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Orbi-Roc's avatar
Orbi-Roc
Luminary
Oct 31, 2019

IOS device changed from Allow to Block status

An iOS device used for as long as I've had the Orbi system installed (about two years) was switched from ALLOW to BLOCK status in Access Control. Here's what the log show:

[Access Control] Device (device name) with MAC address DC:D3:A2:A5:AA:CA is blocked to ac, Thursday, October 31, 2019 04:39:35 

 

And this with no intervention on my part. Does this mean that someone got access to my Orbi's configuation (i.e., hacked the router)? All of a sudden, the iOS device could no longer connect to the network. It's only when I signed on to the Orbi Web page that I realized that the status had changed to Blocked.

6 Replies

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  • CrimpOn's avatar
    CrimpOn
    Guru
    Oct 31, 2019

    Could you please humor me and answer two questions:

     

    • Do you have Access Control turned on?
    • Do you use the Orbi "app" as well as the web interface?

    I have a suspicion that sometimes using the app in a certain way turns on Access Control without the user realizing it.  I use the app so seldom that this suspicion hasn't been worth investigating.

    • Orbi-Roc's avatar
      Orbi-Roc
      Luminary
      Oct 31, 2019

      Thank you CrimpOn for your quick response.

       

      Access Control is always ON, except when we have visitors; and turned back on again when they leave. So yes, Access Control was turned on, with that iOS device shown in ALLOW status for months; and all of a sudden, it was blocked.

       

      Yes, I use the Orbi app sometimes; and other times I use the Orbi Web page. 

      • CrimpOn's avatar
        CrimpOn
        Guru
        Oct 31, 2019

        Thanks for answering.  I wonder what experiment would validate (or disprove) my hypothesis about the "app" as the culprit.  Maybe disconnect a device by turning it off.  Open the app and bring up (what?).  Then, turn the device back on and see if it gets blocked.  Looks like there will be no easy answer.

         

        My "take-away" is that any time a device "goes weird", I should pull up the Orbi administration and see if it has mysteriously been "Paused" (the app) or "Blocked" (web).  My rant for today: WHY does Netgear not notice/care that their programmers assign different names to what should be the same thing? ("Attached Devices" on the router.  "Connected Devices" on the satellite.  "Blocked" vs. "Paused")