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Circle User Manual

The Home Screen

The Home Screen is where you can access all of Circle’s features.

Menu

Family Member Profiles

Pause

Devices

Home User

Access additional 
options to manage 
Circle.

Tap for more options. The 
color or the circle indicates 
their Filter level.

Manage and view a list 
of all the devices on 
your home network.

View and change 
settings for the Home 
user.

Pauses internet for the 
entire home network.

Summary of Contents for Circle

Page 1: ...USER MANUAL Version 1 0 October 2015 ...

Page 2: ...TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION GETTING STARTED CIRCLE FEATURES MYCIRCLE LEGAL 3 4 5 6 7 ...

Page 3: ...GETTING STARTED ...

Page 4: ...th your home network and helps you manage the online experience of every family member in your household With the Circle Home app parents can create unique profiles and use features such as Time Limits to limit screen time or BedTime to ensure devices aren t being used when they re not supposed to be Insights provides you with up to date information on what your kids are viewing online and Circle ...

Page 5: ...5 Circle User Manual Meet Circle Circle Front Power Button USB Power LED Power Indicator Ethernet Lift Tab Circle Back ...

Page 6: ...i Fi network with name password Circle User Manual Setting Up Circle THINGS YOU WILL NEED The Circle Home app requires an iOS device iPhone iPad or iPod Touch running iOS 8 or later A compatible Wi Fi router SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS To setup Circle please have the following ready ...

Page 7: ... Visit meetcircle com app to download the app from the Apple App Store to your iOS device Circle is setup and managed through the Circle Home app TO POWER OFF CIRCLE 1 Plug the USB cable to the power adapter and connect to a power outlet 2 Circle should power up by itself and the LED will turn on indicating that Circle has power 3 If Circle does not power on press and hold the power button for a f...

Page 8: ...ing Up Circle TO SETUP CIRCLE 1 Launch the Circle Home app from your iOS device 2 Tap Begin 3 Follow the instructions in the app to Pair your Circle with your home Wi Fi setup your account and create profiles for Family Members ...

Page 9: ... are some devices that Circle should ignore such as Smart thermostats or smoke detectors Wi Fi enabled outlets or light switches Sensitive Wi Fi controlled equipment Other smart home devices Letting Circle know which devices to ignore will ensure that none of your smart home devices accidentally get Paused or Filtered ...

Page 10: ...the same process as before NOTE Any device that does not belong to a particular family member will automatically become a Home device except the devices you have told Circle to ignore Additionally Any new device that joins your network after you have set up Circle will automatically become a Home device You can reassign that device to a family member easily see page Circle User Manual Home User HO...

Page 11: ...CIRCLE FEATURES ...

Page 12: ...ne In the following pages each of the Circle features will be described with additional detail and suggestions for how to use them You will find helpful resources for Understanding the Home Screen Pausing the Internet Understanding the Profile Screens Insights View Managing Devices Changing the Filter Level Changing Time Limits Changing the BedTime MyCircle And the Circle App Menu Circle User Manu...

Page 13: ...mily Member Profiles Pause Devices Home User Access additional options to manage Circle Tap for more options The color or the circle indicates their Filter level Manage and view a list of all the devices on your home network View and change settings for the Home user Pauses internet for the entire home network ...

Page 14: ...nnertime Or maybe you re trying to get the attention of one of your family members Circle gives you the ability to pause the Internet You can Pause the whole network individual family members or even specific devices 1 On the Home Screen tap Pause 2 To Un Pause tap again ...

Page 15: ...ircle User Manual Pause the Internet cont TO PAUSE A FAMILY MEMBER 1 On the Home Screen tap the Family Member you want to Pause 2 On their Profile Screen tap Pause 3 To Un Pause the Family Member tap again ...

Page 16: ...User Manual Pause the Internet cont TO PAUSE A DEVICE 1 On the Home Screen tap Devices 2 Select the device you want to pause from the Devices list 3 Tap Pause on the Device Settings screen 4 To Un Pause tap again ...

Page 17: ...see and set time limits on when the Internet is available to use Insights Detailed view of time spent on various internet activities Devices See which devices are assigned Filter Level Adjust Filter Level and settings by category and Custom Filters Edit Edit Profile Name and Photo or Delete Profile Time Limits Set limits on internet use by day or specific platforms BedTime Choose a timeframe to pr...

Page 18: ...ual Insights View the duration all internet activity by Day Week Month or even Year TOTAL TIME SPENT Activity is organized by category and platform and ordered by longest duration spent at the top so you can easily see where the most time is spent online TOP SITES History displays a list of sites that were visited and even shows you sites that were attempted to be accessed even though they were fi...

