Customer Ratings & Reviews

Filtering and balancing online usage and content has been made fairly easy. Circle is a pretty comprehensive solution to manage online screen time and content at-home and on-the-go. The Circle App works with any iOS or Android device to manage all your family’s Wi-Fi devices at home – from laptops and tablets to smart TVs and video game consoles – and your mobile devices across all networks, from anywhere. Circle Home Plus is built for modern networks with a 1GB Ethernet port and 2.4ghz wireless connection. The built-in backup battery ensures Circle Home Plus keeps running even when unplugged. The Circle Home Plus, a cube shape, is simple to install and for the most part simple to manage through the mobile app, which is the only way to manage it. It allows some control over most network connected devices, such as application filters and time limits. With the tap of the pause button you can prevent most items from connecting to the internet, but it seems hit or miss at times on when and what is paused. It can also provide history of some internet activity of connected devices, but not all. The only way it will get full control and all history is if you install the Circle app on an Android or iOS device as a kid device and let it use the background VPN. If you want the most control over your child's cell phone or tablet, the circle app will do it without even needing the Circle Home Plus. Unlike some other parental control and network protection devices, like on many routers, this attaches to the network and is not in line with the network, but an extension of. Like some, the parental control devices are the router or between the router and modem, this is just another device, which I found odd and I think is the source of some of the issues I have with it. Some issues included a long delay in deactivating and activating devices whether it was for bedtimes, granting extended rewards, or just pausing. When pausing the internet, it wasn’t like router controls and stop actual network activity, so some activities, like watching Youtube would continue until the page was refreshed or a new video selected. This is because they are using ARP spoofing to redirect your traffic. There was also no warning page, like other parental control devices have, showing that they were blocked or to ask for permission, it just wouldn’t load or give an unsecure warning because it is essentially acting like a hacker on your network unless you installed their personal certificate on the mobile device. The biggest issue I had was that my mobile device, which was added to a profile and controlled the Circle Home, couldn’t unpause the network because it lost connection to the Circle Home. I would have to disconnect from my WiFi and use mobile data to unpause my internal paused network. As with router parental controls you are still connected to the internal network, just not to the internet. The Circle Home just attempts to interrupt everything. The premium features of the Circle app are included for three months and for a fee per month after that. These features include bedtime, time limits, off time, location, rewards and pause. It is reduced to filter, history and usage if you don’t subscribe after 3 months. Which seems odd to pause your own internal network for that much per month. With the mobile app and the background VPN I found that network speeds were reduced slightly. This is a constant background application as well and has some impact on battery life as it requires to bypass power management. Some additional features of the Circle Home Plus include battery backup and the ability to connect to the network using 2.4Ghz WiFi. This is good if your kids think simply unplugging the Circle Home Plus will bypass their interrupted connection. If not connected using the ethernet cable, the Circle Home Plus will continue to work, but at a connectivity cost for all managed devices as it uses the 2.4Ghz connection, adding latency and reducing connectivity speed. For complete parental control of mobile devices I can see the Circle App on Android and iOS devices providing that total watch and control. For home devices that aren’t covered under those, the Circle Home Plus does add some feature control, but with added frustration and not as smooth as using some other providers. I can say that the mobile device features may be worth it as most home parental controls don’t extend to mobile connections, as kids can easily turn off their WiFi to get back on the internet if they have data services. But, there are other smart home security systems that have applications that can provide the same features and work much better on the network.

