Feature Request: Block or allow individual devices based on time schedule

This major deficiency has existed for well over a year.  Let's be honest with ourselves, if Netgear had any intension of fixing this issue they would have adddress it by now.  Quite frankly they don't care if we parents have the tools we need to provide adequate parental controls for our kids.

I am a long time Linksys owner, but when our last high powered Linksys router died (overheating problems) I ended up going with a Netgear R7500, mainly because it was recommended for running two separate Xbox consoles on the same network.  And I have to admit that it does that function beautiflly, to the point that Netgear has/had the opportunity to convert this long time Linksys owner to Netgear until I ran into their pitiful parental controls.  I have a 15  year old, bottom of the line, Linksys router that gives me more Parental Controls than this top of the line, modern Netgear router.  That in and of itself it pathetic.  Unless something drasticlly changes and Netgear addresses this issue, I will never own another Netgear product. 

Let's keep this thread going. Why not? This is a good place to complain about Netgear's routers. 

One of the biggest problems I have at home is teenagers.  Besides their attitude, I wanted a router that would tell me everything they are doing on MY network. Obviously, a phone with decent coverage will bypass the router and any blocks or restrictions that may be set. Unfortunately, there is nothing that can be done about that situation.  However, I wireless device such as a laptop, Kindle Fire, iPod, iPad, etc.. STILL has to go through the router and I am still trying to find a really good router to achieve my main goals. 

Of course, every home is different. Perhaps, we ALL share the same goals and common ground.  

1.  Speed.  This is no brainer.  I have Kindle Fires, Kindle Fire Sticks, iPads, iPods, laptops, iPods, ATVs, etc.... which all require a good decent amount of speed for streaming movies or surfing the internet. 

2. Block Sites- Give the user the ability to block by URL and Keyword. I know this feature does exist on the router but if you are using OpenDNS, what is the point of the feature. Again, give the user a choice to block sites on the router WITHOUT using OpenDNS. 

3. Time Schedule- Give the user the ability to set a time schedule PER hour PER device on the router itself. This feature doesn't seem to exist on this router.  A user should not have to completely turn off the wireless radios as means to control the time schedule. Everyone knows that if you pause a Youtube video AFTER the wireless radio is OFF, the video will continue to play and still gives the user the ability to search other videos. Again, I know you can set time blocks in OpenDNS to control the filtering level. That is not the same as blocking internet access to a wireless device.

4. Traffic Analyzer/Web History- This feature is included in the Asus routers.  Netgear does have Dynamic QoS but the link to view bandwidth by device or application is buried. To view the bandwidth, it should be a separate tab under Dynamic QoS and give it another name. This feature should be very accessible to users. Also, I know Netgear has a log to view device activity.  It is very weak and doesn't include everything. This log should be improved to include everything such as sites that are allowed and blocked. A user should be able to view the log by device as well. 

5. Netgear Genie- This app needs improvement. Linksys and Asus both of apps for there routers as well. There apps are not bad but they are better than the Genie. The Genie is not bad but it lacks features to help manage your network from inside/outside the home.  There is no "bypass login" to allow a user to have access to something that otherwise is blocked. Since the Genie is on my phone, I should not have to login to the Genie EVERYTIME to view the network map. It is soo tedious to login to Genie on my phone everytime. Also, I should NOT have to install anything on client devices. 

The above list is from the point of view using the Nighthawk router and my experience using this router.  While others my have a completely different view and differrent experiences. I am comparing this router to Asus 68u and Linksys 1900ac.  I understand these routers are different and have different features. However, Asus gives you the most features where Linksys and Netgear lack in this area. Each router has there own separate issues and flaws.  In my opinion, none of these routers are superior to each other.  While Asus gives the most features but iit is not stable and not reliable.  The Linksys router is stable and reliable but lacks in features.  Finally, the Nighthawk router is NOT stable and is NOT reliable.  It lacks in features and you have use OpenDNS.  While some people don't mind using OpenDNS, I prefer not too. 

I tried a new router called Homehalo.  This router SUCKS and is terrible. This router is made for non techinal users and lacks ALOT of features.  Don't spend $99 dollars on this stupid thing.  

I am thinking of trying the Linksys ea8500 router.  Stay tuned....

I was looking  around in my routers  options today on a wndr3400 backup router with dd-wrt and it seems to have  a option of selecting the mac and ip address of the device to be block and when to turn off and back on shouldn't a high end router have this.Plus a area to fill in web sites to block and search words to block any childern friendly router should be able to protect them from the internet's underside.

There should be a kids selection on the routers set up that you could tell the  childern's devices and set limit on search words and web sites with filtering web sites of your choice.

The mac address would be the thing to place under control as the ip address for the same device change depending on the address assigned to it that day printers and server normal have static ip address's if they did not you would to find on your network all the time.Even third party firmware has it it is just code.

I have the Nighthawk r8000 and I like some Linksys and Asus features. In my opinion, Asus has best features to manage your home network and devices.  Netgear needs to take the Asus features and apply them to the Nighthawk routers.  Two most important features for me.

1. Block Sites- Give the user the ability to block by URL and Keyword. I know this feature does exist on the router but if you are using OpenDNS, what is the point of the feature. Again, give the user a choice to block sites on the router WITHOUT using OpenDNS. 

2. Time Schedule- Give the user the ability to set a time schedule PER hour PER device on the router itself. This feature doesn't seem to exist on this router.  A user should not have to completely turn off the wireless radios as means to control the time schedule. Everyone knows that if you pause a Youtube video AFTER the wireless radio is OFF, the video will continue to play and still gives the user the ability to search other videos. Again, I know you can set time blocks in OpenDNS to control the filtering level. That is not the same as blocking internet access to a wireless device.

There are other features I would like to see on the Nighthawk routers. 

Add me to the list.  Find it completely unbelieveable that Netgear has left such a basic feature (that is a default feature in just about EVERY OTHER product out there) out of this high powered / $$ device. 

At this point I've just about given up on believing that Netgear is going to be anything to fix this glaring deficiencty, nor do I think they care.  As a result I am looking into 3rd party firmware in order to get this capability.

I just purchased an R7800 because of the remote access and touted great parental controls. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that it couldn't do something as simple as allow or block a device on a simple schedule that can vary based on days of the week. Multiple devices by MAC address and multiple days.

Ridiculous.

Please fix or respond. I've read the forums and the "work arounds" are a joke.

I've decided to buffer myself against crappy commercial routers(netgear) and installed pfSense. 

For those that do not know pfSense, it is open source(and free) firewall/router software. This gives you an enterprise strength router that is fairly easy to use. Reading manuals are essential!

My hardware layout was about $200. Installation was easy and straight forward. Setup was moderately difficult but any person with half decent tech knowledge will be able to do it if they read the manual. Once pfSense is in and running configuring it's as easy as learning any router web interfaces except that pfSense having a huge amount of documentation, tutorials and forums available.

Why did I decide on this solution? Firstly I like to play with new technologies and this need justified my spending the extra money on new hardware and the time learning a new platform. The biggest motivation for going with pfsense is that in feature I can swap and add wireless access devices without having to worry about functionality. All I care about now is what the radio strength is and there is a plethora of wireless access devices to choose from.

Also, I have re-commissioned my old router in the far side of the house, put it in AP mode, connected with cat5e to the pfSense box and have excellent wifi across my whole house.

In short: Installed pfSense, put the netgear in AP mode and have wifi. Re-commissioned old router and extended wifi accessibility across house.  And I have all the functionality I need and more.

If you need more info, let me know.