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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!
So this issue just seems to have dropped off the boards. Did everyone give up and buy a different brand router? I'm having the same issue with my R8000....posted a new message about it but haven't gotten any responses yet. I can't believe for the premium we pay for this thing that this issue is being ignored.
They are ignoring the issue. Presumably they think that, as we've already bought an expensive router, we'll put up with it and simply accept the fault.
This is a short-sighted view, as routers may last some years but we will eventually buy again, based on our own good, or bad, experiences. We probably buy a router a week.
As an IT Support company we have supplied many different Netgear products over the years. That's because I remember the days when any, very rare, hardware faults could be reported by phone. A UK-based techie would help there and then, or simply replace the faulty goods straight away.
They've totally lost that customer service and, as a result, will lose customers. The marketplace is quite crowded with other tech companies bringing out ever more reliable goods.
I won't buy Netgear again, after this woeful experience, which seems such a shame given the many years of loyalty I have shown the brand. But, they aren't reciprocating with any loyalty or decent service towards me or my clients.