How to set up parental controls on a TP-Link Deco

Deco's own HomeShield filter is basic unless you pay. Changing one DNS setting in the Deco app gets you far more control, free.

Updated November 11, 2026·2 min read

Short answer

In the Deco app, tap More › Internet Connection › Internet settings (or IPv4) › DNS Address, choose Manual, paste your Sheepdog Filter address as Primary DNS, and save. Then go to More › Advanced › IPv6 and turn it off.

Before you start

You'll need the app or login for your router, and about five minutes. In your Sheepdog Filter dashboard, open Devices › + Protect something › Everyone at home. That links your home internet to your account and shows your DNS address with a Copy button. On a computer, scan the QR code with your phone to open the addresses there, so you can paste instead of typing.

Step 1: Find the DNS setting

  1. Open the Deco app on your phone.
  2. Tap More (bottom of the screen) › Internet Connection.
  3. Tap Internet settings (on some versions: IPv4), then DNS Address, and choose Manual.

Step 2: Fill in the boxes

  • Primary DNS: paste your Sheepdog Filter address.
  • Secondary DNS: leave it empty. If it won't save empty, paste the same address again. Never put Google (8.8.8.8) or your internet company's address there, or devices will slip around the filter.

Tap Save. No restart needed: the router passes the change to every device within a minute or so, and your dashboard turns green by itself when it sees your router.

Step 3: Turn IPv6 off

In the Deco app: More › Advanced › IPv6, switch it off and save. Your internet works the same without it, and it stops phones and laptops quietly going around the filter. (Rather keep IPv6? Your dashboard also gives your family its own IPv6 DNS address to use instead.)

If you use Deco HomeShield

HomeShield's own parental controls can keep running alongside Sheepdog Filter, but you'll find it simpler to manage everything in one place. If the DNS boxes won't save, turn off HomeShield's Filter settings first.

What this covers, and what it doesn't

Router setup covers every device on your Wi‑Fi: phones, tablets, TVs, consoles, smart speakers and visitors. It doesn't cover phones on mobile data or at friends' houses, so for your kids' own phones, also set up the device: see iPhone and Android.

Want grown-ups' devices unfiltered? In the dashboard, mark your own phone or laptop as a grown-up device and the home rules won't apply to it.

Sheepdog Filter

The internet, childproofed in five minutes.

One switch per worry, every device in the house, and a plain-English report each week. Free to start, no app to install.

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Questions parents ask

Will changing DNS slow down my internet?

No. DNS lookups take milliseconds and happen once per site. Streaming and downloads go straight to the internet as normal.

What if my home internet address changes?

Sheepdog Filter notices when your internet company changes your home's address and re-links your router automatically.

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