Orbi WiFi 7 RBE973
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Re: How do I remove this garbage from my router?

Christian_R
NETGEAR Employee Retired

Re: How do I remove this garbage from my router?

Hi msc2870, 

 

You may disable Armor using the Nighthawk or Orbi app.

 

https://kb.netgear.com/000060900/How-do-I-turn-NETGEAR-Armor-on-or-off-using-the-Nighthawk-or-Orbi-a...

 

Christian 

Message 51 of 85
LBP
Aspirant
Aspirant

Re: How do I remove this garbage from my router?

I've recently started using this device and its worked wonders for coverage around the house 

but the Armor Security has like many others explained has prevented me access into secure websites i normally use.

I cant even install any updates on my PC games because of it due to CDC configuration error. 

 

I noticed my trial is still on going and it ends in a few days, if i disable it then would it make a difference?

Im a bit skeptical because i've tried disabling the security measure and i still get the same issues so i dont think waiting for the trial to expire will make any difference, i cant access certain websites or update any of my PC games.

 

Can anyone please help me with this issues otherwise i may be forced to return this product.

 

@Orbi-Roc 

 

 

Model: RBR20|Orbi AC2200 Tri-band WiFi Router
Message 52 of 85
Orbi-Roc
Luminary

Re: How do I remove this garbage from my router?

Hi @LBP ,

 

When we activate Armor Security, we're subsequently invited to install Bitdefende Security on all  compatible connected devices; but that's an option not a must. Armor Security, when installed on your Netgear router, protects all compatible devices connected to your network, as long as the said devices remain connected to your network. But if some of these devices are used outside your Armor-protected network, then Netgear recommends installing BD Security on all such devices to maintain the same level of protection.

 

I suspect that the issues you're having in accessing certain web sites are tied to Bitdefender Security as opposed to Armor per se; and as such, your best bet would be to deal with the  Bitdefender Support Team to try to resolve this. I've dealt with them many times over the last ten months; and from my experience, I can tell you that they are very responsive, with timely and professional reponses every time.

 

Good luck!

Model: RBR50|Orbi AC3000 Tri-band WiFi Router
Message 53 of 85
romkallo
Aspirant

Re: How do I remove this garbage from my router?

I enabled armor trial and now I am not able to access to my router neither from Nighthawk app or routerlogin.net  Router is however working and there is internet access. App is not finding the router and if I try Anywhere access, it says my router is disconnected. Tried with different devices, nighthawk app, Orbi app. Really need to disable this Armor/Orbi/Bitdefender and go back to previous settings.

Model: RAX80|Nighthawk AX8 8-Stream WiFi Router
Message 54 of 85
Christian_R
NETGEAR Employee Retired

Re: How do I remove this garbage from my router?

Hi romkallo,

 

May you reinstall the Nighthawk app and power cycle your router.

 

Christian 

Message 55 of 85
LC12
Aspirant

Re: How do I remove this garbage from my router?

Netgear Armor essentially blocked every access to my mobile internet. When I turned off the "Enable NETGEAR Armor" in the Orbi app settings, the internet now works when I'm in range of the primary router. When I go near the satellite, my internet shuts down again (as well as access to text messaging of any kind) and I cannot find a workaround so my satellite at this point (and essentially the network) is useless for mobile. Any advice?  I'm using an iPhone 7 Plus with IOS 13.6.1.

Message 56 of 85
Christian_R
NETGEAR Employee Retired

Re: How do I remove this garbage from my router?

LC12, 

 

You may try factory resetting your Orbi units and running through the setup assistant again using the Orbi app.

 

Christian 

Message 57 of 85
Bw87
Aspirant

Re: How do I remove this garbage from my router?

@dexter youre lying. It is not optional, nor can it be easily removed. Its blocking my 6 yr old from watching disney+ as I type this.
Model: R7900|Nighthawk X6 AC3000 Tri-Band WiFi Router
Message 58 of 85
Stressed_Suzy
Aspirant

Re: How do I remove this garbage from my router?

Be careful when I tried to remove mine it the app took admin rights over my android phone.

