to do about it:
- If your child has a cellular data plan, blocks on your home Wi-Fi don't apply when they're not at home.
- If your child turns their phone into a hotspot, other devices using it skip your Wi-Fi filters.
- On a friend's Wi-Fi, your home filter does nothing.
- A VPN can hide their traffic from filters that only check websites by name.
- Installing a second browser can bypass a single-browser extension.