Page 19: ... like to view 2 The total time online is shown TO VIEW BY DAY WEEK MONTH OR YEAR 1 Tap the category name 2 A detailed list of sites visited will be shown along with the time spent on that site 3 Tap the category name again to close the list TO VIEW MORE DETAILS IN A CATEGORY ...

Page 20: ...view tap the website 2 Tap Filter for Family Member Name 3 The site will now be filtered for the Family Member and they will no longer be able to access that site IF YOU ARE UNSURE OF WHAT WEBSITE IS LISTED IF YOU D LIKE THE FAMILY MEMBER TO NOT VIEW THIS SITE ANYMORE See Custom Filter if you d like to allow the site again To view the website To filter the website ...

Page 21: ...low for Family Member Name 3 The site will no longer be filtered and can always be accessed ALWAYS ALLOW FILTERED SITE If the website is not supposed to be filtered See Custom Filter if you d like to filter the site again On the History page the Filtered tab will show date and time of attempts to access a Filtered site ...

Page 22: ...Tap Filter for Family Member Name 3 The site will now be filtered and can no longer be accessed FILTER VISITED WEBSITE If you d like the family member to not view a site anymore See Custom Filter if you d like to allow the site again The Visited tab displays websites that were opened by date and time ...

Page 23: ...rcle User Manual Family Member Devices 1 Tap the device name 2 See Device Settings for more TO VIEW THE SETTINGS FOR A FAMILY MEMBER S DEVICE 1 Tap See all devices 2 A list of all the devices on your home network will be shown 3 See Devices for more TO SEE ALL DEVICES ...

Page 24: ...e K filter is designed for kids 5 years old and under providing an incredibly safe browsing experience with only sites and apps that are appropriate for this age group KID The Kid filter works for kids 6 12 years old General platforms like education and kid safe experiences are available by default while filtering out sites designed for older age groups like social media Circle has expertly crafte...

Page 25: ...ories are filtered and invisible by default ADULT The Adult filter is appropriate for ages 18 years old and up Nearly all platforms categories and apps are available except those that are deemed explicit and mature NONE None is designed for users that do not need any filters Features such as Time Limits Pause and Insights are not available for profiles set to None TO SET A FILTER LEVEL 1 Select th...

Page 26: ... platforms that help make filtering the right content easy Platforms are available to toggle based on your Filter Level setting Facebook Instagram Netflix Pinterest Snapchat Tumblr YouTube Minecraft Nickelodeon Cartoon Network Netflix Kids Club Penguin Disney PBS Kids Periscope Meerkat Reddit HBO GO Twitter ...

Page 27: ... and Google Play BLOGS Blogs that are hosted by major blogging platforms like Tumblr Typepad Blogger and Wordpress BUSINESS Business related sites across several industries Including goods services and finance as well as sites related to employment job postings etc CREATIVE ARTS Sites related to artistic expression specifically visual arts as well as dedicated venues such as museums CHAT FORUM Sit...

Page 28: ...e email providers EXPLICIT CONTENT Sites that host adult content of a sexually explicit nature GAMBLING Sites related to online gambling lotteries casinos and other gambling establishments i e racetracks FAMILY Sites related to family issues such as parenting adoption etc DATING Platforms dedicated to dating and personal ads such as Match com OKCupid or Tinder ...

Page 29: ...d to sex education HOBBIES Sites for non sports related recreational activities such as automobiles toy models etc HOME FOOD Sites related to home care DIY and food or drink Many sites whose main focus is alcohol will be located in the Mature category due to the nature of that content GAMES Sites dedicated to games like video games board games card games or puzzles Some sites that include games wi...

Page 30: ...ion content with an elevated level of violence or profanity or sites dedicated to the display or sale of lingerie ISSUES LIFESTYLES Sites related to specific social issues lifestyles philosophies and religion MUSIC Sites related to musicians as well as audio downloading or streaming NEWS News and news related sites ONLINE SHOPPING Sites dedicated as points of sale auctions or classified services i...

Page 31: ...l search engines and reference sites SOCIAL MEDIA Sites that host social networking whether professional personal or photo art sharing such as Facebook Flickr or Twitter SPORTS Sports related sites including professional teams clubs and sports media providers VIDEO Sites that host and stream video on demand ADS Includes sources for online advertising Filtering advertisements will eliminate most ad...

Page 32: ...ust the way you want it for each Family Member Circle User Manual Filter Settings cont TO SET THE FILTER OF A PLATFORM OR CATEGORY 1 Switch the toggle on or off by tapping the platform or category you d like to select 2 Tap Save when finished Not Allowed Allowed Platform or Category will be filtered Platform or Category will not be filtered ...

