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Forum Discussion
RBK50 Circle 1st Gen -> Update?
Looking for some advice on Circle.
I have had my RBK50 for 4 years now and I have just come to learn about the new Parental Controls which appears to mean 1st gen Circle is slowly being deprecated.
Therefore my questions are:
- Do I have to migrate?
- Is there a free version of the new parental controls?
- The only functionality I really use are grouping devices by person, content filtering through the options (snapchat or no adult etc) and the history tab to take a look at what is being accessed every now and then - is this available in the new parental controls app?
Thanks from a dad just trying to keep his kids safe 🙂
4 Replies
- I am in same place and with same hardware. We live day to day with it for our kids. Not a luxury, it’s a necessity!
Once in awhile I notice the circle app has not been updated, or they were acquired by another company end of 2021, and I see NETGEAR has another option too.
Even if we are not forced to migrate yet… is it any better ? I read the reviews on IOS App Store for the My Time app and it sounds terrible.
Has anyone used the new “smart parent controls”??- I took the time to leave Circle and dive in. So far I am pleased that I did it.
The new controls are almost exactly like Circle but built right into the Orbi app instead of a 2nd app.
I discovered this article which shows the similarities https://kb.netgear.com/000062108/What-is-the-difference-between-NETGEAR-Smart-Parental-Controls-and-Circle
I had to turn off Circle in the app, then restart the Orbi. Then on Parent Controls page there is a button to upgrade to the SPC and when you do that it reboots again and hides Circle and replaces it with the new “Parent controls” screen.
The work required was then to make sure my device list was accurate to identify the right devices and then create a profile for each person. Once I have a profile, I added the relevant devices and setup the time limits, bedtime hours, filters, etc.
***
To all the mods and NG staff, please make this decision easier for people and post a few screenshots along with all the product info in 1 place.Be sure to save off a back up configuration to file for safe keeping. Saves time if a reset is needed.
https://kb.netgear.com/000062080/How-do-I-back-up-the-configuration-settings-on-my-Orbi-WiFi-System
Enjoy. 📡
markroth wrote:
I took the time to leave Circle and dive in. So far I am pleased that I did it.
The new controls are almost exactly like Circle but built right into the Orbi app instead of a 2nd app.
I discovered this article which shows the similarities https://kb.netgear.com/000062108/What-is-the-difference-between-NETGEAR-Smart-Parental-Controls-and-Circle
I had to turn off Circle in the app, then restart the Orbi. Then on Parent Controls page there is a button to upgrade to the SPC and when you do that it reboots again and hides Circle and replaces it with the new “Parent controls” screen.
The work required was then to make sure my device list was accurate to identify the right devices and then create a profile for each person. Once I have a profile, I added the relevant devices and setup the time limits, bedtime hours, filters, etc.
***
To all the mods and NG staff, please make this decision easier for people and post a few screenshots along with all the product info in 1 place.
