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agonyou's avatar
agonyou
Aspirant
Feb 27, 2023

Content Filtering and Site Blocking gives 400 Bad Request

I'm trying to setup some keyword filters for times of the day when different teens are interacting and I get a 400 error when adding a word or URL. 

 

Do I need to factory reset like everyone else has done for other 400 errors or is there a better way, or is it a broken parental feature?

 

Please advise.

 

5 Replies

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  • CrimpOn's avatar
    CrimpOn
    Guru
    Feb 27, 2023

    (just my two cents....)

     

    Attempting to use the router Advanced feature Block Sites as a form of Parental Control is not going to work.

    Perhaps other models of Orbi function differently than my RBR50.  (With Orbi, there is little consistency across models.)

    On my system, I deliberately blocked "ford".  Then used three different web browsers to open http://ford.com 

    All three opened https://www.ford.com/   (notice that the URL was changed to https and www was added to the start of the URL.

     

    My analysis from the several times I have tried this is that modern web browsers are configured to "out think" the user.  i.e. when the user enters a plain http URL, the browser says, "stupid human.  nobody uses plain http anymore.  I will look for an encrypted URL instead." The Orbi Block Sites process does not check https connections, so it just sails through.  This technology might have worked 10 years ago, but seems woefully inadequate for today.

     

    This in no way explains what is causing a 400 error on the Orbi web server.  I simply think that even if you get past that problem, the end result will be disappointing.

    • agonyou's avatar
      agonyou
      Aspirant
      Mar 07, 2023

      The point I'm making is this is IN the UI. RBR960 by the way, thought I entered that but my bad for not stating it here. 

       

      The issue I see is that the UI doesn't work properly for this feature. At the very least it should let me do it so I can see how good/bad it is. 

       

      I turned it on for various content in the past and it worked but I reset everything a while ago to resolve another issue and now it's not working. 

       

      Thanks in advance. 

      • CrimpOn's avatar
        CrimpOn
        Guru
        Mar 07, 2023

        Excellent point.  It would be interesting to learn more about how different Orbi models manage to "Block Sites".

         

        The way I read explanations of the http 400 error, the web site is refusing to carry out a web request because of something wrong with the request.  Google advises several steps to use with Chrome:

        https://www.greengeeks.com/tutorials/bad-request-error-400/#:~:text=Outdated%20cookies%20and%20cache%20are,outdated%20browser%20cookies%20and%20cache. 

         

        Might be useful to see if different browsers or computers exhibit the same situation.

        There is certainly no harm in power cycling the router, or even saving a copy of the configuration and doing a "quick and dirty" Factory Reset.  i.e.:

        • Save a copy of the configuration.
        • Get out the trusty paperclip tool and Factory Reset.
        • Go through the setup using a web browser, ignoring every offer to "set" something, "register" something, "enable" something, until the screen comes up offering a choice of:
          • Load a previously saved configuration.
          • Proceed to configure manually.
        • Load the saved configuration The router will reboot and (like the Terminator...I'm BAAACK")
        • This can be done in under 10 minutes.