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[vetsac]

Hello, I have two questions that deal with being able to block a device's internet activity on the router - as Parental Controls do not work reliably.

BTW, I've read these 2 posts about the DIR-882 Parental Controls, and they did not help.
http://forums.dlink.com/index.php?topic=75926.msg308471
http://forums.dlink.com/index.php?topic=75488.msg306291


#1 QUESTION / BACKGROUND INFO:

I am in the USA region.

I have a D-Link DIR-882, HW:A1 FW:1.30 (according to the router, "This firmware is the latest version.")

According to the "quick install guide" that came with the router, it's a DIR-882 AC2600 MU-MIMO Wi-Fi router.


PROBLEM:

The Parental Controls do not work reliably.

"Parental Control" is defined in the DIR-882 manual here:
http://files.dlink.com.au/products/DIR-882/REV_A/Manuals/DIR-882_A1_Manual_V1.00(DI).pdf
as "Allow or Block access to the router".

My expectation is that the "Parental Controls" would block ALL internet activity that the blocked device tries to generate thru the router.

What actually happens is, SOME internet traffic gets blocked, ONLY when using a web browser (such as Chrome or Safari).

Some websites cannot be accessed at all while the device is blocked by Parental Controls, while other websites are completely accessible while the device is blocked by Parental Controls.

To ensure my browser is NOT displaying cached website content, I've cleared the web browser's entire history and cache before trying to access.

Additionally, if I've blocked a mobile device, such as an iPhone, any internet activity generated by an app -- for example, the iOS YouTube app -- does NOT get blocked. But the mobile device's web browser activity gets blocked SOMETIMES, depending on the website.

To ensure my mobile device is not using its cellular service, I previously disabled its cellular service before trying to access.

Again, my expectation is that the "Parental Controls" would block ALL internet activity the blocked device tries to generate, including mobile apps (not just a web browser).


MY D-Link DIR-882 ROUTER SETTINGS:

* Under Home:
Every device connected to the D-Link DIR-882 -- i.e. computer on wired ethernet connection; mobile device on wi-fi -- has a Reserved IP address of 192.168.0.xxx.

* Under Settings | Network:
"Enable DNS Relay" is Enabled.

* Under Management | Time & Schedule | Schedule:
I've created a Schedule which blocks every hour of every day ("All Week"). In other words, every hour box on the Schedule is selected "yellow". (Per the router's instruction: "select the times when the device will NOT have internet access.")

* Under Features | Port Forwarding:
I've created a rule called "Block-ALL-Ports", in which I assign a specific device with its Reserved IP address to ONLY allow Port 1 on TCP, and Port 1 on UDP. (Per the router's instruction: "Enter the TCP ports that you want to open. You can enter a single port or a range of ports. Separate ports with a comma (for example: 24,1009,3000-4000).")

Note: I chose "Port 1" here because I figured I could try to ONLY allow a specific single port that is not used for common internet activity (like port 21 (ftp), port 80 (http), port 443 (https), port 8080, etc).

Thus, by allowing ONLY "Port 1" here I could effectively block all other ports for the assigned device. But -- it does not seem to matter what Port # I allow. I tried ONLY allowing Port 33434 (tracert) on TCP, and Port 33434 (tracert) on UDP, but I get the same intermittent result as described above.

* Under Features | Website Filter | "Allow/Deny clients access to ONLY these sites":
I do NOT have any rules set up here for specific websites or URLs.  (Considering the router only lets me define up to 24 rules here, this feature is pointless if I am trying to block ALL internet activity from a device.)

* Back under Home:
- I choose a device -- does not matter if it's a computer on a wired ethernet connection, or a mobile device on wi-fi.
- I click its gray pencil icon to "Edit Rule".
- I set its "Parental Control" to Enabled.
- I set its "Schedule" to "All Week" (as I defined above, in which I want to block all router access and internet activity at all times).
- Alternatively, I set its "Schedule" to "Always OFF" (the pre-defined option that exists on the router).
- I click SAVE.

