[SOLVED] Internet allowance hardware for kids

[jonathan1683]

Hello,

Anyone know a good piece of hardware that I can control with my phone where I can give kids like an hour of usage time. I want to set this up to give him hours of internet time based on his school work and grades. I can google a few things, but looking for people with real world experience with a device like this. Any input would be appreciated. Looking for more of a hardware based unit I can set him up on a separate SSID so I can attach all his devices to it.

Thank you

 

[Gam3r01]

An alternate to an internet control device is something like a smart plug (behind a locked box).
Dont have to worry about controlling internet when you can just turn off a specific router/device from your phone.

 

[bill001g]

If you know how to set up a second ssid on your router you could just do it manually. Take you phone and log into the router and enable/disable the ssid. Many router allow a second ssid.

If you want to get more advanced look for a router with parental controls. These you can limit for example by times of day and filter certain sites. This uses mac addresses to control traffic. If your kid is a wannabe hacker he will quickly find methods to bypass these. It is not simple but it is not all that hard to do things like change mac addresses or load vpn software In that case a SSID you can turn off is impossible to bypass as long as they do not know the password to the SSID you are using for your machines.

 

[Solandri]

If you know how to set up a second ssid on your router you could just do it manually. Take you phone and log into the router and enable/disable the ssid. Many router allow a second ssid.

Yeah, this is the method I would use. Just put the kids' devices on the router's Guest WiFi network. Then turn that network on/off depending on how much time you want to give them.

If you want to give each kid individual access, that becomes harder. I did it by setting up Internet time blocks by MAC address on my router. But not all routers support this, and you have to go through your router's setup interface to do it. There's no simple way to do it via phone app.

The Netgear Nighthawk routers come with Disney Circle. I haven't used it and dunno how it works. But it does seem to check the boxes you're asking for, including controlling it via your phone.

https://www.netgear.com/landings/circle/default.aspx

 

[USAFRet]

Hello,

Anyone know a good piece of hardware that I can control with my phone where I can give kids like an hour of usage time. I want to set this up to give him hours of internet time based on his school work and grades. I can google a few things, but looking for people with real world experience with a device like this. Any input would be appreciated. Looking for more of a hardware based unit I can set him up on a separate SSID so I can attach all his devices to it.

Thank you

"Parental controls", in your router.

My router (Verizon) allows:
Selecting specific devices, on either the Primary or Guest network.
Restricting certain websites or keywords.
By time of day, for whichever days (or all) that you choose.

For instance,
Monday-Thursday, allow 7PM to 8PM on the xbox, 7PM to 9PM on the homework PC.
Friday, allow 7PM to 9PM
Sat-Sun, allow Noon-7PM

 

[jonathan1683]

Thanks for the tips guys, I am already using most suggestions here. He's on his own ssid I can turn it off or use time tables, but that's not really what I was looking for. I just want him to get like an hour of time or 5 hours if I add more time to it. I want my gf to be able to do this as well and why i need a simple interface with a phone app. I don't really want her accessing the router in case she messes something up. I do have a nighthawk x10 I will check out this Disney product and see what it has. Thanks for the suggestions guys.

 

[USAFRet]

Any phone app would need to talk to the border device that is controlling this.
Your current router, or go all out with a PC and pfSense.

A smart plug as mentioned above would work. But that is easily circumvented with an extension cord.

 

[jonathan1683]

extension cord? His PC is upstairs not sure what cord you mean though. My router doesn't support circle for some reason so I can't really test it without purchasing the $50 box for it. I guess I will get one and try it out.

 

[USAFRet]

extension cord? His PC is upstairs not sure what cord you mean though. My router doesn't support circle for some reason so I can't really test it without purchasing the $50 box for it. I guess I will get one and try it out.

I just meant if you use a smartplug to control the power to his PC or router...an extension cord to a different wall outlet in the room would circumvent that.