How to pause Wi-Fi on AT&T, Xfinity, Eero, and Google Nest Wifi routers

Samar Haddad / The Verge

In most homes, wi-fi is a necessity. Many modern conveniences, such as streaming your entertainment and music, are made possible by the use of wi-fi. Sometimes it's necessary to stop. It's true for parents. I wrote about how I use my smart home to keep my family on track. Internet access is turned off for my kids.

Thankfully, today's modern wi-fi routers give you the power to pause using your internet service provider or the manufacturer's app, so you don't have to worry about fiddling with your daughter's browser or getting your kid off their game.

It's easy to choose which devices to stop with. You can associate certain devices on your network to certain people. When your kids need their Chromebooks to write their book reports, turning off all the wi-fi during homework time isn't a good idea. It's a good idea to turn off the wi-fi on their iPad and TV.

Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

You can either pause them all at once or set them to pause on a schedule once they're in a profile. Danny's iPad or Living Room TV are examples of devices that should be given a recognizable name when added to your network.

Group names are useful since each device can only be assigned to one profile at a time. If you have a Living Room group for the TV, games console, and smart speaker, you could also have a Tablet profile for your kids.

I will show you how to set up profiles and use them to pause the internet on AT&T, Eero, and other internet service providers. Most internet service providers and routers have the same functions and applications. If you have an app on your routers, it's a good bet that it has this function. The steps for setting up profiles will be slightly different.

Image: Comcast

How to create profiles

You need to download the app for your internet service provider. For AT&T, it is the Smart Home Manager app, for Comcast, it is the Eero app, and for Eero, it is the Google Home app. The profiles are called "persons" and "groups" but they are not actually profiles.

On AT&T

• Open the Smart Home Manager app.
• Tap Network, then Connected Devices.
• Go to Profiles and tap the plus sign to create a new profile.
• Enter a name for the profile.
• From the available list of devices, choose which ones to assign to this profile.
• Tap Save.

On Xfinity

• Open the Xfinity app.
• Tap People in the bottom menu.
• Tap Add a Person.
• Enter a name for the profile and choose an avatar.
• Tap Add a Person.
• Tap Assign devices.
• Select device from the list.
• Tap Apply.

On Nest Wifi

• Open the Google Home app.
• Tap Wifi.
• Scroll down and tap Family Wi-Fi.
• Tap the plus sign in the lower right corner.
• Tap Group.
• Enter a name.
• Choose the devices to add to the Group from the list.
• Tap Next.

On Eero

• Open the Eero app.
• Tap the plus sign in the upper right corner.
• Tap Add a Profile and enter a name.
• Select the devices to add to the profile from the list below by tapping the circle next to each one.
• A checkmark will appear when it’s added.
• Tap Done.

Image: AT&T

How to pause your Wi-Fi

On AT&T

• Open the Smart Home Manager app.
• Go to the device or profile you want to pause.
• Tap Pause Internet.
• To start the Wi-Fi again, tap Resume.

On Xfinity

• Open the Xfinity app.
• Tap People in the bottom menu.
• Under the profile you want to pause, tap Pause All Devices.
• Select a time limit (Until I unpause, 30 mins, 1 hour, 2 hours).
• Tap Pause.

On Nest Wifi

• Open the Google Home app.
• Tap Wifi.
• Scroll down and tap Family Wi-Fi.
• Tap the Group names you want to pause.
• Tap again to resume.

On Eero

• Open the Eero app.
• Tap the name of the device or profile you want to pause.
• Tap Pause.
• To start the internet again, tap Resume.

When internet access is paused, cellular devices can still access the internet. For example, if you want to control internet access to a child, you will want to look at the built-in screen time management features of the device.

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

How to schedule a Wi-Fi pause

When it is time to focus on something like homework or your own work, setting a schedule for pausing the internet can be useful.

On AT&T

• Open the Smart Home Manager app.
• Go to the profile you want to schedule a pause for.
• Turn on Downtime Schedule.
• Use the calendar to choose the days you want to pause internet.
• Use the clock to set the specific times.
• Tap Save.

On Xfinity

• Open the Xfinity app.
• Tap People in the bottom menu.
• Tap the Settings icon.
• Tap Create a Downtime Schedule.
• Choose an icon and add a name.
• Tap Next.
• Select the days of the week and time range.
• Tap Apply.

On Nest Wifi

• Open the Google Home app.
• Tap Wifi.
• Scroll down and tap Family Wi-Fi.
• Tap the plus sign in the lower right corner.
• Tap Schedule.
• Enter a name.
• Choose the Group you want to add to the Schedule.
• Tap Next.
• Enter start and end time and then choose which days to apply it.
• Tap Done.

On Eero

• Open the Eero app.
• Tap the profile you want to schedule a pause for.
• Tap Add a Scheduled Pause.
• Enter a name for the schedule.
• Enter a start and end time.
• Select which days to apply the schedule.
• Tap Save.