Attached Device Icons

this has been bugging me for a while and why i searched this out and ended up here. one other thing id suggest to add is the ability to show the info of each device, i use to use anothert app that would map out the network and each device had all its info present, make,model,type , and so on.

This enhanced icon idea was moved to "Engineering Investigation" on: 2017-09-08 03:33 PM

Really??  Sept 2017.  I don't think Netgear is serious!  In this era of IoT, they are still using "See **bleep**, See Jane, See Spot  Run." type of icons at least on my R7800.  (For those not familiar with the reference it comes from a school book of the 1930s used in America to teach grade school kids to read: Fun With **bleep** and Jane )

It is really atavistic to keep the current icon set.  Goodness, my oven, cloths washer, dryer, UPS, outside weather monitor, and soon to be door bell all can connect to my LAN. To say nothing of TVs, Blu-ray players, remote controls (e.g. Harmony), sport camera (e.g. GoPro) and on and on.  Others on this thread have made better lists.  All those items should have icons.

In reading over all the posts on this idea here's my two cents:

* I'm not sure drag and drop, or user upload into the web interface is such a good idea, as it could be a potential security risk

* Rather I would like to see a master db maintained by Netgear with a collection of icons.  I would suggest not using any recognized brand names.  As one poster on this thread said:

MotoMike "Thermostat  (Again, doesn’t have to be Nest specific make it generic so its clearly a thermostat and you can avoid copyright issues)"

Users could submit ideas for missing icons.  Netgear could update the db every 6 months or so.  For god's sake, hire a graphic designer to come up with some generic and identifiable icons. There is only limited storage in the router, so they need to be simple yet identifiable as to function.

[The router already reaches out and phones home to check on firmware versions, this just becomes another connection to the mother ship.]

* When the user edits the Attached Devices page, clicking on the icon reaches out to a Netgear site.  The site would have icons grouped into types, The user could place  a check mark on the one desired. Press OK, and that icon is DL'd for that device. This way local memory in the router is not overloaded.

* Use a radio button or check box to show or hide icons.  I currently have 22 devices on my LAN and sometimes a plain list is better for management.

So the bottom line: Netgear needs to step up their game in the look and feel department.  This is mostly (not all) a cosmetic issue.  However having such old and primitive icons does not present a forward looking corporate identity.  The human interface with computers is more and more graphic every day.  This is the age of IoT.  Come on Netgear, get with it.

PS:  I hold no hope any of this will happen.  I'll bet a lunch and a couple of beers, that none of the decision making suits read posts in the community forum.

bc

Adding my agreement to this request.  List of common generic icons or ability to add own is sorely needed.

I could not agree more.  I just posted a similar idea at:

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Idea-Exchange-For-Home/Attached-Devices-List/idi-p/1731233

before i saw your post.  In this day of home automation, and IoT the current list of icons is really poor.  And, even the ones that are one the list are very primitive.  Hire a graphic designer for goodness sakes.

There could be a way to allow the user to import icons.  If Netgear thinks this is a security risk (allowing users to import into the interface) then at least allow users to download additional icons in a fashion similar to a firmware update.

Since the routers already automatically check for updates, why not make a separate file with icons that gets checked for updates, too? Like how Google has made many features separate from the Android OS, so that phone users don't have to wait for an OS update from their manufacturer/carrier to get any new features. It doesn't even have to be automatically on a daily basis or whatever. Just add a button to "check for new icon files" and the router checks to see if it has the latest icon file from Netgear. If it's outdated, it downloads the new icon set, the screen refreshes, and then users can use the new icon set as they choose.

I'd also remove the ones for specific models of devices. We don't need multiple versions of iPhone, iPad, and Mac icons. Less depth, more breadth. Need smart speaker (Sonos, Amazon Echo, Google Home, etc.), doorbell, lock, fan, light, plug, smoke detector, scale, streaming devices (Chromecast, Chromecast Audio, Roku, Amazon Fire Stick, etc.), and several more categories. I don't even care if each of the examples gets it own icon, or just one generic icon per cagtegory of devices (just have "smart speaker," and not Sonos, Google Home, Amazon Echo, etc.). But there are already many more categories of devices that simply don't have any suitable generic icon.

"The fact there is no thermostat category in 2018 is, frankly, mind-boggling." 

Exactly! 
The funny thing is that these non tablet/computer devices are going to increase.  Folks are putting Ring Doorbells, Nest Thermostats, Amazon Echos in their house.  Why not make it so that people can just upload their own icons?  The icons don't take up much space and it would alleviate the need for Netgear to keep updating their icon library.

Just adding my voice to this request. The ability to add custom categories and icons would be great, but at the very least I agree there is a need for the general categories suggested by others. Considering that the success of Orbi has to be largely driven by the proliferation of connected devices, such devices should really be better represented. The fact there is no thermostat category in 2018 is, frankly, mind-boggling.

I'd perhaps suggest adding the ability to toggle on/off the icons from the web interface (and Genie app, etc.)? Personally, I like the icons, as it makes it easier for me to quickly see which devices are online, though I also understand that hiding the icons could be better in some cases, if you have a lot of devices, particularly if many are all of the same type. Maybe just add a radio button or checkbox, toggling the icons and their column on/off? A win-win compromise? The icons are there for those who like them, and can be hidden for those who don't?

But, to the OP's point, I'd like some other classes of devices as well. I didn't see any suggestions for a smart plug. I'd probably go with the generic class icons (iPhone, Android phone, smart scale, smart plug, video game console, Windows/Apple/Linux desktop/laptop, etc.), rather than specific types of things (every imaginable Apple device, plus SlingBox, Surface, etc.). Also, can the list please be alphabetized? Or, if not, grouped by category or something (phones, tablets, laptops, desktops, servers, smart devices, networking devices, etc.)?

Also, to maybe streamline the icons/list, maybe, rather than including the icons and list in the firmware, just have a centralized NG database or directory that NG can update as necessary, and which all compatible routers, etc., can query, so that a new device, or class of devices, doesn't make it so that dozens of different firmwares need to be updated? So if a new class of devices came out, you (NG) just name it once, design one icon, and then put it in the public list, and than all compatible routers, etc., would have that available as an option, storing the icon and name locally if it's used.

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for submitting your ideas on how we can improve the products. The idea will be reviewed for consideration. :]

- Jason N