The GizmoHub app lets you locate, call and stay in control of your child’s wearable device. Speak, exchange messages and invite trusted contacts to communicate with your child, all while managing their Gizmo Watch and keeping their information safe.
GizmoHub lets you:
• Monitor your child’s location and receive alerts while they’re out and about.
• Call, text and video your child’s GizmoWatch easily.
• Ensure that only trusted contacts call or text your child’s GizmoWatch.
• Assign a contact to receive an instant notification if the SOS button is pressed.
• Track your child’s steps and set up daily exercise reminders.
Download the GizmoHub app and get a little peace of mind along with it.
To get started:
1. Download the GizmoHub app on your smartphone.
2. Follow the instructions to create a GizmoHub account.
3. Pair your smartphone with the Gizmo Watch.
The watch is fine. The app is the slowest, glitchiest thing I have encountered in years. Once it opens the app is fairly easy to use but some information is difficult to find (eg. individual watch settings). Updating the software on the watch took over an hour because the app just kept closing mid download and the download had to start over from the beginning.
Iv only had this watch for a few days but I am already frustrated with the app. It never seems to sync with the watch. I can never see the location, when I hit the button it just sits and thinks, it’s hit and miss if it’ll update steps- saying there’s 0. When the watch shows well over 10k. My husband has no issue with the app on his phone. But for some reason it doesn’t work on mine. The call/text seems to work so I guess that’s the most important but the other features would be nice.
The device has been connected since day one, some days it will call out, some days it starts silent beeps once and drops whatever call is trying to be made. I have been able to receive 1 message from this device, and it has never received any of mine. Battery dies very quickly, especially for a phone that doesn’t make it get calls 80% of the time. While charging it vibrates every 45 seconds until fully charged. App settings are not helpful in changing any of the states issues nor anything else.
Buggy and Flimsy. I hate these devices and can’t wait to get rid of them. We’ve used many of these with our kids. The devices themselves are flimsy and usually don’t work with the charger after a couple of months. The app is awful. Most of the time I can’t see if I’ve sent a message. It usually turns out that I’ve sent the message about 5 times. I’m a QA engineer. I documented the bugs, took screen recordings of this and sent it to the gizmo devs. That was almost a year ago. Have fun!
Overall I am satisfied with the app and the watch but there are some major flaws. I love that I can give my 10 year old some freedom while also keeping him safe. But, so many times I have missed texts from my son because the app closed itself when I shut down my phone or I forgot and closed it. He can still call when the gizmo app is closed because that goes through my phone app.The reminders don’t work right and either don’t go off at all or go off at the wrong time/ all at once.
I received my invite to join my family members account. It keeps saying it sent a consent code to the email account I gave, but I do not receive it. I’ll update the review later as I haven’t been able to use the app yet. UPDATE: the consent code was going in the email Junk folder. I also didn’t need the app because it’s only for the owner and any contacts they have that also own a gizmo device. I’ve been able to communicate with my relative just fine. Thanks for your response!
After a few days, connection to the watch stopped syncing. Tried restarting phone and watch. Tried reinstalling app. App will lazily accept any changes you set to the watch without confirming communication issues with the watch. Example: set it to power off the watch and it will quicky say its off while you’re staring at the watch is still on. Location accuracy sucks. It is telling you your child has been abducted by a neighbor a block away.
The app itself works fine for me, but the settings could be set up easier for each device. The gizmos could definitely use improvement. We have 3 watches and I have School Mode set up weekdays during a set time, but it randomly turns itself on so our kids can’t even use the watches most of the time. Also, it would be WAY more helpful if we could set who our children can text and call with each contact, rather than having to set them as a guardian with the app, or just a calling contact.
Watch has been connected to the app for a while now but recently it won’t come up on dashboard. I can call from my phone but can’t send a message or call phone from app. Service has always been spotty. Great concept but needs improvement. Doesn’t do any good if the attached watch won’t come up on dashboard.
