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Contributor

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1 Message

Thursday, February 3rd, 2011 2:39 PM

Smart Limits & iPhone

 

I recently downloaded the myWireless Mobile app for my iPhone.  I didn't see a way to manage my SmartLimits from this app.  Am I missing something or is there another app needed to manage the SmartLimits - or can I only do that online?

 

Thanks.

Curator

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9 Messages

11 years ago

Don't need to do that -- much easier way: The Parental Controls are in the iPhone itself under "Settings." i just posted a ful response with 6 links to show you how to set it up.

Curator

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9 Messages

11 years ago

I completely understand. I have 15-year-old daughter.

 

Anyway, I the answer is in the iPhone itself -- I posted a full response with 6 links on how to set it up. Now my daughter's iPhone is "just" a cell phone.

 

I do think AT&T needs to provide this info concerning iPhones and similar devices more prominently on their site with links of how to do it. Perhaps we can advocate for that.

 

Best of luck to you!!!

Curator

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9 Messages

11 years ago

I completely understand. I have 15-year-old daughter.

 

Anyway, I the answer is in the iPhone itself -- I posted a full response with 6 links on how to set it up. Now my daughter's iPhone is "just" a cell phone.

 

I do think AT&T needs to provide this info concerning iPhones and similar devices more prominently on their site with links of how to do it. Perhaps we can advocate for that.

 

Best of luck to you!!!Smiley Happy

Curator

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9 Messages

11 years ago

I completely understand. I have 15-year-old daughter.

Anyway, I the answer is in the iPhone itself -- I posted a full response with 6 links on how to set it up. Now my daughter's iPhone is "just" a cell phone. She will get all the fun features back when finals are over this month AND when she behaves responsibly.

I do think AT&T needs to provide this info concerning iPhones and similar devices more prominently on their site with links of how to do it. Perhaps we can advocate for that.

Best of luck to you!!!

Curator

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9 Messages

11 years ago

Actually you do not need to purchase anything at all to Restrict features on your kid's iPhone -- go into the iPhone "Settings" and you can restrict basically everything from there. I just posted on how accomplish this.
But first you have to figure out how to get the iPhone away from your kid 😉

Contributor

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1 Message

11 years ago

librarychic1968:

 

"restrictions" on the iphone is an all or nothing thing.  I'm trying to limit, not restrict from my 14 yr old daughter who's addiction to texting and tweeting is driving me crazy.  Any other ideas? I have searched endlessly for a solution and can't find one.  I would also like for her iphone to shut down at night at an hour I designate. Instead I have to take it away form her and fight every night.

 

Our Mac computer and router at home have parental control settings that I can simply set to automatically logoff, I don't understand why the iphone and ipad can't have the same thing. 

 

Curator

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9 Messages

11 years ago

I know exactly how you feel!!! Without the iPhone my daughter is a great student and we, luckily, have a close relationship. WITH the iPhone she is the grumpiest person ever and we always fight!!!! My daughter even admits texting and all the things the iPhone can do is like an addiction for her.

 

Which iPhone do you have? We have the 4 (not 4S) and I am able to pick & choose what to restrict but it takes a bit of time to learn the iPhone itself AND the features/apps the kids use to get around Smart Limits in order to restrict them.

Aside from her constantly on it at home 24/7 she was also texting, taking pictures/videos in school ("harmless" pictures & videos but it still meant she was not paying attention in class!). For us, "earning back" texting, games, Wi-fi access works best as, ultimately, my daughter needs how to monitor herself and me not be the KGB.

 

My daughter was able to turn on 3G which meant she had Internet access everywhere. I told her from the start she was not allowed to have Internet outside our home. You can turn 3G (or 4G) off under iPhone Restrictions & stop her from turning it back on. THAT is how she got around our home router -- she did not use the router to access the Internet! So the first thing to under Restrictions is to turn that off. Then you only have to worry about your home Wi-fi. I was able to turn off her ability to access our Wi-fi provider, Optimum, which has "Hot Spots" where you can access free Wi-fi almost anywhere. Check if your Internet Service provider has that.

