Update Needed for FamilyBase Companion App!!!
MICLEE97
Enthusiast - Level 1

When will the companion app for family base be available for the new Android and OIS platforms? Verizon reps have told me that there is no other way to restrict or set data limits on my son's Samsung Note 5 on the Verizon network unless you pay for FamilyBase.

I would really like to have all of the features I pay for each month. Verizon no longer offers new phones that are compatible with the companion app either (but they still push the service) ... My son is eligible for an upgrade, but it makes no sense to waste the money if we still can't utilize all the features on new devices either.

Verizon please help!!!!

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deloused
Master - Level 3

All Family Base features except for viewing the child's address book contacts are usable without the Companion app. It won't be released  for IOS devices due to Apple security software for its contacts and syncing platforms.

Maybe Verizon would release the Companion app for more Android devices in the future if they find enough demand for it, so it certainly doesn't hurt to request it. You can still access your son's synced contacts remotely with or without paying for Family Base by accessing the backup program that stores them. Since only Android devices allow the contact feature which can be viewed for free using other methods the demand for the Companion app doesn't seem too high.

As a customer though, I wouldn't want Verizon to pay their software developers to create companion apps for each individual manufacturer/model and pay the developers to update the app with each software version and get them certified by Google for App Store downloads when it would only provide a functionality that can be accessed other ways for free. That would raise costs which would then be passed down to customer bills.

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srpietr
Newbie

It's unfortunate, then, that Verizon is still selling this service. As an iPhone user, we wanted this service to be able to remotely lock our son's iPhone. However, there is no longer a companion app for the iPhone as well. And the familybase service is dicey at best, I have found - it is totally missing any of the texts he is sending and only registered one phone call. He is not using anything other than the native messaging app on his phone, which the service is supposed to monitor. And I'm not sure if the time restrictions work either - we're still troubleshooting that.

This was supposed to be a way for us to monitor and control his access to how much data he is using, and more importantly when he is using it. I also required the remote lock feature so as to have the control I need as a parent to remove his access to the phone if I am not physically there, should his actions warrant it.

In summary, the "service" smells like a bait-and-switch routine to me.

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rcschnoor
Legend

srpietr wrote:

However, there is no longer a companion app for the iPhone as well.

There has never been a FamilyBase companion app for the iPhone.

srpietr wrote:

it is totally missing any of the texts he is sending

If by this you mean "content" of the texts, FamilyBase has never provided text "content" of the other phones on the account. The account owner can always log in to their MyVerizon account to see the time/number for all texts sent to/from any phone on the account even without subscribing to FamilyBase. Keep in mind, though, iMessages sent from 1 iPhone to another iPhone when both are subscribed to iMessage ARE NOT texts and will not show up in the texting history on MyVerizon since it bypasses the SMS/MMS framework and instead uses Apple's servers.

srpietr wrote:

This was supposed to be a way for us to monitor and control his access to how much data he is using, and more importantly when he is using it.

Keep in mind, FamilyBase has never been able to control a phone's access to wifi data or when it is able to access it, only cellular data.

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