Watch works fine. Gizmowatch2. However it says it sends an invite and you can open the invite in another phone. Well that doesn’t exist. Also, once you paired the device to a phone number, you can’t change the primary phone number. So only the primary phone can use all the features. All the other phones can just make and receive calls. Basically screwed if you get a new phone and phone number. Only thing I’ve seen is you have to call Verizon and get a new number for the gizmo and reset every
I love the idea of this app! The execution on the other hand is subpar at best. I have 2 kids with gizmos and we have had them since July. Here are a list of the issues we’ve had so far… the app has randomly deleted itself from my phone all together, then when I reinstall it, all the info is just gone and I have to start completely over (this has happened at LEAST 3 times that I can remember) a couple times it has just erased ONE of my kids info 🤷🏼, takes forever for the location to work, their actual gizmos will sometimes randomly turn off, was stated when I purchased that I could set time frames that they are absolutely silent (like school time) but there is no setting for that and therefore they cannot wear them to school, I’ve also had issues with this new and improved update. Text messages to and from are not being sent, or don’t show up. I’m sure there are other issues that I’ve had and just can’t remember. I seriously wish all the bugs could be fixed bc I really do love the idea, but the kinks are just really making it hard for me to like your product.
Used to be so much better. Have had the device and used the app for a couple years now. Older version was much better at locating the device. Now I cannot locate the device whenever I want, I have to wait for the app to update the location. If there were truly an emergency and seconds counted, this could potentially be life threatening. Also, previous versions were easier to navigate within the app. Very disappointed! Update: still not working, cannot force locate! Totally defeats the purpose.
I wanted to believe this would help me keep my kids safe, but it’s another piece of poorly made, unreliable software. Contacts show up repeatedly then disappear from devices entirely when duplicates are removed (while still inaccurately appearing in the app). Multiple guardians doesn’t seem to work. Todo list items don’t show up on devices. And that’s just what I’ve encountered in the first hour or so of use.
Great idea, but it does fail in a few areas. As mentioned, the location updating is pretty horrible and takes several minutes. Even when both watch and phone are outside in a major metro area, we live near Seattle, so we have pretty good cell signal in our area. Another area that the app/software fails is the limit of 30 characters in a text message. The only saving grace here is that the messages are unlimited, so we regularly have to send multiple texts to complete a message. The third and possibly the most frustrating is that in order to allow someone the ability to send/receive message from the watch they have to be close enough to “pair” with the watch via I’m guessing Bluetooth. Since we live about 1500 miles from most of our family they are not able to send/receive message with the watch. Even if they get paired while we are together on a vacation, if they swap phones they can no longer message the watch. We tried a couple of other watches before we got this one. For $15 a month, it is a great security blanket for a child who wants to be able to run around with friends, not to mention, it is very nice to be able to find them when needed.
I loved this app until the recent update. The app now takes an extremely long time to load which is incredibly annoying but would be even more annoying and stressful in an emergency situation. The app also doesn’t show whether or not my texts have sent until several days later and I seem to have constant issues with the reminders and map. I like other preferred the older version of the map. Please fix these issues! It’s an otherwise great tool for busy families!
Each update has made this app worse. The main problem I have is when the update happens, it deletes the app from my home screen each time. I do not always notice this right away and I am then unable to see if my child has tried to contact me. This is a big time safety issue. Also, the map for locating the child used to be much better. I love the idea of this gadget and with a few easy fixes it could be awesome. Things like allowing the notifications/texts to show up like regular text messages so I dont miss them.
Please fix this app. The latest update has slowed things down tremendously. When I send a message to one of the kids phones, it never shows up as being sent. It never shows at all. And the app is overall much much slower. Otherwise, it has some nice additional features over the older version. But please fix these issues I mentioned. It’s becoming difficult to use as intented.
Takes a few minutes to locate gps. App did an update and it completely deleted my profile, as if it had never been activated. After I went through the set up again all his contacts were gone, but he was still able to call them. I’m supposed to be able to set times for it to not be active during school. This doesn’t work at all, there is no function in the app to manage when it is on. Also used to be able to turn watch off completely from app and can’t do that now.
This app really needs some work. It’s not the most user-friendly, and sometimes makes no sense at all. For instance, when I tried to add my wife as a caregiver, I had to add her to both kids’ accounts at the same time. If I added her to one, it wouldn’t let me add her to the other without deleting her contact from the first child. Plus, sometimes when you swipe, it brings up a settings menu, sometimes it switches between kids. Why would anyone design an app this way? They really need to get someone with a design background–or parents who actually use it–on their team. The product is such a good idea, but the app implementation is just awful.
