Life Maintenance

Setting up a wall tablet

If you have an old iPad sitting in a drawer, you can mount it on the kitchen wall and give your whole family a glance-and-go view of what is happening today. This is one of the most-loved features of the Family plan.

What you will see on the wall tablet

The family dashboard has three sections, in rotation:

  • Home. Today and this week. Whose turn it is to feed the dog, when trash day is, what is overdue.
  • Calendar. A real calendar view, with maintenance schedules and family events.
  • Idle slideshow. After a few minutes of inactivity, the screen rotates through your family photos and quick reminders. Tap anywhere to wake it back up.

It looks great on an iPad mounted on the fridge or in the kitchen. It also works on Android tablets and any browser.

Before you start

You need:

  • A Family plan subscription. Free and Pro do not include the wall-tablet feature.
  • A tablet running iPadOS 16 or newer, or any modern Android tablet, or a spare laptop.
  • Wi-Fi on the tablet.

The tablet does not have to be logged in to anyone's account. That is what makes the kiosk safe to mount in a public spot.

The 6-step setup

You set this up from the owner's main account on a separate device (your phone or laptop), not on the tablet itself.

1. Open the setup page

On your phone or computer, go to Settings → Family → Wall Tablet. You will see a list of any tablets you have already paired, plus a button to add a new one.

Click Set up a new wall tablet.

2. Pick a name

Give the tablet a nickname like "Kitchen iPad" or "Living room display." This is just so you can recognize it in your settings later.

3. Choose what to show

You decide:

  • Which family members' tasks appear.
  • Whether to include personal items (we recommend no).
  • Whether to show the idle slideshow.
  • How many photos to rotate through.
  • Whether tapping the screen can add quick events. (Yes, by default.)

4. Generate the launch URL

We will give you a one-time setup URL that looks like lifemaintenance.io/k/abc123. This is the URL you open on the tablet, and only on the tablet.

Keep this URL private. Anyone with it can see your family dashboard. It does not give them access to log in or change settings.

5. Open it on the tablet

Open Safari (iPad) or Chrome (Android) on the tablet. Type in or paste the URL. The first thing you see is a confirmation screen showing the nickname. Tap Confirm.

The tablet is now paired. It will stay paired until you remove it from settings.

6. Add to Home Screen

On iPad: tap the Share icon, then Add to Home Screen. The dashboard now opens in full screen mode and looks like a real app.

On Android: tap the browser menu, then Install app or Add to Home Screen.

Mount the tablet, plug it in for power, and you are done.

What happens on the tablet day-to-day

  • The dashboard refreshes automatically. You do not need to reload.
  • After 4 minutes of no taps, the idle slideshow takes over. Tap once to wake.
  • Anyone in the family can tap + to add a quick event. They do not need to log in. Events go onto everyone's shared calendar.
  • The clock and weather are always shown.
  • The screen never asks for a password. The setup URL is what authorizes the tablet.

Updating what shows

Anytime you want to change what is on the dashboard:

  1. From your phone or computer, go to Settings → Family → Wall Tablet.
  2. Click the tablet's nickname.
  3. Change settings. They take effect on the tablet within a minute, no reload needed.

Photos in the slideshow

The slideshow pulls from a folder of photos you upload. From the same Wall Tablet settings page, click Manage photos to upload new ones or remove old ones. We resize them on the way in so storage stays small.

Removing a tablet

If you replace the tablet, want to wipe it, or move it to a new family member:

  1. Go to Settings → Family → Wall Tablet.
  2. Click the tablet's row, then Unpair.

The tablet's URL stops working immediately. You can set up a new one with a fresh URL.

If you think the URL leaked

The launch URL is a credential. Anyone who has it (a screenshot in a group chat, a guest who shoulder-surfed your tablet) can see your family dashboard from any device on any network.

If you suspect a leak:

  1. Open Settings → Family → Wall Tablet.
  2. Find the tablet's row and click Rotate URL.
  3. We immediately invalidate the old URL and issue a new one. We copy the new URL to your clipboard.
  4. Open Safari on the tablet, paste the new URL, and re-pair.

Treat the launch URL like a password. Don't share it in screenshots, group chats, or anywhere it could be cached or indexed.

Tips for a great setup

  • Mount the tablet at standing eye level for kids and seated eye level for adults at the table.
  • Use a USB-C wall mount that doubles as a charger so the tablet never runs out.
  • Turn on Guided Access in iPad settings to prevent the kids from swiping out of the dashboard.
  • Disable iPad auto-lock so the screen stays on (or use Apple's Always On in the Display settings).

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