 

Under Restrictions turn off any and all apps that allow texting -- there are several designed to "override" Smart Limits. My daughter does not have a Facebook or Twitter account (her choice not mine, believe it or not), but I disabled those as well just in case. My daughter is a Tumblr addict and it is through the Tumblr app that she was able to text all night long. So simply disabling Internet access and blocking Tumblr stopped that.

 

You can also turn of iMessaging through Restrictions.

 

I did not have any problems with my daughter spending any money -- on Smart Limits I simply set all of the Data & Purchase limits to $0.00 the first day we got the phone.

 

The other thing I did (which I have done for years with her other cell phones) is go on the AT&T site go to Wireless > "Usage & Recent Activity" > Her name tab > "View Details" 

(towards the bottom of the screen) > "Text/Web" (second tab after "Voice") and I get the ENTIRE list of every single text sent & received with the time & duration.

 

In the 3 weeks of getting the iPhone my daughter had over 100 pages  --that is over 5,000 texts. 77 pages of  which were done during school or after midnight on a school night.

So I simply put the "repeat offenders" on the blocked list under "AT&T Smart Limits" and gave her only 2 hours a day of unblocked time in the early evening.

 

That is when my daughter learned what free apps to download to get around the Smart Limits.

 

On the iPhone you can do the same simply by preventing them from downloading ANY apps at all. For us it was all the free apps of games, texting and such which made life insane!!! But blocking the ability to download them and simply turning off or deleting current (annoying) apps you can do through iPhone Restrictions.

 

You can also stop them from deleting apps you want them to have -- such as "find my phone" or similar ones.

 

Right now I physically take the iPhone away when she gets home from school as she was abusing her privilege so much this is her punishment. And she only has a few weeks of school left with final exams so she is not getting it back until school is finished. So some of the monitoring is simply me laying down the law like any other situation a teen gets themselves into. I just make it clear that I do not want to be Big Brother and I really do want her to control herself because that is true. Somehow that seems to break her anger as she knows I am saying the truth.

 

I know it was a long response but it is hard to explain all the steps! I just looked up the articles & videos to learn how the iPhone works, called Apple with questions, and spent a little over a hour figuring out her iPhone when I confiscated it from her.

 

I hope this was somewhat helpful!

 

Voyager

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1 Message

11 years ago

Isn't it a huge waste of money to buy a smart that is obligated to have a data plan if the parents have to turn off internet usage etc. with the restrictions?

 

Our son is 16 almost 17. His Samsung Strive took a swim yesterday and is soaking in a bag of rice for now. He is eligable for an upgrade but we don't want him to have a smartphone but choices for basic phones arre so limited.. He has proven time after time he cannot handle it. His ipod touch has restrictions set on it because of misuse in terms of visiting many many porn sites and so forth. Simply asking him not to do isn't enough. I even have OpenDNS set up through our router but HS kids know how to get around it. I found a tablet he had been hiding under his pillow over the weekend. Turns out his aunt loaned it to him. Upon scoping through it, he had spent hours on porn sites, using free texting apps to send/recieve pics, etc. They just don't understand the dangers in this!!

 

We do use Smart Limits for Wireless on his current phone and it has been wonderful. The restrictions from within the ipod touch have been a lifesaver too. I am almost willing to get an iphone for him if we didn't have to have the stupid data plan tacked to it.

Contributor

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1 Message

11 years ago

I still can't figure out why AT&T is still selling this service to iPhone users knowing good and well it doesn't work for us!!!  Greedy...

Expert

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12.2K Messages

11 years ago


@Urs220 wrote:

I still can't figure out why AT&T is still selling this service to iPhone users knowing good and well it doesn't work for us!!!  Greedy...


the only portion that will not work is when the Imessage between apple devices, all other devices utilize the stock SMS and MMS protocols.

 

Besides they sell it to everyone not just the select iphone users, some iphone users find it useful. Although I use a more realisitic way - daughter lost the use of her cell phone for a month along with being grounded, and if she keeps it up it will be longer.

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