Christmas Device Setup Guide

Start with your own account

Most platforms need a parent's own account before they will create a child's. Apple needs Family Sharing set up with an adult as the organiser. PlayStation needs your own account first and makes you the family manager when you add a family member. Google needs a parent with a Google Account to use the Family Link app.

• Your account

Create the child's account inside your family group

Each platform sets its own age rules. In the UK, a child under 13 cannot create their own Apple Account without a parent's help and consent and must be in a Family Sharing group. Microsoft gives the UK's statutory age for Microsoft accounts as 13 and says children under it must have a parent manage their account. Nintendo says a child under 16 cannot create their own Nintendo Account, and Sony says players under 18 must use a PlayStation account managed by a parent or guardian. Give each child their own account: Apple says a child should not share an account with anyone else, including another family member.

• Your phone or tablet
• Your account

Choose the purchase approvals now

Apple calls its control Ask to Buy and Google Play calls its control Purchase approvals. Apple says Ask to Buy is on by default for children under 13. Set the level you want from your own phone before the child ever picks the device up. The Black Friday and Cyber Monday page explains what these approvals do and do not cover.

• Your phone or tablet
• Payment method

If your child already has their own account, plan for it

Google says that adding supervision to a child's existing Google Account needs the child and their device to be with the parent at the time, so that surprise may not stay a surprise. Apple tells parents to add a child who already has a Child Account to the Family Sharing group before setting up the child's device.

• Your child there

Know what has to wait for the device

Some controls only start working once the child is signed in on the device. Sony says parental controls only work properly once the child has completed email verification and is signed in on their console, and Xbox says family settings only apply when the child is signed in on the console with the Microsoft account that is in the family group. Google says changes made in Family Link take about five minutes to apply once the child's device is connected to the internet.

Your own phone, charged, with the right app and sign-in

Several of these gifts cannot be finished without your own smartphone. Meta's Quest headsets need the Meta Horizon app on a phone to complete the first pairing and setup. Nintendo's GameChat controls are set up in the Nintendo Switch Parental Controls smart device app, which needs a Nintendo Account held by someone aged 18 or over. Garmin's Bounce 2 needs a Garmin Connect account and the Garmin Jr. app. Apple Watch Family Setup needs your own iPhone.

• Your phone or tablet
• Your account

Proof that you are an adult, and consent

Apple and Sony can ask the parent to confirm they are an adult, and Google asks for parental consent when you create a child's account. In the UK, Apple accepts a credit card in your own name, a scan of a passport or driving licence, or a PASS-accredited Proof of Age card, among other methods; debit cards and gift cards cannot be used, and an adult who has not confirmed their age cannot adjust some of Apple's safety settings. Google says one way to give parental consent for a child's Google Account is a credit card, which is not charged, although a temporary authorisation may be placed on it and is usually removed within 48 hours. Sony may ask a parent's adult PlayStation account to verify its age by mobile number, facial scan or ID; the mobile-number check needs a phone contract in the parent's name. Do these a few days early.

• Your account
• Payment method

Wi-Fi details and time for the first update

Have your Wi-Fi name and password ready. A new iPhone or iPad needs a Wi-Fi or mobile connection to activate and continue setup. Xbox says the console needs the most recent system update before it can be used for the first time. Meta says a Quest updates automatically when it is charged, switched on and on Wi-Fi, but not while it is switched off or asleep, and that the headset software must be up to date for supervision time limits and scheduled breaks to work. Your own devices may need updating too: Apple's new parental controls, released with iOS 27, need every device in the Family Sharing group, including yours, to be on version 27 or later.

• Wi-Fi
• Software update

Charger time

Meta says to fully charge a new Quest 3 with the supplied adapter and cable before first use, and to put a headset on charge before any software update. Check the box or the maker's setup page for the gift you are buying.

Who pays, and what the child can spend

In a family group, the child's purchases are charged to an adult. Apple says the family organiser pays for everyone's purchases unless they turn off Purchase Sharing. On PlayStation a child account has no payment method of its own, payment comes from the family manager's wallet, and a new child account's monthly spending limit starts at 0. Nintendo's eShop restrictions are set in the parent's Nintendo Account, where a tick box disables purchases and automatic renewal.

