So, I recently moved from a Nighthawk R7000 I'd been using for several years to an Orbi system. I'm in general happy with the Orbi...but I've run into difficulty in setting the parental controls back up. In particular, I've been using Circle, and Circle Go for my kids portable devices. However, I seem to be unable to set the Circle Go back up...and from looking at the Circle support, it sounds like they're phasing Circle with Disney out, in favor of their new "Circle Home Plus". Given that Circle with Disney has been and is an important selling point for these routers, what is the plan for Circle support in the future? Will the Circle software be upgraded to allow us to move to the new Circle Home Plus? I really am loathe to purchase some other device to support parental controls after shelling out on the Orbi's, and I'm a bit disappointed to find Netgear still touting the Circle with Disney as though it's a viable alternative when it really seems not to be going forward. Can anyone shed any light on any of this?
Also, just to add, I'd really appreciate a forthright answer b/c I have subscriptions I'm paying for for both Circle and Circle Go, and I'd like to have clarity on whether I should cancel those as they'll be useless, or not....
I’m in the same boat. My R7000 Nighthawk died during the latest firmware update. Rather than fight the inevitable, I accepted its death and proceeded to BestBuy to purchase a new router with WiFi. I chose the Orbi because I wanted to continue using Circle and CircleGo. I can’t begin to explain how frustrated I am that I now have to purchase the Circle Plus too! Will Orbi be updating its firmware/OS to support Circle Plus?
The "standalone" Circle by Disney solution (with the Circle box - which is not required with the router based Circle on Netgear) is replaced by the Circle Home Plus.
There is no misunderstanding. I am aware of your three points. The issue is that if I want to continue managing my kids iPhones outside of my home I will now have to purchase separately the new Circle box. Prior to Circle discontinuing Circle Go I could manage devices within and outside of my WiFi network. With the new arrangement there is ZERO value in having Circle via Netgear. Once I purchase the new Circle Device I will have all the features of Circle without Netgear adding any value. In short...why select a Netgear router with Circle included when you will have to buy a separate Circle device anyway. As angry and frustrated as it makes me I have conceded that I will need the new Circle device to continue managing my devices the way I was able to prior to this awful change in the Netgear/Circle partnership. I will now have to disable the Circle feature on my Netgear Orbi so that the two different Circles/Profiles don’t conflict/compete with each other.
True. Missed some words I had in mind before hitting [Post]. Only Netgear and Circle Media Labs can explain on how they want to provide continuity for their existing customers - for now when it comes to Circle Go, and probably more in the future. The point is neither the new box nor the Circle Home Plus - much more the effort of keeping the Circle code on the Netgear devices up to speed, ensuring the compatibility with the cloud services involved, and how the existing Netgear Circle Premium customers can continue to maintain the subscription for the mobile service.
@Christian_R the shutdown of the Circle Go service by the service provider is a bigger problem Netgear must take care of.
"If you are already a Circle Go customer, the supporting services will continue to operate as normal. Only potential new customers will be affected by this change."
You don't "need" Circle Go with the Premium For Circle on Netgear but there is no mention about Circle Go for mobile devices in the Premium fee and the link above essentially says that you will have two subscriptions if you want to use Circle Go with a Netgear router.
Of course you might not even be able to subscribe any more ????