Now under Home:
- The device I just "blocked" now shows a "ghostbusters" icon (circle with diagonal line thru it), and "Parental Control: Enabled" status.

Just to make sure all changes took effect for the blocked device:
- for a computer with its wired ethernet, I disconnect the computer from its ethernet cable, & power it off;
- for a mobile device, I disable its wi-fi connection and power it off.
- I wait 10+ minutes, to ensure the router shows that device as "not connected" (because sometimes the router still shows a device as "connected" even though that device has been powered OFF.)
- I then reconnect the computer's wired ethernet cable, and power ON the computer.
- I power ON the mobile phone, and re-enabled its wi-fi, AND disable its cellular service.
- I verify in the router that these devices are now connected again, and they still show as Blocked.


However, as I said above, SOME internet traffic gets blocked, ONLY when using a web browser (such as Chrome or Safari).

If I've blocked a mobile device, such as an iPhone, internet activity generated by an app -- for example, the iOS YouTube app -- does NOT get blocked. But the mobile device's web browser activity gets blocked SOMETIMES, depending on the website.

Again, my expectation here is that the "Parental Controls" would block ALL internet activity the blocked device tries to generate, including mobile apps (not just a web browser).

So -- question #1 -- why is this router not blocking ALL internet activity??  Is there a router setting somewhere that is being missed perhaps??


#2 QUESTION:
In the D-Link DIR-882 User Manual, Section 4, pg 89 here:
http://files.dlink.com.au/products/DIR-882/REV_A/Manuals/DIR-882_A1_Manual_V1.00(DI).pdf
this shows a "Devices" screen, when it refers to blocking internet activity, which appears to be under the "Management" section, as per the screenshot shown. ("On the Device page, you can manage Parental Control settings for devices added to the list, which will allow or block access to the network for those devices based on the selected schedule.")

However, in my D-Link DIR-882 router, there is no "Devices" screen, nor a "Devices" menu anywhere on the router.

So -- question #2 -- why does my D-Link DIR-882 have no "Devices" screen??

Thanks for any help you can provide!

[FurryNutz]

Any progress on this?

[vetsac]

Any progress on this?

Nope, unfortunately not yet.  I've tinkered with creating/deleting/re-creating parental control rules, rebooting the router, etc. No joy yet.

Either the router is just buggy -- (granted, I do not have any problems involving any other features the router has) -- or I've still got some unknown setting(s) missing somewhere.

Hoping someone might have some other suggestions I could try, based on my notes above.

[FurryNutz]

I recommend that you phone contact your regional D-Link support office and ask for help and information regarding this.
Link> Tech Support Contact Information
We find that chat/phone contact has better immediate results over using email.
Let us know how it goes please.

[vetsac]

I recommend that you phone contact your regional D-Link support office and ask for help and information regarding this.
Link> Tech Support Contact Information
We find that chat/phone contact has better immediate results over using email.
Let us know how it goes please.

Thank you for that suggestion! I'll try that route and report back if I get any tips that resolve the problem(s) with parental control.

[vetsac]

UPDATE: So I finally talked to DLink's Tech Support folks a couple weeks ago. Here's what they told me, what I did, and my results.

DLink Tech Support's recommendation (this is AFTER he told me that he has the exact same router I have, and his Parental Control works fine and blocks EVERYTHING on a device):

1) I should re-download the Firmware 1.30 update from their support website;
2) I should reset the router to its factory defaults;
3) I should re-flash the firmware on the router;
4) Then I will have to re-create all my 25 or so devices, and their fixed IP ranges I set up, and any other misc rules. He suggests I do NOT save my router config and use that to restore the config after I've reset it to its factory defaults, which could "restore" whatever is fubar about the router's parental controls not working.

I had to wait a few days to find a time window where I could futz with the router for a few hours and not create problems for others in my house needing connectivity.

