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Family Setup and Home app - is Apple working on a fix?

One of the main reasons we bought an Apple Watch for our child and now see that it does not work unless he also owns an iPhone. We were hoping it could be used for our door lock when he gets home from school. I would guess I am not alone on this issue. Unfortunately we specifically asked at the Apple Store and were told that it would work fine. Guess I gotta read the fine print on the Apple web site!

Posted on Nov 15, 2021 2:16 PM

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Posted on Nov 15, 2021 2:50 PM

Apple's support information clearly says Family Setup should enable can Apple Watch for a family member who does not have their own iPhone. However it also mentions some limitations and excluded services including Home functions.

Set up an Apple Watch for a family member - Apple Support

2 replies

Nov 15, 2021 2:59 PM in response to Branta_uk

Right and I did find that out eventually. I guess my main question now is, will Apple work on fixing this limitation? Seems like this (control Home app via Apple Watch) is core functionality that should work on every watch and not be limited.

Disappointed that the Apple Store didn't know this. They looked at me strangely when I mentioned that we were going to use Family Setup for my son's watch so I should have not believed their answer regarding the Home app. They actually emailed me the set up article that they used to look up what Family Setup is since they did not know.

Family Setup and Home app - is Apple working on a fix?

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