This Circle home plus is a parental control software and hardware use to monitor your kids internet usage. The device is very small and fits in the palm of your hand and is very easy to setup. All you have to do is download the app on your main mobile device, create an account, scan the circle home QR code with the app, then connect the circle home to a router and that's pretty much it. The app is very intuitive and easy to use, and the options available are pretty much self explanatory. This device also works connected via Ethernet or WiFi, you first need to set it up via Ethernet. You can either add a device you want to control manually or you can select them from the device menu in the Circle app as it will automatically scan for devices connected to your Wifi. There are many things you can do such as filter contents, app restrictions, web history, track online usage, location tracking, Limit usage, or create a schedule which in this app is called bedtime. This thing has a lot of features that will definitely give parents lots of control over their kids connected devices. Before I got this I was already doing that with my router as it has some of these features they were not as intuitive and easy to use as the Circle. One feature I kind of like was the Rewards option. That’s definitely super useful, when kids behave or do something good just send a Reward which adds extra time to their schedule. You can also control the amount of time added to their rewards. If you download the app on the kids device they will get notified of their rewards. Some may think this thing goes to the extreme of control, but to be honest this is more like a peace of mind if I didn't do this type of thing with my kids they just be on those devices and won’t disconnect unless there is no internet, plus I don't need to chase them around to lift their devices at night. There's a lot of good things about this device and app but there is also a downside, to use the premium features there's a subscription and the cheapest is about $69 for 3 month, with this home plus that cost $129 you get a year or you can get lifetime for $299. Another thing I like was the new device notification every time a new device was connected to my WiFi I was notified. That is a very helpful feature specially to detect unknown devices connecting to your network. That being said this device will benefit the most for those who use Internet Service Provider (ISP) routers and that’s because they provide limited or non parental control features and their apps are hard to use. If you have an aftermarket router most already come with these features built in they are just not as easy to use as the Circle and they kind of are limited to usage and schedule. If you don’t mind paying a subscription and want to have one of the most beneficial parent control for children connected devices this is definitely an excellent candidate. In the box you get the Circle Home, Ethernet cable, USBC cable with power brick and the instructions.

I have been using this for a few days now and this is truly a great tool for parents to monitor and limit device usage time when its able to connect. I'm not sure if it just my Circle thats like that but I had a couple times when my connected devices would disconnect and then I would have to restart the circle to make it work again. When the Circle was connected and working it worked great, I was able to monitor my kids activities on internet, connect their gaming system to it as well and limit their time on that, give out reward time and the best feature of all is that it would even connect to devices on data network and also monitor their location. I'm hoping maybe an update may fix the connectivity issue so that I may continue using this.

