Verizon FamilyBase

Not all texts show up. I tested it between my son and I. We had long conversations (between 6AM and 8AM), and I checked FamilyBase 2 hours later and it only showed 2 texts sent from me, and only texts up to a certain time (9:47am). This has been consistent over since I got the app. I expect the app to show activity current to when I check the app. Not delayed information (sometimes hours or eve next day).

Most poorly designed app I have ever used. Navigating is not intuitive, you are repeatedly prompted to sign in only to return to the same function, then to be given an error message at the end of your attempt. Ongoing, never improved. Both android and iOS. For a company that should have decent user interfaces, this one is a disaster. Fire whoever designed it.

Worst app ever. So poorly designed it's almost impossible to figure out and verizon employees are clueless as well. Many functions not available for iPhones, only Android. Circle offers many more features with a one time fee. I'm cancelling this service ASAP.

Companion app isn't compatible on my daughter's Moto z play. Verizon says it is. It isn't. To me, Family base app is difficult to set restrictions on time. Not user friendly at all. *I logged in to family base on my laptop, it is easier to use on actual computer. Still an inconvenience I can't easily use it on cell phone.

Very inconsistent - when I want to view usage it tells me to "check back later". What little control it DOES provide can be accessed elsewhere - more consistently - and FREE! NOTHING about this app justifies the cost.

Can I give an app zero stars? Confusing, unintuitive, and maddeningly slow interface. Requires two separate logins (the second one is covered by the keyboard). Once in, I can't see or change limits to phones in my plan other than my own. Quite possibly the most poorly designed and executed app I've ever used—made even worse by the fact that I'm paying Verizon for FamilyBase and should have reasonable mobile access to it.

Wish I would have read reviews before buying Family Base. Unbelievable I'm paying for my daughter's plan who is a minor and I have to pay EXTRA to limit and monitor her.....only for it to NOT work. No way around downloading the companion app on her phone. Everyone else is having the same problem? Scam scam scam!!!!!!

It helps keep up with numbers you forget to save and helps you keep track of your kids and who they are talking with! With the craziness in the world today I am glad I can check on them without making them feel I don't trust them because it's not them I don't trust!

I just switched my whole family to Verizon because I read on their website about the great parental controls. I also went into a store to buy new phones and switch other phones to the new plan. I just tried to download the app to my daughter's phone and it's not compatible! What?!? Then I started looking at reviews and see the app hasn't been updated in years. Very unhappy customer right now.

I am new to it I did notice that one of the suggested monitoring app's was not compatible with my phone, as many others had stated. I believe it was the "Companion" app. Verizon needs to fix that, or quit advertising it's use. I have a LG 5 pretty up to date phone and it still was would not work.

FYI Verizon let's the others know your watching them. So much for keeping my cover a secret. Also slow to log on. Really this app has the right idea but horrid way of operation. Needs a serious revamp. Glitchy,slow, resetting is the stuff of nightmares if you get a new phone. Tech support is like talking to rejects if you can even get the right guy on the phone. Junk !!!!!!

Not horrible, but I really wanted it to monitor late night and school activity. It sends notifications about 1 hour after the incident which is useless to me. Really should be notified within minutes.

Why is Verizon actively advertising an program that is NOT FREE knowing it does not work and can not be downloaded to the phones. I'm pretty sure if I check with BBB somewhere along the line is not legal. $5 may not be a lot of money to all of the Verizon share holders and execs but it is to some of us.

Another surcharge Robbery ... $5 a month to limit data usage and add controls, but the companion app for the kids phone isn't compatible with anything past marshmallow. My son has a note 5... The only additional control this gives is the ability to limit his data consumption.

I wanted to restrict calls and messages during certain night hours for my child. I was able to restrict calls but text messages are still coming through. Called Verizon and they don't know how to fix it. Complete waste!

I thought this app would make it easier to control monthly overages, but setup is nowhere near easy. The only thing I can do to control it is let the bill get behind to the point the VzW shuts things off, and then SLOWLY get the phone bill caught up.

Stone age app.. so so beyond difficult to use and I am tech savvy. You have to sign in multiple times as it correlates with my Verizon app. Tried to add trusted number and kept getting error.. had to do it on a computer.. not to mention it was hell trying to navigate app

WHY WOULD YOU TEXT MY CHILD TELLING THEM I've ADDED 1 OF THEIR CONTACTS TO MY WATCHLIST?!?!?! All that's gonna do is make them use other ways to communicate with that person!!! I'm trying to keep my child safe, & you're not really helping!!.....Tired of constantly having to sign in but I get it. It's a security measure. I do find it very useful but it is NOT current. I get notified 30-60 min after the fact. Has great features but having to PAY for this service I expect it to be up to the minute on notifications. This app deff needs to be revised. With T-Mobile all these features are free & much easier to use.

Not a great app. Companion app doesn't even work on my child's phone. Very difficult to change anything. And usually my child's contact names don't even show up. Pretty useless. Not even sure why a pay $5/month for this garbage. You need to get a woman in there to revamp your app then maybe it will be user friendly.

Not happy either folks. I wanted to set data for Grand daughters phone. Was told I had to join Family Base. Then I asked to have a tracker on. Was told it is included with Family Base. So, like where is that?

This would not install on my son's older phone, but when we bought him a brand new phone it still said it wasn't compatible. They told me that it was because we had the unlimited plan. LIE! When he had the other phone we didn't have unlimited and it still said it was not compatible. Anything to make you pay for something that doesn't really work! Get with it Verizon! People weren't born yesterday!!!

