W6000 Advanced Parental Controls - kB data information?

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W6000 Advanced Parental Controls - kB data information?

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W6000 Advanced Parental Controls - kB data information?
W6000 Advanced Parental Controls - kB data information?
2023-11-07 21:06:41
Model: Deco W6000  
Hardware Version: V1
Firmware Version: 1.2.4 build 20230601 Rel. 37750

Hi all - Deco W6000 user here. I signed up for the Advanced Parental Controls subscription for my unit, to see data consumption my devices are using. I am a bit confused as to how it's supposed to actually work, but I will ask here in the hopes that we can verify what is, or is not, properly going on.

 

[TL;DR] -- Is W6000 supposed to have kB data collection option using Advanced Parental Controls, using current firmware and iOS app version? If not, why is JUST the kB data collection feature missing, for a paid monthly service, if ALL other information including website names and visit frequency ARE being captured?

 

What I would like to do is to group a bunch of devices, and monitor their data traffic amounts. Not specifically -where- they are accessing, or which apps or categories - just how many MB, GB etc. I am checking for a data leak of one of my devices to avoid overages from my ISP.

 

What I've been able to do so far with the Advanced Parental Controls (APC) subscription is show how many hours a group is connected, and which top 5 websites they are visiting .. also "sleep" times for groups. However the advanced panel shows 0 kB for every group's data usage, which is incorrect. But it also shows that one group is using more data than the others, which IS correct. How can it know that one group has more data access than the others if they're all supposedly zero? Sounds like a programming glitch to me?

 

What I've NOT been able to do - and chat support suggests "may or may not be possible" [they were unsure and that concerns and confuses me even further] - is to see what data consumption my groups or devices are using. It's like the feature is only half-working on iOS app. Chat support and I are both unclear as to whether the current iOS app should have that information available for my W6000 on current firmware.

 

The chat support said it could be a glitch that it's not displaying any numbers, and they suggested a full hardware reset - currently very difficult on a family router with people using it at random times. But the hardware reset doesn't seem like it would improve anything, because why would ONLY the kB usage be at issue? The iOS app may be at fault, which is fine, but I couldn't get a straight answer from chat support as to if the data logging feature was supposed to be an option, as it is listed in the iOS app as a panel but it has zero information in it. If it's not available for my Deco, why have it listed in the app (with wrong information)? Very odd.

 

I was trying for a while to confirm with chat support if that is because the data traffic amount logging feature is not available for W6000 ? Further confusing is the fact that that panel is ONLY unlockable after being subscribed to APC - then when you DO subscribe it shows as zero kB. On the support website it says that certain features are only for the X50/X55, which is fine, but doesn't say which features are not available for non-X50/X55 units. It shows on a TP-Link website screenshot that the kB per group or device IS available to view, even hourly (very cool), which is exactly what I want it to do here on my W6000. I thought since W6000 has all other panels with proper data, and they're all behind the same paywall service, that data traffic graphs would be available too. But they don't seem to be, and that's why I am reaching out here.

 

Is this normal? Anyone else able to confirm the same behavior on their setup?

 

Thanks in advance, looking forward to clarity or closure. Have a great day!

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Re:W6000 Advanced Parental Controls - kB data information?
2023-11-07 23:02:03

Hi all - One quick addition to this post, I found this url online 

 

https://www.tp-link.com/us/compare/?typeId=5757&productIds=65013%2C65209%2C50922

 

which compares the X50, X55 and W6000 .. and the Parental Controls section seems to show identical features. Would that not suggest that the data kB collection (aka Online Traffic Ranking) that is present on X50/X55 should also be available on my W6000? It doesn't explicitly show data collection as an option on X50 chart vs W6000, and yet the section is on my app screen for W6000 with all 0 kB entries. Confusing to say the least.

 

It's fine albeit annoying if a feature is available for one Deco type versus another. If however a feature is not available for the Deco you are accessing, why display incorrect / false data? And further to that, if it is not available as a concept for that Deco, please don't [deceptively] put behind a subscription paywall only to later show that the feature is not available for that particular unit ..

 

The comparison URL above lists "Custom Profiles, Professional Content Filter Library, Family Time, Bedtime, Off Time,Time Rewards, Family Online, Time Ranking, Pause the Internet, Weekly and Monthly Reports." -- Notice that there is no mention of the feature the Deco iOS app shows: "Online Traffic Ranking" (with 0 kB for all entries, but that's my point and question, is that OTR feature supposed to be enabled on the W6000 as part of the indentically-displayed HomeShield feature package list?)

 

I don't know where the data [going back a month] is stored, as it seems an awful lot of info to keep on the Deco itself, but if it's a memory limitation of X50 vs W6000, how to find that out, or fully clear it? Is that why chat support suggested to do a factory reset, is something gummed up on my unit? And also, if all the other subsections of traffic monitoring are stored, why is data kB amount monitoring not stored on W6000, but only on X50? It's literally just bytes of extra information.

 

The hardware feature set, at least on that comparison chart, is close to identical. One more Ethernet port on X50, but the same wifi speed and technology (except for HE160 on X50), would that not infer that the software features of the two Decos should also be the same?

 

Is there a timeline available to let us know about the other Deco models to follow suit with features? It really is important. It seems very peculiar to have literally ALL other HomeShield features the same except for Online Traffic Ranking. 10 out of 11 features are identical. Though I also understand the need to not update all product lines at the same time, it has been a few months? Can you roll out a few more features for models please (particularly OTR)? I am also a bit concerned if W6000 will get the same updates, as I've only seen it at Walmart and not recently .. it's not EOL, is it?

 

Thanks in advance.

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