Message 59 of 85
ErnestTheGreat
NETGEAR Employee Retired

Re: How do I remove this garbage from my router?

@Bw87 

I have Disney+ subscription and I have a RBR850 that has Netgear Armor on it and I can tell you that Netgear Armor does not block Disney+ so something else is causing your Disney+ to get blocked. I have also tested this on Nighthawk Models that support Netgear Armor as well as RBR50, RBR50v2 and none of them had issues running Disney+. Netgear Armor will only block access when it's running and there is an active subscription but it only blocks URLs that are known to have malware and other issues that would compromise your security. Bitdefender has a cloud service that checks for URLs that have been blacklisted and blocks access or if it detects that a website is trying to install malware on your device.  I can assure you that Disney+, Netflix, and other major streaming services are not on any blacklist that would cause Netgear Armor to block them.

 

Also, there is a couple of ways to disable Netgear Armor, you can use the Orbi/NH app and under Security, options disable Armor there is a KB https://kb.netgear.com/000060900/How-do-I-turn-NETGEAR-Armor-on-or-off-using-the-Nighthawk-or-Orbi-a... that shows you how to do this. The other ways of disabling it include resetting your device to factory settings or letting the Netgear Armor 30-day trial expire. All these methods will disable Netgear Armor on your device. Accusing moderators of lying is not a way to disable Armor.

Message 60 of 85
macphreak
Guide

Re: How do I remove this garbage from my router?

This is happening again on my router (cannot login to Xfinity and cannot view the app through the wifi router at all). Not sure what is going on as it was working just fine before. I haven't applied any updated or done anything differently. It just stops working on its own.

Message 61 of 85
Windwalker76
Aspirant

Re: How do I remove this garbage from my router?

Yeah, I try to toggle it off, and it tries for 60 seconds then gives up.

"Process is taking too long (more than 60 secs), Try again!!"

 

Gotta love the extra garbage they put on these things just for a desperate upsell...

Model: RS400|Nigthhawk AC2300 Cybersecurity WiFi Router
Message 62 of 85
CaptHindsight
Aspirant

Re: How do I remove this garbage from my router?

Despite having the capability of turning off this service in the app or, what is working for me me for now, turning it off in the administrative panel at 192.168.1.1>Advanced>Security>Netgear Armor, having this trash self-install and propagate through my network conveys a total lack of respect from Netgear. This service could be compared to Apple’s claims that their devices are unhackable. Sure, if you close every port, disable every URL and extension, unplug all of your network gear, hit your devices with a sledge hammer, and then toss all of the remnants into an incinerator... you probably won’t have any problems with malware or phishing... no $#!+

Do yourself a favor and select “No thanks... and never show me this again” as soon as you plug in your new network device. But defender can suck it.
Model: R7000P|Nighthawk AC2300 Smart WiFi Dual Band Gigabit Router
Message 63 of 85
boomboombang
Tutor

Re: How do I remove this garbage from my router?

I can confirm all the findings everyone mentioned here but have fixed it before returning my RBK753S to Costco. Disabling armor does not work. Customer support from Netgear and Bitdefender tried to disable/deactivate armor does not solve the issue either. I can't confirm this but factory reset through reset button in the back doesn't seem to work either.

Here are the things I did that I'm not even sure which step really solve the issue with websites being blocked. Make sure your satellites are off. Isolate the modem and main router unit by powering off both for a few minutes and power cycle and reconnect router to modem. Do a factory reset of the router through the back button. (Step A) Once it's back, do manual set up (not through app), setup the router normally and choose the armor pop-up to not remind you again. See if websites still get blocked. If they are , this step maybe the key to fixing it: I did a second factory reset in the router configuration page and repeat Step A. If after the setup is done with internet connection, issues were solved here for me as I started testing websites. Once it works, reset each satellite and add them to your router. I notice a couple times the model # (gray out part) of the satellite get blanked out when I try to rename the satellite. If it does, reset the satellite again until you see the model #. Good luck
Message 64 of 85
dagu599
Aspirant

Re: How do I remove this garbage from my router?

Kind of unrelated, but I think it needs to be said:

 

I'm seeing a lot of Netgear Armor hate on here and maybe it's warranted.

