Block Internet not working!

[TinyBubu]

Hi all,

I'm wanting to block internet access overnight for all my kid's devices.

Works fine and as expected for all devices except my son's Google Home. Even if blocked, I've just discovered that he can still use it to watch YouTube videos etc!

Any idea why this particular device is still able to access the internet even when blocked and also how to fix this apparent glitch?

 

 

 

 

[Netduma Fraser]

Could you provide a screenshot of how you have setup your rules currently to block devices? Then we can advise from there

[TinyBubu]

Hi Fraser. Thanks for your reply.

Nothing that elaborate... I'm simply selecting the "BLOCK INTERNET" button in the app.

As previously explained, it works fine for every other device, just not my son's Google Home.

[Netduma Fraser]

6 hours ago, TinyBubu said:

Hi Fraser. Thanks for your reply.

Nothing that elaborate... I'm simply selecting the "BLOCK INTERNET" button in the app.

As previously explained, it works fine for every other device, just not my son's Google Home.

By the looks of it, the Google Home has a network feature called Random/Private MAC addresses enabled, I haven't got/used a Google Home so I can't say for certain but this may be something you can disable in the app for it. Essentially what it does is as you can see there, sets a new MAC address for the device everytime it connects to the router. A MAC address is a unique device identifier, essentially showing as a new device when connecting to the router so in theory he could just be unplugging it and replugging it in and then it will allow him to bypass the block.

A couple of potential solutions:

1. Disable Random/Private MAC addresses on the Google Home app - if he has access to the app and knows about this he could just re-enable it
2. Set a static/reserved IP address for the Google Home device - verify the internet works outside your block - then disable DHCP on the modem - this would require you to set a static/reserved IP for every device connected to the modem otherwise they would not be able to connect with DHCP disabled. If any of those devices have the MAC address enabled then they may not be able to connect when this changes. Any new devices you want to connect to the network would have to be given a static/reserved IP on the device itself to connect, you can then mirror that on the modem.
3. Your rule there is showing it as purely connecting to 5GHz, similar to what I've mentioned when connected to 2.4GHz the device will have a different MAC address so he could be connecting it to 2.4GHz when the rule shuts it off for 5GHz. Identify the device that appears/uses traffic at the time using 2.4GHz and block that as well. Combining the WiFi into one may also be a good idea.
4. If all else fails then probably the simplest and guaranteed way to prevent him using any tech savvyness to counteract what you do - remove the device from his room every night

[TinyBubu]

Hi Fraser. I understand your logic but unfortunately don't think it is correct hypothesis.

 

Yes, multiple IPv6 addresses are being assigned (as is the case with most devices on the network) but only one MAC address. I've checked and the MAC address listed in the DUMAOS app matches the MAC address of the device.

 

 

The Google Home is an old device and has quite simple network functionality / configuration. It certainly doesn't support Random/Private MAC addresses.

 

If it did, then it should show up as multiple devices in the app (one online and the rest offline), each time a new MAC address is generated, which is the case for the iPhones that connect to the router.

 

In fact, as a side issue, that is one of my pet peeves, the Offline Devices get filled with multiple entries (for devices that have Random/Private MAC addresses enabled) and these redundant multiple entries have to be cleaned up manually, one by one! When will bulk select and delete functionality be available (is it on the roadmap or perhaps already included with the latest build)?

 

Also, the Google Home is only connecting via 5GHZ. When it is blocked, it doesn't alternatively try to connect via 2.4GHZ. I've tested and monitored this to confirm. The 5GHZ and 2.4GHZ bandwidths are already combined as a single SSID.

 

The Google Home is actually his alarm clock, so I don't really want to have to physically remove it every night (especially when I should simply be able to block Interest access at the router)!

 

Any other ideas (or can this be escalated to the dev team for comment), as it definitely seems to be a glitch.

[Netduma Fraser]

You're absolutely right, that'll teach me to do a very early morning response! What you have said has got me thinking, when it comes to the time where it should be blocked, can you actually see traffic being used on it? For YouTube it should be showing quite consistently. If it doesn't, obviously I don't know the specifics BUT if he has a mobile with data he may be utilizing it as a hotspot to connect the home to unless I'm mistaken and it's not one of those Home ones with a screen but more akin to a simple Alexa and he's using it as a bridge to get the TV to play YouTube for example?