My child can’t access an app that they should be able to access
If your child tells you that their internet isn’t working or that they can’t access an app (on an iOS (apple) or Android device) that they should be able to, this could simply be us doing what we are supposed to be doing. If we are blocking an app it’s likely to say something like “Check internet” or “Unable to refresh feed” or it could simply be a spinner and the content never loading.
Steps to resolve:
Check to see what might be the cause of the issue
Check to see if your child should be allowed access to the app
Check they have access to the internet by going to www.familyzone.com
Try to access the apps main website in a browser on the device, if we are blocking you’ll get the block page
Check to make sure the correct owner is assigned to the device
Borrow the device to an adult profile and see if you have access
Check the internet usage for the user to see what is being blocked
Once you’ve determined if what might be blocking the app you can
My child can access an app that I’ve blocked
If you notice that your child is accessing an app (on an iOS (apple) or Android device) that you’ve blocked completely or during a specific access period then there may be a problem with the device, the users access period or the internet filtering rules.
Steps to resolve:
Check to see what might be the cause of the issue
Check to see if your child should be allowed access to the app
Check that we are filtering the device by going to home.tools in an internet browser on the device
Check if they have access to the apps main website in a browser on the device, if we should be blocking the app you should get the block page
Check your online account or Family Zone app on a parent device to see if they are any issues with the device
Check to make sure the correct owner is assigned to the device
Check the internet usage for the user to see what is being allowed
Once you’ve determined why your child has access to the app then you can
Update the internet filtering rules for the user to block the allowed app
Reinstate the Family Zone app on the child’s device if it has been tampered
Reinstall the Family Zone app on the child’s device
My child is being blocked from accessing a website they should have access to
If your child is complaining about being blocked, on any device, from a website on you believe they should have access to it may be our internet filtering doing it’s job. We need to check that everything is as you expect it should be.
Steps to resolve:
Check to see what might be the cause of the issue
Check to see if your child should be allowed access to the website
Check they have access to the internet by trying to access www.familyzone.com
Check to make sure the correct owner is assigned to the device
Borrow the device to an adult profile and see if you have access
Check the internet usage for the user to see what is being blocked
Once you’ve determined if what might be blocking the app you can
Quick time change to another access type that may have access
Update the internet filtering rules for the user to allow the blocked app
My child is able to access a website with inappropriate content
Your child may be able to access questionable or inappropriate content on an otherwise legitimate website or a site may be incorrectly categorised. We are constantly reviewing our categorisations however with the fluid nature of the internet occasionally we will get it wrong. If your child is able to access content you deem inappropriate you should check the device and review your settings.
Steps to resolve
Check the device is being filtered correctly
iOS (Apple)
Android
Mac
Windows
Chromebook
Check the site’s web category and the rules for that category (you can request a change in category from the website check page)
If the site isn’t blocked you can
My child is able to view inappropriate content and images through search
To protect your child we recommend turning on SafeSearch, you can find our more about SafeSearch through our feature and troubleshooting guides.
We are having trouble to internet access when connected to the Home Zone box
If you are having issues accessing the internet when connected to the Home Zone box then you should check out our Home Networking troubleshooting guide.
My child can still play games when they should be in “sleep”
Our system controls access to the internet and not all games on computers, tablets, phones and gaming consoles require access to the internet to be played. Some may require access to the internet in order to be able to start, but once the game has started they no longer require access to the internet. This means that some games will be able to be played while your child is in “Sleep”.
Steps to resolve:
Check to see if the device can access the games website through a web browser, this will tell you if the user has access to the internet
Turn the device onto flight mode or disconnect it from the internet, if you are still able to play the game then it doesn’t need internet connection
If it is an Android device turn off access to apps in sleep time
I’ve allowed access to Google but I still can’t get into gmail or Google docs
Allowing access to Google doesn’t automatically allow access to all of Googles suite of products.
Steps to resolve:
My children can still send iMessages to each other
Apple devices that are connected to the same home network will always be able to message each other, as the devices talk over the local network and not through the internet. Phones will also fail over to sending messages via text messages. Our Mac client is unable to block iMessages
My issue still isn’t resolved, what do I do next?
For more information you can read our Content Filtering feature guide. It has a number of FAQs and links to how to guides that may help you with what you need to do.
Alternatively you can contact our support team for help.
Please ensure that you include the following information in your request:
Account email
Child’s name
Devices impacted
Time of issue
Description of the issue
IMPORTANT NOTE: Troubleshooting filtering issues can be difficult without the device available to test & troubleshoot with. It is best to contact the support team with the device handy and having the problem. If that’s not possible, then please have an accurate time stamp as to when the issue occurred.