How to Reset Parental Controls on Epic Games
If you’re looking to regain control over your Epic Games account settings or help your child do so, understanding how to reset parental controls is essential. The process, while straightforward, requires navigating through the account system or leveraging email verification. This guide will provide a comprehensive walkthrough, ensuring you can adjust settings as needed.
Understanding Epic Games Parental Controls
Epic Games implements parental controls to help parents and guardians manage their child’s experience within their ecosystem. These controls influence access to social features, in-game purchases, and more. If you’ve lost access to your PIN, or if your child is now at the age where these controls are less relevant, resetting them becomes important.
How to Reset Your Epic Games Parental Controls PIN
The core of managing Epic Games parental controls lies within a six-digit PIN. If you’ve forgotten this PIN, here’s how you can reset it:
- Access the Epic Games Account Portal or Game Menu: Start by going to either the Epic Account Portal via their website or navigate to the Fortnite Parental Controls menu directly within the game.
- Initiate the Reset Process: Look for a prompt related to parental controls. There should be a clear option such as “Forgot Your PIN?” Click this link.
- Confirm the Reset: A confirmation window will appear. You’ll need to click on “CONFIRM” to proceed with the reset.
- Check Your Email: Following confirmation, an email will be sent to the parent/guardian email address associated with the Epic Games account. This email will contain the instructions necessary to reset the PIN.
- Follow Email Instructions: Open the email and follow the embedded instructions to reset your PIN. You may need to click on a reset link provided in the email.
- Log In with New PIN: Once you have reset the PIN you can now access and modify any Parental Controls settings.
Important Note for Minors
For Epic Games accounts that belong to minors, the PIN reset email will always be sent to the parent/guardian email address associated with the account. This ensures that only the responsible adult can make changes to the parental control settings.
Other Methods to Modify Parental Controls
While resetting your PIN is essential to regaining access, here are some other ways you might want to modify parental controls:
- Changing Parental Control Settings: Once you’ve regained access with your PIN, you can navigate through the Parental Controls menu and toggle various settings on or off. These settings typically include social features access, ability to make in-game purchases, and communication settings.
- Unlinking a Child Account: To detach a child account from your Epic Games parent account, you’ll need to log into the parent account and visit the parent dashboard. From here, you can select the child profile and then click on ‘Delete Profile’ or ‘Unlink’ to remove the connection.
- Changing Parent Guardian Email: To change your parent or guardian email address, log into your parent profile, go to the parent dashboard, click ‘Account Settings,’ and find the pencil icon next to your email. After entering a new email and confirming it, you’ll change your contact details for parent-related issues.
- Turning off Parental Controls on Android: If the controls are linked via the Google Play Store or Family Link app, you can modify or turn them off through these apps’ settings. For Google Play Store settings, open the store, go to settings, and modify the parental control settings there. For Family Link, open the app and remove the child profile or turn off supervision as needed.
- Unregistering Parental Controls on Nintendo Switch: To remove parental controls on a Nintendo Switch, navigate to System Settings, go to Parental Controls, select Unregister App, enter the PIN, then confirm by selecting Unregister then OK.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are some frequently asked questions related to Epic Games parental controls:
1. How can I turn off parental controls on my child’s Epic Games account?
To turn off parental controls for your child’s Epic Games account, you must first access the settings, typically by logging into the parent account. Then either modify the existing settings or remove the child profile entirely. Make sure you use the PIN to verify you’re the parent or guardian.
2. Why is my Epic Games account considered a child account?
If you recently created your account or updated your age information, your account may be designated as a “Cabined Account.” This is due to your age and the region you are in. Cabined Accounts have limited access to features until a parent or guardian grants permission.
3. What is a Cabined Account on Epic Games?
A Cabined Account is an Epic Games account for players under 13 or the digital consent age in their country. These accounts have restricted access to certain features and need parental consent to use them fully.
4. Can I remove parental controls completely?
Yes, you can remove parental controls, but this depends on the platform. On Android, you would go through the Google Play Store or the Family Link App, while on Nintendo Switch, you’d unregister the parental control app from System Settings.
5. What happens when my child turns 13?
On the day your child turns 13 (or the age of digital consent in your region), they can choose to manage their own Google account or continue with parental supervision. As the parent, you can also choose to remove supervision at any time after they turn 13.
6. How do I change the parent/guardian on an Epic Games account?
To change the parent/guardian information linked to an Epic Games account, you usually can modify the email address in your account settings, using the parent profile on the website. For competitions requiring a tax profile, there may be a specific place to make changes.
7. How can I remove my child from Family Link?
To remove your child from Family Link, open the app, navigate to “Manage family,” select the child, and tap “Remove member.” Then confirm your decision.
8. Does a factory reset remove parental controls from an Android phone?
Yes, performing a factory reset on an Android phone will remove all settings, including parental controls. However, this will also delete all data from the phone, so ensure that there is a backup made.
9. How old do you need to be to not need parental controls on Epic Games?
Players must be 13 or the age of digital consent in their country (whichever is higher) to not have their account managed through parental controls. If under that age, their account will default to a Cabined Account with limited access.
10. Is Fortnite suitable for 10-year-olds?
The Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) rates Fortnite as “T” for Teen, which means 13 and up. Common Sense Media also recommends the game for ages 13+ due to action violence and open chat features. Always use your best judgement for your child.
11. How do I add my child to Epic Games?
To add your child to Epic Games, log into your parent account, go to the parent dashboard, and click ‘Create Profile’. Fill in the required fields and then click on the ‘Add Child’ button.
12. How can I verify my age on Epic Games?
To verify your age on Epic Games, you’ll typically be prompted to provide a parent/guardian email if the system detects that you are underage. The verification is part of the process to gain access to certain features.
13. What is the age limit for Epic Games accounts?
Epic Games accounts created for users under 13 or under the age of digital consent in their country will be considered Cabined Accounts. These accounts need parental consent to access additional features.
14. How do I change my Epic Games account email?
To change your Epic Games account email, go to the “Account Info” section of your settings, and click ‘Edit’ beside the current email. Then enter and confirm your new email address.
15. What if I can’t remove the app?
If you are having trouble uninstalling the parental controls app from your device, make sure to log into the app from the parent’s profile and remove the account associated with the app. Once this is done, you will then be able to uninstall the app from the device.
By understanding these processes and frequently asked questions, you can effectively manage and adjust parental controls on Epic Games accounts. This ensures a safe and enjoyable gaming experience for all users.