Bypass Parental Control

[Tata]

is there anyway you can bypass the parental block control? 

My son loves playing video games. I know  It is winter break but I don’t want him to stay up the whole night.  I blocked his computer from the internet from 1:30Am to 6am. His computer is connected to Hub 4000.

I found that even when I blocked his computer internet access from my Bell wifi app, he seemed still having the access…is that possible? 

Thank you! 

[Anas]

• My sun is somehow able to manage re-connecting his wifi with new IP address everytime I block his device after bedtime hours. How can I really stop any new access without my permission?

[BellPatricia]

Hi there @Anas, thanks for your post and welcome to the Bell Community.

We'd like to get a bit more information so we can best assist you. 

Is your son only using a wireless connection or are they also using a wired connection? Can you please share the type of devices they are using (make/model)? 

- Patricia

[Anas]

Hello Patricia, 

he has iPhone 11, connected to wifi only to our Giga Hub. No wired connection at all. 

[Cindy2023]

I am trying to set up internet wifi block time  for my son’s Apple phone . However it doesn’t work . I blocked it , but his wifi still working . I am not sure what I did wrong , other devices work perfect , only my son cellphone has the issue . 

[Alexis]

We have the app to block users yet some users blocked indefinitely are still consuming internet. How do we fix this.

It was working very well until lately.

[BellNick]

Hi there @Alexis 
Thank you for your post and welcome to the Community.
Are you able to share the device that is blocked but is still getting through and is the connection through ethernet or WiFi connection?
Looking forward to hearing back.

[Marjoriedonald]

We have had the same issue. We thought our son was using a VPN, but he is not. By just clicking on "private wifi address" in his network settings, he is capable to bypass all network management. So even though we set up limits, and schedule "internet freezes", he can just jump on his phone, click private wifi address, and bypass what we put in place. Right now, the only way to manage and have control, is to physically remove the devices. Which means they can't use their alarms, etc... 
It's inconvenient, and seems like a major flaw in the network design. 

[ZaneP]

Hi @Marjoriedonald 

This is not a network design flaw.

He's using an iOS device, right? Private wifi addressing is Apple's way of giving a device a new MAC (Media Access Control) address. It's great for privacy, but not easy to deal with on a home network when you're trying to curate access by some devices to the internet.

It's sometimes possible to prevent this private address by making a settings change on the router. But I don't think Bell's gateway modems are configureable to this degree. Maybe @BellNick or another Community forum moderator can add insight to this.

Your brute-force option is to turn this feature off, on your son's device. It's in the settings app -->wifi. That way you don't have to physically remove devices.

Hope this helps. Keep us posted!

Cheers,

ZaneP

[Mark12r]

Parental control are easily bypassed because home hub blocks by using mac address. i phones have a feature built in to them called private wi-fi address that is enabled by default, basically all you need to do is forget the network then re logon and it automatically assigns a new made up mac address to the network and your blocks are bypassed. also you can change mac address in home computer/laptop by going into network setting and simply changing it there. to make matters worse your, block that you have set up on the home hub will show that Timmys computer is blocked so you will think it is , yet he will be on a tonally new mac address so you wont suspect a thing.

it is very simple to get around. only way to make sure he/she is blocked is to shut off the entire network or unplug modem . hope this helps (also note that a simple google search will tell them everything they need to know about bypassing )

[ZaneP]

Hi @Mark12r (and @Marjoriedonald)

" i phones have a feature built in to them called private wi-fi address that is enabled by default, basically all you need to do is forget the network then re logon and it automatically assigns a new made up mac address to the network and your blocks are bypassed."

I think we're making the same point. 

To permit access to only "pre-qualified" mobile/wifi devices, you'd need a MAC address table on a network switch. Or some even more expensive enterprise-level hardware & software solution.

There's really no practical and cost-free way to accomplish access control on the typical residential LAN hardware. It comes down to parents sorting out the issues with the kids.

[HAD]

Thank you for this thread for the valueable information.  I am trying to do the same thing (parental controls) and upgraded my router recently because I thought it would have better accuracy with controlling the wifi in my house of 3 teenagers in order to deny one without interrupting the others. I can see on my controls that there is a “private wifi” phone accessing my wifi currently and although it indicates it is frozen, I can see it is still allowing the wifi for this device.  I find it frustrating to learn more about the private wifi bypass.

ZaneP could you please explain more about the “MAC address table on a network switch” for me?  I think I have to go back to denying the password to the wifi in the first place, as unplugging the router each night doesn’t seem like a fabulous option for me.  Thank you!

[ZaneP]

Hi @HAD ,

"ZaneP could you please explain more about the “MAC address table on a network switch” for me?"

I'm going to back away from that approach. It's expensive, time-consuming, and really not meant for those of us with a LAN at home. 

There is another option, and here's the overview.

You wrote that you "upgraded my router". Just for clarity, did you buy a 3rd party router and then connected it to your Bell gateway modem (HH3000, HH4000, GigaHub)? If you did, and depending on the brand and model, you can configure devices' access to the internet by using the security/access control features of the router.

For example, Netgear's Nighthawk router has a security section in which you can specify an access rule, like this:

"Block all new devices from connecting. With this setting, a new device cannot access your router’s Internet connection, but can still access your router’s local network. Before a device accesses your router’s Internet connection, you must enter its MAC address for an Ethernet connection and its MAC address for a WiFi connection in the allowed list.
The access rule does not affect previously blocked or allowed devices. It applies only to devices joining your network in the future after you apply these settings."

So you would establish the baseline of devices on the network, by its MAC address.Those are the permitted devices. A "new" device, like an iPhone that had its MAC address changed, will not be permitted to join the network until it's given permission.

If this solution is one you'd invest time in configuring, then look into the security features on the router you upgraded. If these features aren't available you may want to look into Netgear, TP-Link, and ASUS routers.

Hope this helps. Keep us posted!

Cheers,

ZaneP

[Francois-Ontario]

hello,

I am managing my network to that my kids have defined scheduled on their computers and phone. Of course they found a way to outsmart me by setting up their devices with private wifi  adresses.

How can I prevent any devices with private adress to access the network? I have a fibe gigahub and manage the schedule with bell wifi app.

Thanks

Francois

[ZaneP]

Hi @Francois-Ontario 

Did you read through the replies to this topic in this thread? Let us know if you have any more questions!

Cheers,

ZaneP

I don't work for Bell, just a customer

[naela]

I have the same problem. The home hub 4000 for some reason doesn't show all the devices connected to the wifi. Super difficult to manage kids wifi time. Does Bell know about the issue?