Support

The questions that come up in the first week, and where to write if yours isn't here.

Setting up

Getting started

One parent signs in first and creates the family. Add each kid as a profile — a name, a colour and an avatar is all it takes. You can run the whole app from one phone, handing it over when a kid needs to tick something off, or give each kid their own device.

Adding the other grown-up

In Settings, invite a co-parent by the email address they sign in with. Once they accept, you both see the same approvals, dinner plan and shopping list — and each other's to-do lists, though only the person whose list it is can tick anything off.

Getting a kid onto their own device

Install Fammager on their iPad or iPhone, sign in with their account, and enter the short invite code from your Settings screen. Pick the profile you already made for them and their chores appear.

The routine lock

Why setup has to happen on the kid's device

An app selection made on one device means nothing on another, and turning parental controls on asks for a parent's approval on the child's device. That's Apple's design, and there's no way round it: you can't pick apps on your phone and have them apply to their iPad. So do this bit sitting next to them — open Fammager on their device, go to the routine lock screen, approve the system prompt, and choose which apps to hold shut.

Set a grown-up code

iOS stops a child deleting the app or signing out of iCloud to escape the lock. It does not stop them opening Fammager's own settings and switching it off — so set the four-digit code when prompted. Without it the lock is a suggestion.

The shield didn't lift when the routine finished

• Check the steps are ticked on the kid's own device, and that the lock is switched on there.
• Confirm the apps you meant to cover are still selected — the picker shows a count.
• Opening Fammager on that device forces the shield to re-evaluate straight away.

The shield didn't come back in the morning

It has three chances to re-lock: the system waking the app at the start of the block, a background refresh, and anyone opening Fammager. If a device has been off overnight or Background App Refresh is disabled for Fammager in iOS Settings, the first two can be missed. Turning Background App Refresh on makes this reliable.

Adding an afternoon block

In the routine editor, switch on the afternoon block and choose when it starts — anywhere between 6:00am and 11:00pm, with 3:30pm as the default. At that time the shield goes back up and that block's steps are what stands between them and the iPad.

Chores and rewards

A chore is stuck on "waiting for approval"

That's by design — nothing pays out until a grown-up approves it. Approvals live on the Approvals tab, on the Today screen under each kid, and on the Apple Watch. You can edit what a job pays as you approve it, or send it back.

Undoing an approval

Approving a repeating chore also creates the next one. Undoing the approval takes that copy back too, so a mis-tap doesn't leave a kid holding the same job twice.

Screen time earned for a PlayStation or a PC

No games console or desktop platform lets an outside app add a child's playtime. Fammager records what's owed and takes you straight to the PlayStation Family app or Microsoft Family Safety to hand it over. Mark it granted once you have.

The grown-ups' own lists

Sharing a job with the other grown-up

When you add a job, switch on Anyone Can Do This and it goes into Up for Grabs instead of onto your own list. Either of you can do it, either of you can tick it off, and the app records who did. A repeating shared job goes back into Up for Grabs each time rather than becoming permanently yours — otherwise the pool would quietly empty itself one job at a time. You can move a job between your list and the pool whenever you like.

Why can't I tick something off their list?

You can see the other grown-up's list but not change it. That's deliberate, and it's checked on our servers rather than just hidden in the app — a job can never be pushed onto or taken off somebody else's list. If it's a job either of you might do, it belongs in Up for Grabs.

Do the kids see any of this?

No. The grown-ups' lists — your own, the other parent's, and the shared pool — are invisible to kids, and a kid's device doesn't even load them.

Bank linking

The connection needs reauthenticating

Banks invalidate connections every few months as a matter of course. When that happens the card says so — tap it and sign in again. Nothing is lost.

The balance won't load

Balances are fetched live rather than stored, so a poor connection shows the card without a figure rather than an out-of-date one. Pull to refresh. If it persists for more than a day, write to us.

Widgets, watch and Siri

• Widgets. Long-press the Home Screen or Lock Screen, tap the add button, and search for Fammager. There are four: Needs You, My List, Tonight and Groceries.
• Complications. Edit a watch face, pick a complication slot, and choose Fammager — one for what's waiting on you, one for your own list.
• Siri. Say “What's for dinner in Fammager” or “I finished my routine in Fammager”. The app name has to be in the phrase for iOS to route it.

Deleting an account

Removing a kid's profile in the app deletes their chores and routine with it. To delete a whole family and everything in it, email privacy@fammager.com from the address you signed in with.

Still stuck

support@fammager.com. Include your iOS version and which device the problem is on.