Cannot register my child's device on Family Safety

A. Peled 5 Reputation points
2025-09-03T11:10:26.3466667+00:00

No matter what I do, I cannot get my child's device to appear under their name so i can manage screen time. I have followed microsoft's crap instructions 100 times. Here's what I've do so far:

  • On a brand new installation of windows, logged in myself (adult, admin)
  • I logged into the same machine with a brand new microsoft user we created for my son
  • I invited him to the family group and accepted with his account
  • I logged into his computer with my account again, followed MS useless instructions : User's image

-I logged out and then back in as him.

  • After not seeing any changes, I waited 18 hours to see if maybe it's not syncing.

That didn't work no matter how many times I checked everything. Ok fine starting over...

-Removed him from the family group

  • Removed his account from his computer
  • Re-added him to the family group
  • Accepted his family group invitation
  • Manually added him as a new user on his machine using my admin account
  • Logged in as him
  • Logged in as me, followed MS useless instructions AGAIN

aaaaaaaaand NOTHING.

I'm tearing my frikkin hair out over here.

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Family and online safety
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  1. A. Peled 5 Reputation points
    2025-09-05T07:54:02.08+00:00

    Turns out the problem was that my own account wasn't verified. Absolutely NOWHERE in Microsoft's INstructions on how to set things up does it say this is required for Microsoft Family to work properly. You log into the machine with a microsoft account with two factor authentication. Why on earth would you need to then verify yourself AGAIN in some deep hidden obscure menu?? None of the help docs online make any reference to it whatsoever. It's truly a horrible user experience full of hidden behaviors and zero clues.

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  2. Anonymous
    2025-09-03T16:50:48.9233333+00:00

    Dear A. Peled,

    Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Q&A.

    Based on your description, you've done everything right on the "adult" side of things. The problem is that the device itself hasn't properly verified and registered itself with the Family Safety service under your son's name. Let's try some methods below:

    1. Critical verification step:
      • Log in to the computer as your son.
      • Go to Windows Settings > Accounts > Your info.
      • Look carefully at this page. You will likely see one of two things under your son's name and email:
      • A link that says "Verify".
      • A message that says "You need to verify your identity on this PC."
      • A link that says "Stop signing in to all Microsoft apps automatically".
      • Click that "Verify" link. You will be prompted to enter his password again, or a security code may be sent to your recovery email/phone number. Complete this verification process.
      • If you see the "Stop signing in..." link instead, it means the account is already verified, which is good.
      • Wait a few minutes and restart the computer.
    2. The "Clean Slate" Profile Re-creation:
      • Log in to the PC using your own administrator account.
      • Go to Settings > Accounts > Family & other people and remove your son's account from the list if it's still there.
      • Now, press the Windows Key + R to open the Run dialog.
      • Type sysdm.cpl and press Enter.
      • In the window that opens, go to the Advanced tab and click the Settings... button under the "User Profiles" section.
      • You will see a list of all profiles on the computer. Find your son's profile in the list, select it, and click Delete. (If it's not there, that's fine, just proceed). This is the crucial step that a standard removal doesn't always do. It completely wipes the C:\Users\<ChildsName> folder and associated registry keys.
      • Restart the computer.
      • Log back in as yourself (the admin). Go back to Settings > Accounts > Family & other people and add your son's account again using his Microsoft account email.
      • Now, log out and log in as your son. Go through the "Verify" and "Microsoft Edge Sync" steps from my previous message one last time on this brand new profile. This has a high chance of working if the issue was a corrupted local profile.

    If you have done everything humanly possible, it's time to contact Microsoft Support directly. There will be a Microsoft agent who can investigate the account themselves.

    I hope this could help. If you have any further issues, we are happy to assist.


    To assist others who might have similar questions and to help us improve our support system, we kindly encourage you to "Accept the answer" if it successfully addressed your concern. Accepting an answer lets other users know that this solution worked for you, and it also helps us track the effectiveness of our support efforts.

    Best regards, 

    Bryan Vu | Microsoft Q&A Support Specialist 

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