Adding apps to a child’s Apple Watch under family sharing

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Adding apps to a child’s Apple Watch under family sharing

I am having an issue adding any apps to my 10 year old son’s Apple Watch. He doesn’t have an iPhone, so it is paired to mine. I do not have an Apple Watch so the only watch that comes up on my Watch app is his. It is listed as a family watch under the “all watches” section. When I tap his watch to manage it from my iPhone I am unable to install any apps (like Spotify) that are on my phone on his. When I try to add the app from his watch there is a message that says “requires iPhone”.

My wife has an Apple Watch paired to her iPhone and is able to add a number of apps that are on her phone to her watch through the Watch app. Why am I unable to add Apps to my son’s watch?

Apple Watch Series 4

Posted on Dec 4, 2022 09:55 PM

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Answer 1

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jdo_apple

Community Specialist

Dec 7, 2022 04:56 PM in response to jjmoss1

Thanks for replying, jjmoss1, and that additional info, it really helps! So, your son should be able to get apps from the App Store app on the Apple Watch: Get more apps on Apple Watch - Apple Support but be aware:

"Some apps require that you also have the iOS version of the app on your iPhone."

Looking at the tech specs for Spotify, for example, it only lists iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Apple TV as supporting the native Spotify app, which means a standalone Apple Watch is not supported by Spotify: Spotify - Music and Podcasts on the App Store

If you would like to give feedback about this, please do that here: Feedback - Watch - Apple

Have a great day and thanks for using the Apple Support Communities!

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Answer 2

ASTRO24

Community Specialist

Dec 6, 2022 06:47 PM in response to jjmoss1

Hi jjmoss1,

Thanks for posting in Apple Support Communities.

We understand that you're unable to add app's to your son's paired Apple Watch. You're in the correct area to add the app in the Watch app. To address, restart both iPhone and paired Apple Watch. Check for available updates for both devices to install performance fixes.

What occurs when you tao on Family Watch in Settings on your iPhone?

Set up Apple Watch for a family member

Regards.

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Answer 3

jjmoss1 Author

Level 1

14 points

Dec 7, 2022 01:30 PM in response to ASTRO24

Hi - Thanks for the reponse. I turned both devices off and then back on which didn’t do anything. I also unpaired my sons watch to my phone and then re-paired it and made sure everything was up to date.

When I tap on family watch I see this. If I scroll to the bottom of the screen there is no opportunity to add any apps.

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Adding apps to a child’s Apple Watch under family sharing

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