Orbi Fire Wall Hard Sell Horror Story from Netgear Suport

[Sug]

Netgear pushing expensive fire wall software, that was told I need to add to my Orbi Router

I called to Netgear tech support regarding a issue,, they logged in to my computer remotely 

After fixing my original issue, they then proceed to show me a screen shot of many unathorized acess's from outside, there must have been over 50 that could get into all my devices, get banking, doc's and ruin my life, credit ect. very hard sell.

He could not remove the unathourized users unless I paid for the fire wall $175 one yr or over $350 for a 3 year plan,

I refused the hard sell, told I need to think about it, I aked about the A Security Netgear Armor  ( setting on the Orbi phone app), he said it not a firewall,  it add only parental controls and othe minor things ect. things, mine shows expired, but can renew your supscription for $69.95, funny thing is parental controls are already free on the app

He said thanks and hung up, no did I help you, no do you have any qusetions just seem he did not get the sell.

What a hard sell.

So does the Orbi come with a free fire wall as note on all my searches saying yes.

So do Orbi owners need the expensive fire wall software plus A secuirty Netgear Armour

both costing over @245.00 a year plus the cost Orbi 3 pack for another $300

Do the math that over $545 to set up the sytem??

[CrimpOn]

Oh, dear. Can you please post the telephone number you called for "Netgear"?

Perhaps I am mistaken, but my understanding is that Netgear deals with networking products, not with PC support.

PC's, Mac's, and Orbi's already come with sophisticated firewalls.

There is a Netgear support group called GearHead, but none of its offerings are $175/1 yr or $350/3 years.

I believe this is similar to Best Buy's "Geek Squad" (I have no personal experience with either.)

I have my pitchfork ready, but before we "storm the Netgear castle", perhaps it would be worth figuring out who these people are.

[DexterJB]

Hi @Sug, welcome to the community and it saddens us to know about your customer experience. However, it may not have been NETGEAR support that you have spoken with. It is best to go through the link below to make sure you are reaching official NETGEAR support.

https://www.netgear.com/home/contact-us/default.aspx

Dexter

[Sug]

Thanks for the info

So does Orbi require addtional fire wall soft ware,or does the one in the app work.

[CrimpOn]

The Orbi router includes a firewall in the sense that it recognizes attempts to do harm and rejects them.  On the Orbi web interface, the Advanced Tab->Administration->Logs provides a record of Orbi's detections.  Almost every modern device, such as PC's, Mac's, etc. include a firewall function.

Netgear offers an additional product, called Armor, which is designed to "do more."  I have not activated Armor myself, and have no first hand knowledge of whether it is "worth it" or not.

[Sug]

Thanks for the reply

I have a problem login in to the Orbi routers setting online, just to be safe as now I'm concerned about none Netgear offical sites.

Can you provided me with the correct site, so I can reset my password.

[CrimpOn]

Which password?  In terms of Netgear's Orbi, I know of three:

The WiFi password.

The Orbi web interface administrative password.

The Netgear product web site, which is used for the Orbi "app".

[Sug]

The Orbi web interface administrative password

Sorry

[CrimpOn]

The Orbi web interface password is changed by connecting to the Orbi with a web browser (which  requires the user ID "admin" and the existing password.  Navigate to the Advanced Tab->Administration->Set Password.  While you are on that page, take a few minutes to set up the password recovery section.  You need to "pull down" each of the choices and select which question you want (even if it is the top one) and fill in a response which you can remember to enter exactly.  Password Recovery does work (I have used it.)

[michaelkenward]

Uh, oh, sounds like another victim of a Google search.

Who did you call? If it was one of those sites found with a web search, then there is a high probability that it has nothing to do with Netgear.

Many of those listing are from third-party sites that pay to appear in the search engines. They then create sites that "borrow" the Netgear logo.

Those sites will also appear if you search for other makes of hardware. Using them can be dangerous.

Netgear itself does not provide paid for support. It farms that out to GearHead Technical Support.

GearHead Support

Netgear's support is limited to 90 days. You get that by registering your device and starting the process on the MyNetgear site.