Setup Guide

Get your display running in 10 minutes.

FamGlow is designed to run 24/7 on a tablet mounted on your wall. Follow these steps to get the best experience from day one.

Before you start

FamGlow is designed to run on a tablet you set aside specifically for this display — not your personal device. Your family wall is visible to everyone in your home, so keeping it on its own account keeps your personal data completely separate.

Basic setup

Enough to get FamGlow on the wall.

1

Use a Dedicated Account

Register the tablet under a new account — not your personal one. Since FamGlow is a shared display visible to everyone in your home, using a dedicated account means your personal messages, emails, app notifications, and purchase history never appear on the wall.

Think of it like setting up a TV: it's a shared screen, not a personal device.

  • Android

    Create a new Google account (e.g., <family_name>.famglow@gmail.com) and sign into the tablet with it.

  • iPad

    Sign out of your personal Apple ID and create a new one, or use Screen Time / Guided Access to lock the tablet to FamGlow only.

  • Fire HD

    Register the device under a separate Amazon account — not your primary shopping account.

Best always-on setup

These are what make a tablet behave like a wall display instead of a tablet: it stays awake, stays quiet, and stays on FamGlow. Most are a matter of taste, but turning off Auto-Lock / screen timeout is not — skip it and the display will sleep.

2

Display & Power Settings

These settings keep your display running 24/7 without interruption.

  • Screen timeout / Auto-Lock: Turn it off completely. This is the one setting FamGlow cannot do for you, and without it the display will go dark on its own.
    iPad: Settings › Display & Brightness › Auto-Lock › Never. (Apple calls it Auto-Lock, not screen timeout.)
    Android: Settings › Display › Screen timeout › the longest option available.
    Why you have to do this by hand: a web page is allowed to ask the system to keep the screen on, but only while someone has recently touched it. A wall display is unattended by definition, so on iPad that request is refused and the tablet sleeps regardless of what FamGlow does. Turning off Auto-Lock is the only reliable fix.
  • Passcode / PIN: Disable the lock screen. A passcode will interrupt the display after any restart.
  • Brightness: Set to maximum. Wall displays need to be readable from across the room.
  • Always plugged in: Connect to a power source permanently. Battery mode causes the screen to dim and eventually sleep.
3

Set Your Timezone

In your tablet's system settings, confirm the timezone matches your location. FamGlow also reads your timezone during setup — make sure both match, or notifications and calendar events will show at the wrong time.

4

Silence Notifications & Distractions

  • Silence other apps: Disable notifications for every app except FamGlow. You don't want news alerts from other apps interrupting your display.
  • Voice assistants: Disable Siri, Google Assistant, or Alexa wake word detection near the display.
  • Do Not Disturb: Consider enabling a DND schedule (e.g., midnight–6am) if you prefer a quiet display overnight.
5

Wi-Fi

FamGlow requires a constant internet connection for calendars, weather, news, and sports. Connect to your home Wi-Fi with auto-reconnect on, and make sure the tablet is within reliable range of your router.

6

Volume

Turn volume up to hear FamGlow's notification chimes. If mounting on the wall, test from across the room — many tablets have quiet speakers when facing away from you.

Tips for a Great Display

  • Mount height: Eye level for adults works best — roughly 5 feet from the floor.
  • Charging cable: Use a right-angle or flat USB cable to keep it tidy against the wall.
  • Restart monthly: A quick restart once a month keeps the display fresh and picks up any app updates automatically.

Inside the app

Your display. Your family.

Once you sign in, FamGlow takes a few minutes to personalize. Here's what each section does — and why it matters.

🏠

Your Family Name

The first thing FamGlow asks for. Your family name appears on the display — it's the first thing you'll see every morning and the last thing you'll see at night. Make it yours.

📍

Location — Weather & Local News

Enter your city and state, or tap Detect Location to let FamGlow find you automatically. Your location powers the live weather on your display and filters local news to stories that are actually relevant to where you live — not just national headlines.

📅

Connect Your Google Calendar

Head to Settings → Connect Google Calendar and sign in. FamGlow reads the calendars you pick and puts your events on the display in real time, without changing them. If you later turn on two-way sync, FamGlow creates one calendar of its own named "FamGlow" and writes the events you add here into that calendar, so they show up in Google or Apple Calendar too. Your own calendars stay read-only: FamGlow shows them, and only ever writes to its own.

Read-only by default · optional two-way sync · one connection per family
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

Family Members & Kids' Schedules

Add each member of your family under Family Members. For kids, you can optionally enter their school name, school district, and a link to the school or district calendar — whether it's a PDF or a .ics subscription link.

FamGlow's AI reads the calendar and automatically identifies important events — holidays, early dismissals, picture days, exam weeks — and assigns them to the right child. Every kid's schedule, visible at a glance, on one screen.

⚙️

Display Preferences

Under Settings → Display, you can fine-tune how FamGlow looks and behaves on your wall:

  • Temperature units — Fahrenheit or Celsius.
  • Auto-return timer — How long before the display returns to the clock face after you navigate away.
  • Notification alerts — Control when and how FamGlow surfaces alerts on screen.
  • Location & timezone — Verify these match your system settings.
🖼️

Family Photos

FamGlow doubles as a digital photo display. Upload up to 20 family photos and they'll rotate on your wall between other cards. FamGlow does its best to detect faces and keep them centered in the frame — so the people in the photo stay in focus, not cropped out.

Up to 20 photos · Face-aware cropping
📰

Morning News

Pick a handful of news categories that matter to your family — local, national, business, technology, sports. FamGlow surfaces headlines at a glance so you can catch up while you pour your morning coffee, without reaching for your phone.

🏆

Your Sports Teams

Add the teams you follow. FamGlow shows upcoming games on your display and notifies you in-app when it's game time — no separate app needed. Sports team support is growing; if you can't find your team, let us know and we'll add it.

Live scores · Game-day alerts

Ready to get started?

Open FamGlow in your tablet's browser and sign in with Google.

Try FamGlow Free

Questions? Email us at support@famglow.com