Deco M4R parental control blocks wrong devices
Hi,
I got the issue multiple times in the last years where I pause a specific parental profile, and some devices not in the profile get paused. I validated the MAC address of the paused device against the list of devices linked to the profile, and I can say without any doubt that it shouldn't be blocked. Each time I have a device not getting internet for an unknown reason, I have to unpause every profile, and/or disable all time-based control, to get back the internet on my device. It's like the router is internally mixing MAC addresses and/or names. When checking the devices list in a profile, MAC addresses seem fine, but since wrong devices are being affected, it means that the information seen in the mobile application is out-of-sync with what the router really applies rules on.
Based on this old thread, the problem exists on multiple Deco models for more than 2 years, and has never been fixed: https://community.tp-link.com/en/home/forum/topic/180572
I posted a long time ago about the laggy Deco Android application on its really bad async implementation and horrible user experience, but now that it simply displays invalid information and starts applying random parental rules, I can no longer trust this hardware anymore to rule my home network. I waited for firmware updates to fix these important issues, but it looks like old devices are simply ignored. That's a shame. I'm posting here to revive an issue that should still be in the top priority list, but I really doubt I'll get a real solution soon.
I have 3 Deco M4R devices wired together to deliver WIFI to each of my 3 floors house. I bought this 3 nodes kit many years ago. I control these devices through the Android application on my phone.
Carl