Are you seeing a number of devices in the Circle app that you don't recognize? We can help!
What's this device?
Circle grabs the name of a device in a number of ways, but sometimes that name is less than helpful. You might have a number of Android, Apple, Microsoft, or other unknown devices that appear when you first set up Circle Home Plus. When a device's name isn't clear, Circle will display the hostname set by the manufacturer. Any device that appears in your device's list is connected to your network and you can use its MAC address to determine which device it is. Check out this article for more info on figuring out what device is what.
I'm still not sure what this is...
Still don't know what a device is? Try rebooting your Circle, router, and closing the Circle app. This can help resolve those names for you. For some devices waiting 24 hours and then checking again can help. That gives Circle time to sniff your network a little more for what's called a "hostname".
Unknown Devices
Are you seeing a new "Unknown Device" join your device list each day? You may be seeing an issue related to new privacy features on Android 10 and iOS 14 devices, or on Windows 10 devices. Learn more about this feature and how to turn that off at the article here.
How do I remove this?
If you don't think a device is on your home network any longer, you can remove it from Circle. Open the device's settings, then tap "Remove from Circle". If the device is still connected to your network it will reappear the next time it connects to the Internet. That means it is connected to your router via Ethernet or has been connected using your WiFi password.
Network devices
If you're thinking a device you're seeing in Circle might be part of your network we recommend setting it to "Unmanaged". This happens by default for the Circle product. Making an unknown device unmanaged will make sure it's able to do its job on the network without interference. Don't worry, your other devices will still be managed the same.
To set a device to "Unmanaged":
- Open the Circle app.
- Open the Devices list in the top right.
- Tap the device's name to open its settings.
- Tap "Assigned to..."
- Tap the box next to "Unmanaged".
"Circle" device
Sometimes a device named "Circle" might appear in your devices list in the Circle app. What is this and why is it there?
Check the MAC address
With some network setups, Circle can detect itself as a device on your network. You'll know this is the case if the MAC address for the Circle device matches the Circle Device ID that appears under Menu > Manage. If that's the case we suggest setting this Circle to "Unmanaged". Tap on it, then "Assigned to..." and check the box next to "Unmanaged". You can also try plugging Circle in via Ethernet and then tapping "Remove from Circle" at the bottom of this device's settings page.
Hmm...
Sometimes a device named "Circle" might appear with a different MAC address than the one that appears under Menu > Manage. If that's the case it could be that an extender is seeing Circle and changing the MAC address slightly. Make sure to plug in Circle via ethernet and then open this device and tap "Remove from Circle". It's also possible that someone is trying to circumvent Circle's controls and doing what's called "MAC spoofing" to create a device that looks like Circle. If you try and remove the "Circle" device and it reappears, and has a different MAC address than your Circle Device ID you might be seeing some MAC spoofing. In that case try Pausing the device and see if anyone in your house complains. *smile*