Can't Purchase Apps with Child Account?!

[jdefuria]

I'm at my witts end.

Here's my situation: I have an x-box live family pack account. (My account is the parent account). My son has a child account.

My son has a Windows phone, and the live ID that he uses for the x-box child account is the account tied to the phone. (You know...for all that xbox integration with his gamer tag, avatar etc.)

Apparently...there is NO WAY that apps can be purchased on the phone with this set up. It's maddening. Free apps...yes. Paid apps...no.

Please someone tell me I'm missing something and let me know I can actually pay for and download an app on his phone...

 

[enahs555]

What does it say when you try and purchase an app? exactly?

 

[jdefuria]

It says there's no credit card info on file for this ID. And it gives a link to "add a credit card."

Once clicking on that link it brings you to a live login screen. I have tried using my son's ID...but trying that I get a message about it not being "legal" to add a credit card to a child account, and to try a different account.

OK, so I try my parent ID. I add a credit card and that goes fine...but it does not purchase the app! All it does is add that credit card to my (parent) x-box live profile. And we're back to sqaure 1....try to purchse the app...it says there's no card on file (because there isn't / can't be one on the child account....)

Sigh...I even went to Microsoft support and had an on-line chat and the guy basically said it was not possible...because it's a child account on an x-box live account, a credit card cannot be added. "You can give him Microsoft Points though" he said.

Which of course is fine for buying content on the x-box....but as we know Points are useless for phone purchases....which is another gripe I have with the whole live ecosystem...

Grrr.....


There is one more thing I'm going to try...

 

[jdefuria]

I found the loophole.

By logging into zune software on the PC with my son's id, I was able to add a credit card directly to his account using the zune software.

So now I can add a credit card via Zune...then purchase apps on his phone...then go back into Zune and remove the credit card. (so my son can't buy apps at will.)

Not convenient...but at least it's workable.

What MS needs to do is to allow the parent id to purchasse apps directly on the phone. (Or even better allow ms points to be used for phone purchases....)

 

[enahs555]

Yes, I agree they need to make some improvements. But, glad you figured something out!