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Using Circle with Eero

Is anyone using the Circle device with Eero to manage children's devices on a home network? I like Eero's ability to "turn off" devices, but Circle seems to allow you to set filters on a per-device basis. Just not sure how well Circle works in general -- and, in particular, if it works with Eero.

124 replies

    • Mark_Smith
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Took down the Eero and bought a Velop. Compatible with the Circle and simple configuration.  Bye bye Eero!

    • JTravers
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Strange that the CEOs of both companies would bother to engage in this discussion and then ignore the issue as it got worse. 

     

    For anyone still trying to make Circle and eero work together, I've found using another router as my gateway and putting the eeros in bridged mode seems to work (I have tried an Asus router with WiFi turned off and also a pfSense box). But I think you need to connect the Circle to your wired router via Ethernet to make sure it works properly. I wouldn't trust it to work connected only via WiFi. You lose all the gateway features of eero, but I think the features on my wired router and the parental controls of Circle are superior to eero's gateway/router features anyway. So no big loss. 

    • Mark.2
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    JTravers my goal for today was choosing a new router that would allow circle to work. I was leaning towards the vellop. Can you explain how you made your setup work?  I have some airport extremes sitting around that i would love to try. 

    Thanks. I wish weaves and eero were as helpful.....

      • JTravers
      • 6 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Mark You should be able to use your Airport Extreme as your main router connected to your modem (assuming you have cable). First, unplug your eeros and Circle. Then use the Airport Utility app and turn off the wireless on it. You can then connect the eero you previously were using as the main gateway/router to the Airport Extreme. After it boots up, set it up for Bridge mode. (I think that's under Network Settings -- Advanced settings -- DHCP & NAT in the eero app). Once that eero is working for wifi, you can turn the other eeros on, as well (I'm not sure if it matters whether you turn the other eeros on before or after setting the "main" eero in Bridge mode). Finally, connect your Circle via ethernet to the Airport Extreme, and plug the Circle back in.

      Basically, you want your Airport Extreme to be your router and the eeros to be wireless APs not involved in the router/gateway functions. And you want Circle to NOT be located behind the eeros (which would happen if you just connected it via wifi).

      I'm hoping that works for you!

      • JTravers
      • 6 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      JTravers Just to follow-up with how my setup is working... I have a pfSense box acting as my router/gateway with its WAN port plugged into my cable modem. The pfSense box handles DHCP, DNS, routing, etc. Then I have the LAN port of the pfSense box plugged into an ethernet switch. My Circle is plugged into that ethernet switch, as well as cable runs to 2 of my hardwired eeros and a couple desktop computers. Then I have another gen 2 eero that is completely wireless. The eeros are in bridge mode, and the Circle was initially setup wirelessly (as they force you to do) and then plugged in via ethernet.

      Everything seems to be working as expected

      Hope that helps!

      • jay_mitchell
      • 6 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      JTravers 

      Thank you for posting your work around; although it is way over my head I am going to give this a shot. 

      I have a Netgear Nighthawk AC1900 Wifi Cable Modem Router, and the 1st generation Eero. Do you think I can get this setup to work if I plug my Circle into the Nighthawk, turn the Wifi off on the nighthawk, and set my Eero's to bridge mode?

      Or should I just plug the Circle into my gateway Eero's ethernet port?

      Thanks in advance.     

      • JTravers
      • 6 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      jay mitchell No harm in trying to first just plug the Circle into your gateway eero's Ethernet port. But if that doesn't work, plugging into the Nighthawk while turning off it's wifi and putting the eeros in bridge mode should work. Your description of what to do should work. 

    • skyfranks
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Velop black is on sale at Best Buy. I'm getting it and ebaying my Eero. I'm done.

    • Mark.2
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Thanks JTravers  I may give that a try.  My frustration level is pretty high with Eero right now ( weaves  are you listening???). and that sale for Velop sounds pretty good.

     

    skyfranks If anyone is partial to white, you might try asking B&H to price match.

      • nnyan
      • 6 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Mark  Velop are fast but feature limited.