I’ll have to admit, during my initial audition of the Circle Home Plus, I was thinking that this device might be a bit redundant in light of the “family management” features now resident in many modern routers. My ASUS AX11000 router, for instance, lets me create family member groupings of various devices (game systems, tablets, TVs, etc.) and limit their ability to pull certain network services or access certain websites during scheduled times throughout the week. Yes, the Circle does that, too, but it is truly so much more; and once you get everything dialed in just right, the amount of control and visibility you can exercise over the devices on your network and the activities of your network users is quite astounding. Starting with the unboxing, the Circle is a small white cube designed to sit virtually right next to your main home router—I know this because the included Ethernet and USB-C cables to power and connect the Circle device are laughably short. You’ll need at least one open Ethernet port on your router to make the system work. Make sure it’s a port on the router you use to provide wired and wireless services to your whole house (in case, like me, you have an ISP-provided modem with a few ports as well as your own more powerful router or mesh WiFi system for whole-house coverage) as it is THAT part of the network that the Circle will manage. Setup is a breeze using a smartphone with the Circle app installed. Start by creating a “Parent” account and then use the phone’s camera to read the QR code on the bottom of the device for initial setup; an in-app wizard and graphics step you through final setup procedures. The Circle app then reports all the devices currently attached to the network and you get to work deciding how to group and manage those devices. On a smaller home network, this part of the process is pretty innocuous, but this is the one area where things got a little tricky for us simply because we have over 50 devices on our home network (lots of Amazon Echoes, smart bulbs, and other smart-home devices in addition to everyone’s tablets, phones, PCs, TVs, etc.) and the Circle’s list of devices is sometimes remarkably uninformative (not necessarily Circle’s fault—it’s simply reading the hardware name that each device is reporting back to your router). For example, all our kids each have iPads and iPhones that we’ve passed down to them as we’ve upgraded our own phones and tablets, and everyone has their own computer for either work, school, or play, but when the only description on the Circle device list reads “Apple Device” or “Intel Device”, you have to go on a scavenger hunt for the MAC address to know which device is which. Fortunately, you can rename any device in the Circle app once you’ve identified it so you don’t have to go through that effort again. As an appliance primarily marketed for online safety and parental network control, the basic means of exercising this control is through profiles that describe the kinds of capabilities and services network users will be allowed. The basic concept is to create one profile for each kid/user, and then you associate the various network devices (as identified above) with each profile so they are all managed with the same permissions. The profile types are simple enough: Kid, Teen, Adult, and None (basically unmanaged). Each profile has some predefined “popular apps and websites” that you can allow, deny, or leave unmanaged (Amazon, Tik Tok, YouTube, Netflix, Minecraft, etc.). Choosing a profile that goes from Kids to Teens for example replaces Nickelodeon and PSB with things like Reddit, Tumblr, and Twitter. But where the Circle really shines is that each profile also includes whole categories of websites that can be allowed or denied (Email, Online Games, Social Media, VPNs, Videos, Dating, Photo, Music, Explicit Content, etc.) as well as the ability to add a specific website to the list. Obviously the quality of the categorical filtering is dependent on the logic engine that Circle uses and keeps updated as new sites are added to the Web, but it’s a very powerful and sophisticated capability to make available to the average home user as the categories are very similar to the Bluecoat proxy groups that many business and government agencies use for managing their own firewalls and internal network traffic. Each profile can then be further refined to specify bedtimes, usage time limits (i.e. only 4 hours total per day), and even scheduled “off times” (like no Internet at dinner). The main page for each profile in the main app also lets you review the activity and visited/filtered websites for each profile. Whether your teen or other network users consider this particular capability invasive or not is a whole other matter—but there’s no denying that for young and impressionable network users, the ability to review what your kid is doing and seeing online is critical to their online safety these days. Where Circle takes things a step beyond a typical smart router is the “Reward” button. This allows you to set temporary changes in a profile like removing device time limits for the day, not having an “off time,” or specifying a “Late bedtime” that doesn’t require you to reprogram the weekly schedule you might already have established in the app--it's a remarkably easy way to manage online time (or incentives/rewards for good behavior) for younger kids. Of course, the opposite holds true as well--if there's a reason to drop a device off the network entirely after a particularly unruly afternoon, you can simply pause the profile and all online access is temporarily disabled until you un-pause it in the app again. For some devices like PCs or smart TVs, these online limits set by your Circle appliance will simply show up as a network error—the device won’t be able to pull any webpages or online services. However, webpages subject to a specific block will be redirected to an informative Circle block page that summarizes their current profile/filtering status, gives feedback on time limits, off time, bedtime settings, and the status of any temporary rewards granted for the day. But on supported devices like tablets and phones, you can also install the Circle app in “Kid’s mode” that provides even more feedback to the user. For example, with the kid’s app installed, they get a pop-up notification if you’ve given them a reward that lengthens their online window for a later bedtime or removes the “off time” limitation. Installing the Kid’s app also lets you ping the device’s location (similar to an iDevice “Find My” routine) and it updates the device with a local VPN profile so that you can enforce online limits and permissions even when you are traveling and away from your home network! In the end, the Circle Home Plus is a powerful, extensive, flexible, and even portable set of family network protection technologies and capabilities that can give you remarkably detailed feedback and granular control over your kids’ online activities. While it won’t prevent someone from actually turning on their phone, tablet, or handheld and playing a game or watching a movie that’s been locally downloaded onto the device, anything requiring network connectivity to operate, or anywhere online they purposefully or inadvertently visit, is fair game for filtering and monitoring through the Circle’s ultimately quite approachable and pretty user-friendly interface. If you are concerned about your kids’ online safety, or need to exercise some control and limitations to help ensure or develop responsible device usage habits or online discipline, the Circle Home Plus is a pretty easy yet VERY powerful means to get you where you need to go—HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

