Re: RBR850 Firmware V4.6.9.11 schedule broken

HomeUserguy · ‎2022-09-19

After upgrading to V4.6.9.11 the schedule I have for blocking site for the kids is off by like 3 hours. I have validated the NTP setting and the date /time.

I have a rule to start at 20:59 (8:59pm) however 6pm the sites are block.

I changed nothing other than upgraded the firmware and appears to be a bug in the schedule software.

FURRYe38 · ‎2022-09-19

What time zone are you in?

Do you have Access Controls enabled or SPC?

Has a factory reset and set up from scratch been performed since last update?

CrimpOn · ‎2022-09-19

@HomeUserguy wrote:

I have a rule to start at 20:59 (8:59pm) however 6pm the sites are blocked.

Frankly amazed that site blocking is working. When I experimented with the feature on the original Orbi, only sites accessed by http connection could be blocked. https sites were not. With 99% of the internet now using https, I founld site blocking to be essentially useless.

Further, my tests showed that the original Orbi required the block period to be within a single day. i.e.

Blocking from 16:00 to 17:00 would work, but
Blocking from 23:00 to 01:00 (or any time the next day) would not.

If the time difference was one hour, I could see Daylight Saving Time being involved. But if the time zone is set correctly and the Orbi displays the correct time, that is definitely something that someone with an 850 should be able to duplicate.

HomeUserguy · ‎2022-09-20

As stated above. the time zone and NTP is correct!

I would have added the graphic but only let me pick one. This was 100% working before the update.

time zone settings picture added.... the time shown in the UI matches the actual time.

Its a bug.....

HomeUserguy · ‎2022-09-20

I know that is tech support 101 to reset things as I have over 20 years of IT and network exp 🙂

lets look at the following.

#1 100% working no issue before upgrade
#2 Firmware upgrade ---> still works but off by 3+ hours

#3 Time zone is set correct

#4 NTP is correct

#5 I am not resetting my router because it cant tell time 😛 and everything else works

#6 -5 eastern

To me there is a bug in the logic that is messing up the time validation (would be my assumption). It most likely is staying in GMT or another time and not honoring the time zone.

again, no issue before the upgrade..... Still works just off by a number of hours.

The problem just related to hours.... everything else works

CrimpOn · ‎2022-09-20

The logic is sound. Certainly appears that Netgear has "disimproved" the firmware, which puts customers in the typical awkward situation:

Go back to the previous firmware version, which implies
giving up any actual improvements in the current firmware and
finding a way to keep Netgear from automatically upgrading the firmware,
or
Find a workaround to get manage the problem until newer firmware fixes the problem.
Perhaps deliberately set the activation time off by three hours?
Remain alert for potential issues, such as the three hour problem varying by day or month, or by time of day.
Check to see what effect new firmware has on the issue.

There are people on the forum who can pass concerns to Netgear support, although nobody on the forum has any direct influence on how Netgear responds to issues. (One might imagine an item appearing on the "List of Tasks" and some engineering manager determining when (or if) it will ever be assigned to someone to check out. Things like (a) how many customers does this affect? (b) isn't our goal to sell subscriptions to Parental Controls? When I compare this with the constant complaints of systems totally rebooting every day or dropping the WiFi signal several times a day...... well.)

If I had an 850, I would be love to replicate the issue.

FURRYe38 · ‎2022-09-20

Can you detail us set by setup process that you use to setup your scheduling configuration please. NG will need this so they can replicate this. Some of us have same series orbi and will help replicate to collect debug logs as well.

Please try a factory reset and setup from scratch on the RBR. Users have seen odd problems appear after a FW update. Factory reset resolved some of these problems.

What was the prior version of FW that it was working on?

Try reverting back to this version of FW.

@HomeUserguy wrote:

lets look at the following.

#1 100% working no issue before upgrade
#2 Firmware upgrade ---> still works but off by 3+ hours

#3 Time zone is set correct

#4 NTP is correct

#5 I am not resetting my router because it cant tell time 😛 and everything else works

#6 -5 eastern

To me there is a bug in the logic that is messing up the time validation (would be my assumption). It most likely is staying in GMT or another time and not honoring the time zone.

again, no issue before the upgrade..... Still works just off by a number of hours.

The problem just related to hours.... everything else works

FarmerBob1 · ‎2022-09-20

I would use the NIST Atomic Clock Servers for your time keeping.

NIST Internet Time Servers

Grab a server out of Boulder. They're even using IPv6. If only we could.

pilot88 · ‎2022-09-22

I am having the same issue. I have a schedule that blocks YouTube from 0200-0700, but I was trying to access it tonight around 2200, but was unsuccessful. I never had an issue with this schedule until now and remembered the recent upgrade to 4.6.9.11. I tried both Netgear NTP and time.nist.gov, with no difference. I will likely perform a factory reset this weekend to rule it out, but glad I am not the only one experiencing this.

FURRYe38 · ‎2022-09-23

How are you setting up Scheduling on your system? Are you using the RBRs web page or Orbi app?

Please give details...

What is the Mfr and model# of the Internet Service Providers modem/ONT the NG router is connected too?

@pilot88 wrote:

I am having the same issue. I have a schedule that blocks YouTube from 0200-0700, but I was trying to access it tonight around 2200, but was unsuccessful. I never had an issue with this schedule until now and remembered the recent upgrade to 4.6.9.11. I tried both Netgear NTP and time.nist.gov, with no difference. I will likely perform a factory reset this weekend to rule it out, but glad I am not the only one experiencing this.

pilot88 · ‎2022-09-23

The system was already set up and working fine, this is not a set up issue; it only stopped working correctly after the recent firmware upgrade. However I was accessing the device with a local browser, not Orbi app.

FURRYe38 · ‎2022-09-23

So how what Scheduling set up on the RBR? Any access controls configured or just the Scheduling feature?

@Blanca_O @KevinLiT

@pilot88 wrote:

The system was already set up and working fine, this is not a set up issue; it only stopped working correctly after the recent firmware upgrade. However I was accessing the device with a local browser, not Orbi app.

pilot88 · ‎2022-09-24

I don't have any access control restrictions configured, just one "Block Sites" set for youtube, PER SCHEDULE, the schedule being every day start blocking 0200 end blocking 0700.

FURRYe38 · ‎2022-09-24

Would you post a picture of that configuration please.

@pilot88 wrote:

I don't have any access control restrictions configured, just one "Block Sites" set for youtube, PER SCHEDULE, the schedule being every day start blocking 0200 end blocking 0700.

FURRYe38 · ‎2022-09-27

@HomeUserguy @pilot88

Passed this on to NG for review.

pilot88 · ‎2022-09-27

Here are some screenshots, I think the schedule is now based off UTC instead of local time. For reference, I am in CST (UTC-5)

Original schedule set to begin blocking at 0100, but youtube.com already not loading at 23:58 CST (04:59 UTC) not 01:00 yet.

I then updated the schedule to begin blocking as of 05:15:

Youtube.com successfully loads at 00:03 CST (05:03 UTC)

The schedule is not using local time as of firmware v4.6.9.11_2.3.5

FURRYe38 · ‎2022-09-28

Thanks for the additional information. Will get this to NG.