The questions buyers actually ask.
Setup, filtering, privacy, model differences, capacity, and the founding edition. Searchable.
Looking for step-by-step instructions on a specific page of your Shield? See the owner guides.
Getting started
Do I need to replace my router?+
No. Shield connects behind your existing modem or router over Ethernet. Your Wi-Fi stays the same. Setup typically takes about 15 minutes from a browser on your home network.
How long does setup actually take?+
Around 15 minutes for most homes — and the fiddly part is automatic. You plug Shield in, open the local setup page, and press Detect. Our Modem Autopilot recognises your modem — from every major Australian provider and the popular retail brands — and applies the right network settings for you. No IP addresses, no DNS, no settings pages to dig through. If your modem isn't recognised yet, you can send us its details in one tap and we'll add it.
Which modems and routers does Shield work with?+
Shield is designed to fit behind any standard router. We've tested it with Telstra, NBN Co, Optus and major retail modems. Mesh Wi-Fi, double-NAT and ISP-locked routers are all supported. If your network setup is unusual, talk to us before ordering.
What if I want to remove Shield or go back to how things were?+
Nothing Shield does is permanent. To protect every device on your network, Shield takes over one job from your modem, handing out network addresses (DHCP). If you ever want to go back, you remove Shield and run a factory reset on your modem, a standard button-press, which hands that job back to the modem. You're then exactly where you started, no lock-in. And every Shield has a 30-day home trial.
Does it slow down my internet?+
No measurable difference for everyday use. DNS filtering adds microseconds per lookup — far less than the variance in your internet connection itself. Most households notice pages load slightly faster once ad and tracker requests stop going out.
What happens if my Shield stops working?+
You're never locked out of the internet. Getting back online without us is the same standard step as removing Shield: unplug it and factory-reset your modem — a button-press — and your network is exactly as it was before Shield arrived. Then the 12-month warranty (on top of your Australian Consumer Law rights) covers repair or replacement, and support@wombatss.com reaches the engineers directly.
Parents & families
Can I set different rules for each child's device?+
Yes. Every Shield can pause a single device or set internet hours that end at bedtime. On Shield Edge and Vault, each device can also carry its own SafeSearch, app blocking and schedules — the kids' devices locked down without touching yours. On Shield Core, SafeSearch and app blocking apply to the whole house at once.
Can I switch off social media at home?+
Yes, for the supported apps and services in Shield's blocking catalog — the major platforms are in the catalog today. Switch a service off for the whole house on any Shield, or for just one child's device on Edge and Vault, and turn it back on whenever you decide.
Does Shield replace Screen Time or Family Link?+
Keep them — they control things a network can't see, like total screen hours and app installs. The network layer covers what they can't: every device at once, including the TV and the console, with no per-device setup.
Will Shield protect my kids from strangers online?+
Not directly, and we won't pretend otherwise. Grooming and bullying happen inside chats, and Shield deliberately doesn't read anyone's messages — no honest network device can promise that. What Shield does: adult sites in the blocked categories don't load, SafeSearch stays on for the supported search engines, the apps you're not ready for can be switched off, and the internet can end at bedtime. The rest is the conversation.
What does the under-16 social media law mean at home?+
The law regulates the platforms; what happens on the devices in your house was always yours to decide. We wrote a practical, calm guide for parents on exactly that: the under-16 law at home.
Protection & filtering
What does Shield protect against?+
Ads and ad networks. Trackers and profiling domains. Phishing and malware domains. Adult and unsafe content categories. SafeSearch enforcement on Google, Bing, YouTube, DuckDuckGo and the other supported search engines. Catalog-based blocking for supported apps and services.
Does it block adult content?+
Yes, for the adult-content categories Shield supports, with SafeSearch enforced on the major search engines (Google, Bing, YouTube, DuckDuckGo and others). As with any DNS-based filter, the result depends on the categories you enable and the devices you manage.
Does it block ads?+
Yes, for the ad and tracking domains in the active filter sources. Some ads served from the same domains as the content itself can't be filtered cleanly at the DNS layer, that's a trade-off any DNS filter shares.
