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ddustin's avatar
ddustin
Guide
Oct 09, 2022

BR850 Orbi, anywhere access no longer working

Hello,

First post here, experienced user.

Anywhere access used to work, but since updating the firmware of the RBR850 and the Satellite (RBS850), anywhere access refuses to work. While home, the app works with all the other functions.. just not anywhere access.

Firmware in both devices  (Router and Satellite) is the latest 4.6.9.11.

The router has "Armor" installed.

I had to use remote desktop over a VPN to manually update the firmware on the Satellite as it refused to "find" the available firmware update (because I was working remotely).

Using an iOS device running 15.6.1, but have also tried it on an Android phone (same results).

I thought it was an issue I would be able to resolve once returning home and being on the same network.. not to be.

The iOS device has Private Wi-Fi Address disabled as well as Limit IP Address Tracking and I am not using iCloud Private Relay.

This is particularly comical to me..when I try to enable remote access on the router directly, there is an instruction to "To use Access Control, please use the Orbi App."

 

I will not perform a hard reset again as it takes forever to get Armor to be acknowledged.  

 

Any advice is appreciated (I have followed every instruction here as far as I can tell). 

9 Replies

  • Hello,

    First post here, experienced user (sorry, had posted this in the Nitehawk forum by mistake)..

    Anywhere access used to work, but since updating the firmware of the RBR850 and the Satellite (RBS850), anywhere access refuses to work. While home, the app works with all the other functions.. just not anywhere access.

    Firmware in both devices  (Router and Satellite) is the latest 4.6.9.11.

    The router has "Armor" installed.

    I had to use remote desktop over a VPN to manually update the firmware on the Satellite as it refused to "find" the available firmware update (because I was working remotely).

    Using an iOS device running 15.6.1, but have also tried it on an Android phone (same results).

    I thought it was an issue I would be able to resolve once returning home and being on the same network.. not to be.

    The iOS device has Private Wi-Fi Address disabled as well as Limit IP Address Tracking and I am not using iCloud Private Relay.

    This is particularly comical to me..when I try to enable remote access on the router directly, there is an instruction to "To use Access Control, please use the Orbi App."

     

    I will not perform a hard reset again as it takes forever to get Armor to be acknowledged.  

     

    Any advice is appreciated (I have followed every instruction here as far as I can tell)


  • ddustin wrote:

    when I try to enable remote access on the router directly, there is an instruction to "To use Access Control, please use the Orbi App."


    Access Control on the Advanced Tab is a method to control which devices are allowed to access the LAN, defined by their hardware MAC address.  It has nothing to do with accessing the router remotely (from the internet).

     


    ddustin wrote:

    Using an iOS device running 15.6.1, but have also tried it on an Android phone (same results).


    Was the Android phone connected on the local network when you attempted to enable Access Anywhere?

     

    There have been a number of posts recently from users frustrated with the most recent Orbi 'app' for Apple devices.  So far, my Android devices have not been affected.

     

    It does not address the specific question about the app, but it appears you realize that having OpenVPN enabled on the router means that you can access the Orbi web browser administration remotely.  Personally, I find the browser administration to be far superior to the 'app'.

    • ddustin's avatar
      ddustin
      Guide

      Hey CrimpOn, thanks for the response..

      To answer your questions:

      1. The Android device was on the same network and local to the router.

      2. I am not using Open VPN, instead, I'm using "ZeroTier" for a variety of reasons (it works very well). ZT only allows me to connect to a computer on my network via remote desktop, and then I connect to the router directly from that device. ZT is also installed on my phone as a VPN which I use to access my surveillance system remotely. 

       

      I like the Orbi for performance, but the quirks with updates etc are a real pain đŸ˜‰

       

      • CrimpOn's avatar
        CrimpOn
        Guru

        Zero Tier.  Wow.  The forum introduces me to amazing things!

         

        On the Android phone, does the menu option for Anywhere Access appear at all on the Settings Menu when the phone is connected to the network? (For me, it is the bottom menu item under Settings.)

  • Did you ever get the apple orbi app to work for remote access? I am having the same issue. Very frustrating. It deffinatly started when the app received an update.