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watchOS 7: Family Setup Features, Requirements, and Activation Steps

Apple launched a Family Setup feature designed to allow parents to set up Apple Watches for their kids alongside the launch of Apple Watch Series 6, Apple Watch SE, and the recent watchOS 7 software update, allowing an Apple Watch be used without an iPhone.

Although Family Setup is mainly targeted at families with kids, it is also useful for setting up an Apple Watch for an older adult or someone else who does not have an iPhone available, but wants to take advantage of the wearable wrist-worn Apple's fitness and health benefits.

This guide covers getting started with Family Setup and outlines the available Family Setup features.

Family Setup Requirements

The Family Setup is built to work with an Apple Watch Series 4 or later enabled GPS and Cellular running watchOS 7. It is not compatible with earlier versions of the Apple Watch or with models that do not have a cellular connexion.

For most carriers in the United States, cellular Apple Watch models include an accompanying cellular plan, which is normally priced at $10 per month. Note that while the Family Setup requires a cellular Apple Watch to set up a watch, it can be enabled without the use of a cellular plan.

The key individual setting up Family Setup must have an iPhone 6s or later updated with iOS 14, and all participants will need an Apple ID and will need to be part of a Family Sharing setup, but during the setup process these last two criteria can be sorted out.

Setting Up Family Setup on iPhone

It is best to ensure that any child or older adult who will participate has an Apple ID before beginning the Family Setup process. We've got how to build an Apple ID on an iPhone or iPad or on a Mac, as well as a Family Sharing tutorial. Two-factor authentication for of Apple ID is also a necessity, so make sure that it's also switched on.

If you do not have an Apple ID set up for each family member and Family Sharing is not allowed, this can be activated during Family Setup, but if the prerequisites are done in advance, it would be a quicker, smoother operation.

1. 1.Switch on the Apple Watch and delete it so that if it has not been removed already and is not already a new out of the box unit, it can be set up as new.
2. 2.Open up the Apple Watch app, go to the Apple Watch setup screen, and choose Set Up For Family Member.
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4. 3.Use the camera of the iPhone to match the Apple Watch with the iPhone by lining up the graphic on the monitor of the watch with the appropriate region on the iPhone. It needs watchOS 7.
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6. 4.Tap Set Up Apple Watch.
7. 5. Agree to the Terms and Conditions, select a wrist preference, choose a text size for the Apple Watch, and then select a passcode.
8. 6.Choose a family member from your Family Sharing setup that you prepared prior to setting up your Apple Watch. You may opt to add a new family member and enter their 'Apple ID' if the individual is not part of the Family Sharing community.

1. 7. You will need to go through some verification measures if you want the Apple ID route and allow two-factor authentication if it is not switched on. To proceed, enter the family member's 'Apple ID' password if you have already set up Family Sharing.
2. 8.Opt to turn on Ask to Buy or Location Sharing.
3. 9.Configure cellular and WiFi access. Setting up wireless service, like Verizon or AT&T, would include going through your provider. This is a process that varies by carrier and can not be specifically demonstrated, but you will be guided through the process on the screen by Apple and your carrier.
4. 10.You may also opt to set up wireless service at a later time and rely on WiFi, but without an iPhone, cellular is essential for continuous connectivity. Tap Share your WiFi password with your Apple Watch after you set up your mobile phone or miss it until later.
   
5. 11.Go through the additional setup screens for Location Sharing, Siri, analytics, and more.
6. 12.Choose whether to set up the Apple Cash Family, a feature that allows parents to provide children with small sums of cash that can be used for transactions using Apple Pay. Parents can choose who their children can send cash to and receive cash from. Agree to the Terms and Benefits, and confirm your child's legal name.
   
7. 13.Continue through the configuration process , allowing or disabling additional resources such as iCloud Messages, Emergency SOS, Medical ID, Activity and Route Tracking Options, Images, Trusted Contacts, Screen Time Restrictions, School Access Limits during school hours, and a feature that enables parents to display the health records of their children so that it is possible to monitor everyday activity.
   
8. 14.The Apple Watch will be ready to use after all these settings have been worked out and it will be classified under "Family Watches" in the parent's Apple Watch app.

9. Available Features

   There are a lot of steps necessary to get Family Setup ready to use because Apple offers parents quite a lot of control over what's enabled and how the Apple Watch functions.

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    Parents can choose to add Medical ID information, regulate ‌Siri‌ access, set an activity target for everyday movement, have an allowance on Apple Watch, track their kids' location, control who kids can contact, and more, so prepare to spend a good half hour to hour walking through all of the steps.

11. Some unique Family Setup features that can be enabled for children have been introduced by Apple, and we have listed some of the most prominent options below that you may want to be aware of. For the most part, all Apple Watch features are available and children's Apple Watches operate like adults' Apple Watches, although there are more management choices for parents.

12. Screen Time and Contacts Monitoring

    Parents will restrict the use of the Apple Watch and the applications that are available on the Apple Watch. Apple Watch 's Screen Time Limits are similar to the Screen Time Limits on iPhones and other devices, and can be controlled by opening the Settings app, selecting Screen Time, and choosing the name of the child from the list.

    
    For a more in-depth tutorial, check out our how tos for setting up Screen Time on an iPhone or on a Mac.

13. Parents can set up mutual contacts to include a set list of individuals with whom children can connect, originating from the parent's own list of contacts.

    Screen Time also includes a Communications Limits function that allows parents to dictate who can contact a child from their Contacts list and when to communicate with those contacts on Apple Watch. This, too, is controlled by the Screen Time settings.

14. School time

    Schooltime is a feature unique to Apple Watch that has been incorporated with the Family Setup. This helps parents to lock down the Apple Watch during school hours to enable kids to concentrate on their schoolwork.

