FamilyWall: Family Organizer Reviews

by RalphLegrand

Redundant. Basically it’s the Reminders/Lists app that’s already in your phone. They just added a banner image. I was interested in the meal planning thing because I thought it would assist more. No, you still have to actually plan. You already have Find My. You already have iCal to import outlook and gcal if you want to sync. You already have family group text in iMessage. They said it would be great for prioritizing just family messages but you can already pin that to the top in iMessage and let family through your do not disturb filter. You’re paying for what’s already on your phone… pretty silly actually. :)

by Bkford

I have a small family circle, and we have enjoyed using the Premium version for some years now. Recently the notifications stopped working. Folks are rather dependent on notifications to be reminded to go and look to see what’s new. So, new postings are just not being seen now, because people don’t realize there is something new. It is not okay for a paid app not to have notifications (which have been properly set on the device settings as well as within FamilyWall ).

by GE27

The latest iPad version is problematic with navigation. The main problem is not being able to return to the “home” page when, for example, in a calendar view. I find it impossible to return to the main menu in order to go into lists. Since I can’t get into lists, I don’t know if the function to add items works properly. In the past versions, the list of items already on the list disappears and after adding an item, FamilyWall does not return to the updated list.

In the iPhone version FamilyWall seems to take over the OS and cuts off other apps. When grocery shopping, I usually listen to music on my iPhone. When I tick off the items on my list, FamilyWall causes the music to pause: annoying.

by Aggybum89

I rely on the calendar function to update everyone in our family of our schedule. The calendar alarm that I set up has already failed on me numerous times (never get notified with a sound, only a small pop up message on my Home Screen), and when trying to edit a weekly event, i save changes as “edit this event and going forward” but instead it changes every event into the new one, even the ones that have already passed. It has been so time consuming going into each one and making it an individual event instead of a “weekly” one because this function simply does not work properly. Sadly I’m going to have to find something else that works in the meantime.

by Stepharooni213

FamilyWall seems great and I think will be very useful for my family. However, it seems that the date selector is off by a day. If I choose Sunday, January 5th, 2020, FamilyWall puts the meal on Monday, January, 6th. I added my husband as a contact and added his birthday. If I try to edit it, it shows his birthday as correct but on the contact screen it shows it one day earlier. This I can handle but the meal planning date being off may keep me from using this. If I add meals to what I think is the appropriate day and then have to go back and move everything, individually, by a day, that takes more time than it’s worth.

by Lito30

I really, really like FamilyWall. My family is a little communicationally challenged, where different people know bits and pieces of a thing and no one tells one another. Then they’re like “oh, you didn’t know?” *sigh* They’re still developing the habit of using this but even in this learning period it has done so much to get us on the same page. We have relatives out of state and it’s reduced the chaos of organizing their visits so, so much. It’s ever so nearly perfect.

The main reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is the notification system. Notifications show up in iOS saying what’s new, no problem. When you go to FamilyWall itself there’s no indicators pointing you to the update. So if someone posts to the wall I’ll get a notification saying person X said this on the wall. When I go in FamilyWall , if I’d never seen that notification I’d have no idea what happened because there’s no counter or anything. The only thing that does it are messages, and even those you have to go into the messages before it updates and shows a dot. I really, really like FamilyWall. Once you make notifications a little more friendly, I’ll love it like a brother!

by Haylieclaire

This is the best family planning app I’ve used so far! I wasn’t even using one before this because none of them were that helpful, but piecing it all together with apple apps like a shared calendar, shared reminder lists for groceries, shared notes, and find my. It’s so much easier to have it all in one place, plus I love that I can input recipes and create a grocery list with categories! The only things I would love to see added are the ability to see my meal plan on my calendar…if it was like its own calendar that I could check to see on the monthly view or uncheck to leave it off that would be perfect. Also, my husband’s work schedule is an 8 week rotation which is not an option in the timetable. This is certainly not the end of the world, we just use the calendar at this point, but allowing the option for any amount of weeks would be helpful for those who don’t have typical rotating schedules!

by Winbley1530

I love (almost) everything about FamilyWall. After doing research I chose FamilyWall over other family planners available because of the plethora of features and how customizable it is! It’s like my family has its own “Instagram.” I was also blown away by the amazing customer support Family Wall provides. I gave four stars because when I am at home the apple map location shows my “current location” as my neighbors address. It’s frustrating because the “share my location” option is the first option when checking in on the map and I would love to be able to quickly tap that option, but, if I were to do that it would check me in at my neighbors address despite the fact the map shows my location to be pointing on my house when zoomed in. It would be nice if the Apple map in FamilyWall were more accurate. Especially since it has an SOS feature-that could prove to be very misleading in the event of an emergency!

