Family Devices

A reference for who uses which device, which accounts are signed in, and how to fix common problems.

Device Inventory

iPhones

Device	Owner	Apple ID
Matthew's iPhone	Matthew	matt@speicherville.com
Kandace's iPhone	Kandace	kanaussie@gmail.com
Violet's iPhone	Violet	violet@speicherville.com

iPads

Device	Owner / Use	Apple ID
Family iPad	Shared / Violet primary	violet@speicherville.com

Macs

Device	Owner / Use	Specs	Apple ID
Matthew's MacBook Air	Matt — portable, homelab management	M3, 16 GB, 512 GB SSD, macOS 15	matt@speicherville.com
Matthew's Mac Studio	Matt — home office desktop	M-series	matt@speicherville.com
Family MacBook	Violet primary / family shared	macOS, parental controls enabled	violet@speicherville.com

Matthew's MacBook Air is his primary homelab management machine (hostname gob on the home network). The Family MacBook (hostname family-macbook, IP 192.168.1.160) is Violet's main laptop — it has full monitoring and Screen Time enabled.

Accounts on Each Device

Each device is signed into one Apple ID, which controls:

• iCloud sync (photos, contacts, calendar, files)
• App Store purchases
• iMessage and FaceTime
• Find My

Passwords for each Apple ID are in 1Password → Family vault under each person's name.

Shared Apple Services

Even though each device has its own Apple ID, the family shares:

• iCloud Family Sharing: App purchases, Apple One subscriptions, storage plan
• Find My: Matt can see all family devices
• Shared Photo Album: Family album visible to all

Parental Controls (Screen Time)

Violet's iPhone, iPad, and Family MacBook all have Screen Time enabled. Matt manages the settings remotely from his own devices.

What's Controlled

• App limits: Time limits on certain app categories (social, games)
• Content restrictions: Age-appropriate content filtering for apps and web
• Downtime: Scheduled times when only certain apps are available (e.g., overnight, school hours)
• Communication limits: Who can be contacted during downtime
• Screen Time passcode: Separate from the device passcode — only Matt has it

Managing Screen Time (Matt)

From iPhone:

• Settings → Screen Time → scroll to Family → tap Violet's name

From Mac:

• System Settings → Screen Time → select Violet from the family list

Requesting More Time (Violet)

When a limit is hit, tap Ask For More Time → Matt gets a notification on his iPhone to approve or deny.

Family MacBook — Additional Monitoring

The Family MacBook also runs background monitoring (Beszel + osquery) that sends activity data to the homelab. This is visible in Grafana and Beszel. Monitoring is battery-optimized (5-30 minute intervals).

Common Troubleshooting

iPhone / iPad

Device Won't Turn On

1. Hold side button + volume down for 10 seconds to force restart
2. If still dead, plug into power and wait 5 minutes, then try again
3. If it won't charge, try a different cable

Forgot Passcode / Face ID Not Working

• Face ID fails 5 times → falls back to passcode
• If fully locked out: Text Matt — recovery requires the Apple ID password (in 1Password)

App Not Working / Crashing

1. Swipe up from bottom → swipe the app card up to close it fully
2. Reopen the app
3. Still broken: Settings → General → iPhone Storage → find the app → Offload App, then reinstall from the App Store

iPhone / iPad Storage Full

1. Settings → General → iPhone Storage — see what's taking space
2. Quick fixes:
   • Enable Optimize iPhone Storage (Settings → Photos → toggle on)
   • Delete unused apps — offloading keeps data but frees space
   • Clear old messages: Settings → Messages → Keep Messages → set to 1 Year
   • Delete downloaded videos you've already watched

iPhone Running Slow

1. Restart: hold side button + volume button → slide to power off → wait 30 seconds → power on
2. Check for updates: Settings → General → Software Update
3. If still slow after restart and update, text Matt

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Mac

Mac Won't Turn On

1. Hold the power button for 10 seconds to force shutdown
2. Wait 10 seconds, then press power once to start
3. If no response at all, check the power connection / charger

Mac Running Slow

1. Check if a specific app is the culprit: open Activity Monitor (search in Spotlight with Cmd+Space) → look at the CPU or Memory tab for anything using a lot
2. Restart the Mac: Apple menu → Restart
3. Check for updates: System Settings → General → Software Update

Mac Storage Full

1. Apple menu → System Settings → General → Storage — shows a breakdown
2. Common culprits:
   • Downloads folder — safe to clear anything you don't need
   • Trash — empty it (right-click Trash icon → Empty Trash)
   • iCloud Drive — enable "Optimize Mac Storage" (System Settings → Apple ID → iCloud → iCloud Drive → toggle on)
3. For Matthew's MacBook Air specifically: it has 512 GB and can fill up with dev tools — run brew cleanup in Terminal to clear Homebrew caches

App Won't Open on Mac

1. Force-quit if it's frozen: press Cmd + Option + Esc → select the app → Force Quit
2. Try opening it again
3. If it won't open at all: right-click the app in Applications → Open (bypasses some security warnings)

Family MacBook — Screen Time Locked App

If an app on the Family MacBook is blocked by Screen Time and it shouldn't be, text Matt — he can approve it remotely from his iPhone without touching the laptop.

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Software Updates

iPhone/iPad: Settings → General → Software Update → Download and Install

Mac: System Settings → General → Software Update

Updates usually take 15-30 minutes. Plug in before updating — don't do it on battery.

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Find My — Locating a Device

1. Open Find My app
2. Tap Devices
3. Select the device to see it on a map
4. Options: Play Sound, Mark as Lost, or Erase Device (last resort only)

Matt can locate all family devices. Each person can locate their own.

Lost or Stolen Device

1. Open Find My → locate the device
2. Tap Mark as Lost — locks it and shows a contact message on the screen
3. Text Matt immediately — he can take further action
4. If confirmed stolen: Erase Device removes all data (Matt handles this)