    
    
    

    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
15. Schooltime is different from Screen Time in that when the child turns the Digital Crown on the Apple Watch, which is useful for emergencies, it can be deactivated by the child, but parents are alerted in that case.

16. The Family Setup initiation requires Schooltime to be enabled during the setup process, but in the Apple Watch app on iPhone, parents can view and edit Schooltime features.

    

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18. • watchOS 7: How to Eliminate Distractions Using Schooltime on Apple Watch
    • How to Set a Schooltime Schedule on Apple Watch

    Apple Cash Family

    Parents can use the "Apple Pay" cash feature to give their children "allowances" on the Apple Watch, and children can then use those funds to make "Apple Pay" transactions in stores that accept "Apple Pay" payments.

    
    During school , school time can be set for particular hours, and breaks can be arranged during recess and lunch time, which would allow children to access their Apple Watches while school is not in session. Schooltime blocks all apps and complications when activated, as well as Do Not Disturb activation. However, emergency calls and alerts are able to crack through the limits of Do Not Interrupt.

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    Apple Cash is sent on the iPhone through the Messages app, and parents can send cash by typing in the email address of their children's Apple ID and then using the built-in Apple Pay Messages function to make a payment. Money sent to children is deposited in Apple Cash and can be retrieved from the Wallet app on the Apple Cash card, where it can be used to make purchases in shops.

20. Cash card in the Wallet app, where it can be used to make payments in stores.

    
    Money given to children is limited to the amount issued, and without parental permission, children can not charge fees on linked credit cards or in any other way. However, kids can give their available Apple Pay cash to others, which is something to be mindful of.

    

21. Purchases that kids make are displayed to parents, and parents can see what kids have bought and how their money has been used through the Wallet app on ‌iPhone‌.
22. iOS 14: How to Set Up and Use Apple Cash Family

Health and Activity

The Exercise app on the Apple Watch will display movement minutes rather than a calorie-based activity target for younger kids (aged 13 and under), while older kids will still see the regular metric of burned calories. The exercise functions the same as with any other Apple Watch, and children (or older adults) may meet the parent's initially set targets of running, exercising, and standing.

With tuning for children, Outdoor Walk, Outdoor Bike, and Outdoor Cycle exercises have been revised, and coaching notifications are adapted to the reading levels of children and enhanced with emoji.

Parents can also access the data of their children in the Health app if the feature is allowed during the setup process, with the information under "Shared Health Data" identified in the Health app.

Apps

From the Apple Watch App Store, kids can download apps and games for the Apple Watch. Before apps can be downloaded, even those which cost money, parents would need to approve purchases. Kids will get a "Ask" prompt for approval from their parents to download an app that can be accepted or rejected. You can turn off "Ask to Buy" using the Family Sharing settings in the Settings app.

Content can be controlled through the Content Restrictions feature of Screen Time.

Other Available Features

Here are some of the other things that kids can do with an LTE Apple Watch that uses Family Setup.

• Contact Walkie-Talkie
• Make audio calls via phone and FaceTime
• Sending and receiving emails and notes
• Build Memoji with the app for Memoji
• Access a family Calendar
• Display synced images from a parent 's phone
• Access Reminders
• With headphones, listen to Apple Music
• Ask ‌Siri‌ questions
• Ask ‌Siri‌ for translations
• Use Maps for navigation
• Access and earn activity awards from the Workouts app
• Engage in mates' activity contests
• With the Apple Watch side button, access Emergency SOS

Apple Watches Handling Family Setup

Parents will use the Apple Watch app on the iPhone to handle the Apple Watches Family Setup. Only open it, tap "All Watches" at the top, then tap the child's Apple Watch to access the settings and controls.

Cellular Connectivity

The watch in question must be a Series 3 or later to start the Family Setup and add the watch of a family member to the iPhone, and it must have LTE connectivity. The LTE connexion is needed because only Apple Watches without LTE rely on the iPhone for a connexion and there is no iPhone to connect to with a standalone Apple Watch.

Without any iPhone, LTE Apple Watches can work independently, enabling the Family Setup feature. That said, you can set up a Family Setup cellular Apple Watch and then refuse to allow cellular connectivity when prompted, and when WiFi is open, it will still function.

Be mindful, however, that only the one known WiFi network used to set it up can operate with the Apple Watch and it will not otherwise be able to connect for communication and networking purposes.

Features for Older Adults

Many of the Family Setup functions are targeted at parents with children, but for older adults who do not have an iPhone, there are also settings for people who want to handle Apple Watches.

Features such as the X-Large watch face that is easy to see, fall detection, emergency SOS, medical ID, and irregular alerts of heart rhythm can be used by older adults.

Limitation of Family Setup

Apple Watch Series 6 models equipped with Family Setup can not access the Blood Oxygen app for calculating blood oxygen, a limitation that applies regardless of the age of the owner of the Apple Watch.

Elderly relatives who have an Apple Watch Series 6 which want the Blood Oxygen app, so when deciding whether to use the Family Setup feature, this is a limitation worth keeping in mind.

The following limitations also apply:

• Notifications of high and low heart rates are only eligible for users aged 13 and over.
• Irregular alerts of heart rhythms and ECG are not available.
• Sleep Tracking is not available.
• For users aged 18 and older, fall detection is only available.
• The Apple Cash Family is restricted to users below 18 years of age.
• ‌The Family Setup does not provide Apple Pay with a credit , debit, or transit card.
• The Podcasts, Remote, News, Home, and Shortcuts apps are not available.

Of course, battery life will vary based on usage and each device. LTE connectivity and operation over a cellular connexion are considered in the battery life estimates.