How do I remove this garbage from my router?

[GreenBadger]

Updated to the latest Orbi firmware and enabled the trial of armour.

Today the router is blocking my access to legitimate websites falsly claiming they are phishing sites.

I canot see any way to remove the armour service or educate it to the error of its ways

Barring a factory reset on my orbi system how can I get rid of this?

[docktahdandb]

Do yourself a favor...reset the router and just use the same credentials you’re currently using.  Everything comes back fast and easy.  Log in via web and just hit never remind me again for Armor.  

Side note, if you have gigabit internet...do yourself a favor and use the Orbis in AP Mode and run a Ubiquiti EdgeRouter 4 as your gateway...NIGHT AND DAY.  I realized how much of a burden that Armor was on the Orbi’s routing, so gave that a wing.  But yeah...get Armor removed ASAP!

[stevel]

I log in to my PC today, and get a continuous stream of "blocked phishing attempt by URL" messages. It never tells me what URL and I'm not even clicking on any URLs. I don't see any way of disabling Armor, which adds negative value to the Orbi. I'd rather not have to do a full reset.

[stevel]

I would still like to know how to disable Armor, but I am feeling much more kindly to it now. I was being flooded with alerts about phishing, but nothing told me the URL until I happened across the misnamed "Support" link on the Netgear site that took me to a web page version of the Armor control panel. Then if I examined the alerts it gave the domain. NONE of the controls in the Orbi app or the router's admin page showed me this.

Once I had the domain, I was eventually able to identify a Chrome extension I had used for a long time that, it would seem, had been hijacked and turned into malware. (HTML5 Autoplay Blocker)

Armor may in fact be a useful feature, but the implementation and User Interface is horrible!

[gdsperl]

I tried it and I agree—there's nothing special here, and it's definitely not worth $70/year (maybe for a non-power user, or a senior citizen, I can see this being useful). So I found this thread as I was trying to turn it off—and I found it.

I can't speak to all of the possibilities, but I couldn't find it anywhere in the web interfaces (and the Armor web interface is complete dung). So, I dug into the app. On the Orbi app for iOS, you can disable Armor by drilling though the settings (presumably the Android app and the Nighthawks have similar settings).

Go to the home icon in the upper left, then tap settings, then tap Security, and there should then be a toggle to Enable NETGEAR Armor. Just turn the toggle off, like so:

[utr9iuy]

i WANT TO KNOW  ALSO ! THIS IS COMPLETE GARBAGE, I AM ON HOLD RIGHT NOW GETTING TERRIBLE SERVICE FROM NETGEAR.

[utr9iuy]

THEY WANTED ME TO PAY TO GET THIS SH*T OFF MY ORBI. **bleep** YOU NETGEAR

[utr9iuy]

THEY WANTED ME TO PAY TO GET THIS SH*T OFF MY ORBI. F YOU NETGEAR

[gdsperl]

Check your router’s app—that’s where it was for me.

[ErnestTheGreat]

Open up your app go to Settings > Security and toggle the Enable Netgear Armor switch and this will disable it.

[TheOneRazvan]

How did you identify the Chrome extension? I get a notification about binarymoney dot site every time I open my MacBook, would really love to find the source of it. Thanks!

[mgarrucho]

Thank you!

[guyplace]

Factory reseting won't get rid of the Netgear Armour.  It automatically reloads and activates itself during the factory reset process.  And all those malicious sites that were previously blocked buy Armour (like the Apple App Store, Directv, Netflix, and more) continue to be blocked.  Basically Netgear infected their customer's equipment with malicious software.  Now I'm hoping Armour will stop working after the trial period ends a week from now and I can regain use of the router.  It it doesn't go away (and I wouldn't be surprised if ransom is demanded), I'll have to buy a new router.  You can safely bet it won't be made by Netgear.

[guyplace]

So Netgear Armour is ransomware!

[WCasey]

There doesn't appear to be a consensous on how to restore settings pre-Armor trial (even a factory reset may not work). 

AND it appears NetGear wants at least $80 to provide support to uninstall the firmware it encouraged be installed on a trial basis.  I'm an attorney and this is classic fraudulent inducement, which voids any warranty disclaimers and can result in punitive damages, even in arbitration.  I'm ripping this piece of #$** off of my network, and then will file suit in a small claims court. May not win but they will spend more defending this than the $80 they are attempting to extort.  Lesson learned.  Used to be a pretty good company (although support was always suspect) from what i can tell. 

[Orbi-Roc]

Hi @WCasey. You will never get the Orbi software pre-Armor since Armor is now an integral part of the Orbi firmware.

To the best of my knowledge, the only way to disable Armor is with the app. I've seen a post or two where doing so apparently didn't work but a factory reset did. At my end, I have disabled and re-ensabled Armor many times during my 90-day trial (still have a month to go); and when disabled, Armor is no longer funcional. Netgear Armor Portal can still be accessed, but alerts eventually stop after 24 hours or so.

