NETGEAR is aware of a growing number of phone and online scams. To learn how to stay safe click here.
Forum Discussion
Solved
Parental Controls - Checking Router Firmware
Hi We have bought a Nighthawk R7000 specifically for the Parental Controls feature. This is for a business who wish to block users from accessing certain websites during business hours. But, 2 us...
Hello All-
It seems Netgear finally fixed this issue...or at least I was able to solve it:
First, download the new firmware, 1.0.3.48.
Loggin into my router through the web interface (198.162.1.1), it did not find the new firmware (go figure). I had to manually download and install it. It can be found here:
https://kb.netgear.com/000044717/R8000-Firmware-Version-1-0-3-48
Once you have the new firmware installed, you'll then need to activate Parental Controls. You can't do this through the web interface. If you try, it will take you to the Netgear page to download their awful Genie App. If you try to use the Genie app, it will tell you do not have the proper firmware!
To solve this, I used the iOS app to enable Parental Controls. I don't know why they were disabled...they were set before, but regardless, you'll need to enable them. In the past, the iOS Genie app would not allow me to log in to my OpenDNS account, which I had already set up. But this time it worked as expected. However, the filter settings I had already established were not listed, so I needed to reapply the filtering (Custom) settings. Once I checked the Enable button, I logged out, waited a few minutes for the settings to filter through, and finally, went to a website I knew should be blocked and it was.
Good luck!
Would anyone have any comments on this subject?
Hi Montagu,
1. What version of the NETGEAR Genie app/program do you have installed?
2. Please try using another device (Android, iOS, another PC).
3. Please try uninstalling and re-installing the app/program.
4. You can try doing a factory reset on the router if it is an option.
Regards,
Dexter
Community Team
Hi Dexter
We downloaded the Net Genie app that was on the website - version 2.4.38.
We've tried it on 3 different devices:
1. Small Business Server 2008 R2
2. Windows 7 PC
3. Android smartphone
I don't recall the message that the Android phone gave, but it didn't allow connection to the Parental Controls. Server & PC both give the "Checking Router Firmware" error.
We have uninstalled / reinstalled about 5 or 6 times on each device.
The router was reset to factory defaults initially, when we first realised the app wasn't working.
I'm reluctant to get back in touch with the client unless I have a serious and specific answer to the problem. She is not at all pleased that they've bought this expensive router, for one particular job, and it isn't working. She is not going to pay me to return to site, to cause more disruption to the staff by resetting the router, etc, only to have the problem continue to happen.
Essentially I am keeping my head down and cursing Netgear for (1) selling me a product that doesn't work and (2) not having the promised levels of support to overcome the issues.
Michael DHi Dexter
I replied to your message, but I didn't get the expected call :(
Michael D