Vodafone Gigabox router parental control time rule not working

ballybro

Switched over from Eir 150mb to Vodafone 150mb 2 weeks ago and while the broadband speed is fine I am having an issue with the gigabox router where the parental controls seem to be working in reverse.
So if I set up a new time rule to only allow one of the kids phones eg Samsung A20 to get internet/wifi every day between 14:00 and 16:00 and save and apply the rule what actually happens is the phone will be allowed connect and then come 14:00 is gets blocked till 16:00 and can then reconnect .
Contacted Vodafone and they didn't seem to know much about it ,did a router reboot and tried a few tests and when the device should be allowed to connect via the rule its blocked and when it should not be allowed to connect it can.
So Vodafone replaced the router today but same issue on the new one .Spent about 50 mins on phone to some tech support lad to tried to fix it but couldn't. So restricting access thru the time rules wont work as I said when it should be allowed its blocked .He said he would log it with their internal IT dept but not sure if it has ever worked for anyone of if they can get it working.The parental controls on the portal was one of the selling features I liked .Has anyone else had this issue or been able to resolve it.

LottieGalway

hi
i also tried out this function but it doesn't work at all for me. (how are you getting it to work in reverse, if it works in reverse then surely you can control on/off times just need to chagne the times around). I tried saving the time rules and turning on/off router to see if that would implement the changes applied but it made no difference.

Do you know you can block wifi devices via the gigabox app, however in my case some gaming devices have an ethernet connection so its not a solution for me.
Very disappointing the parental time control isn't working.

ScottyMc

Hi
Can ethernet connections be controlled by parental settings

ScottyMc

Hi
Can ethernet connections be controlled by parental settings

tecdec

Also tried this parental controls Time Rules feature- just seems to block the device (tv,smartphone,ipad) completely.
its a Dud.

Tabby McTat

The Gigabox router is a disaster it seems. I've never tried the parental controls but my overall experience was that it was very temperamental at best.

m8

Any update on this as I have the same issue, I would have not gone with Vodafone if I knew this as its one of the features that is good for ending internet time for kids without and probs if you know what I mean?

m8

Just tested and by setting individual days from 15:00 to 20:00 to allow access it blocks access for that time and allows @20:01. It does seem to work backward and block what you allow and allow. It's going to be hard to set this up in reverse. hope they bring out a firmware to resolve this.

wally79

m8 wrote: »

Just tested and by setting individual days from 15:00 to 20:00 to allow access it blocks access for that time and allows @20:01. It does seem to work backward and block what you allow and allow. It's going to be hard to set this up in reverse. hope they bring out a firmware to resolve this.

If it reverses then Couldn’t you just set it to allow access from 8pm to 3pm?

m8

wally79 wrote: »

If it reverses then Couldn’t you just set it to allow access from 8pm to 3pm?

I know what you mean but it's not the only thing that works backwards on this router, it needs a firmware update to sort it so I am hoping VF will have one for it.

Can't set local DNS either as I use a DNS sinkhole to avoid stupid ad's.

m8

VF reply, we can't turn parental controls on and off...LOL

I asked them for a firmware update to fix issues with this router not to setup controls.

barryshock

Also having serious issues with the parental controls on this machine, I might try the reverse thing as mentioned above. Fix this vodafone!! I also found blocking the URL'a extremely buggy.

barryshock

I tested trying to do it backwards as described above and can confirm that the parental controls on this box are pure junk.

As soon as you register a phone for automatic on/off times for wifi , the phone just get completely blocked and can never connect again until you do a full factory reset of the box. Useless, completely useless.

Maddzy

Anyone had any luck with using this?

For me I can set a time for when i want WiFi to turn off for the kid's ipad
And that works fine - At 10pm it knocks off.
The problem is when it turns back on. I have it set for 3pm for after school. But it seems to allow access back to the WiFi only some of the time. Some days 3p[m rolls around and yep, ipad is back on the wifi. Other days, nope it stays knocked off and I have go to in to the parental controls settings on the gigabox, delete the time slot for that day, save it, apply the setting - And then the ipad gets access back. Then of course, I have to go back in and re-add the time slot for that day. It's becoming and pain.

Maybe it is something a firmware update might fix. I'm on version XS_3.5.00.09 according to the router settings.

m8

yes it's very poor tbh, some times I find it works and other times it does the exact opposite. At this stage as the Parental Controls are so important with kids I think I will need to change the router but problem is I have phone on it.

Could anyone recommend a router that will work with the phone also and have good parental controls?

Don't want to end up with multi devices to do a simple job tbh.

whiterebel

I found that it worked in reverse as well. Then I blocked the MAC address com[pletely when it didn't seem to be working as per the times in Parental controls. As soon as I switched access back on to the one MAC, everything else went and that one had access. Tried resetting it about 20 times and it won't recognise password. VF have credited me €25 and are escalating it to send someone out with a new modem ny the looks of it. Should have a call back later today.

m8

whiterebel wrote: »

I found that it worked in reverse as well. Then I blocked the MAC address com[pletely when it didn't seem to be working as per the times in Parental controls. As soon as I switched access back on to the one MAC, everything else went and that one had access. Tried resetting it about 20 times and it won't recognise password. VF have credited me €25 and are escalating it to send someone out with a new modem ny the looks of it. Should have a call back later today.

Not sure why but sometimes after I try change something then it works that way it should and with no idea why it reverses again. This thing is very buggy if you set anything other than default settings.

whiterebel

Called VF to check and see if they were sending out a new modem. They told me it had been cancelled as there was no reason for it. They guy in Tech support went into the modem itself and eventually reset it that way to factory settings. Doing the reset using the reset button didn't work. He could see my last password I had used for the WiFi, but I couldn't get in. Once he reset it totally and put it back to default settings its working again. Looks like Parental control can jam the whole thing up and lock everyone out.

Infini

If you want my honest opinion your better off NOT using any ISP supplied router for anything other than a modem. Better to buy your own network router as they usually get better support than an IDP one and if you change ISP you dont have to change anything network wise

Flinty997

I tried a lot of these parental controls on routers and thought they were all brutal. The only one I found to work reliably and easy to use is the standalone circle router. I have it in front of my ISP router.

There are some downsides. Another box, expensive, it uses the cloud etc. Wifi only etc.

m8

whiterebel wrote: »

Called VF to check and see if they were sending out a new modem. They told me it had been cancelled as there was no reason for it. They guy in Tech support went into the modem itself and eventually reset it that way to factory settings. Doing the reset using the reset button didn't work. He could see my last password I had used for the WiFi, but I couldn't get in. Once he reset it totally and put it back to default settings its working again. Looks like Parental control can jam the whole thing up and lock everyone out.

Yes i think your correct as I have no issues if I leave the factory default settings but surely this could be sorted with a firmware update. I's just not good enough that you need to buy a second device to have working parental controls these days. :mad: