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Websites Blocked
Hi. I have the Orbi RBR750 and all of a sudden, a month ago, some websites would not work. I noticed that it was only some e-commerce websites that did not work. I checked online and I found the f...
FIXED! I got my Internet provider to change the modem and then after a factory reset of the Orbi router, all of the websites are now accessible!!! Even though they denied that would fix the problem. Ha!
Thank you everyone for your help!
My impression is that Smart Parental Controls (SPC) are managed through the Orbi 'app'. After a Factory Reset, the router should not 'remember' anything. Not any passwords or SSIDs the user has set. Not any device reservations that have been made.... and not whether Armor or SPC have been enabled.
I would do the Factory Reset and see if the LED light on the front shows the router connecting to the internet.
If it shows internet, do not even set it up. Use the PC which is 'wired' to the router to open a web browser and try those web sites. If the PC doesn't have internet (maybe because your ISP requires a login), then use the PC to get connected, but do not change the default WiFi credentials. Just do enough to get an internet connection and try those web sites.
Then, use the default WiFi credentials to connect the phone and tablet to the router and try the web sites.
Do NOT open the Orbi app. until all three devices have been tested.
p.s. In all this, have we established that only these three devices fail to open some web sites?
- Are there other devices that function correctly with all web sites?
- On these three devices, are there other web sites that function correctly?
FIXED! I got my Internet provider to change the modem and then after a factory reset of the Orbi router, all of the websites are now accessible!!! Even though they denied that would fix the problem. Ha!
Thank you everyone for your help!
semiluddite wrote:
FIXED! I got my Internet provider to change the modem and then after a factory reset of the Orbi router, all of the websites are now accessible!!! Even though they denied that would fix the problem. Ha!
Thank you for confirming that too many ISPs don't have a clue!
Well, that didn't last! 6 days later and the same https sites are blocked.
I went back into the orbi console and I again did these steps:
Click on Advanced Tab
Click on Security >> Block Services
Click Add
Click on Service Type DropDown and Select HTTPS
Click Add to save
But the sites are still blocked. Also, if I pause the parental controls, my desktop computer is blocked from the wifi and I can't unblock it on the app.
Can someone please help me with this???
What Firmware version is currently loaded?
What is the Mfr and model# of the Internet Service Providers modem/ONT the NG router is connected too?
Be sure your using a good quality LAN cable between the modem and router. CAT6A STP is recommended.Is Armor or Smart Parental controls enabled on the RBR?
I'd do a factory reset on the RBR. Setup from scratch using a wired PC and web browser. DO NOT enabled Armor or Smart Parental controls afterwards using Orib app. Don't even open that app just yet. After the setup wizard completes, check the web sites. If there still blocked, then something on our PC or with the ISP services is blocking the sites, and not the Orbi system.
Enabling "Block Services" on https means that no device can make an https connection. That is the exact opposite of what you are trying to solve.
"Pause" on the Orbi app usually means, "cut this device off". I have never enabled Parental Controls (and never will) so I am not aware of what steps are required to "make the controls stop". Can you post a screen shot of this "Pause" option?
The sites were blocked before I did that and the instructions to do that were from the Netgear Community forum. I just deleted that, rebooted the router, cleared the cookies, yet the sites are still blocked. Is there anything else I can do?
Attached is the screenshot of the pause option under Parental Controls.
Thanks for taking the time to make that screen shot. This is embarrassing, but I do not have any idea what that symbol means:
- Put the entire system on "Pause" (i.e. nobody can do anything), or
- Stop the Parental Controls feature temporarily.
I agree with FURRYe38 . Factory Reset the Orbi and configure it using only the web interface. Do not even open the Orbi app. If at any time during the setup there is a choice to enable Armor or Parental Controls, say, "no thanks".
That did not work.
Also, there is no "setup wizard" option.
Is there anything else I can do?
There is a setup wizard option at the bottom of the web page.
No, there isn't. I just checked again. There is no setup wizard.
There is, if you reset the router and let it come to ready, in a web browser, 192.168.1.1, a the bottom of this web page there will be a link that says, don't have a mobile device, select here, will begin the setup wizard for the RBR router...