• Payment method

Apple: look for Activation Lock

Apple tells buyers of a used iPhone or iPad from anyone other than Apple or an Apple Authorised Reseller to make sure the device has been erased and is no longer linked to the previous owner's account. On iOS or iPadOS 15 or later, an Activation Locked device shows an iPhone Locked to Owner screen when switched on, and Apple says not to take ownership of a used device that is protected by Activation Lock. If setup asks for the previous owner's Apple Account details, the device is still linked to their account, and Apple says to hand it back to the seller to enter their password. For a used Apple Watch, Apple says to check that the previous owner has unpaired it, removed Activation Lock and erased it, and, for a cellular model, removed and cancelled any active mobile plans.

Android: Factory Reset Protection

Google's Factory Reset Protection ties a reset Android device to the previous owner's Google Account or screen lock. To turn it off, the previous owner removes their Google Account from the device before resetting. Google says that if those details cannot be supplied during setup, the new owner will not be able to use the device at all.

Consoles and headsets: reset, and watch for bans

Sony's guidance for anyone passing on a PS5 or PS4 is to back up data and reset the console first, and Xbox's own guide names Reset and remove everything as the option to use when selling or gifting a console. Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo can each ban or suspend a console itself rather than an account, and Sony says a suspension on a second-hand PlayStation console cannot be lifted and the buyer should contact the seller. On a Meta Quest, a factory reset wipes the headset but purchases stay on the seller's Meta account, so a used headset needs your own account set up from scratch.

Handing down your own old device

Apple says that when you reuse a family member's old iPhone or iPad for a child, the previous user should back up, sign out of their Apple Account and remove their personal information first. Amazon says to reset a used Amazon device to factory default settings before gifting it, which deregisters it from the owner's account.

New contacts and friend requests

Decide who your child can talk to before they start, and check what the controls actually cover. On PlayStation, setting a child's communication to Restrict stops text messages and voice chat with other players, but pre-written in-game messages are still allowed. In the Xbox Family Settings app, a parent can let a child ask a parent before adding a friend. On Switch 2, GameChat is restricted by default for children under 16 until a parent or guardian helps them set it up, and it requires a Nintendo Switch Online membership. On a parent-managed Meta Quest account, a child cannot use chats or calls with anyone the parent has not added as an approved contact, but Meta says they may still be able to interact with other people who are not approved contacts in parent-approved apps or destinations.

Gift cards and codes

Apple's own help pages don't agree on whether a child redeeming a code needs your approval, and Apple doesn't say what happens with a gift-card balance. Don't rely on Ask to Buy to stop gift-card or code spending: keep the card or code yourself until you've set the account up and tested it. Xbox says its purchase-approval setting does not apply to using currency or Xbox gift cards. On PlayStation, wallet top-up voucher codes must be redeemed on the family manager's account, not the child's, and a voucher code works once, with Sony not replacing it if it is lost, stolen or used without the owner's permission.

• Payment method

Gift-card scams and 'free' codes

Amazon says legitimate individuals and businesses won't ever ask for payment through Amazon gift cards. Apple says its gift cards can only be used to buy products and services from Apple, and tells people not to give the numbers on the back of a gift card to someone they don't know well or haven't met. PlayStation warns that scammers promise free vouchers, gift cards or in-game items to get people to scan a QR code. See our Black Friday and Cyber Monday page for the scams to watch for.

In-game purchases

PEGI's In-game purchases content descriptor always appears when in-game content can be purchased, so look for it on the box or store page before you buy. PEGI also now lists a separate Paid random items descriptor for loot boxes and card packs, where players don't know exactly what they will get before buying.

• Payment method

A short family agreement

Christmas Day is fine for a quick chat about the rules, with a longer conversation in the days after. Our family phone agreement is a fill-in template you can adapt for any new device: sit down together, fill it in, and sign it. Include what your child should do if something worrying happens, and make clear they will not be in trouble for telling you.