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Access Control Not Allowing Devices to Talk to Each Other

jimeidopf
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Access Control Not Allowing Devices to Talk to Each Other

My Asus ZenFi Mini (XD4) mesh system allowed me to connect to devices on the local network simply by visiting the IP address of the device I wish to connect to. For example, I am running an application, which is exposed to outside traffic, on 192.168.1.5. I was able to visit that IP from all other devices on my network and reach the web pages the application serves.

 

I had to quickly pick up a Nighthawk MK6W because the Asus router started going bad after some years. However, I could no longer visit 192.168.1.5. I get ERR_ADDRESS_UNREACHABLE. A different forum post suggests turning of Access Control entirely, which indeed was the solution to allowing access to that local IP address again.

 

The strange part is that only Windows devices were cut off from being accessible. The Linux servers on my network did not experience this problem when I visited their IPs.

 

My question (and frustration) is, why did this happen in the first place? With Access Control turned on, and no device blocked on my network (totally fresh setup), I would have expected to be able to visit device IP addresses without an issue. Why do I have to turn Access Control off for this functionality to return?

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Re: Access Control Not Allowing Devices to Talk to Each Other


@jimeidopf wrote:

The strange part is that only Windows devices were cut off from being accessible. The Linux servers on my network did not experience this problem when I visited their IPs.

 


To me that says that the problem lies within Windows. Your router neither knows nor cares about the operating system in attached devices.

 

I am not sure that I follow what you are doing, and where access control comes into the picture, but the first thing that comes to mind when I see Windows mentioned is to check its network settings.

 

What are you doing when you see this message:

 


However, I could no longer visit 192.168.1.5. I get ERR_ADDRESS_UNREACHABLE. A different forum post suggests turning of Access Control entirely, which indeed was the solution to allowing access to that local IP address again.

 

Windows likes to protect us from new networks that might be evil. In  reality, it often shuts us out of safe networks.

 

One thought is that you could tell Windows that you are on a "private network".

 

  • Network and Internet settings
  • Network Status
  • Change Connection Properties
  • Network Profile
  • Private

To clear up possible issues, the usual boilerplate questions.

 

What firmware version do you have on the device?

A number is more useful than "the latest". There may be newer versions, or "hot fixes", that do not show up if you check for new firmware in the browser interface.

If there is one it might also help if you told people the make and model number of the modem/gateway/ONT that sits between this router and the Internet. Is it, by any chance, also a router, with a set of LAN ports on the back?

I ask because a lot of people turn up here trying to put a router behind a modem that is also a router. That can complicate troubleshooting.



I had to quickly pick up a Nighthawk MK6W because the Asus router started going bad after some years.


Don't forget, you can't just unplug one router and drop in a replacement without checking the rest of the network.

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