How do I turn off Armor/Bitdefender on my Orbi Router

[Christian_R]

Hi jjvoliver, 

Thanks for getting back. I'd like for our support team to reach out for further assistance. Please send me a private message with your contact info. 

Thank you,

Christian 

[pizza_pablo]

I think I got it!
I reset the router and satellites. I uninstalled the Orbi Android app.
During setup, I used a different email address. This resulted in the inability to register the modem, because the "serial number was used on another account", but it's not like I'm losing anything at this point.
This new account allowed me to ignore Armor.
The last time I reset everything, I used the original email address on setup and that automatically left Armor installed / turned on, whatever.
It's been almost a week. So far, so good.

[dk10438]

I'm having the same prbolem.  I accidentally activeate netarmor and I am unable to deactivate it.  Any update on how to get rid of this malware??

[dk10438]

finally got rid of the malware....

hard reset and then setup the orbi using the laptop and going to orbilogin.net

haven't linked it to my account or with my phone for fear that it would re enable.

Netgear please get rid of this crap

[jjvoliver]

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@dk10438 wrote:

finally got rid of the malware....

hard reset and then setup the orbi using the laptop and going to orbilogin.net

haven't linked it to my account or with my phone for fear that it would re enable.

Netgear please get rid of this crap

---

Yeah, apparently the only way to disable it is by hard reset and not readding your account.

I received this from Netgear:

Update from NETGEAR

Hi Jose,

1. Login to orbilogin.net
2. Back up the settings (Go to Advanced>Administration>Back up Settings> Back up)
3. Uninstall and re-install the Orbi App
4. Factory reset the orbi router (https://kb.netgear.com/31486/How-do-I-reset-my-Orbi-system-to-factory-default-settings)
5. Once router is boot up, Login to the web interface and restore the settings
6. After settings are restored, Login to the Orbi App and disable the Armor/Security.

Regards,

Angel
NETGEAR Support

And as soon as I readded my account Armor was instantly re-enabled. Tried again to disable it as they said, and again got the "Time Out" error.

There seems to be no way to resolve it until Netgear's tech team decides it's bad enough that it needs to be fixed.

[jjvoliver]

---

@Christian_R wrote:

Hi jjvoliver, 

Thanks for getting back. I'd like for our support team to reach out for further assistance. Please send me a private message with your contact info. 

Thank you,

Christian 

---

Thanks a lot for escallating man. It led to nothing other than 30 minutes without WiFi in my house, but I do appreciate that you took the trouble to attempt to resolve my issue.

[jjvoliver]

OK, quick update:

I decided to call Bitdefender again with the same case number, and they asked me to get the router ID number that shows in my armor.netgear.com page, and after they took the number they said they would pass it on to the techs to manually remove my router from the account.

Here's hoping this resolves the issue.

On a side note, I've been using Bitdefender for over 8 years now, and not a single complain from me, except for Armor (which seems more and more like a Netgear issue more than a Bitdefender one), and the fact that their SPAM protection interface is not really firendly, but works like a charm.

I'll update this again once they have removed my router from the armor account (who would have thought that Bitdefender can do this for a Netgear device, but Netgear doesn't seem to be able/willing to).

[jjvoliver]

Well, this is the end of this issue for me.

Bitdefender came through with their offer to help.

Last nnight I started noticing my devices had stopped having jaggy connections, and every device in my home was working perfectly.

I checked in the web based UI of my Orbi, and sure enough, Armor was disabled, and I didn't have to do it myself:

Then I woke up to this email from Bitdefender:

So, Bitdefender made it happen, where Netgear couldn't/wouldn't disable a piece of software in a device manufactured and programed by them.

I'm out of the boonies now, and I hope this information helps the rest of you guys still living this nightmare.

[superswimmermom]

No matter how many times I turn off armor in settings/security, it is still activated. I do not want this trial subscription and I hate this orbi router. Customer support is abysmal and the product came without instruction manual. Told me to log into their website. Without internet I could not do so.

[superswimmermom]

Trial subscription to armor bitdefender is totally screwing up everything connecting to router. I toggle it off in settings but it remains activated. I hate this router and NETGEAR as a company. Customer support is abysmal.

[superswimmermom]

Did that but it is still activated

[Christian_R]

Hi supersimmermom,

Please send me a private message with your email address and case number(s). I can see if support can follow up on your case and have it escalated.

Thanks,

Christian 

[NGC_User]

My Netgear Armor trial will be ending soon. Reading these posts gives me an erie feeling that I may experience issues with canceling too but will cross my fingers.

I had a hard time setting up my Orbi initially too which makes sense now reading through this thread and seeing how utilizing the Router's thin web client for administration is different than from using the mobile app. Something good to note and keep an eye out for when it is time to disable my Netgear Armor trial.

