@Larry1977 

The initial plan with HomeCare that was after 3 years the service would become subscription based.   That plan never happened and HomeCare remained free to use for the life of the product.   However, our partnership with TrendMicro didn't continue.  We created a new partnership with then Avira for an IoT-focused security package which we called HomeShield.  This new service has two flavors, Free and Pro.  The majority of services in HomeSheild are free but there are more advanced features and reporting features that are behind the paywall of the Pro version.  Since we started HomeShield Avira merged with Norton so that is why its not provided by them.  The service used on your network will be determined by the unit acting as the Main Deco.  If you keep an M9 as the main unit you will keep HomeCare in use, but you lose the advantages of the WiFi 6E system.  If you use the AXE5400 you will have those benefits but lose HomeCare and may need to pay for the Pro service to get some of the feature you are looking for.

This splash page explains HomeShield and provides a graph with what is free and what is Pro.  https://www.tp-link.com/us/homeshield/