Cannot Create Child Account

Question

Cannot Create Child Account

Chris James 0

I am stuck creating a child account for my son. I currently have 5 members in my family group, he would be the 6th. I have tried the following:

Logging into Family Safety on my computer, clicking add a family member and then trying to create a new account for him (using an external email - he has email with Gmail). This gets as far as sending the verification code. This arrives in his email and I enter it correctly but the website says it is an incorrect code and I cannot proceed further.
Logging into Family Safety and inviting him to the group. This sends an email to him, when clicked on it prompts him to create an MS account because there is not one associated with his email. I then go through the process of doing this on his phone. This time the verification code works and I enter all the details, go through the "prove you are human" press and hold then enter his name, click next and it then just shows the loading wheel indefinitely and nothing further happens.
Logging into the Family Safety App on my phone and trying to add him. This has exactly the same result as doing this from the computer i.e. it sends the verification email but then refuses to accept the code.

This is immensely frustrating and the lack of number to call for MS support is also very annoying, there is clearly some problem with this user journey.

Any help much appreciated.

Thanks,

Chris

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1 answer

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Answer 1

Hi Chris,

Good day. Since you’ve already tried all three Family Safety routes, lets not keep repeating the same steps. The verification code error and the endless loading screen suggest the problem is happening during the Microsoft account creation or verification process.

Try creating your son’s Microsoft account separately first:

Go to https://account.microsoft.com and choose Create account.
Use his existing Gmail address. You don't need to create a new Outlook address.
Enter his correct date of birth and complete the parental-consent process with your Microsoft account if prompted.
Once the account is created and he can sign in successfully, go back to Family Safety and add his Gmail address as a Member.

By the way, avoid requesting more verification codes for now. If you've requested several, Microsoft may temporarily block further codes, so it’s better to wait a while before trying again. If the account creation still hangs after the verification step, then this is likely an account-side Microsoft issue rather than a Family Safety setting. At that point, use Microsoft Support > Get Help and select the Microsoft account/sign-in or verification issue.

The good news is you don't need to keep fighting the Family Safety app itself. Get the Microsoft account working first, then add it to the family group. That should bypass the part that's currently failing.

Regards,
Jhun