Page 33: ...ter Level or Setting CUSTOM FILTER Sometimes a Filter Setting is still allowing a site that you would like to block or sometimes you d like to allow a specific site that is being filtered Custom Filters is here to help and will let you control Filter Settings on a site by site basis TO NOT ALLOW A SPECIFIC WEBSITE 1 Tap the URL to toggle the switch off to filter out the website 2 The Family Member ...

Page 34: ...er Manual Filter Settings cont TO REMOVE A WEBSITE FROM CUSTOM FILTER 1 Tap Edit on the top right corner 2 Tap the delete button 3 The website will now be removed from Custom Filter 4 Tap Done to save CUSTOM FILTER ...

Page 35: ...Circle User Manual Time Limits 1 Turn on Time Limits by toggling the Enable switch 2 Tap the name of the Family Member under Daily Time Limit a Platform i e Minecraft or a Category i e Blogs that you d like to adjust 3 Scroll up or down to set your desired time 4 Tap close 5 Make sure to hit Save at the top right when you are finished TO SET A DAILY TIME LIMIT OR SET TIME LIMITS FOR A PLATFORM OR ...

Page 36: ...Time 1 Turn on BedTime by toggling the Enable switch 2 Set a BedTime for when you want your Family Member s devices to stop internet activity 3 Set an Awake time for when you want to resume internet activity 4 Make sure to hit Save at the top right when you are finished TO SET A BEDTIME TO DISABLE BEDTIME 1 Toggle the enable switch to disable BedTime 2 Tap Save ...

Page 37: ...an existing photo from your library or clear the photo The default is the first letter of the name 3 Tap Done to save your new setting TO EDIT PROFILE NAME 1 Tap the name 2 Enter in desired name 3 Tap Done to save your new setting 1 Tap Delete Profile 2 Click Delete again to confirm Deleting a profile is permanent and will remove all settings and data ...

Page 38: ...ces The Devices screen lists all the devices on your home network and gives you a quick glimpse of who each device belongs to Selecting a device from the list allows you to customize its settings LIST OF DEVICES DEVICE SETTINGS ...

Page 39: ...al Devices cont DEVICE SETTINGS TO RENAME A DEVICE 1 On the Device Settings Screen tap Device Name 2 Enter in a new name for the device 3 Tap Done when finished Renaming a device will make it easier to identify and assign ...

Page 40: ...vices cont DEVICE SETTINGS TO ASSIGN OR REASSIGN A DEVICE 1 On the Device Settings Screen tap Assigned to 2 Select the Family Member you d like to assign the device to You can also assign a device to the Home user or Unmanaged ...

Page 41: ...ices cont DEVICE SETTINGS TO REMOVE A DEVICE 1 On the Device Settings Screen tap Remove Device from Circle 2 Click Remove to confirm The device will automatically be added back to your list if it connects to your network again ...

Page 42: ... features Head back to the Home Screen Add a new Family Member Check Circle s signal strength ADD PROFILE SIGNAL STRENGTH Manage notifications Disable Circle Reboot Circle and Reset Circle to factory settings MANAGE Ask Circle Support for help HELP List of Devices Screen See page DEVICES ...

Page 43: ...TIPS AND TROUBLESHOOTING ...

Page 44: ... to restart your Circle To restart your router 1 Remove the power cable from the back of your router and wait 10 seconds then re insert the cable 2 The router should now restart If the internet is still slow Use the ethernet cable that came with the Circle device to connect Circle to your router directly Circle User Manual Hardware Issues INTERNET IS SLOW If your internet is experiencing speed dec...

Page 45: ...ds to upload the large file 1 Select the user from the Circle home screen 2 Tap Filter Level 3 Select None 4 Return the filter level to its desired setting when uploading is complete Circle User Manual Hardware Issues INTERNET IS SLOW cont If you are experiencing slow upload speeds for large files ...

Page 46: ...ork outside of the home or a cell network it will become unmanaged Stay tuned We are currently working on a solution to extend Circle into the mobile environment Circle User Manual Hardware Issues Devices Aren t Being Managed When Switched to Cell Network Circle currently only manages devices that the home network is paired with ...

Page 47: ... 3 Select None 4 Return the filter level to its desired setting when access to the VPN is no longer needed Circle User Manual Hardware Issues Unable to Access VPN If you are unable to access your VPN or the connection is slow PAUSE ISN T WORKING RIGHT AWAY When you Pause a user device or the whole network sometimes it may take a few moments before the Pause is in effect ...

Page 48: ...e that you no longer want filtered The settings may be cached in the browser Since the website was previously restricted by your Circle settings the browser caches the settings and assumes the website is still restricted 1 Try reloading the website 2 Quit the web browser and reopen it 3 Your new Circle settings should take effect and allow the website to load properly If you are still unable to loa...

Page 49: ...frequency energy and if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions may cause harmful interference to radio communications However there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on the user is encouraged to t...

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