    • skyfranks
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Well I'm still stuck with Eero, for now. I bought the Velop and it was twice as fast as my Eero BUT it failed initial setup twice and then my xbox one x refused to connect. Linksys tech support was a joke so I packed it up and returned it. When I feel like doing battle again, I'll be trying Google Wifi or the Orbi. I need some time to cool off. I'm so frustrated that these products charge you a MASSIVE amount of money and can't function properly, or, in this case be anti-competitive by breaking Circle functionality to drive others to Eero Plus. Well, Eero plus blocks half of what Circle blocks. I'm still determined to get rid of Eero just for creating this mess for those who need Circle functionality.

      • Mark.2
      • 6 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      skyfranks 

      Nnyan What was your final solution? I just got the Velop running (and yes...it failed setup about 4 times) and will try plugging in circle later tonight 

      • JTravers
      • 6 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      skyfranks Have you tried running your eeros in bridge mode, or is that not an option? Circle is working perfectly fine with my eeros in bridge mode. 

      How many Velops did you try vs. what type and how many eeros? I'm curious because I've gotten pretty decent speed from 3 2nd gen eeros and a beacon. 

      Thanks!

      • nnyan
      • 6 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Mark  you may see my other post but I have gone with Ubiquiti.  Im getting about the same speeds as the Eeros on most of my clients and somewhat slower on others.  Setup is NOT as user friendly and can be a PITA sometimes.  But you can get a USG and 3 UAP-AC-Lites for a nice chunk of change less the the Pro pack.  If I didn't have to run the Eeros in bridge mode the calculus would have been different but while cautious about Ubiquiti I'm very impressed so far.  It's not perfect and you can drown in how much insight and information you now get on your network but it is damn solid.  Enterprise lite it may be but this seriously kicks ass.

      Plus I got to work with Google Cloud Product where I'm running the Ubiquiti Controller in the free tier.  Adds complication to the device adoption process but once it's up it just chugs along.  And it's nice to be able to manage my wifi and network remotely from anywhere.

    • Mark_Smith
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    I have the Velop running with my Circle and there are zero issues and faster speeds than the Eero.  Very happy to have dumped them for my new cofiguration.  

    • raminf
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Just wanted to chime in. Circle hasn't worked since October 2017 eero update. I ended up disabling all the profiles in Circle so it's essentially a brick. I did sign up to try eero plus but it doesn't seem to have the ability to whitelist or blacklist specific sites. Be great if folks from Circle and eero could coordinate more and get this working again.

    The Circle is direct-wired into an ethernet switch which is direct-wired to the eero. I've also sent a request to Circle tech support but have not gotten a response. They claim it has to do with eero. Would really like to get this working again. Thanks.

      • pvjones
      • 6 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      raminf I agree. Eero Plus is a no-go without whitelist and blacklist capabilities.

    • Mark.2
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Velop works like a charm.  Anyone want to buy a 3 Eero setup?

    • kinsellas
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    I may switch to orbi???

      • txgunlover
      • 6 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      kinsellas Having had Orbi for almost a year, with 7 months being the largest technology failure I've ever experienced (20 years in IT), I would advise a system other than Orbi.  Netgear lost stability of the orbi firmware late last summer and never regained it.

      • tranceme
      • 6 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      txgunlover So, what you do recommend instead? From what I can tell, every product has issues.  

      • txgunlover
      • 6 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      tranceme I recommend Eero.

      • tranceme
      • 6 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      txgunlover Yeah, based on this thread? I have my doubts. However, it looks like I'll have to pay for Eero Plus to get the limited feature set of the Circle. I rather have it built-in like the Orbi. Seems like the Circle product as standalone is limited due to hardware. Which makes sense at the price point.  I hear the latest firmware improved things for the Orbi. But, I guess with all these vendors, it's random on what gets broken. I guess I'll have to test both out. 

      • txgunlover
      • 6 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      tranceme I use eero Plus as well as ScreenTime app from ScreenTime Labs.

      • Mark.2
      • 6 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      tranceme Velop works for me

Content aside

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