Why do I still see ads inside YouTube videos?+
Because YouTube serves its video ads from the same internet addresses as the videos themselves. No DNS filter on the market can block in-video YouTube ads without breaking YouTube — Shield included — and we'd rather tell you that before you buy than have you discover it after. Shield still blocks ad and tracking domains across the rest of your browsing. One side effect worth knowing: with tracking blocked, YouTube tends to repeat the same generic ads, which can feel like more ads rather than fewer. And if SafeSearch's YouTube option is on, YouTube runs in its Restricted Mode, which also hides comments — that's YouTube's design, not a fault. The YouTube owner guide covers how to tune both.
Does it stop phishing and malware?+
Shield blocks known harmful domains at the DNS layer before connections are made. It is one calm layer of defence, best paired with safe browsing habits, current device updates, and endpoint security where appropriate.
Can someone on my network bypass it?+
Shield blocks common encrypted-DNS bypass paths and Apple Private Relay traffic at the network level. A determined user on a managed device can still use a VPN to tunnel out. What you have is visibility, Shield will show you the device.
Can protection be paused?+
Yes. Per-device pause, filter relaxation, and category exclusion are all available from the local dashboard.
My router already has parental controls — do I need this?+
Check what yours actually does. Most bundled controls are basic allow/block lists tied to a vendor app or an ongoing fee, and the free ones have been disappearing: Telstra removed its free Broadband Protect filter in 2023, and Optus shut WiFi Secure entirely in March 2026. Shield filters every device at once on hardware you own, adds SafeSearch, app blocking, per-device schedules and bypass resistance, stores nothing in anyone's cloud — and has no fee that can lapse.
Privacy & sovereignty
Where does my data live?+
On your network. The dashboard runs on the Shield itself, and so does every filtering decision. There is no vendor cloud control plane sitting between you and the device, and that is the only honest answer to this question I would accept from a product I bought.
— Khalid, Founder, WOMBATS Shield
Does Shield store browsing history?+
No. Shield does not maintain a browsing-history report or behavioural profiling dashboard. AdGuard Home defaults that would have produced these have been disabled or restricted in our build.
Is anything sent to WOMBATS?+
No telemetry. No query logs. No browsing history. Software updates land as signed bundles that the device verifies before applying, that is the only relationship Shield has with us by design. I built it that way because I would not put a device on my own network that had any other relationship with its vendor.
— Khalid, Founder, WOMBATS Shield
What still uses the internet?+
Filter list updates, software bundle updates, upstream DNS resolution, and any support workflow you initiate. Nothing about your day-to-day filtering or device management depends on us being online.
What if WOMBATS goes away?+
Your Shield keeps working. There is no required activation server, no cloud login, and no subscription that can lapse. The filter lists are public and continue updating without us. If WOMBATS ceased to exist tomorrow, the device would keep doing its job, because it works locally, on hardware you own, with rules you can inspect. Most products in this category cannot make that claim.
— Khalid, Founder, WOMBATS Shield
Models
What's the difference between Core, Edge and Vault?+
Core is quiet network-wide protection. Edge adds per-device rules — SafeSearch, app blocking and schedules for each child's device — plus SMB file sharing, Jellyfin direct play, DLNA and wired-uplink travel Wi-Fi. Vault adds encrypted local storage, Time Machine for Macs, a recycle bin, and cable-free travel Wi-Fi that joins hotel wireless. Full breakdown on the compare page.
Does Jellyfin transcode?+
No. Jellyfin on Shield runs in direct play / direct stream mode only. Very high bitrate 4K media may reduce concurrent stream counts.
Which Shield supports Time Machine?+
Time Machine backup support is a Shield Vault feature, with encrypted local storage on the included SSD.
Can I upgrade the SSD on Vault?+
Yes, Vault ships with a 256 GB SSD, with optional 1 TB, 2 TB or 4 TB upgrades. During the founding batch we confirm the upgrade by email after your order so every Vault is built to spec.
