Parental Controls

[jcwillia1]

This is really annoying. I bought an Archer A7 because it was wirecutter's top pick for a home wifi router and bonus it has parental controls and can act as a wireless access point which is important because...

I have AT&T (there are no other internet options for me). And with AT&T, you can only use their boxes as routers and you can't have any other routers. And their boxes are terrible with wifi.

But the Archer A7 doesn't provide parental control options in wireless access point mode. And my ATT box (BGW210) only supports parental controls through wifi which is turned off because of the access point.

I'm getting dizzy spinning myself in circles - what do you recommend, forum friends?

 

[ColinTaylor]

Sorry I don't have any recommendations, but can you not use your A7 in router mode instead? Sure, you'll have double-NAT but that's usually not a problem.

 

[jcwillia1]

Sorry I don't have any recommendations, but can you not use your A7 in router mode instead? Sure, you'll have double-NAT but that's usually not a problem.

every time I've tried that it conflicts with AT&T's machine so badly that I lose internet altogether.

 

[ColinTaylor]

every time I've tried that it conflicts with AT&T's machine so badly that I lose internet altogether.

I ought not to be a problem. Just make sure that the A7 is using a different subnet than the AT&T. So if the AT&T is using 192.168.0.1/24 configure the A7 to use 192.168.1.1/24.

 

[jcwillia1]

I ought not to be a problem. Just make sure that the A7 is using a different subnet than the AT&T. So if the AT&T is using 192.168.0.1/24 configure the A7 to use 192.168.1.1/24.

ok I did some reading on this topic (https://forums.att.com/t5/AT-T-Fiber-Equipment/BGW210-Use-my-own-router/td-p/5807352)

and the recommended course of action is IP Passthrough? (https://forums.att.com/t5/AT-T-Inte... Equipment_Wireline_LITHIUM_2127251541#M29310"

except I think this creates another problem for me as it makes my access point the router and I have no way to send the network signal back to my switch which serves the whole house.

I'm trying your suggestion.

 

[jcwillia1]

This is what my ATT configure screen looks like.

https://imgur.com/a/qpxXZw4

I don't see anything that looks like what you are describing.

I also don't see anything like that on the Archer...

 

[ColinTaylor]

The first 2 lines of your screenshot tell you that your LAN subnet is 192.168.1.x / 255.255.255.0.

On the Archer (according to their website) you go to Advanced > Network > LAN. Make sure the settings are 192.168.0.1 and 255.255.255.0.

Your previous post said something about "send the network signal back to my switch" . Perhaps you could draw a diagram of your network as there appears to be more to it than is apparent.

 

[jcwillia1]

Your previous post said something about "send the network signal back to my switch" . Perhaps you could draw a diagram of your network as there appears to be more to it than is apparent.

Yah sorry I left that part out. I was hoping this would be an easier fix.

So the ATT modem/router feeds to an 8-port switch which is connected to various rooms in the house (basement office (switch), theater (switch), family room (switch), main floor office (switch), pantry (where the access point is), upstairs closet (unused staging point for a 2nd access point).

All of these connections are single point to point Cat6 cable that lead back to the basement where the ATT modem/router is. Since that is in the basement and in one corner of the house, it is not an ideal place for a wireless broadcast point. The pantry is centrally located and the power/ethernet connections are located close to the ceiling so even within the house(vertically and horizontally), that is a really great central location. This is where the Archer is now.

 

[ColinTaylor]

OK. That makes things significantly different.

The proposed setup would create two separate networks, your main LAN on 192.168.1.x and the Archer network on 192.168.0.x.

This will still work in the sense that all devices can still access the internet, and devices connected to the Archer can benefit from its parental controls. However there will be limitations on how devices on the two networks can see/talk to each other. It's not impossible to set up, but it can involve a lot of work.

 

[jcwillia1]

yah I don't have a ton of time to monkey around with this stuff so we'll probably just go back to collecting devices at bed time.

 

[dosborne]

There is no way that I can think of for <insert ISP name here> to be able to control or stop you from implementing your own internal network that you place in essence "behind" their equipment. This can also be referenced to as a dual/double NAT setup.

I highly recommend this for anyone semi-serious about their internal network stability and security. Being fully functionally internally and being able to swap out or provide redundancy by changing the ISP provided router is, for me, essential.

Yes, it may be a small-medium learning curve, and yes, it may take some time to implement, but it sounds like it will be well worth it in the end.

Essentially, build / configure your entire home setup as a completely isolated entity. Use the ISP provided router/modem as a basic interface to do one thing only - provide a connection path to the internet.