07/11/2021 -- Steps I did to complete his recommendations:
1) DLed from dlink website: DIR-882_REVA_FIRMWARE_v1.30B06.zip
2) DLed from dlink website: DIR-882_REVA_FIRMWARE_v1.30B06_BETA01_HOTFIX.zip
3) Did factory reset of the router itself.
4) After router was reset (and it walked me thru re-creating the wi-fi on first boot), I updated firmware #1 of 2.
5) After firmware update #1 of 2 was complete, I updated firmware #2 of 2. This 2nd update failed to update the first time. So I tried it again. This time, this 2nd update then updated fine.
6) I verified Under Settings | Network: that "Enable DNS Relay" is Enabled.
7) Under Management | Time & Schedule | Schedule: I created a Schedule that I called "Block247" which blocks every hour of every day ("All Week"). In other words, every hour box on the Schedule is selected "yellow". (Per the router's instruction: "select the times when the device will NOT have internet access.")
8 ) I then re-added all my devices (wired and wi-fi) and their fixed IP addresses.
9) AT THIS POINT, I VERIFIED ALL DEVICES, WIRED AND WI-FI, CONNECT CORRECTLY. AND I HAVE *NOT YET* TESTED PARENTAL CONTROLS. AND HAVE NOT MADE ANY OTHER CHANGES ON THE ROUTER.
10) I then saved the router's settings to this file: DIR-882-Router-Settings-07112021-config.bin
11) NOW: With my iPhone already ON and already connected to wi-fi, I set my iPhone to my "Block247" rule, and confirmed this device shows "Parental Control: Enabled" in the router.
BUT - The device I just "blocked" DOES NOT SHOW a "ghostbusters" icon (circle with diagonal line thru it) like it did when I tried this a month ago.
12) I waited 2 minutes before doing anything on the iPhone.
13) RESULT? SAME AS BEFORE. SOME WEBSITES GET BLOCKED IN SAFARI. SOME WEBSITES DONT GET BLOCKED IN SAFARI. YOUTUBE IOS APP DOES NOT GET BLOCKED. FACEBOOK IOS APP DOES NOT GET BLOCKED. NO CHANGE AT ALL IN THIS ORIGINAL BEHAVIOR PROBLEM.
14) Shut iPhone OFF.
15) Had to wait 10+ minutes to make sure the iPhone no longer shows itself as a connected device on the router.
ASIDE: Why does the router sometimes update its UI for this immediately, while other times it takes up to 10+ minutes for the router's UI to show that a device that was disconnected from the router and powered OFF is actually disconnected? Even this feature is unreliable.
16) Turned iPhone back ON (as I can't create a port forwarding rule without attaching a device to the rule, and the device won't show up on the list if it's not connected to the router!).
17) Now I created my port forwarding rule, called "Block247AllPorts", in which I assign a specific device with its Reserved IP address to ONLY allow Port 1 on TCP, and Port 1 on UDP. (Per the router's instruction: "Enter the TCP ports that you want to open. You can enter a single port or a range of ports. Separate ports with a comma (for example: 24,1009,3000-4000).") Note: I chose "Port 1" here because I figured I could try to ONLY allow a specific single port that is not used for common internet activity (like port 21 (ftp), port 80 (http), port 443 (https), port 8080, etc).
18) Now I go back to the device listings, and for the iPhone, I select Parental Control: Enabled, using my "Block247" rule, and SAVE this change.
19) This time, the iPhone DOES SHOW the "ghostbusters" icon (circle with diagonal line thru it), AS WELL AS SHOWING "Parental Control: Enabled" in the router.
20) Again, I shut iPhone OFF.
21) I refresh the device listing on the router. Now, the iPhone DOES NOT SHOW a "ghostbusters" icon (circle with diagonal line thru it), but DOES SHOW "Parental Control: Enabled" in the router.
22) Again, I wait 10+ minutes to make sure the iPhone no longer shows itself as a connected device on the router.
23) Turned iPhone back ON.
24) I go back to the device listings, and the iPhone DOES NOT SHOW the "ghostbusters" icon (circle with diagonal line thru it), BUT DOES SHOW "Parental Control: Enabled" in the router.
ASIDE: Why does this router not show the "ghostbusters" icon (circle with diagonal line thru it) consistently? So annoying!
25) I confirmed that this device is still set to the Parental Control schedule I created earlier.
26) I confirmed that this device is still set to the port forwarding rule I created earlier.
27) RESULT? SAME AS BEFORE. SOME WEBSITES GET BLOCKED IN SAFARI. SOME WEBSITES DONT GET BLOCKED IN SAFARI. YOUTUBE IOS APP DOES NOT GET BLOCKED. FACEBOOK IOS APP DOES NOT GET BLOCKED. NO CHANGE AT ALL IN THIS ORIGINAL BEHAVIOR PROBLEM.
28) I turn OFF the Parental Control, so this device shows "Parental Control: Disabled".
29) I turn back ON the Parental Control, so this device shows "Parental Control: Enabled".
30) I go back to the device listing, and this time, the iPhone DOES SHOW the "ghostbusters" icon (circle with diagonal line thru it), AS WELL AS SHOWING "Parental Control: Enabled" in the router.
ASIDE: See my "aside" above about the annoying inconsistent issue of this icon appearing/not appearing!
31) RESULT? SAME AS BEFORE. SOME WEBSITES GET BLOCKED IN SAFARI. SOME WEBSITES DONT GET BLOCKED IN SAFARI. YOUTUBE IOS APP DOES NOT GET BLOCKED. FACEBOOK IOS APP DOES NOT GET BLOCKED. NO CHANGE AT ALL IN THIS ORIGINAL BEHAVIOR PROBLEM.
32) I refresh the device listing on the router. Now, the iPhone DOES NOT SHOW a "ghostbusters" icon (circle with diagonal line thru it), but DOES SHOW "Parental Control: Enabled" in the router.