My biggest frustration with previous Circle model was the fact that it required to replace my router because it didn’t provide PPOE. In order to use Circle, I not only had to get rid of my router but also pay my internet provider a monthly fee to use their modem. Otherwise, I would need to use my IT knowledge and do some hacking just to use Circle. Also, if you needed to take advantage of it, you had to install software on all devices, which is not always possible. To my surprise, this new model solves most of the problems above. It just connects to your wired and wireless network without replacing anything. It also manages most features without any extra software installed on other devices other than the one used for management. Management is not complicated once you understand the basics of the app. During setup, Circle scans for all devices currently on your network. After that, the phone app will tell you of any new devices that join your network. You create profiles for users and add their devices. Some basic filter templates are provided for kids, adults, etc. You can then set bedtime, limit their screen time, and so on. You can even pause internet to allow for family time. Whenever you need, the history is available so you can check where kids spend most of their time on. The advantage of not needing to install any software on every device is obvious but there are times when the installation of the Circle client software, not the parental control one, is important. That is, when your kids are not home but you still want to control what internet access they can have. For that the software is essential because it takes Circle control beyond your home network. It also allows it to prompt messages, so your children know why they lost access for instance. I really like this new model a lot better than the previous one. It is simple to use and effective. My only concerns are: there is no web interface so you could log on to and manage devices and profiles. Sure you can do all from your phone but it would be a great addition. The other issue is that you can’t block specifics sites other than the pre-configured ones such as YouTube, Facebook, etc. Maybe the web interface could allow for that type of granular customization. On the positive side, this model supports 1Gb speeds, which is a huge improvement for my home network since I use fiber with gigabit internet. Another minor annoyance is the cable management. The way it was implemented is ugly. It looks like an after-though solution. I’ve included a before and after picture of the cabling. The device design itself is nice with that one exception. For the simplicity, new features and capabilities, I would rate it with five stars but because the web interface for deeper customization is still not an option, I am rating it with four stars. Apart from the annual subscription option, which I am not commenting here but is required, this is essential for any parent who wants to control access to the internet. It is a much better product than their previous models.

I bought this to up the level of managing my home network. With two kids, one 10 and one 20, I have a pretty diverse set of websites that I need to deal with and monitor. I liked what I heard about this product, and really liked the hardware component, with a lot more control just by having something that plugged directly into my router. The whole system was easy to setup, both the hardware and the app. The app was pretty intuitive and walked me through the process of getting the app set up on my daughter's tablet as well. It also supports an unlimited number of devices which is nice.

I would give it 5 stars but it requires a monthly or yearly subscription for premium featurea depending if you want to save $ to pay for the year or monthly which is more expensive. It does come with a trial period for the premium features. BTW the premium features are basically what you need to be able to set limits and reward kids with screen time etc. The basic function is very limited. Ok. I ranted enough about the subscription. Setup is very particular. It says it needs to be hardwired into the main router of my house. I tried to see if it would allow me to go through my main switch of my house and it did not like that. Also because I am running a mesh type system it did not like that either. So make sure you follow the instructions to a T. After it registered to my network it was a snap to set the rest up. I am on Android and application was easy to use and navigate and control my kids screen time. Restrictions were hit and miss. I think it has to do with the way folks set things up in YouTube. Program restrictions on time allotted is pretty good. This does require that apps are on both parent device and kid device. So if a kid is savy enough and is able to delete the app then poof the restrictions are not there. Which requires you to personally monitor as you should as a parent. For the intent I think this is a good product so long as kids don't try to work around the loopholes. I would recommend this product for busy parents especially during COVID-19 days when parents have to work and want to restrict kids from playing games on there devices instead of doing work.

I used the iOS app with this product and enjoyed the interface and usability of the product. It uses USB-C for charging and can connect via ethernet or WiFi. I used it connected to my modem in a media panel via ethernet. I have two kids and the Circle Home Plus did limit screen time on their shared iPad. additionally, we used it to filter adult content off of the network and it seems to work wonderfully. The only complaint is because of the rubber/silicone grommet on the back of the device hiding the ethernet cable prevents you from angling the ethernet cable in extremely tight spaces. for 99.9999% of families, this device will work wonders and make it easy to do so.