For me, Armor as a standalone app on the router works great, but only after disabling daisy-chain topology. With daisy-chain enabled, I was experiencing chronic internet drops and jitter on 4K video streaming.  

Enabling Bitdefender Total Security on Windows PC and MacBooks also caused all kinds of problems, some of which were similar to what you experienced, loosing access to the App Store for one.

So for now, I am back running Armor as a stand-alone app, with Bitdefender Total Security activated on one device only (iPod Touch). So far, everything is running smoothly.

I doubt that the foregoing will be of much comfort to you, but thought to share my experience with you and other readers. As to whether or not I will transition to a paid subscription at the end of the trial period, the verdict is still out. If the performance I've been getting over the last three or four days holds for the next 30 days, I might. I hope that by then, Netgear/Bitdefender will have smoothed out the process.

Good luck!

[WCasey]

Thank you for taking the time to try to explain. I’m not a techie and don’t know how to disable Armor (except on the mobile app which doesn’t seem to do anything). It sounds like I need to do a full re-install and since I hired a tech to install I may have to pay again. Really the worst product roll out and (no) support I have ever seen.

[Orbi-Roc]

Hi again @WCasey . To the best of my knowledge, and I am no expert either, once you disable Armor in the app, Armor is NO LONGER active. It still shows on the Web page of your router, ready to be activated again; and that will always be so because ARMOR is now part of your Orbi router software. But as long as Armor is de-activated in the app, it will no longer be in your way. Just want to mention again that I've been running Armor as a standalone (i.e., without Bitdefender Total Security installed on any devices except for one iPod Touch), Armor has been very effective for me in fending off phishing and spam URLs; and I haven't experienced any network performance issues. 

[Southy]

This is NOT a fix. Despite it being toggled to "off" it is very much still on and hobbling my use of sites. It completely blocks the use of the App Store on ipad. I can no longer download any apps without first disconnecting from the Orbi mesh and connecting to a wifi hotspot on my android phone. I will box this damned thing up tomorrow if a fix can't be offered. How can a company be so bloody negligent, shafting its customers with what amounts to little more than malware. Unable to use Tidal on Sonos, hell I'm unable to download any Sonos controller updates which hobbles SonoCo totally! Unable to download any apps on Apple whatsoever, unable to access perfectly safe  and trusted sites unless I switch to a wifi hotspot. Netgear, are you having a laugh? The fact you can't disable it for a month due to the unavoidable and forced 30 day subscription, means I, and everyone else if they've got any sense should return it to the point of sale for a refun, as to wait beyond that is to say goodbye to your statutory rights.

Absolute shame on Netgear. What a joke of a company.

[Orbi-Roc]

Hi again @Southy .

I had many of the issues that you described (e.g., not being able to download any updates from the Apple Store. As soon as I uninstalled BD Total Security from my MacBooks, all my problems on the Mac's were over and done with.

[Southy]

Right, for anyone else suffering the same experiences as me on Orbi have a very simple fix, surprisingly courtesy of Netgear Tech Support. It is actually very simple and fixes all the issues I have described above. It solves a known issue which is a router conflict:

1. Go to Safari on Apple iPad (probably works on Android with other browsers too)

2. Type in "orbilogin.net" (not including inverted commas)

3. When prompted type in username and password which should be "admin" and whatever your password is printed on the plastic slip cover of your router with the QR code, unless of course you've created a new one on initial setup.

4. Having loaded you into orbilogin.net you should then minimise Safari and attempt downloads, updates and access to previously inaccessible trusted sites.

5. Everything then works, your stress levels reduce and you can crack on with your life. 😀

[Jxryan]

Wow, so happy I saw this thread BEFORE I purchased. I’m looking for better speed/coverage than my current mesh system but have no tolerance for “net nanny” like garbage. Current mesh system has worked flawlessly for a couple years now, just trying to get a little more speed. The search continues....

[DexterJB]

Hi @Jxryan, welcome to the community! The Armor feature is completely optional and can be disabled.

Dexter

[DoctorQui]

It is not optional, you can't not install it, you can't remove it, you can "turn it off" but it still does bad things then. That is not what the word "optional" means.

Now if you in fact know how to take this POS off completely, or turn it off completely so it actaully stops working then please post directions. 

Thanks

[Orbi-Roc]

Hi there @DoctorQui . I am no doctor, but I can tell you that once Armor is properly disabled using the Netgear Armor app specific to your mobile device, Armor is NO LONGER functional and will not interfere with anything. I don't know what bad things you're talking about (once Armor is disabled), but if you can give me examples, I'd be glad to help if I can. Because I have no bad things happening on my side and Armor has been disabled for two weeks now.

So yes, indeed Armor is part of Negear and as such, it cannot be deleted from the software; the same as Windows Defender cannot be deleted from Windows. However, a Windows 10 user can indeed choose NOT to use defender and use a different security suite instead. And this is precisely the like options that you have with Netgear Armor: You can use it if you like it; or disable it if you don't. 

I look forward to your next post offering details on the 'bad things' that you've experienced AFTER DISABLING ARMOR.