 

But in my opinion, you're not seeing the full picture.

 

Sure, maybe Armor itself is horrible. I haven't run into any issues with it yet.

 

However, the important thing to note is that for $70 per year, you also get to install the accompanying BitDefender Total Security on UNLIMITED DEVICES!

If you purchase BitDefender Total Security directly from BitDefender, you only get 5 devices for that price... and that's just the first year. The second year they're going to charge you a renewal rate of $120 or something like that.

 

I may be getting rid of my R7000 sooner than later, but as long as they let me keep renewing, I'm keeping Netgear Armor simply for the discoutned BitDefender subscription.

Model: R7000|AC1900 Smart WIFI Router
Message 65 of 85
ErnestTheGreat
NETGEAR Employee Retired

Re: How do I remove this garbage from my router?

@dagu599I agree with you the Armor feature is great value for the money when you compare it with the price you pay for BitDefender Total Intenet Security from the BD website or BestBuy.

 

I would also like to address some of the hate here and blame on Netgear Armor hopefully my explanation will help those users having issues with Armor. Netgear Armor just like any other internet security software out there block threats and websites based on definitions and known blacklists some from the public domain some from proprietory blacklists that Bitdefender has. So there is no way that Armor would block all of the traffic to the internet otherwise what would be the point of having it installed if you cannot browse anything.

 

Let's address reasons why the disable option may not work or why the traffic to all sites may be blocked.

  • Netgear Armor enables/disable status depends on Netgear cloud and BD cloud infrastructure that how the status of Armor is detected, both of these clouds use the Netgear SSO to login into the systems and link Armor to your Netgear SSO account/SN of product.
  • The Netgear SSO uses a token like any other system that requires authentication and sometimes the token does not expire correctly or gets stuck so when you try to disable Armor you use the option in the NH or Orbi app and toggle it off but becue the sso token did not expire correctly or got stuck the disabling does not take effect.
  • This is not a bug in the system it's just the nature of the system and token issues that may arise from internet connectivity issues, etc. that arise when things freeze up, etc.
  • Rebooting or logging out of your NH or Orbi app and logging back in fixes that issue.

For cases where Internet traffic seems to be blocked keep in mind the following:

  • Netgear Armor feature is installed on Netgear devices and that requires space and when Armor processes run they all require memory to operate.
  • Routers are limited in their capacity when it comes to memory both system and ram. It's not a PC so you won't find a router that has 64GB of ram or something crazy like that, it's limited usually to 4GB or less in most cases and system memory/space is limited even more.
  • Sometimes the issue of the internet traffic not going through could be related to the memory usage of the device especially in cases where you may have a device that is packed with tons of features like the R7000, RBR20, etc and not much system/RAM. I have been using Armor on the RBK50 Orbi system and RBK852 since it came out and never had any issues with it blocking internet traffic.
  • Other reasons that the internet traffic may not work could be related to the websites you are visiting especially if the browser is using extensions that behave in a questionable way or websites that run active x and other applets and things in the background. If these are flagged by Armor the page may not load at all or it will partially load. If there is a site you trust that should not be blocked you can white list that site on your device using NH or Orbi app.
  • Other problems could be related to the DNS issues to other internet problems you’re your router or isp modem/gateway.

 

So for anyone out there thinking that Armor is garbage and blame all problems on it please consider the above info and do some investigation as to what is the root cause of your problem. If you discover odd behavior or a bug or issues on your device please report it to Netgear support. Venting on community and keeping issues to yourself will not improve the feature or help fix the problem you are facing if Netgear support or engineering is not aware of the problem. Based on my experience with Armor 99% of the time issues such as all internet traffic being blocked are not related to Armor but some other underlying issue.

Message 66 of 85
boomboombang
Tutor

Re: How do I remove this garbage from my router?

I understand your side of explanation on Netgear Armor. However, to deploy this kind of feature on their own hardware products(Orbi) that cause a lot of problems on end users is not acceptable, specifically on the testing/quality assurance. We're talking about well-known websites getting blocked. The issue is not well-supported by Netgear's support team themselves, which is why so many end users are frustrated. You cannot expect every end user to have an engineering/troubleshooting mind either. I think the main issue is something related to memory corruption that requires some certain of steps to clear it out.

