Support

When a HALO Phone is switched on for the first time it shows a six-digit code. Sign in here, press Add a phone, type the code and the name you want to appear on the phone (Mum, Dad, Gaz). The phone is then yours to look after.

If the code is not accepted, check the phone is online and read the digits again from the handset screen. A fresh code appears after a restart.

Open the phone in the dashboard and go to WiFi. Add the network name and password and the phone joins within a minute or two, as long as it can reach us over mobile data. Add the college or day-centre WiFi before the first day, not on it.

A brand-new phone joins its first network during setup on the handset itself.

Go to Apps. Pick from the suggestions or add any app by its package name. The phone only ever shows the apps on this list.

If the phone was enrolled through Managed Google Play, apps you add install on their own. Otherwise, turn on Setup mode from the Today page, install the app from the Play Store on the handset, then turn Setup mode off again.

Normally the phone is sealed: only HALO and the allowed apps can be reached. Setup mode temporarily opens the Play Store and Settings on the handset so you can install or update apps, sign into an app or fix WiFi.

Always turn Setup mode off before handing the phone back. The Today page shows a clear amber banner while it is on.

Where the phone is (last 30 days), who it called and for how long (last 90 days), which allowed apps were used each day, battery and check-ins, and any Circle chat thread that has been set to shared.

Guardians never see the content of private threads, call audio, typing, screenshots or browsing. The phone shows its user the same list. The privacy page has the full detail.

Quiet hours show a calm asleep screen between the times you set, every night. Starred people in the Circle always ring through, so a call from you still gets answered.

Schedules sit on top: for example a school-day schedule that hides apps between 09:00 and 15:30 on weekdays. Outside any schedule all allowed apps are available. Calls to family and SOS always work.

The phone user presses and holds the SOS tile. Every guardian gets an alert straight away with the phone’s location, whatever the privacy settings say, and the phone lets the user know help has been asked for.

SOS does not call 999. If someone is in danger, call the emergency services yourself.

Anyone in the Circle can start a video call from the Circle app. The phone rings with the caller’s face and name; one tap answers. The phone user can also call people in the Circle from the phone itself, where the profile allows it.

Calls travel live and are never recorded. Guardians can see who called whom and when.

Phones enrolled through Managed Google Play update their apps automatically overnight when charging and on WiFi.

Otherwise, turn on Setup mode, open the Play Store on the handset and update from there, then turn Setup mode off. HALO itself updates on its own.