Block unknown devices on Deco M9 - user changes MAC address to fool parental controls
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Hi all,
I've been using the Deco M9 Plus for a couple of days now and I'm very pleased with it. The wi-fi is excellent in whole our house. And especially the parental controls are very valuable too to control the extensive use of internet of some of the users.
I have a question however. Is there an option to (automatically) block unknown devices on the network? I'm familiar with the blacklist option but I wouild like to see a whitelist for devices as well. The problem is that one user in our home is smartass enough to change the MAC address of his computer each time the parental control blocks his internet. Ofcourse the Deco notifies me that a new device is noticed on the network and than I can manually block the device but is there anyway it can be done automatically?
The Deco acts like a router and is directly connected to my ISP modem.
Is there any other option to block unknown MAC addresses from the internet should there be no possibility to achieve this with the Deco?
Thanks for your replies.
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Hi, Thank you very much for your feedback.
The 'unknown' device mostly means there is no hostname for this device or a basic MAC lookup hasn't identified a manufacturer.
Based on the feedback we have received, most of them are related to the Private addresses which hide the real MAC address of your device, very common for Apple devices due to security updates.
There are some suggestions for you:
1. On the Deco APP>three lines on the top>Deco lab>Wi-Fi assistant>MAC Loop UP Or https://maclookup.app/search/
It will help you find the manufacturer of this device then you could check around to locate this device and rename it: How to change the name of the client on the Deco app?
2. But if unfortunately, no assignment is found for this MAC and no suspicious device could be located. Please block this device first via Deco APP>More>Blacklist.
3. Since all the troubles started with Private address, you could also consider turning off private address,
For IOS devices: Setting -> WLAN -> tap on the blue info icon at the left of the deco Wi-Fi name -> disable the Private Address feature.
For Android devices: Settings app -> Network and Internet -> WiFi ->Connect to deco Wi-Fi -> Tap the gear icon next to the current Wi-Fi connection -> Advanced -> Privacy -> "Use device MAC"
For Windows 10 devices: Setting -> Network and Internet -> "WiFi" tab -> "Advanced Options." -> "Off" under "Random Hardware Address." -> Restart your computer.
Also, we have been trying to push the R&D department to consider adding the MAC filtering (Whitelist &Blacklist) on the Deco but this feature requires a comprehensive evaluation.
So if you also request this feature, please don’t hesitate and send feedback with your actual reasons for it via Deco APP>Overview>three lines on the top>help>contact us>suggestion.
Thank you very much for all your attention and support.
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There is no option to block unknown devices yet, per you know, we need add them into blacklist manually to block it.
And the Deco supports blacklist now only, while for the whitelist feature, we have noted that and reminded our R&D team.
You can keep an eye on our official website.
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Hi,
I have a similar request. I would like to have an option to have any new device that connects to the Deco M9 assigned a parental controls profile. That way, if let's say, a member of the family (or anyone really) connects with a new device or changes the MAC address of a device, it will be assigned a default profile (or a profile we created for new devices). That profile could then be restricted as we see fit with parental controls for web access, time and duration. Automatically assigning a new device a specific parental control profile makes sense. It could be done in the same matter that the Deco automatically assigns the "Home" room to a new device.
I think that would be not only a good way to prevent any member to circumvent parental control but also prevent visitors, friends or intruders to access a wide open web.
Thank you.
Paul
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@7dwergen Strongly agree with the parent post - I too have such a smartass user who knows that changing MAC addresses is possible.
Ideally, I'd like these two options for handling new devices:
1) "pending approval" - new devices are automatically blacklisted (or moved to a separate list called "pending approval" which is effectively the same thing), but the maintainer/owner is asked presented with a one button approval option to remove the device from the blacklist. This is effectively the same as the whitelist proposal (because the list of known devices now is a de facto whitelist)
2) as another poster already suggested: new devices can be automatically assigned to an "unknown device" profile. You could set the time limit of that profile to 0 hours to effectively blacklist such devices until they are re-assigned to a different profile, or set it to daylight hours and kids-level filtering so that visiting kids can easily and safely connect to the network without bothering the owner.
Option 2) is probably a bit more versatile than option 1), as it can potentially give people a minimal access without bothering the owner/maintainer of the network. So if it's either one or the other, I'd prefer option 2). But option 1) is probably better geared towards control freaks (which make up a large part of the deco user base, I'd wager :-)
Thanks,
hrm
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Kevin_Z wrote
There is no option to block unknown devices yet, per you know, we need add them into blacklist manually to block it.
And the Deco supports blacklist now only, while for the whitelist feature, we have noted that and reminded our R&D team.
You can keep an eye on our official website.
@Kevin_Z which site is that?
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Hello,
What news you have about implementing a white list option to eliminate all unwanted devices? It has been more than a year since it was requested and that doesn't seem to be a very hard function to include.
It is a highly important feature to include asap. Its lack prevents me for the moment from recommending the Deco to parents.
Regards,
P.
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I am in a similar boat with my M9. I would have thought it would be fairly normal to have a WHITELIST function within the DECO range. I understand other deco routers have a whitelist function although I cannot be 100% sure of this
Is there any progres in finding a solution to this @Kevin_Z
The DECO is great. But this loophole is causing a fair few problems
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I agree completely that whitelisting would be a very nice feature. The combination of both WPA2 and whitelisting based on Mac addresses will give me better control who is accessing my network. I have had already several devices that I had to block afterwards. Kids in puberty or older do share the WPA2 password whatever you tell them.....
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