Orbi app defaults to Anywhere Access instead of “Connected Locally”

Would help to know the version number and whether it is Apple or Android.  As far as I know, the Android version has not changed recently.

V 2.12.5.56 on iphone 

Last time I check mine from last week, my iphone 12 Max and Orbi app connected locally by default when I was home. When at work, it connected via Anywhere access to my 8 series. 

Hi, All, 

As per the App Team, Anywhere Access is enabled by default.

We have updated and published a new KB about it: 

https://kb.netgear.com/000058239/How-do-I-enable-or-disable-Anywhere-Access-on-my-NETGEAR-or-Orbi-router

https://kb.netgear.com/000064332/Why-is-Anywhere-Access-enabled-by-default-on-my-NETGEAR-or-Orbi-router

Regards,
Blanca
Community Team

Thanks for following through.  The App Team gets points for a creative answer, but loses points for "explaining away" rather than fixing their code. Surely the app could at least look for the Orbi on the local LAN first and then switch to Anywhere Access if the Orbi is not found.

Hi,

Thanks for the info however the fact that Anywhere Access is enabled by default is not relevant to the issue. I want Anywhere Access enabled so I can connect when away from the Orbi network. The query is specific to the App not connecting locally when on the Orbi's wifi. The comments in the second post, with regards to VPNs and special network setups, are noted but I definitely have no VPN or any special network set up. I've just taken the Orbi out the box and plugged it into my modem. This seems to be confirmed by the fact that if I turn Anywhere Access off my app will connect locally with no issues at all.

I'm not sure if you're trying to say that the app will always connect to Anywhere Access when it is switched on irrespective of whether the device is connected to the Orbi wifi. If this is the case it seems a very odd design and doesn't explain why not everyone using the app experiences this behaviour.

Can you please confirm if the app is designed to connect to Anywhere Access by default when connected directly to the Orbi wifi and assuming just a standard network setup (no VPNs etc).

I have Orbi app connected to my 8 series right now while at work:

This morning I also saw the app was connected using Anywhere access while at home however I did have a Locally Connected entry in the list of devices Orbi app could connect too. 

I think the bone of contention is forcing Anywhere Access through the cloud when the device running the Orbi app is physically connected to the Orbi LAN (and thus has no "need" to use the cloud).  i.e. If Anywhere Access is enabled, every app connection goes through the cloud, as evidenced by the circle in the upper left holding a cloud rather than a tiny house.

I have a suspicion that some engineer decided (or was told) to look first at the status of Anywhere Access before attempting to find the Orbi on the LAN.  Notice that those two KB articles are dated Nov 1, 2021.  Strangely suspicious that the answer to the question, "What have you done?" is "Oh, that's the way it is." Not, "we decided to change it."

Android users could test the hypothesis by loading previous versions of the Orbi app from APK Mirror. (Have no idea if a similar resource is available to Apple users.)  If previous Orbi apps do not share this behavior, then it is a change.

For myself, the question is only idle curiosity.

I agree, seems that maybe NG wants Anywhere Access enabled by default, if locally or remotely located with the users mobile device. Users will need to know how to turn this off if they don't want that enabled. 

This is project is more tedious than I had expected. The Orbi app has to be uninstalled in order to install a previous version over it.

So far, I have installed

V2.11.5.1716 - Displays the 'house' at first, then changes to 'cloud'

V2.11.0.1661 - Displays the 'house' at first, then changes to 'cloud'

There are MANY previous versions of the Orbi app to test. (see attached).  Although I have no practical reason to perform this tedium, it is really important (to me) to admit when I am wrong about something and apologize.  If I get to the bottom of the list and all Orbi apps behave the same way, it will be Mea Culpa time.

The experiment is done. The first version of the Android Orbi app which forces Anywhere Access is 2.10.1.1584, June 14, 2021.

Previous to that version, opening the Orbi app when connected to the Orbi LAN did not switch to the cloud, even when Anywhere Access was enabled in the app.  Beginning with version 2.10.1.1584, opening the app when connected to the Orbi LAN immediately switches to Anywhere Access and shows the 'cloud' icon inside the circle rather than the 'house'.

So, the app changed in June. No one detected the change and raised a stink until recently. And, Netgear created a Knowledge Base article on Nov 1 implying that it was always the default.

This is (yet another) example illustrating the confusion that comes about when there are not detailed release notes when software changes.  (Who knows: maybe there was a tiny reference in the App Store when this release came out.  I do not usually open the notes when my Android devices update apps.  Does anybody?)  If there had been a "Change Log" available to examine, it would have been obvious that "oh, yes. This happened back in June."

The only way to disable this would be to:

• Open the app.
• Disable Anywhere Access.
• Close the app.
• Reopen the app.
• Do what you want to do.
• Enable Anywhere Access.
• Close the app.

Way too much effort.

One wonders if the Orbi app will function without internet access. i.e. suppose the Orbi loses internet (ISP down perhaps). Will the app function when connected to the Orbi LAN and there is no internet access?   (I will find out on Friday when we have a scheduled power outage and there is a good chance Spectrum will be cut off.)

Can you see releases notes for the June Orbi app update or is that no longer available? 

I would pose this, is there a problem with the app defaulting to the Cloud? 

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FURRYe38 wrote:

Can you see releases notes for the June Orbi app update or is that no longer available? 

 

I would pose this, is there a problem with the app defaulting to the Cloud? 

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For Android, APK Mirror has copies of every Orbi app release. Although tedious, this allowed me to uninstall the Orbi app, load one of the previous versions, test whether it always switched to the cloud, then repeat with another version.

In normal operation, always using the cloud would seem not to pose a problem (except for offending one's sense of efficiency.  "Why does every packet have to make a round trip to Netgear's cloud when both the Orbi and the app are on the same LAN?)  Most IoT apps function only through the cloud.

I'll know tomorrow when Edison cuts power for four hours for scheduled maintenance.

• Does loss of Edison power disrupt Spectrum internet?
• If Spectrum goes out, does the Orbi app remain on the LAN.... or what?

Experiment Completed.

When Edison cut power today, before shutting down the UPS, I disconnected Orbi from the cable modem and then opened the Orbi App on two devices connected to the Orbi WiFi.

They spent a long time "connecting" to the Orbi, but eventually did connect over the LAN connection. (little house in the circle).

It is beyond my technical capability to discover if communication between Orbi app and Orbi router are exactly the same over both pathways or if they differ in any way.  I still think it is inefficient, but at least the Netgear 'cloud' would not appear to be a potential point of failure for clients that are connected to the LAN.