by Liveardently

FamilyWall is fantastic and well worth the membership. It’s clean, easy to find any information you need to find… but there’s one reason I docked a star and that’s the lack of widgets. For some reason the notifications don’t alert me for upcoming events (it’s either how I entered them or how I’ve set up my phone…) but my preferred way to check our upcoming schedule is widgets on my Home Screen so that the next event or to-do is immediately visible at all times. It’s so easy to miss a notification but impossible to miss when it’s the first thing you see on your home screen. As it is I have to intentionally click into FamilyWall to see my next event. It’s easy to get busy and forget to check.

My other wish would be to have the ability to make FamilyWall icon a different color (it’s so similar to a few other apps on my phone) but that’s not a reason to dock a star. Just hopeful to have that in a future update.

by Stormiberry

Loving FamilyWall so far BUT really want to be able to pick which calendar (outlook or google or family wall) that I need to add the event to and still only use the family wall app. The other calendar apps allow this, but this one does not. My family will grow tired with having to always check two/three apps to add events when we need things to show up for work or school also. Also, need to be able to send calendar invites those outside of my circle to add it to the calendar they use. AND google keeps telling me app has been denied to use with the google calendar so I’m missing important things to add to our family wall. As soon as these things are resolved I will be fully loving FamilyWall & able to recommend. Until they are fixed many I know won’t get it because they need these features.

by AlyssforAlice

I’ve been searching for a family hub that had all these features. A post board for all family, individual messages, calendar, and lists and I am so happy to finally have found it! The location feature is a huge bonus! Perhaps the only issue I’m having so far is that I get message notifications on my phone, but when I open FamilyWall it doesn’t show that their is an unread message until I go into the messages section; having the tile change color or have a notification on it would make FamilyWall perfect!

A future addition perhaps, would be a points award system for completed tasks/chores, and then a points redemption section with rewards you can add in for certain points. I use OurHome for these functions right now and it would be so nice to only need one app!

by Rat...lass

I love FamilyWall but I’ve been having extreme problems with the bugs. Sometimes it won’t let me change the time from am to pm, so I’ll have an event at 4 am when it’s meant to be at 4pm and vice versa. All my boyfriends work times show that they start at 8pm when it actually starts at 8am, won’t let me change it, I’ve even tried creating new events. Also the colors are always glitching to different colors. The apps a great idea but you guys need to fix all the annoying bugs

by Naeface7777

There are a few flaws in my opinion.
1. It would be convenient if a “child” account could be merged or you could later send an invite instead of adding a whole new profile.
2. Also having an option to cross out (cancel) an event would be helpful also as this would tell other members it was there but is no longer.
3. When typing a similar event and the drop down shows up it would be nice if you could scroll through more then the 3 FamilyWall chooses to show.
4. Would be awesome to be able to take events from emails or messages and directly input them into FamilyWall but it’s not currently an option.

Otherwise I like the color coding and the people profiles/icons. It’s been super helpful and I can add more than a small portable calendar. Everyone takes there phones so it is nice since I don’t generally carry my purse and my spouse is in the loop with everything too. It works on multiple platforms which we have.

Hopefully we can see some of these updates in the near future! Thanks.

by MacAttackMan7

So far FamilyWall had a been pretty easy and intuitive. Two things I would love to see. First, a widget for the calendar. FamilyWall I currently use has a widget and I love having the calendar right on my Home Screen. Second, inputting events on the calendar could be just a little quicker. It’s not bad the way it is now but FamilyWall I currently use let’s you type in everything and it will extract the info and put it on. I’ll type in 4/22 Work 07-15 and it will automatically add the event with the time and name on the date. Not a huge deal but makes inputting a schedule a month at a time a lot easier.

by Cindy Vegas

I love the shopping lists and the messaging function, I love that you can save pictures..

