Sorting Your Devices With CommandIQ

Need to block YouTube on your kid's devices, but not on your laptop? Or maybe you want to shut off Wi-Fi in their room during homework time?

With a little bit of setup, you can do all this and more thanks to the free CommandIQ app's organizational tools. Assigning devices under People and Places lets you quickly apply and edit parental controls, track usage, and more.

You must have a GigaSpire router to take advantage of CommandIQ. If you don't have one, we'll send you one for free. Click here to see if you need to upgrade.

Adding Devices

To get started, simply connect your devices to your Wi-Fi network using their built-in connectivity features - for example, under their "Settings" menus. Your devices will let you select the name of your network and type in your password to connect.

Once your devices are connected, confirm they've been added by tapping "Things" on the main dashboard or the computer icon in the bottom right corner.

Assign Devices to People

The People category is perfect for devices that only one person owns, like cell phones and laptop computers.

To add a profile, tap "People" on the main dashboard, or the icon with three heads in the bottom left corner. Then tap "+" to begin adding a person's profile.

On the following screen, add a name and optional profile pic for someone who will use your network regularly. Tap the checkbox next to each device they own and tap "Save" to finish and begin setting up the remaining profiles.

Once all users have a profile, you can view them from the "People" tab. To view someone's profile, simply tap their name.

Each profile keeps track of the total time each user spends on specific apps across all their devices. For example, if your kid uses TikTok for five minutes on their tablet, and half an hour on their phone, their profile will say they've spent 35 minutes on TikTok.

Any content restrictions applied to a profile will apply to every device that user owns, rather than making you set up the same restrictions on each individual device.

Note that these features only apply as long as the affected devices remain connected to your Wi-Fi network. App usage totals may be inaccurate and content restrictions no longer apply if a device leaves your home or switches to a cellular connection.

Assign Devices to Places

The Places category is for devices that don't move around your house frequently, like desktop computers and smart home appliances.

To add a place, tap "Places" on the main dashboard, or the chair icon in the bottom middle. Then tap "+" to begin adding a place.

On the following screen, give your place a name and optional photo, then tap the checkboxes next to each device that belongs there. Tap "Save" to finish and continue adding other areas of your home.

From the Places tab, you can easily view the devices that connect to your Wi-Fi network in specific areas of your home. For example, if you want to stop devices associated with your Living Room place from using Wi-Fi, you can do that by tapping Living Room and sliding the toggle next to each device into the "Off" position.