support@MinZhou Thanks for the update! We should be able to work this out.
First of all, let’s make sure that the pcWRT router is functioning properly. Please do this test:
1. Remove the MAC address override in the pcWRT router and save.
2. Connect your old router to the cable modem.
3. Connect the pcWRT router WAN port to a LAN port on your old router.
4. Log in the pcWRT router console and check the Status page. Is Internet on?
We’ll decide what to do next depending on the outcome of this test.
support@MinZhou By link light do you mean the ONLINE light (i.e., the globe)?
You might want to try copying the MAC address of your old router to the pcWRT router. Once you have the MAC address of your old router, go to the Internet Settings page of pcWRT. Paste the MAC address into the Override MAC address field, then click Save.
Let us know if you need help on how to find the MAC address of your old router. The process depends on the router model.
support@skydogtookmycash Thank you so much for your comments! Currently we only sell hardware with firmware preinstalled, since most users don’t know how to flash their routers and we won’t be able to support them if anything goes wrong. In worst case, they might end up bricking their routers in the process. That said, we do plan to support the firmware only option in the future as we expand and have better ways to deliver it.
Yes, we do plan to stay and won’t sell ourselves out (ha, even Skydog would have said that before they sold themselves out!). But seriously, we are proud of what we built, enjoy what we are doing, and do want the product to stay. Therefore, since the very beginning we made choices that would minimize the impact to our customers in case something out of our control drowns us. Such as using services such as OpenDNS to provide content filtering instead of building our own, and building it as a standalone router instead of a cloud based router.
We know that people want Skydog-like cloud based control, so we are currently building it (as an option, not a requirement). Features like email notification when router goes offline will be available once that’s done.
supportThank you very much for the update! As it turned out, there is a bug in time control for apps like STEAM. Please give us a few days to fix this issue. We’ll release an update as soon as the fix is ready.
supportThanks for the suggestion. These options can definitely be added, we’ll put that in the to-do list.
supportInternet access should have been blocked during blocked time periods. However, if he already has a STEAM session and the game is already on the computer, he probably doesn’t need Internet access to continue playing.
You can check whether Internet is indeed blocked by putting another device in the same profile and try to access steampowered.com from that device. Unfortunately, there’s no way to block game playing from a network device (such as a router) when the game can be played without Internet access. Another example of this is Minecraft, which some parental control device vendors falsely claim that they can block.
supportThanks for the suggestion. We’ll look into that.
BTW, remote access is being worked on right now, and will be available soon.
support@Ksmichael Thanks for your update! To help us improve the Connected Devices info, would you kindly let us know the brands/models for the laptops that didn’t show up?
support@Paul Thanks for bringing the issue to our attention. Can you tell us the specific model of the Realtec USB wireless adapter so that we can do more research on this?
Even when the Status page fail to show a connected device, the filtering associated with a profile might still be effective, as long as the MAC address of the device is correctly identified. Can you check and see if the device is controlled by the profile it’s assigned to? You may add black list URLs or vary the time limits and see if there’s any effect on the computer.
supportOpenDNS Family Shield does not block chat, so in theory disabling the two options mentioned above should make Skype work. What problems are you having with Skype? Did you have trouble logging in? What happens when you try to run the Skpye test service?
What kind of problems are you having with the access points? Are the access points connected via wire or wireless?
supportNot yet. This is being worked on now and will be made available to existing customers via a firmware update. While we don’t have a definite timeline at this moment, it’s one of the top priority items being worked on. In the meanwhile, existing customers are advised to use the logging provided by OpenDNS (you need to use OpenDNS Home). Notice however, OpenDNS only provides logging for your whole network, not per device.
support@SnowGator Turning off “Block literal IP addresses” and “Block proxy, VPN, TOR” on the profile will make Skype work. If you are using OpenDNS, make sure you that are not blocking the Chat category.
supportAre you using OpenDNS? Is the Chat category blocked by OpenDNS?
To diagnose the problem:
1. Put the IPAD in a profile with parental control disabled first. Are you able to use FaceTime and Messaging?
2. Turn on parental control for the profile. Turn off “block literal IP…”, “Block proxy…”, etc. Choose System Default for DNS. Are you able to use FaceTime and Messaging?
3. Change DNS to OpenDNS and test again.
supportYes. Laptops are no different than desktops or tablets. They should display in the Status page.
Do you have two WiFi signals in your house? I.e., one from pcWRT and another from an ISP provided router? If you do, the laptops might be accidentally connected to the other WiFi.
If the devices are indeed connected to the pcWRT WiFi but not displaying in the Status page, you may use the Network Settings page to assign names to devices. Click the Add button in the Hostnames and Static Leases section. In the popup dialog, click the Name drop down. If you can’t guess the device from the displayed name, pick a device from the Name drop down and try to match by IP address. After you set the device names, click Save at the bottom of the Network Settings page.
To find the IP address of a laptop: open a browser, then enter http://192.168.10.1/myip.html into the address bar.
supportFYI, if WiFi is turned on for your XFinity modem/router, you might have RF interference between the routers, which will degrade WiFi performance for both. If you are not connecting to the XFinity via WiFi, it’s advisable to turn off the WiFi for the XFinity. If you need both WiFi, then you should choose WiFi channels so that they don’t overlap each other (e.g., 4 channels apart).