To Netgear's defense, Armor it is not malware since the underlying service/technology being offered is by Bitdefender which many members have attested to Bitdefender as a reputable anti-virus/anti-malware platform. In addition, since CES 2018, Netgear is just trying to be competitive to increase their security offerings and keep up with other manufacturers that are introducing a Cloud Network Security software built-in with their devices. D-LINK started before Netgear did with Armor [LINK].

What Netgear does need to improve on is possibly the back-end server support. I presume Netgear servers need to speak with Bitdefender servers to enable and disable cloud security licenses. Hence, Bitdefender support is able to turn off/disable Netgear Armor if a user contacts them directly because they utimately own the licensing keys and servers that is conducting the live network scans, etc.

[Tom4278]

As many others have said, including me, turning off Armor, does NOT remove the website BLOCKING   issue. It obviously should, but for some unexplained reason (other than yearly re-occurring revenue to  Netgear) they have chosen to force this malware on their unsuspecting customers. As others have said, I also will NEVER be a Netgear customer again‼️

[ColoradoBound]

This action simply redirects to Internet web page.....no application controls available.

[jjvoliver]

---

@NGC_User wrote:

My Netgear Armor trial will be ending soon. Reading these posts gives me an erie feeling that I may experience issues with canceling too but will cross my fingers.

I had a hard time setting up my Orbi initially too which makes sense now reading through this thread and seeing how utilizing the Router's thin web client for administration is different than from using the mobile app. Something good to note and keep an eye out for when it is time to disable my Netgear Armor trial.

To Netgear's defense, Armor it is not malware since the underlying service/technology being offered is by Bitdefender which many members have attested to Bitdefender as a reputable anti-virus/anti-malware platform. In addition, since CES 2018, Netgear is just trying to be competitive to increase their security offerings and keep up with other manufacturers that are introducing a Cloud Network Security software built-in with their devices. D-LINK started before Netgear did with Armor [LINK].

What Netgear does need to improve on is possibly the back-end server support. I presume Netgear servers need to speak with Bitdefender servers to enable and disable cloud security licenses. Hence, Bitdefender support is able to turn off/disable Netgear Armor if a user contacts them directly because they utimately own the licensing keys and servers that is conducting the live network scans, etc.

---

While I do agree that this is not malware, and that Bitdefender the best all-around offer when it comes to digital security, it is also true that this Armor service has, evdently, never left the beta stage. 

I thought it was a great idea when it first came out (having my mesh system integrated with my go-to digital security suite), but it turned out to be over a year of constant issues and to top it up, Netgear pointing fingers at the users instead of owniing it, apologizing, fixing and moving on.

That is my main issue, a dishonest company that preys on it's customer base.

What this means is that, as wireless technology keeps evolving (WiFi 6 and on), as a customer I have no reson to trust this company with my infrastructure, much less with the transport and security of my data, simply because they are, as I mentioned, dishonest in the way they profit.

Now, are other companies different? I'm sure there is at least one out there that is. But what is certain is that Netgear is not the one that handles itself with honesty and transparecy with the people that pays their bills.

[Christian_R]

Hello Tom4278 & ColoradoBound,

May you confirm that Armor is disabled when looking at the Security Tile of the Nighthawk or Orbi app.

Thanks,

Christian 

[StanSpotts]

I hope it's not an indication of lack of support that I can't set my router model from the drop-down for these messages. RAX50 | AX5400 | Nighthawk AX6. And why can't these things have one single model so they're not confusing?

Anyway, same issue as a lot of people are having. Stupidly set the switch in the iOS Nighthawk app to enable Armor, and not cannot disable it. I get the same error message about it taking too long (over 60 secs) and to try again. Reinstalled the app. Nope. Reset the router. Nope. Why woud you let junior programmers operating out of mud huts in the back country in Australia write your code? This is crap.  How do I disable this junk? My phones get network access but no internet now, the PS4's lag like hell, the XBox One loses connection several times a day. Only the Windows 10 boxes seem to be stable.  All since enabling Armor.

Also, WTF is there something that can only be configured from an app that requires working wifi that is NOT also configurable from the router management page (routerlogin.net) with a wired connection? Someone had a bad case of neural flatulance with that design.

I WANT IT GONE. I DON"T WANT ANY PART OF IT AFFECTING MY NETWORK ANY MORE.

[Christian_R]

Hi StanSpotts, 

May you power cycle your router and refer to the article below.

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

Christian 

[dbird]

Have a RAX45. Having the same issue. When I follow the procedure to turn off the Armor, the app spins for 60 seconds, then times out with no result. Been doing this for an hour, still no joy.

[StanSpotts]

I still had time, so I sent mine back and got a new one and didn't install Armor. Runs a LOT better now. Never again...

[Gilligan83]

Your my hero.