Message 67 of 85
mikew1368
Guide

Re: How do I remove this garbage from my router?

Somehow my Nighthawk phone app installed some bitfender Armor security software on my router.  It shows up as "enabled" when I log into my router directly from my computer, but there is no was to disable/remove it.

 

It says it's a 30 day trial.  I don't want it, and I never wanted it.

i removed the Nighthawk app from my phone, but do I really need to do a factory reset to get rid of this Armor software completely?

 

What a sleazy company!

Model: A7000|Nighthawk AC1900 WiFi USB Adapter - USB 3.0
Message 68 of 85
boomboombang
Tutor

Re: How do I remove this garbage from my router?

Please see my comments on my own solution (message 64)
Message 69 of 85
mikew1368
Guide

Re: How do I remove this garbage from my router?

I log into my netfear router and Armor show enabled.  toggling the security button does nothing.  

So, to turn it off (apparently it can't be uninstalled), I need to download some Armor app?

 

This is invasive and nuts.  My Nighthawk phone app says the trial period for Armor will end in a few weeks.  I uninstalled the Nighthawk app from my phone and don't want to be hassled by Armor wanting me to pay for something I never ordered.

 

 

Model: A7000|Nighthawk AC1900 WiFi USB Adapter - USB 3.0
Message 70 of 85
mikew1368
Guide

Re: How do I remove this garbage from my router?

I have the exact same problem.  

Having to do a factory reset of my router because of some sleazy ploy Netgear did to get unwanted software installed is not good.

 

  

 

Model: A7000|Nighthawk AC1900 WiFi USB Adapter - USB 3.0
Message 71 of 85
mikew1368
Guide

Re: How do I remove this garbage from my router?

Thank you!  That works.

Strange I couldn't toggle it off by directly connecting to my router from a computer.

Also strange that the software can't be uninstalled unless I go back to older firmware.

Model: A7000|Nighthawk AC1900 WiFi USB Adapter - USB 3.0
Message 72 of 85
mark2870
Initiate

Re: How do I remove this garbage from my router?

It's ridiculous to expect users to perform troubleshooting of a problem caused by software embedded in the product. I don't have time for this non-sense. The router will go into the garbage and I will buy a different brand. I don't care what I have to pay to get a good router without problems (but it won't be a Netgear product!). I just want the damn thing to work.

Model: A7000|Nighthawk AC1900 WiFi USB Adapter - USB 3.0
Message 73 of 85
Killhippie
Prodigy

Re: How do I remove this garbage from my router?

Dont blame Netegar for user error here. If you set the router up via the web GUI you can stop Armor ever installing by simply clicking on the preference when the pop up comes and thats it. The app says it will install Armor if you read the infoprmation first ive never used the app as I have no need for it, but I'm sure the appn gives you an option to not install it, for whatever reason you need an app for a router that should be set and forget.

 So try just setting the router up without using a app, doing a factory reset after updating firmware to get rid of issues that can occur after updating, yes even Merlin who makes the Asus fork reccomends this once in a while and heres the link to prove it  https://www.snbforums.com/threads/factory-reset-merlin-firmware-help-please.64185/

Dont restore after a firmware update from a older image set up manually otherwise it can cause issues (on many routers) Armor has never been activated on my RAX120 and I'm fine with that but it asks you if you want it, no way does it does not sneak on board, so try to RTFM before proceeding, it's not that hard.

Message 74 of 85
mikew1368
Guide

Re: How do I remove this garbage from my router?

" ive never used the app as I have no need for it, but I'm sure the appn gives you an option to not install it,..."

 

How can you be sure if you never used the app?

 

It did not give me an option to "not install it."  The only way I found out the software was installed was after troubleshooting a significant slowdown in internet speed.

 

Also, it should certainly be able to turn off when using a web GUI to control my router.

 

Anyhow, the problem has been resolved. 

Model: A7000|Nighthawk AC1900 WiFi USB Adapter - USB 3.0
Message 75 of 85
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