10 Ways to Fix Google Family Play Library Not Working

Quick Tips

• Some apps are shareable, and a few are not, so you may be unable to share them with your family group.
• One can join a new family after 12 months of leaving the old family group.
• Enabling purchase approvals for all content is possible for the child account.

Fix 1. Limitations on Changing Family Group

You can join only one family group at a time. So, if you are already part of a Google family group, you cannot quickly switch to another family group.

According to Google, one can join a new family after 12 months of leaving the old family group. If you were part of a different family a month ago, you will face issues joining a new family group.

Fix 2. Supported Google Account

Google Family does not work with Google accounts from work, school, and organization. Whether you are a family manager or a regular group member, you need to use a personal Google account for Google Family.

Fix 3. Country/Region Restrictions

All the family members, including the family manager, should have the same country or region listed for the Google Play Store. To check and change your country, follow these steps:

Step 1: Open the Google Play Store and tap the three-bar icon at the top.

Step 2: Tap on Account. Under Preferences, you will find your country.

Step 3: If you have set a different country for your Google Play account, you will get the option to change your country on that screen.

Note: You can switch to Google Play country only once a year.

Fix 4. Turn off VPN

Since all family members are tried to one country, and so is your account, if you use a VPN to download apps, it may not work as expected. It will specifically hamper the functioning of the Library as it will verify your location, and it will get stuck in case of a mismatch.

Fix 5. Check the Compatibility of Apps and Games

Just because you have enabled family sharing for an app or a game doesn’t mean it will show up for others. The app or game purchased after July 2, 2016, is eligible for family sharing. Also, those purchased apps or games should be allowed to be shared with the family library. Some apps don’t have that option, so the developer has disabled it. And you can’t share such apps with other family members.

You can check whether an app supports family sharing by opening it in the Play Store. Then, look for Eligible for Family Library message under ratings in the More Info section.

Fix 6. Check the Eligibility of Content

Certain limitations apply when sharing apps, movies, games, shows, and books on Google Play with family.

A Movie or TV show should be purchased via the family payment method to be eligible for family sharing. If it was bought via a personal credit or debit card, you won’t be able to share it with other members.

Further, rentals (Movies or TV shows) on Google Play and movies and shows purchased on YouTube aren’t eligible for family sharing. Free apps cannot be shared via family sharing. If a paid app is available on sale for free, it’s better to buy it on all devices separately.

Similarly, Play Music, Newsstand purchases, free book samples, rented books, and public domain books cannot be added to the Family Library.

Fix 7. Allow Apps That Can Be Shared

When you are part of a Google Family group, Google offers two ways to share your purchased Google Play items — share those eligible purchases automatically or manually. Former options mean that you let Google share your purchases automatically. The latter option means you’ll have to select apps and other purchases through the Family Library to share with other members.

Step 1: Launch the Google Play Store on your phone, tap the three-bar icon at the top and go to Account.

Step 2: Tap on the Family tab and press Family Library settings. Then tap on Apps & Games. Then, change the setting to your liking.

Step 3: When the manual option is enabled, you need to visit each app’s page separately and enable the ability to share it via family sharing. To do so, turn on the Family Library toggle on the app page.

Fix 8. Change Parental Controls Settings

If your child cannot download movies shared via family sharing, you should look at parental control settings. Movie ratings sometimes prevent the child’s account from accessing such content, so filter that out.

To do so, open the Family Link app. Tap on your child followed by Manage settings > Controls on Google Play. Then tap on the content you want to filter according to your needs.

Fix 9. Check the Family Payment Method

If a family member tries to buy an app using the family payment method and it fails, then that person can purchase the app using a personal card. However, that app will not show up in the Family Library. The family member can always file for a refund if the family manager updates the payment method within two hours of the purchase.

However, if he/she decides to keep the purchase on a personal card, that item will become shareable only after the family manager updates the family payment method. Following that, the said member will have to share the purchased app manually, as shown in #7 above.

Fix 10. Clear Play Store Cache and Data

Even after applying the solutions mentioned above, the Google family sharing still doesn’t seem to activate, it’s time to clear cache and data for Google Play Store. That will not uninstall your apps or delete any personal data. It will only change the settings in the Google Play Store to their default values.

Step 1: Open Settings on your phone and go to Apps. Then tap on Google Play Store under All apps. Tap on Storage.

Step 2: Press the Clear cache button first. Restart your phone. Check if the Family Library is working fine. If it’s still trouble, tap on Clear data or Clear storage, depending on the available option.

Tip: You should also try updating the Google Play Store and Google Play services manually.