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Forum Discussion
Orbi, Circle, and Powerline 2000 help needed
I have the Orbi RBR20 with three RBW30's attached throughout the house. We use Circle to limit the kids time on the devices. The internet connection wasn't good enough for gaming though, so I bought a Powerline 2000 and connected it to my kids Playstation and another to the other kids computer. Now neither device shows up on the Circle network and I cannot limit their usage or put any resitrictions on the cintent they can access. Am I missing something simple here? How can I get their devices back on the Circle network so I can monitor and limit content?
16 Replies
Please post about this in the Circle app forum:
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Circle-Smart-Parental-Controls/bd-p/en-home-circle
Good LuckFURRYe38is correct that Disney Circle is not something that most of us who participate in this forum have much experience with. (In my case, I have never activated Circle.)
One place to start might be how Circle identifies each user device. by IP address? by MAC address? by some file that is put on the user device? (see how little I know?) Maybe the Powerline 2000 has changed the way these devices appear on the network. (I know, for example, that the Netgear EX3700 Extender creates fake MAC addresses for devices when the connect. Messed up my device IP assignment table completly until I found those new MAC addresses.)
It should not be too hard to connect one of these devices directly to the Orbi, open Attached Devices and see how it is described. Then, connect it to the Powerline and see if anything has changed.
Thanks for the suggestion, however, it makes no difference how they are connected into the system (unless it's completely wifi), these two devices don't even show up in the list of devices on Circle. Circle uses the MAC address of the device. It's almost like the Powerline device completelt masks the visibility.
I would remove the power line devices to check to see if the other devices then show up in Circle, if they do, then the issue is with the powerline devices. Someting to discuss with the Mfr of the PL devices.
dbriankessler wrote:Thanks for the suggestion, however, it makes no difference how they are connected into the system (unless it's completely wifi), these two devices don't even show up in the list of devices on Circle. Circle uses the MAC address of the device. It's almost like the Powerline device completelt masks the visibility.
Where have you plugged the Powerline adaptor that provides access to the Internet? Make sure the ethernet cable from the Powerline is connected directly to the Orbi Router and NOT a router that is connected to your broadband connection (ISP). It seems like you are bypassing the Orbi in which case Circle can't filter the connections.
You might also find that if the wireless backhaul of the Orbi devices isn't providing enough bandwidth then you might be able to use the Powerline adaptors as a way to provide a wired backhaul. That is how our RBK53 system is setup although using a different manufacturer for the Powerline adaptors...
Magic 2 LAN: magical internet socket | devolo AG
Magic 2 LAN triple with Powerline technology | devolo AG
These provide enough bandwidth that easily exceeds the devices we use plus Cirle introduces such a reduction in throughput that again the Powerline adaptors easily match or exceed the wireless backhaul Orbi can provide.
DatabaseJase wrote:Where have you plugged the Powerline adaptor that provides access to the Internet?
I've tried it both ways. When I initially plugged everything up, the computer would show up on the network with the same MAC address. I would add it as I should have. Then once it disconnected, then reconnected again (on power-up), it was as if it was a brand new device. It had the same MAC and computer name, except the name had some thing like "-1", "-2", etc added to the end. Then, mysteriously, that computer disappeared from the list, and now it's just connected all the time, and unmanageable through Circle.
Sounds like it is something the Netgear Powerline devices are doing then as has already been suggested.
I realise this doesn't help you directly but I can confirm that Devolo devices work for us without interferrng with Circle. The Develo devices have their own IP address assigned by the Orbi using DHCP and those IP addressses also appears in Circle which we have just put into "unmanaged".
I'm sure you don't want to spend any more money on this. Hope you find a solution.
