Admin Login

[PambytheRiver]

Why can't I access Orbi admin app from outside the Orbi network? For example while I am at work I might want to change a setup. Accessing it via your phone off network seems like a pretty basic thing to expect.

[jerryschwartz]

I enabled remote access out of curiosity and to answer this question, and I cannot seem to disable it. Beware!

You can enable remote admin access, but it is a security risk. Not only you, but everybody in the world, could have a go at it. Sure, you have a password; but how secure is it, and how much do you trust Netgear (or any other vendor) to be completely hack proof? I leave mine closed off. I can think of very few reasons why I'd want to get at it remotely, and none of them are worth the risk.

The Netgear Genie app does let you remotely control some features of your router. Here are the steps (roughly):

1. Create a Netgear account, and make sure your Orbi is registered and shows under your list of devices.
2. Log into your router's admin interface from your local network.
3. Select the Advanced tab.
4. Click on Advanced Setup.
5. Click on Remote Management
6. There is a checkbox to turn remote management on and off. Turn it on.
7. Further down, there is a section titled Allow Remote Management By:
8. Choose the option for Everybody. At this point, your blood should run cold and you should click the Cancel button.
9. If you want to continue, follow the rest of these steps.
10. Install the Netgear Genie app and run it, if you haven't already done so
11. Somewhere along the line, you either will be or have already been asked to log into your Netgear account from the Genie app. I can't guide you here, because having once logged in I can't see how to log out and start over.
12. At the top of the screen, where it says NETGEAR, there's a little arrow on the right. Click on that.
13. If you are on your network, you'll see your Orbi (and perhaps other routers, if you have any). If you are not on your network, you'll see a generic picture of a router.
14. If you see your Orbi, meaning you are on your local network, and all is set up properly, there will be a little blue arrow next to it. Click on that.
15. You should see two Orbis: one is for local management, the other is for remote management. Pick one and skip to step 18. If you see the generic router, continue with step 17.
16. [Although there is an icon labeled Remote Access, ignore it for now. It doesn't do quite what you'd think. In fact, I'm not sure what it does. (I've gotten rather twisted up at this point, partly because various other apps keep turning WiFi on and off.)]
17. At the bottom of the screen it should say LOGIN TO MANAGE. Click on that.
18. You'll be brought to a login screen. Choose the remote tab.
19. You should see a list of your Netgear routers. Pick the one you want to manage remotely.
20. Log in with the admin password.
21. Get back to the main screen.
22. Click on the Network Map icon. If all went well, you'll see a diagram of your network with your phone connected to the globe. If your phone is still connected to your router, it didn't work.

I found this whole thing finicky. I had to do several laps before I had a good feel for how to do it.

You should also be able to control your router remotely with a browser. I could not get that to work.

If the thought of leaving your router open to everyone in the world bothers you, and it should, and you have access to a device with a fixed IP address, you can tighten things up considerably by restricting remote access to specific IP addresses.