Technical Level : Basic
Summary
Here are the most common issues you might encounter with family safety features on Windows 10, and how to resolve them.
Details
Here are the most common issues you might encounter with family safety features on Windows 10, and how to resolve them.
New! Check out our support website: https://support.microsoft.com/family-safety
Also, have you tried our new Family Safety app? It works on parents' and kids' devices.
iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/microsoft-family-safety/id1489209093
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.microsoft.familysafety
Setting up your Microsoft devices for your family
Set up your family accounts online ahead of time: account.microsoft.com/family
This will allow you to manage and review what they can do online and on their Microsoft devices.
You can create one "kids" profile to share between young kids, but as they get older they'll start to want their own space, so you'll have to think about what age is best to give them their own profile.
For kids who are too young for email, see the section below about disabling access to email.
Windows 10 PC's and Tablets
Set up new devices using your parent account. Then, use the "Family and other users" control panel to add your kids to the device. This way, you will have access to manage the device, and they can use it safely.
Do not save your parent password under the kid's user profile, including in the Store app. If you save your password under their user profile, they will be able to use it to make purchases, override the limits you have set, and access your personal data on other Microsoft sites and services. To share an app that you have already purchased, you can sign in to the device with your own Microsoft account, and install the app or game under your own user profile. This will allow other users on the device to install the same app or game without buying it again.
Make sure your kids' accounts are Standard Users, not Administrators. Administrators can bypass all limits and manage other users on the device.
Make sure User Account Control is enabled and set to the default.
Xbox One
If you set up time limits for your kids, then they might be able to get around them by signing in as other family members. Make sure each user signs in with a PIN.
When your kid's time is up, and they are signed out, they will still be able to access certain apps and games. Use the "Signed-out content restrictions" feature to limit what they can do when nobody is signed in.
The Xbox One allows multiple profiles to be signed in at once. This means:
Time Limits: Any time a child is signed in, their screen timer is counting down, even if a game is paused or they are not actively participating while someone else plays. They will probably want to disable Kinect face signin, and be sure to sign out when they’re done to save their screen time!
Age Limits: If the whole family is signed in, the youngest child’s age restrictions will take effect for games and media apps like Netflix. A parent can bypass the limit, or just sign out the youngest child.
Activity Reporting: Any time a child is signed in, even if they are not actively participating, the games or apps that are being used will show up on their activity report.
Some experiences on the device, like recent apps and games, are shared for everyone.
How can I find out what's new with Microsoft family features?
Follow @MSFTFamilyGeek on Twitter!
First things to try when things aren't working
Fix common child account issues: Have your child go to https://aka.ms/familyverify on their device to fix common account issues.
Windows Update: We periodically release fixes via Windows Update. Make sure you're up-to-date on your Windows updates.
The latest features are available in Windows 10 version 1903, with the latest Windows Updates. This includes major improvements for app time limits and activity reporting. Make sure you have the latest feature update.
Rebooting: Sometimes things just get stuck. Try rebooting the device (yes, it really does help!). Go to Start > Power > Restart to get a full device restart. (On many newer PC's, the "Shutdown" option just hibernates your PC, which is not enough to reset the device.)
Common issues with activity reporting
I can't see recent usage data from my child's device.
Note: Some home network devices may have privacy settings that try to block Windows from sending data to Microsoft. These may prevent activity report data from being uploaded correctly. Try turning off these modes for a few minutes while your kids' devices are active to see if data shows up on your activity report.
One device that is known to break activity reporting is the PiHole.
If you are an advanced user who is confident managing advanced network settings, refer to the full list of requirements here.
On Windows 10 versions before version 1803 (the April 2018 update), sending optional data to Microsoft may make activity reporting work better in some cases. On the device, go to Settings > Privacy > Feedback & diagnostics, and make sure the level is set to Enhanced or Full. If it's set to Basic, some child activity may not be reported properly.
My activity report emails are coming in a language I don't understand.
