Let’s first understand what Direct Chats and Group Chats are.

To send a Direct Chat from the Relay app to your child’s Relay, tap on, or swipe up from, Communications. This Communications list shows all the Relay devices, other app users, and Group chats through which you can communicate. Here, select your child's Relay.

The microphone button at the bottom of the screen is where you will send a message to the Relay (in this case, Adrian’s Relay). Hold it down, speak, and release it when you’re finished talking. Adrian's Relay will now vibrate and show a flashing green light. This indicates that he has a Missed Message. In order for the message to have played out loud in real-time for Adrian, his Relay needs to be on your Direct Chat channel. A brand new Relay is on the Everyone Group Chat by default.

To check the missed message on Adrian’s Relay, press the power button on the side of the Relay. It will play the message(s) out loud.

Now if Adrian wants to respond to your message, he will need to make sure he’s on your Direct Chat channel. Since he is currently on the Everyone Chat channel, he will need to switch to your Direct Chat channel in order to send a direct message to you (vs. to Everyone on the account).

To switch Adrian’s Relay to your Direct Chat channel, hold down the volume button on the Relay, say the exact name of your Direct Chat channel (this is what you named your app during activation - most likely "mom" or "dad"), and release. This will switch the Relay to your Direct Chat channel and now both of you will be able to talk to each other in real-time if you have the app open.

If you don’t have the app open, you will receive a notification, like a text message, that a Relay is trying to get in touch with you. You will then need to open the app and access the Communications List. Once you do, you will see a pink dot on Adrian's Message icon, indicating you have a Missed Message from him. To listen to the Missed Message, tap on the Message icon and hit play on the next screen.

If you want to be able to get in touch with Adrian immediately vs leaving a message (in case his Relay is not on your Direct Chat channel), you can “Summon” his Relay, which means changing the Channel that he’s currently on to your Direct Chat channel remotely through the app. In the image on the left, he is currently on the Everyone Group Chat channel. To switch his Relay to your Direct Chat channel, tap on "Summon" (shown below). As you can see in the image on the right, it is now showing that she is on your Direct Chat channel.

If you have more than one child with a Relay and want to be able to talk to both of them at the same time, but not to Everyone on the account (if other Relay app users have joined), you will need to create a Group Chat. To do that, select Groups from your Relay app's Home page, and select Add Group on the following page.

A new screen will appear. Give the Group Chat a name (remember, this is the name you’ll say when switching channels, so make it simple and easy to remember). In this case, we will call it “Kids.” Select the 2 Relays and the name of your “Virtual” Relay, which is the name you gave your app during activation (in this case, "Mom"), so that you will also be included in the Group Chat. Then click on Create New Group at the bottom. Now you will see the “Kids” Group Chat appear under the Group Chats.

To add or remove members from the Group Chat or cancel it altogether, just click on the “Kids” Group Chat icon to go to that screen.