Circle Home Plus extends your mobile experience with Circle to your entire Wi-Fi network, allowing you to manage every connected device in your home — laptops, smart TVs, game consoles, and everything else. You’ll still use the Circle Parental Controls app, but you’ll have the added functionality of Circle Home Plus built right in.
Circle Home Plus works by pairing directly with your router and inspecting all the non-encrypted Internet traffic that comes through your home network, so you won’t need to install software or adjust any settings on your family devices to be able to manage them.
Maintaining a strong and consistent connection between Circle Home Plus and your router will ensure a fast, reliable Internet connection in your home.
Note: see set up help for the Circle 1st generation device here.
Check out the video below for setup information on Circle Home Plus.
Getting Started
- If you have another Circle product on your home Wi-Fi already, disable it before setting up Circle Home Plus. This includes the Circle with Disney device and the Circle service you can enable on some NETGEAR routers.
- Make sure that your router and Wi-Fi network are compatible with Circle Home Plus.
- Use the Circle Parental Controls app to set up and manage Circle Home Plus. (The Circle App is available on the iOS App Store and Android Play Store, and is compatible with iOS version 13 or greater and Android version 6.0 or greater.)
- To pair Circle Home Plus, you'll start from initial setup and choose the "App + Circle Home Plus" option. If you've already set up your account and family profiles you can set up Circle Home Plus from the Circle Parental Controls app Menu by tapping "Set up Circle Home Plus". If you haven't already created an account, you can find more information here.
After you've completed these steps, move on to the following:
- Identify a power outlet for Circle Home Plus near your router.
- Get the Ethernet cord and power cord ready.
- Identify your home's main Wi-Fi router (that's the one the devices you want Circle to manage connect to for Internet via Wi-Fi or Ethernet).
- Make sure you're connected to your home Wi-Fi network. It also helps to turn off cellular data on your phone and forget any other networks that your device might join during setup.
Pairing Circle Home Plus with your home network.
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In the Circle app once you've signed up for an account and logged in, choose the "App + Circle Home Plus" set up flow. If you've already created an account and family profiles you can set up Circle Home Plus by opening the Menu located in the top left corner of the home screen. Then select “Set up Circle Home Plus.”
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Connect your phone to the same Wi-Fi network that your devices use for Internet access and that you want Circle to manage.
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Find your home router. It's the device that provides Wi-Fi to your home. Make sure you’ve found your router, rather than a modem, network extender, or another piece of equipment.
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Set Circle Home Plus next to your router.
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Plug Circle Home Plus into a nearby wall outlet with the provided USB charger and make sure the light on the back has come on and is blinking slowly.
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Connect Circle Home Plus and your router using the Ethernet cable (make sure to plug Circle into the main router). (You can also connect Circle to a switch but make sure it doesn't create its own VLAN or subnet for Circle. See more info here.) Note: You don't have to set up Circle over Ethernet, but we recommend it for the best connections. If you set up the Wi-Fi connection during set up the Ethernet can be unplugged and Circle should remain online.
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Follow the steps in the Circle App to pair Circle Home Plus to your network via Ethernet and Wi-Fi, then create your Home Profile by setting up a Filter and selecting all your family’s shared devices.
- After you're all set up we recommend rebooting your router by powering it off and on and then rebooting Circle. This can help restore any connectivity issues caused during set up and helps you find other devices on the network! Wait a couple of minutes afterward and connectivity at home should return.
Home Profile and Device Assignment
While setting up Circle Home Plus you’ll be given the option to create a Home profile for shared devices. You’ll also have the option to assign new devices to the Home profile or have them automatically set to “Unmanaged.” Make sure to set up this option and the Home profile to your liking.
Protip: you can always change Home profile’s settings later by tapping on the “house” icon on the main Circle screen. You can change the settings for auto-assigning new devices to the Home profile from the “Devices” screen as well (that’s in the top right on the main Circle screen).
Troubleshooting Circle Home Plus setup.
Check out this help article for assistance pairing Circle Home Plus using the Ethernet cord or the Wi-Fi pairing method. You can always remove Circle Home Plus from Menu >> Settings and reset it manually then try again to set up.
After you're all set up we recommend rebooting your router by powering it off and on and then rebooting Circle. This can help restore any connectivity issues caused during set up and helps you find other devices on the network! Wait a couple of minutes afterward and connectivity at home should return.
Note: Having issues with Internet connectivity after setting up Circle Home Plus? You may need to enable Compatibility Mode. Learn more here.
After setting up Circle Home Plus
Don’t forget to assign your newly-found devices to your family members’ profiles so that their settings will apply to all their devices. We also recommend rebooting your router once set up is complete.
Your Circle Home Plus may discover network devices that do not belong to you or your family members. Be aware that you may not use Circle Home Plus to manage or monitor Internet access for these devices without first informing the device owner and obtaining permission.
Note: Seeing devices listed twice after pairing Circle Home Plus? Don't worry those will merge soon! You can learn more here.
New router or received a replacement device?
Have a new router or replaced your Circle Home Plus? To set up again after a network change or get your replacement going, reset the Circle Home Plus manually then remove it from under Menu >> Settings. Then power on the device and wait a minute. After doing so you can set up again using the banner prompt or from the Circle app Menu.