Go to account.microsoft.com, under Your Info, choose to change your display language.
I can't see recent usage data from any of my child's devices.
Starting in 2019, kids who are 13* or older have the ability to "opt out" of sharing usage data with adults in their family. Check their Activity Reporting settings at account.microsoft.com/family. If it has been turned off, then your child has opted out, and you will need to regain their consent before you can turn it back on.
*Age 13 in the United States, South Korea, and the EU. The age may be different in other countries based on local regulations.
We give users this option in order to comply with digital privacy regulations, and in line with our company's strong internal controls on how we handle and share personal data. We seek to provide tools for parents to help keep their kids safe online, and foster important conversations about healthy interactions with technology. We understand that this may be a frustrating change for many of our users. Please share any thoughts, comments, and suggestions via the Feedback link on the bottom of the page account.microsoft.com/family.
The Search History shown in my child's activity report is not complete.
This is expected. Most searches happen over AJAX and will not show up in the activity report.
Common issues with device restrictions
Settings don't take effect when I update them on the website.
My child clicked "Send a request" but I don't see any requests.
Device activity is blank, or some activity is missing.
Periodically, your child's Microsoft account may expire on their device. When this happens, activity is not sent from the device, "send a request" will fail, and settings changes you make on the website will not take effect on the device until the account is verified.
To verify their account, have your child sign in to their device, go to https://aka.ms/familyverify, and follow the prompts to verify the account. You may need to wait up to a day (but usually only a few hours) before their activity will show up on the website again.
Common issues with time limits
I don't think time limits is working, because the time in the device usage report does not match what I observe in real life.
Time limits are enforced based on when they are signed in (even idle time), but idle time is not counted in the device usage report. For example, if your child's allowance is 2 hours, and they sign in and don't do anything, the child would be locked out after 2 hours, but the device usage report may show as little as 1 minute of usage.
Verify that the time zone on your parent Microsoft Account is set correctly. If your time zone is set incorrectly, then device usage may show up under a different day in your Activity Report. Go to account.microsoft.com, under Your Info, Edit country/region, and ensure your time zone is set correctly.
Clicking "My parent is here" gives an error code.
Make sure that User Account Control is set to the default (highest) level. Always notify me, and ask for my password on the Secure Desktop.
Make sure the child's account is not an Administrator on the device.
Uninstall any third-party security software that may be interfering with the time limits software.
Time limits just don't seem to be working at all.
We continue to address any reliability issues we find in each new version of Windows 10. Please update to the latest version and consider using a Windows Insider build so that you can send us feedback via Feedback Hub when things aren't working, and we can get the right data to fix the issues in an update.
My child is able to get around time limits by using Battery Saver.
Time limits and other settings are still working, even when Battery Saver is enabled. However, changes you make on the website might not sync down to the device until it is plugged in again.
Learn more about when this happens and how to restrict the use of Battery Saver on your devices.
Issues when setting up or upgrading your device
Family safety settings stopped working after I upgraded to Windows 10.
Manual action is required to re-set up family safety features after upgrading to Windows 10. Learn more.
There's a way to migrate your settings: After you upgrade to Windows 10, your child's old account should show up with red text underneath it on the family management website. You can click that red text to migrate their old safety settings onto their new Microsoft account.
I want to enable parental controls, but without giving my child access to email.
Because Microsoft Family lets you monitor and control your child's online service usage and spending, you do need to create an online account in order to use these controls in Windows 10. But that doesn't mean you need to give your child access to email.
The simplest solution is not to give your child the password for the Microsoft account, but set up a PIN or Picture Password to sign in to their device.
You can block the Mail app, and block mail.live.com.
Where to go next
I tried everything above, but it's still not working.
On Windows, file an item in the Feedback Hub.
On Xbox, download the Insider Hub app and use the Report a Problem feature to send a detailed problem report for us to investigate.
Go to account.microsoft.com/family and click the Feedback link on the bottom.