FINAL VERDICT? This router SUCKS for any Parental Control abilities. Totally worthless in that regard. Apparently the only way to fix this problem is to buy another frakking router.

Hope this info helps someone else who is dealing with the same need, yet frustration, from this router.

[FurryNutz]

FYI, something that D-LInk routers and other router mfrs lack in giving the ability to block most of the popular online services.
To get around this you'll need to use a DNS site services like OpenDNS services which I believe will help in blocking more online servers than router mfrs do. I don't know why some routers don't provided better controls over FB and YT. I believe its in part due to that some of these online services have multiple services that can be accessed from many ways. I'd check out OpenDNS to see if you can use there services with the DIR router to help give you more controls over online services.

[vetsac]

FYI, something that D-LInk routers and other router mfrs lack in giving the ability to block most of the popular online services.
To get around this you'll need to use a DNS site services like OpenDNS services which I believe will help in blocking more online servers than router mfrs do. I don't know why some routers don't provided better controls over FB and YT. I believe its in part due to that some of these online services have multiple services that can be accessed from many ways. I'd check out OpenDNS to see if you can use there services with the DIR router to help give you more controls over online services.

Thanks for the suggestion on OpenDNS.  I did try OpenDNS a couple years ago, and unfortunately ran into some limitations there (which I can't remember off the top of my head). Suffice it to say OpenDNS didn't meet all my needs, either.

What aggravates me the most is, DLink markets this router with Parental Controls.

Per the router's own instruction manual, and the instruction on the router admin tool itself:

"Parental Control: Allow or Block access to the router."

"One common use of schedules is to control access to the Internet by a specified device during specified time periods... select the times when the device will NOT have internet access."

Yet this feature simply does not work.

If somebody actually has this working reliably, I'd love to hear about it, and specifically your setup's details.

Appreciate the input and suggestions.