Pinwheel Caregiver

The app has several issues, but the biggest is the location tracking. The app updates my kid’s phone location approximately once every 30 minutes, and although there’s an option to “view current location,” it almost never works. Despite changing settings, I cannot get the location to update more frequently or on demand. It’s also supposed to send a notification when the phone leaves the “home” or “school” areas, but in 9 months, I have never received a single one.

I love the idea of having a phone that grows with my kids. That’s why I have two. However, the location hardly ever works and that is one of the biggest reasons I wanted to use pinwheel. We’ve reached out to customer service multiple times with these issues, and while they do answer through email, the problem doesn’t improve. I’m frustrated and reconsidering my choice in pinwheel. I definitely wouldn’t recommend it to anyone right now.

I like that I can remotely manage the phone. But the methods are pretty terrible. It’s hard to discover how to block or unblock apps, and the main issue is that you have to make permanent changes (unless you remember to undo changes); i.e. no adding 5 minutes or anything. The schedule has been in beta forever, and for some reason doesn’t allow you a custom time limit; only presets, and no 0 mins/disable when setting times limits on individual days. Additionally it does not give enough information about app usage. No way to check individual app usage, no way to dig into app usage details. It’s a great idea, but poorly executed. Edit: The schedule is a bit more flexible as I have dug into it. It does allow for “override”; which I really like. There are also more options for scheduling. Still not super intuitive, but enough to bump my rating a star.

5 stars for concept 2 stars for execution and reliability 1 star for customer service The idea of pinwheel is great, but the execution is elementary. Constant issues with apps not downloading even though your app will say it’s downloaded. It doesn’t show up on phone. I’ve already had to hard reset and my child lost their text - no way of fixing that yet. constant update from pinwheel alert that will annoy your kid. Their solution is mute but it still pops up constantly. Customer service response has gone downhill. Nothing like taking hours to reply and you replying immediately to have them leave you on read when you really needed help and contact well within business hours. Incredibly disappointing for what was promised.

App not working. It works once and then crashes with a blank white screen. I’ve had to delete it and re-install every time I want to use it. The premise of this entire Pinwheel phone is to be able to manage your child’s phone. This is impossible with this app. You pay $15 a month for the pinwheel software so this needs to be addressed. Update: over a year later and it still has the same issues. The phone crashes all the time, text messages don’t go through and it took them a year to respond to my request to download our local library app on the phone only to be told no. Seriously?? They have banking apps to download and airline apps but the local library app is a no?? We got rid of the phone and pinwheel and just got a regular iPhone. There are so many ways to manage/lockdown the regular phones now and they work much better than this. Don’t waste your money.

Pinwheel has a cool concept and competitive price, but the poor quality the of software, hardware, and customer service undermine it. When authorizing apps through the caregiver app, those apps would not always appear on the kid’s phone. The Pinwheel phone itself was glitchy with the camera often freezing and the home screen being blank. The process of trying to retun the glitchy phone after having it for only a few days was very painful. I had to send about a dozen photos proving It was still in good condition, had a lengthy thread trying to talk with a supervisor (never did), and then multiple email instructions of how to get the phone ready to ship back to them.

Each part of the product has been poor, especially for the price. I paid $300+ for the phone and 12 months of Pinwheel service. The phone, the app and the caregiver dashboard have each had problems and been buggy. Settings on the parent/caregiver dashboard don’t update the phone, apps wouldn’t load, the phone often crashes after unlocking the screen. Tech support and customer service aren’t helpful. I regret making this purchase.

If your goal is to get your kid a phone that has the abilities of the old brick phones, you won’t be far off. The first 3-6 months of our ownership of these phones it couldn’t even do that! Frequently the phones would randomly enter into “nothing mode” by themselves! That’s just what you want when you’re kids are home alone, they won’t even have the ability to call their emergency contacts. I also can’t even get basic apps on their phones especially one that helps my daughter manage her diabetes. After several unanswered phone calls to pinwheel and app requests were no better off. So if you want a “phone” that can sometimes call/text and not much else. Here ya go.

The service doesn’t work half the time. Text messages I send as an emergency contact don’t go through to him half the time. It seems as if he has to text me first then my texts start working. Same with phone calls. Also the location history doesn’t always update. There can be a gap of 10hrs between location pings which is not very helpful if there is an emergency. The app doesn’t work half the time either. As I am typing this now the app has not worked in 2 days. Every time I click on the app it just opens a blank white background.

The Pinwheel phone and companion software is the best family friendly phone available, hands down. Great features that bring sanity to the use of what has become an otherwise addictive feature of modern life… the smartphone. Worth every penny to help protect your children.