No longer need to use Circle? Upgrading to our newest product Circle Parental Controls? Just need to remove a kid device? You'll want to make sure you remove Circle's controls from your network or devices. The steps to do so, depend on the product. You can remove Circle's controls using the guidance below.
Note: are you an adult that doesn't own a Circle and is being managed by our software? See the final section below, "I don't use Circle software and need it removed".
Circle with Disney (Circle Home)
- How Do I Reboot Circle or Turn it Off? - turning off the Circle device will remove parental controls from at-home devices
- Remove a Device from Circle - Remove an old device that no longer is on the network
Circle on NETGEAR
- Follow this guide to enable or disable Circle on NETGEAR (controlled via your router)
Circle Parental Controls
- How Do I Reboot Circle or Turn it Off? - turning off the Circle device will remove parental controls from at-home devices
- Remove a Device from Circle - Remove an old device that no longer is on the network
- You can remove the Circle Parental Control kid app and VPN using the guidance below:
Remove the Circle kid app
- Remove the Circle app from the Kid device by uninstalling
- If prompted log in using your Circle Parental Controls account
- Restart the kid device
Remove the kid device from your Circle parent app:
- Open your Circle parent app
- Tap the devices icon in the upper right hand of the parent app
- Find the device and tap on its name
- Tap "Remove from Circle" and confirm (repeat the process if your device is listed more than once)
How do I add back a device that I've removed?
You can add a device to Circle by setting it up with the kid app (Circle Parental Controls only).
If you have Circle home Plus set up, the device will return to the device list the next time it connects to your network.
- To speed up the device reconnecting you can reboot the device and open a couple of websites while it's connected to your home network that Circle is managing. Afterwards the device will appear in your Circle app's device list.
- If the device still doesn't appear rebooting your router by powering it on and off, and rebooting Circle then waiting 15 minutes.
After the device appears again you can tap on it and then "Assigned to..." to change what profile it is assigned to. (Note: For the Circle 1st generation device all devices will be assigned to the Home profile. For Circle Parental Controls you can control where devices are assigned by default: whether in the home profile or as unmanaged.)
Remove "mystery" devices
If you are a Circle Home Plus user, you may find an entry in your device list that you don't recognize and cannot account for among the devices in your home. This is likely due to that device having access to your Wi-Fi network. We strongly recommend removing unknown devices from your Wi-Fi to maintain your security and privacy.
If a device keeps returning:
Devices that have your home Wi-Fi network information will often connect to your Wi-Fi automatically when they come within range unless the device's settings prevent this from happening. To remove these devices from your network:
- Remove the device again. Use the steps outlined above to remove the device again.
- Change your Wi-Fi information. This is the most dramatic step you can take. If you are still seeing devices joining your network without your permission and they continue to rejoin after being removed, it may be necessary to change your Wi-Fi information. Use the documentation for your router to work through steps needed in order to do this. After your security settings are changed, you can decide who can join the network and have better clarity around who is using your Internet access.
NOTE: If you've paired to WiFi as backup or are currently using Circle Home Plus over WiFi, you will need to re-pair Circle Home Plus.
Factory Resetting a Circle device
See the guide here for help on resetting a Circle device to factory defaults.
Resetting your account
You can find options for disabling your Circle or resetting an account entirely in the Circle app Menu under Manage or Settings depending on the product.
I don't use Circle software and need it removed
Are you seeing filtering from Circle on your device, but don't own the Circle device or a NETGEAR router that includes Circle? You may need to confirm no one added Circle to your network or enabled the software on your router. If the issue remains you may need to talk with your Internet Service Provider to make sure your network is closed off from outside access.
To make sure Circle is not managing your network or devices:
- Share internet access with housemates or an apartment? Make sure no one set up a Circle device or Circle on NETGEAR router on the network you use and is managing your devices. Talk with your network administrator for assistance on this issue.
- Do you have physical access to the router for your network? Confirm that no Circle device (a small white cube) is attached via Ethernet.
- Change your network's Wi-Fi password and make sure only you know this information. Changing the Wi-Fi password will keep a Wi-Fi connected Circle device from reconnecting and managing you.
- Work with your Internet service provider: confirm that your router is in DHCP mode, set up on its own subnet, and has a firewall active.