Had this on my phone and the companion app on my daughters phone. Was awesome and was exactly what Verizon said it was going to be, and do. Then my daughters phone did a mandatory update, and now the most important part, the companion app isn't compatible with her phone!! Really Verizon, REALLY?! Only reason I put her on my plan with you was so I could monitor what she was doing. Now all I can do is limit her data and get an email after the fact.

This is a oddly overly complicated product that could be simplified. Especially for a paid app. It is very inconsistent. Sometimes it works early and sometimes it shuts off late. Friends have Funamo and it works great. My other job is working with foster children. My phone there is with AT&T and on their parental settings all I have to do is click on the child's phone number and click data on or off, texting on/off phone on/off. It is instant, I can also set up time and data limits which is very simple. Verizon gets a lot of things right but this one is a dudd.

Large parts of info every day don't end up coming through. When I know I had spoken to him. 3 hours of the day I know he was texting and taking call just missing. Companion app isn't available for his phone so really what's the point? Get it together Verizon!! Time to fix the app we are all paying for... Update: 4/25, What will it take to get this app to work correctly? Still missing 3 to 4 hours of the day. Every single day.... let's go Verizon!! Get it fixed already! Update on 5/3/17... once again the app is not working. Although this time it's only showing my contact with him. Such a waste of money! Cancelling this service today.

I was really looking forward to parental controls when added my son to my Verizon plan and thought this would be a great tool. Verizon advertises this service but the companion app isn't even available with his phone that Verizon sold to me. What kind of scam is this?

Someone needs to update the softwares on both ends. All Verizon cell phones are not compatible with this app. I have called Verizon to recommend what phone would work with this app and they don't even know...

Garbage - can't get into controls after the first time using it - after all I pay Verizon for their service I would thing the fact that I pay 5 bucks a month extra I would be able to use the functionality - my Verizon works fine but there's no integration with this crappy app after all it just doesn't work

I understood with my teen why this wouldn't work completely. I have an android and she has an iPhone. My younger two both have androids. This damn app still doesn't work. Well why pay for something that doesn't do what I need it too.

False advertising by Verizon. Only reason I got my son a smart phone and added him to my plan was because of what this app offered. Only when I went to install it on my son's new phone did I find out it wasn't compatible. As others have said, $4.99 is a rip off by Verizon if the app is not compatible with most phones. What is the point? Verizon should be honest with people up front and let them know the app won't work with the phone they are purchasing before they add this cost to their plan. Better yet, why doesn't Verizon invest in making the app compatible with new operating systems or stop advertising it? I did research it ahead of time and based on what I read, I thought the phone I was getting was compatible and the salesperson did not tell me or wasn't. Once again very disappointed with my cellular provider.

Pointless.....not worth it, I got the app because we need the family base feature.....however...the companion app that is mainly the big key part isn't compatible with my child's galaxy phone....so basically you waste your money on this so call family plan. Maybe that's why Verizon is letting families have a free month trial. Until they fix it, I'm cancelling it

Can't even download the companion app on the phones. Not listed in the play store, what a waste of money and time. And to ask someone at a store for help they treat you like your the stupid one!!

This app seems to have been designed in the stone age! Come on Verizon! Biggest pain in the butt to change my kids data limit ever! Make the app more user friendly!

Not even compatible with Android's latest operating system. *(Update) 7 months, a few software updates and several calls later and this app STILL isn't compatible!

Thank God the 1st month was free because this app based service is horrible. The companion app is not compatible with my daughters *VERIZON* LG V20, cannot view her contacts, calls/texts take FAR too long to register, as I sent a test call & text over 2.5 hours ago & see nothing and the layout and functionality is beyond outdated. I truly hope Verizon is listening to our feedback and produces an app that justifies the $5.00 monthly service fee. As it is now, I wouldn't even keep this app if it were free.

Difficult to use. Verizon should be ashamed of putting their name on such a poorly designed app. Then again, other than the service fee they don't have much to gain from limiting children's data usage.

Doesn't work useless. Nothing works w/VERIZON extremely DISAPPOINTED with company& services.

I love it that I can keep track of who's calling nd who he is talking to. Great choice to create family base foe parents. It's also great to be able to control their data usage. Thanks Verizon

Doesn't work correctly on newer Android OS. Paying for a service that only partially works. This is garbage Verizon.

Companion app not compatible with Galaxy S7. Unbelievable. Paying for features that I can't even use. What a joke. Doesn't work. Unintuitive. Useless. What a waste. Bad app. Bad Verizon.

Basic functionality doesn't work. Can't sign in to My Verizon Mobile when I try to use the Controls section of the app. All anyone wants this app for is to limit their kid's data use but you can't even do that. You appear logged in, but then need to log in again, and that process tells me to log in from my own device. First of all, that is terrible, second of all, I am on my own device. Little things like submitting a form when you hit enter don't work. App Dev 101 type stuff. It is amazing to me that I need a separate app for this at all from the My Verizon app. Also that I have to pay for this. It was free at AT&T and part of their main app. Real bummer. This app honestly seems like it was written by someone trying to prove that apps can be really confusing and user unfriendly. There are tons of useful conventions that make things simple to use. This app couldn't be further from that. It makes me.want to switch back to AT&T. Everytime I use this app I come back here and update this review. God this app blows.