Latest update works poorly This app has been great for our family for a few years now. This latest update, though, has made it almost completely useless. My kids watches keep disappearing, the app is very slow and glitchy. I get more errors trying to use it than results. It also seems to kill my battery. I think the rework of the interface is fine, and like the idea of having google maps, but not at the expense of basic functionality.
Since I downloaded the last update, the app no longer works. It closes almost immediately upon opening. Please fix this issue. Update. This started working again for a short time. But has started crashing again. I even tried on a different device with the same result. Support is asking me to send logs from the app, which is impossible since the app crashes after a couple seconds. This seems to be a problem with the app since it’s happening on more than one device. Both devices are Android
This device is perfect , access for 2 numbers (mom and dad’s or guardian),and most important locations, the only thing I wish is for it to allow me or have the option to reduce the map area of monitoring. Other than that is great! Note : still using the original version for the past 3 years, never updated. UPDATE… No fun of the new updated version, asking for constant updates and the map looks different, prefer the original version. Thanks
The updated version of this app is extremely frustrating to use. First, it defaulted to sending notifications and status to all other caregivers. (Which I fixed after I was informed be others that it started doing that- so that’s fine now) Then it made the to do list impossible to use because the dates would change randomly so the alarm rings on wrong days! There is no set pattern to it as I have taken notes on the changes to try to set the dates according to how it is changing my set dates. I have reset the watch and it cleared the old to do list items that won’t go away (that was an additional issue as I was trying to fix the dates when it first started happening when the new version of the app was installed) but that didn’t fix the random change problem either. Finally, now I also noticed that the days on when the steps were recorded were wrong too! It is always almost a day ahead. It’ll record the steps for the next day! This is an app for a watch! Shouldn’t the time/date be accurate? This is really unacceptable.
The new interface is slow and isn’t laid out well. For instance, I text my son a lot, but the messaging button is small and isn’t an icon that represents messages (such as an envelope). Instead there’s a large battery icon next to the calls button. Shouldn’t that be a spot for the messaging portion of the app? And the messaging portion of the app is slow, not fluid, and doesn’t allow for quick messaging (the old version let you hit the send button on the Google keyboard and it would leave the keyboard on the screen allowing for additional messaging since we’re limited to 30 characters). Upgrades are supposed to be better, not worse.
The app used to work beautifully. Loaded quickly, messages sent immediately, notifications rec’d quickly. Then after the update with the layout change everything is AWFUL. It takes forever to load, looks terrible, texts, voice messages, and notifications are delayed sometimes by HOURS – not helpful. It just keeps getting worse, now i can’t even text reliably, 80% of the time they don’t send at all and i’m getting notifications for messages that don’t arrive for a long time.
Just when I really needed it, the app keeps crashing seconds after opening. I was trying to track my kid during a field trip so I knew when she was getting close but the app wouldn’t stay open. I uninstalled and reinstalled it with no change. A week later the same thing is happening. We’ve only had the watch since Sept and feel like it’s a waste and not reliable when its needed.
Recently (last week) got this app for my son with disabilities. We have enjoyed it, but we are disappointed in it at the same time. The location GPS runs super slow. The to-do list doesn’t work, at all! It’s never worked! I wish he could text his buddies. I can’t give all the contacts caregivers access. I’ve emailed customer service and they sent back an email 4 days later stating to contact gizmo support. Not impressed and disappointed!
The app is very poorly designed and has not had any real improvements in a long time, so it appears that no one is working to make it better. It looks like Verizon/LG has just decide to harvest profits with a bare minimum of effort. I would opt for a different device/app. The concept really is practical though, so hopefully a competitor will emerge. I have sent an email to Verizon detailing my issue as they requested. I will update this review based on their response.
I love the idea of the Gizmo watches and the security they provide. However, the app has always taken so long to do anything. I understand that when I make changes to an individual watch that the app must communicate between two separate devices, but it should never take as long as it does for the app itself to boot up. The old app took forever and the new app is way worse. That being said, I do like the look and feel of the new app when it finally loads.
