KoalaSafe Family Friendly Wireless Router with Parental Controls/Access Point/WiFi with Internet Safety for Kids Technology (UK Edition)

Looking to have a flexible way to manage internet use (in particular minecraft and minecraft videos) I had high hopes for this little device. It seems very simple. Connect it up, check the lights are on, install the APP on your tablet, tell your child's devices to "forget" your usual network and connect via the "koala network" , find your child's devices and then set your schedule to allow your child controlled access to the internet. Except it didn't work. My app told me that "internet is off" but my 8 year son was happily playing oblivious to the threatened imposition. To rub salt in the wound it did tell me exactly how much time was spent gaming - so it wasn't that the thing was completely unable to communicate. The on-line reviews in other countries are all praise so maybe it is a UK thing? However even if it did work it would not have been quite as useful as those on-line reviews made out. Basically it alleges to restrict access to certain sites e.g. 18+ sites if your child is 8 (I didn't test this feature) and (if it works!) it allows you to set a timetable of internet use e.g. 4-6PM Monday. I got the impression from other reviews it was more flexible - e.g. I would have liked to restrict mine-craft to 1 hour total within the whole day not give a window of time. I wanted it just to restrict the gaming and videos and otherwise allow access to the internet for homework. This it cannot do even if it was working - it just seems to allow internet access or not. MInecraft can be set to on or off (no in between). So very disappointing and back to monitoring usage the hard way.

I have screen addicted 10 year old twin boys . I desperately wanted this to work having read the positive reviews thinking we might get some semblance of screenfree sanity in our household without having to physically scatch the Ipads away or engage in an acrimonious debate about the rights of 10 year olds !The idea behind the KoalaSafe is ingenious - the reality less so .I have BT Home Hub 6 ( what they call the Smart Hub ) and can get speeds of around 30-45 Mbps. I connected the little KoalaSafe router box - around 5cm x 5cm x 1cm to the BT Home Hub and downloaded the KoalaSafe App which was the easy bit. The App interface is very good.I then connected their Ipads to the KS. When I tried to access 3 different websites from their Ipads through the KS - Apple, Disney and BBC - it took an average of > 1 min with the error message ' Safari could not open the page because the server stopped responding ' each time . When I connected via the usual route it took between 2-4 sec on each website. I tried it on both Ipads with the same issue. I was only 5m/16ft away from the KS and the BT HH when I tried this with no intervening walls.I decided on this instead of the HomeHalo and Disney Circle as it had less connectivity issues . Sadly this is going back .I live in hope that an entrepreneur will see what a captive market this is and come up with a brilliant solution as every household grapples with screen addicted toddlers , tweens and teens.( I am aware of the router's own parental controls but they are less flexible and not linked to an app on the parent's phone )

This is a superb bit of kit that we've been using for about 6 months now. The basic premise is simple : create a WiFi that is monitored and controlled via an app used by a parent. If that's what you need, this does that. In our house I have the home WiFi and the koala WiFi for all the childrens devices. If that setup works, then I'd say this will work for you. If the children can still connect to the main WiFi in your home, then tbh I don't see the point of this. It will just be bypassed.Pro's.... Works brilliantly well at what it does. Allows a significant degree of control and flexibility on how you setup access and usage. It does slightly impact speed for anyone on the Koala WiFi, but not noticeably. And the help forums and support is great.Cons... It does take some setting up and learning. It definitely wasn't out the box for me (and was close to sending it back). I had to email support for help and to get it activated their side before it worked. HOWEVER Since then it's been great.I'd say if you are looking for the concept of a separate parental monitored WiFi for the kids in your home then this is the way to go.4/5 coz of the setup issues. Else a clear 5.

I think it's a great little device. Easy to set up. The App is also easy to use and only took a little time to customize and learn to use AND I love it that I can change the controls even when I'm not at home! The filters are effective and can be customized, allowing or blocking specific websites. It's great too that it can be customized for different people under different profiles.Another plus point is that harmony in the home has improved. Even though I inevitably still have the kid begging me for more time and access, overall there's less arguments than trying to monitor the old way i.e. Taking the device away sometimes by force or peeping at their screen.I think it's perfect for young kids and the less tech savvy older children. However I anticipate that older kids will be able to find way to either by-pass the Koala and find a way to get onto my main network or even the neighbour's network. Also older kids may use the excuse that they can't get to sites to do their homework, despite "Allowing" named sites, and I may be forced to remove the filter (go "Parent Mode") Anyway, will cross that bridge when I get there. For now Koalasafe does exactly as advertised.Occasional problems - I have to reset the device occasionally, but I can't say that it's entirely the fault of the router as I have a multiple router system that sometimes needs rebooting too.Only been using it for 7 weeks. Will update if I come across anything new.