Gambit Lock

Support

Answers about how Gambit Lock works today, and how to reach a person.

Why a notification is needed

iOS doesn’t let a locked app’s lock screen open another app, so Gambit Lock uses a notification to get you from one to the other:

  1. You open a locked app and iOS shows the lock screen.
  2. You tap Solve puzzle. Gambit Lock sends a notification from your iPhone.
  3. You tap the notification and your puzzle is waiting.

Didn’t see it? The lock screen’s button changes to Send it again. If notifications are off, Home shows a warning with Turn on notifications. A Focus mode can also hold notifications back.

You can always skip the notification: open Gambit Lock and tap Solve to unlock on Home.

Besides the puzzle notification, the app sends one other: if you’re on the yearly free trial and notifications are allowed, a reminder 2 days before the trial ends.

Turning the lock off

On Home, turn off the Protection switch and choose Solve a puzzle. Solving it turns protection off, and your apps stay open until you turn it back on. Turning it back on takes one tap.

It costs a puzzle on purpose, even while your apps are open. Otherwise the switch would be a free way around every later puzzle.

When your apps are open after a solve, Lock now on Home locks them again before the time runs out. Solving a practice puzzle while they’re open doesn’t add time.

You can also remove Gambit Lock’s Screen Time access in Settings › Screen Time. Without it, the app can’t lock anything.

Changing the difficulty

On Home, tap Puzzle difficulty and move the slider toward Easier or Harder. A sample puzzle shows that level. The sample doesn’t count: solving it changes nothing and opens no apps.

The number is your puzzle rating, and puzzles stay close to it. After that it keeps moving as you play: up after a clean solve, down after your first wrong move or hint on a puzzle.

Stuck on a puzzle

Tap Hint, or Skip this puzzle for a different one. The Hint button shows what it will cost in rating. A wrong move or hint costs rating only once per puzzle, and solving the puzzle still opens your apps.

How long apps stay open

You choose 5, 10 or 15 minutes during setup. To change it later, tap Unlock time on Home. A change applies from your next solve.

With Pro, When to lock on Home sets the hours the lock is on. Outside them your apps stay open, and inside them a puzzle opens them for your chosen time.

What the free plan locks

Free locks 1 app, all day. Categories, websites, more apps and lock schedules need Pro.

If you pick more than that, one app stays locked and Gambit Lock asks which one to keep. If you pick only categories or websites, you’ll need to choose one app. Tap Change locked apps on Home to pick differently.

Your full pick is saved on your iPhone and comes back with Pro. The same happens if Pro ends: 1 app stays locked, your first schedule stays, and the rest returns if you subscribe again.

Restoring purchases

On Home, tap Lock them all with Pro, then Restore at the bottom of the plans screen. Use the same Apple Account you bought with. The plans screen at the end of setup has the same button.

If you see “No Pro purchase found for this Apple ID”, check which account is signed in to the App Store. A purchase waiting for approval, such as through Ask to Buy, starts once it’s approved.

Cancelling a subscription

Subscriptions are billed and managed by Apple. Gambit Lock can’t cancel one for you, and deleting the app doesn’t cancel it.

Apple’s guide: cancel a subscription. If you’re on a free trial and don’t want it to renew, Apple says to cancel at least 24 hours before it ends.

Lifetime doesn’t end a subscription. Apple keeps them separate, so if you buy Lifetime while a plan or trial still renews, you need to cancel that plan too. Gambit Lock reminds you on Home and offers the shortcut.

Refunds are decided by Apple. You can request one from Apple.

Screen Time permission problems

Gambit Lock can’t lock anything without Screen Time access. If you see “Screen Time is off”, tap Allow Screen Time access and confirm when iOS asks.

If you said no earlier, try that button again, or allow it in Settings › Screen Time.

If iOS still won’t allow it, the decision is made outside the app. These are worth checking:

Removed access by accident? Gambit Lock shows the same screen when you open it, so you can allow it again.

Contact

Email support@gambitlock.com. Include your iOS version and what you expected to happen. Please don’t send payment details: Apple handles those, and we can’t see them.

How we treat your email is covered in the privacy policy.