OpenDNS M1 no longer supported?

[CharlesGoossens]

Hello,

I just bought a new M1 mobile router, based on the fact sheet and the app functionality.

I tried to activate parental control to make sure nobody will start downloading videos by accident while on 4G.

It seems OpenDNS support has been dropped? I could not create a new account through the interface (not in the app and not in the router management website. I created an OpenDNS account on OpenDNS but could not login with that account in the M1.

DDNS is also not supported as far as I can see?

Am I right in my assumptions please? 

Thanks.

[michaelkenward · Accepted solution]

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@CharlesGoossens wrote:

It seems OpenDNS support has been dropped? I could not create a new account through the interface (not in the app and not in the router management website. I created an OpenDNS account on OpenDNS but could not login with that account in the M1.

Open DNS backed out of the Netgear collaboration on free parental controls some time ago.

NOTICE: Live Parental Control Service based on Ope... - NETGEAR Communities

Netgear now offers various subscriptions for parental controls.

Which products support NETGEAR Smart Parental Controls? | Answer | NETGEAR Support

What subscription plans are available for NETGEAR Smart Parental Controls? | Answer | NETGEAR Suppor...

Other devices support Circle, another subscription service. But that too seems to be a moveable feast:

Which NETGEAR routers support Circle Smart Parental Controls? | Answer | NETGEAR Support

There may be  more recent stuff out there. It is hard to keep up.

What is Live Parental Controls? | Answer | NETGEAR Support

[michaelkenward · Accepted solution]

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@CharlesGoossens wrote:

It seems OpenDNS support has been dropped? I could not create a new account through the interface (not in the app and not in the router management website. I created an OpenDNS account on OpenDNS but could not login with that account in the M1.

Open DNS backed out of the Netgear collaboration on free parental controls some time ago.

NOTICE: Live Parental Control Service based on Ope... - NETGEAR Communities

Netgear now offers various subscriptions for parental controls.

Which products support NETGEAR Smart Parental Controls? | Answer | NETGEAR Support

What subscription plans are available for NETGEAR Smart Parental Controls? | Answer | NETGEAR Suppor...

Other devices support Circle, another subscription service. But that too seems to be a moveable feast:

Which NETGEAR routers support Circle Smart Parental Controls? | Answer | NETGEAR Support

There may be  more recent stuff out there. It is hard to keep up.

What is Live Parental Controls? | Answer | NETGEAR Support

[CharlesGoossens]

Thanks. It’s just so confusing because Amazon still mentioned the functionality. 
I wanted a solution to make sure the kids didn’t start downloading YT videos or perform app updates in the car, consuming the 10 GB monthly limit. 

[michaelkenward]

I get the impression that Netgear's support for mobile routers is a bit lacking in that area. But I have no idea if anyone else does a better job in what is probably a limited market.

I wonder if using the M1 as a modem in front of "grown up" router would be a better option.

[CharlesGoossens]

It could be easily solved if they would be so nice to implement a DDNS-client.

See question on the M5. 🙂 

[michaelkenward]

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@CharlesGoossens wrote:

It could be easily solved if they would be so nice to implement a DDNS-client.

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I am always wary of user claims that it is easy to do something. What appears to be easy to us as consumers may be anything but when the engineers have to tackle the challenge and, probably more important, jump through all the hoops needed to test and certify new features.

People who really depend on these things probably need to look beyond the consumer market for something designed  appropriately and with an appropriate price tag.

[CharlesGoossens]

If you could point me out to a better MiFi router, please do. 🙂 
The Netgear M1, M2 and the M5 are the most expensive ones I can find.

I’ll gladly fork out the 750 euro’s for an M5 if it supports DDNS so I can make sure my kids wil not exhaust the capacity we have on our 4G SIM while travelling. 

DDNS functionality is available in all Netgear non-mobile routers and has been around for 30 years.

I think it is not unreasonable to expect that Netgear offers a workaround when they remove functionality. 

[schumaku]

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@CharlesGoossens wrote:

It could be easily solved if they would be so nice to implement a DDNS-client.

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True. However, at least in Europe, mobile providers barely assign public routable IPv4 addresses to mobile devices. A public IPv4 address would be a special service, if available at all.