I had done that. I followed the instructions to install the router with the web interface, it was just that there was no setup wizard.
The websites are still not accessible.
Can someone please help me?
Is there a setting in the Internet Settings or other setting in the router settings that I can change that will fix this problem?
This is a firewall problem, however, when I searched how to change the firewall settings I found that there is no firewall setting in the Orbi. Is this true????
There is a firewall, it's all automatic.
What is the Mfr and model# of the Internet Service Providers modem/ONT the NG router is connected too?
The modem is Arris Model #TM1602G
The router is Orbi RBR750
Id ask the ISP for a different model or brand modem. Thats an older model modem and not a good one.
If the ISP did make a change and it work then stopped working again, this is not a Orbi issue. ISP needs to resolve this.
semiluddite wrote:
This is a firewall problem, however, when I searched how to change the firewall settings I found that there is no firewall setting in the Orbi. Is this true????
This is not a firewall problem. Firewalls prevent unwanted connections. When connected to the internet, the Orbi router has a public IP address, much like a public telephone number, street address, front doorbell. Anyone in the world can attempt to connect to any port on any public IP address, just as anyone in the world can attempt to call a telephone number, send a letter to a street address, or ring a door bell. The Orbi firewall rejects all connection attempts unless the user has specifically told the router to accept one. This is also the default behavior of Windows and Mac computers.
As analogies, when the phone rings, you can decide whether to answer it or not - but you cannot stop it from ringing. When a litter appears in the mailbox, you can decide not to open it. When the doorbell rings, you can decide not to answer the door. You are the firewall.
Every time a user device makes a connection to a resource on the internet, the device opens a connection through the router to the internet address and the remote service uses that connection to respond. Amazon cannot send a web page to your browser unless you connect to Amazon first. (Try it. Open Chrome and see how many web pages appear by themselves. None.)
The consensus on the forum appears to be that some additional function on the Orbi is blocking certain web sites (but apparently not all web sites). This is the sort of thing that Smart Parental Controls (SPC) does, so the advice is to get the router operating without SPC enabled. Thus the advice to perform a Factory Reset and then make a web connection to the router and select that option toward the bottom of the page, "I do not have a smartphone." which opens the web based configuration. (It is none of Netgear's damn busniess whether I own a smartphone or not. I simply do not want to use it to set up the router!" Never open the Orbi app until testing whether those web pages are blocked or not.
The websites work when I use a VPN. If that is the case, do you know how I can fix this via the router? I do not want to have to use a VPN on every device.
Thank you!
When a device uses a VPN, it opens an encrypted tunnel through the router to the VPN hosting service. The router has no way to observe or control what goes on inside the tunnel. Thus, the router does not know if the user is using a web browser, transferring music, opening telnet sessions... whatever. That is the purpose of a VPN.
We know that by itself, the Orbi router does not block web sites. Our routers can open all of those 'blocked' web sites. And, by coincidence, we do not have Parental Controls enabled on our systems. Thus the suspicion that making sure that Parental Controls are not enabled on the router is the solution.
Does selecting the link "I do not have a smartphone" after a Factory Reset not let you set up the router?
The only devices that can use a VPN to open web pages are devices that run web browsers. Printers, thermostats, smart plugs, light bulbs, etc. etc. have no need of a VPN. How many devices need to access these specific web sites?
I called my Internet provider again, twice today, and I found out that there is a newer modem that is available. The replacement modem I received last week was the same model as the previous one. I am going to swap the modem tomorrow and I will see if that works. I will post an update.
Thank you!
Found an answer to the question about the "Pause":
Kills everything, except the device running the Orbi app.
I got a completely different modem from my Internet provider and I connected it...those blocked e-commerce websites are coming through! I hope this stays working!
Thank you to everyone who helped me!
Glad you got it working. Be sure to save off a back up configuration to file for safe keeping. Saves time if a reset is needed.
https://kb.netgear.com/000062080/How-do-I-back-up-the-configuration-settings-on-my-Orbi-WiFi-System
Enjoy. 📡