I do Internet safety seminars and webinars around the country and this is my #1 recommendation for parents! Setup is quick an easy. Just download the app for your phone/tablet and follow the directions! Circle Home Plus provides parents with a number of tools: - Internet Filtering - Time Management - App Controls - Usage info - Off Times (Time at which the 'Net is cut off!) - History - Time limits for Apps - and more!!! Not only is it great for parents, but it is very helpful for adults struggling with inappropriate Internet use. Like I said: My #1 recommendation!

Well worth the investment, especially in these at home schooling times. Although you do have lots of control over. What content the kid's can access. It would be great to be able to stop certain access. To some apps and websites during school hours. And how much time you do give them on those apps. Could be distributed a little more tighter. Instead of giving an hour for this app and a hour for that website. That can accumulate to several hours of stuff to take up there time. Definitely don't think these are faults in the device. Just places for improvement over the whole of the software. Still believe it to be a outstanding device for parents.

We bought this because our to help keep an eye on our kids internet usage. We can block sites, give them time limits, easily reward them with more time. It's great for us.

The Circle Home plus had easy installation. Had piece of mind that parental controls were on throughout the night. Would defintely recommend. Good product for the price.

So far the performance of these units has been excellent. Was easy to setup and have not had a single issue with connection dropping. I would have given it 5 stars but it is missing some basic features that should be available for a solution at this price point. As of August 23, 2020 you can not add custom blacklist of websites. They only provide ability to turn on content filtering for 3 broad categories (adult, illegal or criminal, and violent). You are given no clarity which websites are being blocked when you turn on these filters. This is their blackbox of sites that you can not add to with a custom blacklist. Their paid subscription service offers to protect the devices on your Eero network from Spyware, Phishing, Malware, and Botnets. It will show you a generic report of all the times it blocked/protected your devices from these threats but there is absolutely no clarity/details on where these threats were generated from or if they are even valid threats at all. They could just be inflating the numbers to make you believe they are doing a really good job of protecting you. I ended up having to buy and connect another device (Circle Home Plus) for $69 to get many of the missing features of the Eero. If Eero ever updates their software to provide these features I will come back and adjust my rating.

i can controll when the children get on the internet, even at night when i go to bed. the back up battery feature is great to surprise thosae crafty kids!

Many of the more recent WiFi 6 routers haven’t figured out parental controls, so we use this to regulate our kids internet habits. We use it with the Verizon Fios WiFi 6 base with satellite in another room. It does it’s job well. You do have to pay for subscription service after the initial period.

I retuned this. Read on to find out why: Great for younger kids. I prefer gen 1 as there is no subscription required. Gen. 1 speeds are limited to 100Mb for managed devices. When we upgraded to 500Mb connection I needed an upgrade. This gen 2 has a flaw in the firmware that limits the upload speeds to 100 mb. Download is not affected. From Circle support: "Our current iteration of the Circle firmware does not include hardware acceleration which would allow full 1000/1000 (or in your case 500/500) upload speeds. Instead, the upload speed for any managed Circle device is limited to around ~100MBP/s. Our team is aware of this limitation and know the root cause, but have not as yet prioritized a fix for this and are unlikely to see one in place soon. If you'd like the full upload speed for your devices we recommend umanaging them."

Can finally keep an eye on what our daughter is viewing. The price was fair.

I have it for about one month. This software has a lot of functions in managing when your children can go on internet. You can allow and disallowed various websites by preset category. You can set weekend & weekday schedule, as well as setting break time, or simply pause the internet usage. U can do all this from your cellphone. It really work for me in ensuring my son is not playing while he claims he is studying...

Amazing. Great way to keep tabs and control limits on what is being done on the internet. It’s simple to use. There was a subscription but I think it was worth it considering what it is able to do.

OMG I love this so much! Even I can set up. It's so great controlling the internet. I recommend this to everyone who has kids. I started out with the 3 month subscription to give it a fair test I ended up buying a lifetime subscription. I didn't know I was going to love it so much! My bet is after your 3 months you too will get the lifetime subscription.