FamilyShield

Device setup
No connection to the FamilyShield server. Figures shown may be out of date.

Sign in

Enter the parent password for this server. It is stored on this device only, so you will not be asked again here.

1. Name the device
2. Set up the device
3. Get it ready
4. Choose a level
5. Finished

Whose device is this?

Nothing is restricted yet. You will choose how strict to be after the device is set up and working.

These are placed inside the setup code so the device can connect on its own. Anyone who photographs the code can read them, so leave them empty if you intend to print it.

Set up the device

Follow these on the child's device. About eight minutes, most of it the device restarting on its own.

Setup code
Waiting for the device to appear.
  1. Copy anything you want to keep onto a computer

    Setup erases the device. Copy photographs and files to a computer now. A cloud backup is not enough on its own, and you should not rely on being able to restore one.

  2. Reset the device

    Settings, then System, then Reset options, then Erase all data. If the device is new or already reset, skip to the next step.

  3. At the first welcome screen, tap six times

    Tap an empty part of the screen six times in the same place. A camera opens to read a setup code. Do not sign in to an account before doing this.

  4. Point the camera at the code on the left

    The device connects, installs FamilyShield and restarts. Leave it plugged in and wait.

  5. Wait for the confirmation below the code

    The device arrives completely open, with nothing blocked. That is intended.

Get the device ready

Nothing is blocked at the moment. Do everything that needs an open device now, before choosing a level.

Backup and restore has been switched back on for you. Android normally turns it off on a managed device. FamilyShield turns it back on, so "restore from backup" should work on this device during setup.
  1. Sign in to the child's account

    Google or Samsung, whichever the family uses. Do this first, because later levels stop accounts being added.

  2. Restore the backup, if you have one

    If the prompt has already gone, Settings then Google then Backup. Photographs may take a while to come down.

  3. Install every application the child needs

    School applications, messaging, whatever they genuinely use. This matters: at the middle levels and above, installing is blocked, and adding one later means briefly lowering the level.

  4. Sign in to those applications

    Get each one to the point where it works without further setup.

  5. Hand the device over and check it works

    Let the child use it normally for a few minutes. Fixing something now is easy; fixing it after locking is not.

Choose a level

These run from open to closed. You can change level at any time afterwards, and moving down releases what the stricter level added.

Setup complete

This is now in force on the device and cannot be removed from the device itself.

Devices

Changing the level here takes effect on the device within about fifteen minutes, or immediately if you open FamilyShield on the device itself.

Android updates. Holding an update means it waits for you rather than installing overnight. Android allows this for 30 days per update, after which it installs anyway, and some makers install security patches regardless. Whichever you choose, if the device does update, FamilyShield puts every setting back on its own when the device restarts — you do not need to open anything.