How does travel Wi-Fi work?+
Shield Edge and Shield Vault can both take your home filtering on holiday — Edge over an Ethernet cable to the accommodation's modem, and Vault cable-free as well, joining the hotel's own wireless. At home, Shield's Wi-Fi stays off; your home modem provides Wi-Fi and Shield filters it. To travel, turn Shield's Wi-Fi on from the Wi-Fi page, power Shield off straight away, and pack it with its adaptor and Ethernet cable. At a hotel or AirBnB, plug the Ethernet into the modem's LAN port and power Shield on; your WOMBATS Wi-Fi appears and any device joining it gets the same filtering you have at home. When you're back, join WOMBATS Wi-Fi, open Shield, and turn the Wi-Fi off right away — until you do, no device on either Wi-Fi can reach the internet. Once it's off, your modem's Wi-Fi resumes as usual. Step-by-step in the travel Wi-Fi guide.
Capacity
How many devices can each Shield handle?+
Shield Core is comfortable with 20–40 connected browsing/phone/tablet/IoT devices. Shield Edge is comfortable with 15–25 browsing devices, three combined direct-play streams, and two SMB transfers. Shield Vault is comfortable with 15–25 browsing devices, three combined streams, 1–2 Time Machine backups, two SMB transfers, and 15–25 Wi-Fi AP clients. These are comfort targets, not benchmark maxima.
Founding edition
What is the Founding Edition?+
The first 20 Shields. Founding members get founding pricing locked in for life across our line, a numbered card in the box, a direct line to the engineers, and an invitation to the founding-members community.
What does "founding price locked in for life" actually mean?+
It is a specific, bounded promise. Founding members — the first 20 numbered Shields — keep founding-level pricing for life on anything WOMBATS sells them in future: any later Shield, model or add-on is offered to them at founding-tier pricing, for as long as we exist. Buyers after unit 20 pay the listed price at the time of their order and do not receive a price lock. This scope is deliberate: the lifetime lock is a thank-you to the people who backed the very first batch, not an open-ended discount for everyone.
Why a limited founding batch?+
Because we are small on purpose, and the first batch is hand-fulfilled. I would rather build a small, durable company with people who care about the same things we do, than a big one in a hurry. The founding batch is how we find the first 20 of those people.
— Khalid, Founder, WOMBATS Shield
What's the founding price?+
Founding prices are $449 for Core, $549 for Edge and $749 for Vault. When the founding batch is gone, standard prices apply from unit 61: $599 / $689 / $939 — so founding members lock in a saving of roughly 20% to 25%, for life. Pricing for the batch in between (the early-adopter tranche) will be announced when the founding batch completes.
How does the price compare to subscription services?+
Most families pay for protection by the month and never total it up. A leading parental-control app is $159.95 a year at Australian pricing — about $480 over three years, $800 over five. A typical family stack (a premium app, a DNS service and one ISP add-on) runs about $300 a year. An all-in-one US family bundle converts to roughly $576 a year or more, renewing forever. A Shield Core is $449 at the founding price, bought once — less than three years of that single app.
There is no subscription behind these numbers. A Shield keeps filtering in year four and year ten at $0, and it keeps working even if WOMBATS doesn't. The full comparison tables, with the date we checked the prices, are on the Why WOMBATS page. See the full comparison.
Competitor prices are public list prices, checked July 2026; converted figures are approximate.
Why pay upfront when an app lets me cancel monthly?+
Because the risk actually runs the other way. Cancel a subscription after a month and you've paid for that month and own nothing. Send Shield back inside 30 days and you've paid for nothing — we email a prepaid return label and refund the full purchase price. After 30 days the risk has already swapped sides: the subscription keeps charging forever; Shield is finished charging you.
The trial is for households in Australia and New Zealand — one per household, everything comes back, and the tamper seal on the case stays intact (there's nothing inside to set up; everything is done from your browser). Full conditions are on the refund policy page. Read the home-trial conditions.
Where can I see all the prices?+
On the pricing page.
Founding Edition
Order a Shield Order a Shield from the founding batch.
Founding price locked in for life. No subscriptions.