I think FamilyWall is really great, however.. 1 start less for me, because I’m not using all functions and I would like to only see the functions I’m using (delete or make the others invisible when I open FamilyWall )

If that would be a premium function, I’d consider paying for FamilyWall . I do think the monthly price is a little bit high though, but if FamilyWall would only show me the taps I want, I’d probably be okay with it.

by MattG167

Such a great app. Initially using it to care for a loved one as well, but finding so many fun yet functional aspects. Being able to share one calendar that everyone can see and receives notifications on is absolutely essential. Also love the fact you can create do lists and assign to people, create grocery lists, see where members are at. The fun part? Sharing pics, notes, messaging to some members or all and just being able to communicate effectively with each other even though we’re separated by thousands of miles. Keep up the great work! One question though: how can you see each other’s location? Also, one idea for a function is to quickly do a video call with members.

by Pickle Picker77

I like the idea of FamilyWall and subscribed to the premium, however I cannot get FamilyWall and my Google calendars to sync. It will only allow me to choose one of my calendars and since we have several, this is a real problem for us. I also can’t seem to get the real time location to work like I thought it would. If these things can be fixed, I would keep it and continue to pay for it.

by Audge626

FamilyWall is an amazing app and I love it. It lets my entire family stay in contact and I love how it tells you when someone makes something and let’s you choose who is involved. As a family we were looking for an app like this for a while and FamilyWall has fit all of our criteria. I absolutely love it. I would recommend this to any family with a busy schedule. My favorite part of FamilyWall is how it sends you a notification when the event is in process or beforehand.

by Thelonelyphish

FamilyWall is great, we are using it to keep in touch on the care and schedule of a loved one that needs assistance, and so far really great for everyone to see her schedule. I have the following feedback for developers:
Lists- would be good to be able to assign to one person but be viewable to all. Right now if it is assigned to one person only that person can see it.
Example: lists/tasks that need to be completed, I want others to see it and possibly sign up to do it, or see that someone else is already taking care of it.
Also possibly a feedback option on the contact us link, when I selected from my phone I got the message unable to connect to mail. Probably something on my end.

by MetroplexMom

We love FamilyWall! It helps us keep track of all our activities and we love the clean and simple look to it. We don’t use all the amazing parts of FamilyWall but the calendar part has absolutely been a sanity saver for our busy family. One question - are you guys going to be developing this for the Apple Watch anytime soon? I would LOVE to have access to even the basic “what are we doing and where do we have be today” on my wrist.😊

by Fedmomof2

I did an update today and now I can no longer view the comments that others have made on our family posts. When I click on the comment icon to see the comments, my keyboard pops up and blocks me from seeing them. And I am not able to scroll up. The view is frozen. I turned my phone off. It did not help. I logged out and then logged back on. To no avail. I no longer can view the comments. 😔

by Ladymoss93

I love the meal planning feature especially, and the ease of getting an ingredient list for shopping sorted out, reaccessing favorite recipes, etc. The whole app works well, rarely crashing. When it does crash, it’s using the map feature, which is a great idea (love that you can quickly inform family where you are so they can meet up with you) but doesn’t allow you to delete locations as well as which seems to bomb FamilyWall any time it’s used more than a few minutes.

by Lvkkkkkkkkkkk

FamilyWall is only saving on calendar month view mode for up to 3 months. In agenda mode however everything is visible..why? I purchased the family premium and it’s still not showing up on the calendar view. Also, when a family member inserts their birthday it shows on the calendar for the day before on calendar view and on agenda view on their correct birthday...why? Please help!

by TMarsh15

FamilyWall has always been a great tool our family used to stay connected, however the past couple of weeks has been weird as FamilyWall has been glitching and crashing from time to time. I am currently running the most updated version of FamilyWall AND my iOS, yet there seems to be no improvement.

It’s nothing major, just minor nitpicking items I would LOVE to see addressed.

by Whatthasteph

Me and my boyfriend love FamilyWall! The calendar is so helpful, I no longer have to remind him of important dates. Love that you can add photos and messages. The timeline is a cool feature. And I like the todo lists! One suggestion I have would be the ability to rearrange todo lists after you enter it. We just entered our grocery list but it would be helpful to organize it to make shopping easier!

by Peculiar Poet

Our family stretches from coast to coast and overseas too. Family App serves as our communications center for all Life events and celebrations among many other announcements that we share. Getting everyone to join in has been a challenge but it’s one well worth pursuing. Staying in touch with family through Family App helps us fight the modern day epidemic of loneliness. Thanks.

by Soskdkdjeiies

Out of all the apps I’ve used family wall has a PHENOMENAL support team, and they responded to me in about a day or so, which compared to most is incredible, also it’s like a bunch of apps in one, with iMessages features, and calendars features, and instagrams (but more private) and heck even a shopping list, I absolutely love FamilyWall and strongly suggest it to anybody reading this review.

by Dbaugustine

I have contacted support to no avail. If you’d like to keep the functionality of FamilyWall, I suggest holding off on upgrading to iOS 13 until they fix it.

Previously a 5 star program.

EDIT: Functionality has been fixed, support from Guillaume and the crew has been great. Restoring my 5 stars!