Router Limits Cloud-Based Parental Controls for Internet Safety from Harmful Content and Managing Screen time (RL-150 (Router))

After a lot of research, this seemed like the best rated and most cost effective equipment to get parental controls set up at our house. The title of this product reads "Router Limits: cloud-based parental controls for internet safety from harmful content and managing screen time" and the description tells you it can:- Schedule access to specific sites, by device- Customize filters by device through an easy-to-use interface- Pause the internet, view browsing history by device- No more bedtime hassles, engage at dinner time, protect your family!- Free filtering of pornographic websites - no software to install!After the very simple install I was excited to get everything set up, but quickly realized this device does not do any of these things, without signing up for an additional subscription. After paying $150 for this device, you will still need to add a subscription of $9 or $15 per month to use any other feature than content filtering. I realize the description shows "Some features require subscription", but really ALL of these features require a subscription (except a general content filtering option).Very disappointed by this misleading product information on the Amazon website and will be returning this product.UPDATE:As a courtesy Routerlimits sent me the new version of their device and this has proven to be a HUGE improvement and now actually the device that we are using on our network. Setup is very simple, just plug it into the router, activate it online and you are good to go. The "Deadbolt" feature allows to quickly set up a basic profile. With the free plan, you get all the basic features you need. Some more extensive settings are available when you get the paid plan (which also allows you to use an app to control the connections, which is not available for the free version).Website filtering is not extremely rigorous, but definitely an improvement over no filtering. I LOVE the fact that it enables you to force "Restricted Mode" on YouTube, which helps to keep a big part of the nasty videos out of there.My only dislike for this device is, that is monitors and logs ALL devices on the network. So even though the adult devices don't have to be filtered, it will still keep a log of all website traffic, which means people at Routerlimits have full insight in your browsing history, which feels a bit weird.Overall...absolutely liking this new version and have recommended it to several friends already. Definitely beats other more expensive solutions!

We have 3 teens at home. Before Router Limits, every day was "The Struggle Against Screens", and we usually lost.One way or another we lost, because The Struggle Against Screens (and our children's addiction to iPhone, iPad, MacBook, Xbox, Dell, Apple Watch, Netflix, etc.) created enormous tension and anxiety in our home.And our kids lost, because they didn't focus on homework, didn't pay attention at family dinner, didn't get sufficient sleep, didn't go outside and exercise or play with friends. I'm convinced that some day soon we'll be sending teens away for Screen Detox. We are creating a generation of ADD kids who don't know how to survive without immediate gratification and the constant companionship of a game and a screen.Before Router Limits, when our home wifi was always on, our only choices to curtail their wifi consumption were: 1) unplug the wifi router and take the power cord - killing connectivity for everyone and everything, or 2) change the router password and not tell them the new password, or 3) physically take away their devices (which, with at least one son, would devolve to yelling and sometimes a physical wrestling match - not good). The anxiety and fights from The Struggle Against Screens was ruining our relationships with our children.Then we found Router Limits...We so wish we'd found Router Limits 2 years ago. Router Limits gave us back the ability to parent, and the ability to manage our home. It put us back in control of our home. It made us the adults again in hour home. It "flipped the model" so that wifi is now a privilege our children must earn instead of an entitlement our children expect. Before, we had to yell at our kids to go to sleep, or physically take away all of their devices.After Router Limits, the wifi shuts off automatically for the kids' devices at a preset time every night, and the kids know what time the wifi will shut off. If we need to, we can kill wifi to one child's devices if they lose privileges - that takes about 15 seconds. Or we can shut off wifi for everyone during family dinner - 15 seconds to shut off, 15 seconds to turn back on after dinner.If we have something planned to do as a family, we can shut off wifi for the whole house so our kids aren't tempted to stay home and play games instead.We feel like the adults in the house again. We feel in control of our home again. I cannot overstate how much this has changed the dynamic in our home.Router Limits tracks every website viewed by every device using your wifi. We told our kids this, very bluntly, so they know to keep their browsing appropriate. And it has a Noise Filter (look for the checkbox under "Show More Filters" on the History page -- it's checked by default) that's hides as many "uninteresting" records as possible (i.e., sites that serve ads, images, etc.). It's not perfect, but it does hide a lot of the noise so you can focus on the relevant History of what people have been viewing.Router Limits isn't perfect, but it's incredibly useful and absolutely functional. Setup takes a little knowledge of your home network (we have a complicated network with AT&T Uverse and 2 separate Netgear extenders because it's a large home). Enabling Wifi for each and every device takes a little time. We were amazed at how many wifi-using devices each of our kids had, too...But IT WORKS. IT WORKS GREAT. It lets you decide when and how much wifi your kids can consume. It flips the model from being held hostage in your own home to managing your own home again (if you've read this far, you probably know exactly what I'm talking about...).I said it isn't perfect, but ABSOLUTELY WE LOVE ROUTER LIMITS. That said, here are two things I respectfully suggest for their future product roadmap:1) iPhone and Android control apps. At the moment the Router Limits controls only work from a website. You can use the browser on your iPhone or Android phone, but it's not optimized for mobile and a lot easier to use from a laptop or desktop. Having a smartphone app would be VERY, VERY, VERY convenient, but it works fine as is. They say it's coming.2) Allow time limits to be set in 15 minute increments. At the moment you can only set limits (wifi on/off) for a device or child in at the "top-of-the-hour" (i.e at 11am, 12noon, 1pm, etc). Smaller increments would be really good.That's about it. It works great. It does exactly what you hope it will. It's not difficult to set up, and their customer service is phenomenal. Daron in Customer Service is awesome, very helpful, very friendly, and incredibly responsive.One comment for the folks who object to their $15/month subscription fee - it's worth it. It's worth every penny. This is a lot cheaper than therapy. They have a right to charge for the value they're delivering, and this product delivers. Now that we have used this in our home, if they raised the subscription price to $50/month we wouldn't be happy, but we would pay it. It's THAT GOOD.If you've read this far, you need this. It's worth it. It'll change the dynamic in your home and possibly your kids' lives...

Can't say enough about this product so I'll keep it short:Best filtering I've ever used (and I've tried several including Blue Coat K9, and Net Nanny)Very user friendly - best, by far, of systems I've tried.Easy adjustment on filtering content and websites and hours of use: For example, if my 17 year old has special permission from me on Friday night to watch a tv show that will go later than the viewing hours he is usually allowed, I do a quick login on my phone and click the chart ti open up an extra hour of viewing time for him.I can also assign different viewing times and sites and shows and even devices to different children in my family.It's EVERYTHING I'd been looking for!!!

If you have children with internet access you need this router. Easy interface, small monthly. Works great. System can allow internet access for home work and school sites while blocking all the rest. Blocks porn, and internet threats at the source.