I had to lower my rating. Now I cannot update my son’s to do list, which sucks if he asks to go to friends houses, I can’t set a reminder for him to go home. Please fix the bad upgrade soon. Great app (when son remembers his watch) not a big fan of the update, i liked being able to see the buildings on the map for a more realistic looking map
I had high hopes for this watch that I bought for my 9 year old twins…but we’re not very happy with them. My son says it’s too bulky for his wrist and barely wears it. I think the app totally sucks and it doesn’t make much sense. In order call/text each child which is the main purpose of the watch, I have to press a tiny button in the corner of their name. I can’t delete old notifications, and it’s very slow! The location finder isn’t very useful as it doesn’t update very quickly. Overall, just really bummed. Also, I was really hoping I could text them from my SMS app and call from my phone, so I don’t have to log in to the gizmo app, but doesn’t seem to work that way. It’s also kinda challenging to set up people for them and I have to do it for each child instead of for both of them. annoying. The one thing that I do like is that they’re not carrying cell phones.
I am ready, after about 2 weeks, to hurl the gizmowatch and my whole phone out a window due to the app and/or watch. It has been nothing but problems. If the watch battery drains, when you charge it and turn it back on, it will be almost entirely useless. The only thing I could get to work is calls. No location, no texts, nothing. The help chat on the app is terrible, will not actually help anything, and has no option to contact a live person for real help.
Neat, with some quirks. Sending and receiving texts is only from the app. Notifications on my phone still show in the status bar even while I am looking at the texts within the app. I have to dismiss each status bar notification. Call quality is decent, since the watch is a speakerphone. What irks me most is that when the app updated it logged me out without me knowing. This is a big problem! I wasn’t getting texts from my kid. Fix this!
Great idea, lacking in the execution department. Tracking is not reliably accurate or updated well, glitches whenever I log in, and notifications are just as unreliable. They are very responsive to emails, which is great, but really need to bring this tech up to speed with what we as consumers are used to having and expect, especially when promiting a kids smart watch.
This “updated” app (after 8/2018) is SUPER buggy. To summerize: It is very slow to log in and make settings changes, you cannot delete more than one item at a time in a single list, goals and activities do not save properly (the alarms keep going off on Saturdays when I scheduled them for weekdays only :/) There are plenty of other random tweaks that sneak up when you least expect it. It’s disappointing because this app is suppose to track my children and help me feel confident but in all reality it does NOT help me feel confident that the info is accurate. I am considering returning the devices altogether because this app is so unreliable. Such a shame! It could have been such a good thing. : (💔
The app is mostly ok, except for the fact that I can’t send voice texts or listen to them. As others have mentioned, the button to record or play voice texts is there but nothing happens when tapped on. This is a super important feature for my 6 year old since she can only read a few things so far. Many times I want to tell her something specific but I know she won’t be able to read it and voice text would be perfect for that scenario. Pretty big deal for us and super frustrating. 😡
The previous version was straight forward and easy to use not to mention that it was already eastablished on my phone. This new version takes a long time to load, is much less friendly to navigate and seems to have less features that I can actually find. It also seems to have kicked the people who were once on the contacts off. The zoom and detail of the map is also garbage. It looks much nicer than the old app but that is about it. My wife has been unable to text since the update, calls only.
Buggy App, but this seems to be the only option for this kind of device. More often than not, the GPS times out and does not locate our son. This is one of the main features that sold us on this device. Customer support and dealing with replacements for the watch are a nightmare. I am on my second replacement because the first one wouldnt activate. We had to go to the verizon store and they couldn’t get it to work either. New one showed up, same issues.
Before it updated, it worked perfect. Then it updated and now it takes a minute or more for it to load in order to send a text. My son has sent me a text, and it has taken over 8 hours for the testing t to finally come through. It shows there is a text, but it won’t show. If I send a text, it rarely shows until hours later. Now this is completely useless. I HATE it now
It was a great app. Then updates happened. Now it takes 5 minutes to tell me it cannot find location. When I send out texts more than half the time they do not come up on my end so I do not know if they were sent. Tells me that there is a location checkin but when I “tap to view” it “searches” for 5 minutes and shows nothing. Really bit happy with this app any more. I regret recommending it to anyone.