Parental controls broken

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Parental controls broken

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Parental controls broken
Parental controls broken
2021-04-21 18:15:05
Model: Archer A7  
Hardware Version: V17
Firmware Version: latest firmware release

I am not sure whether or not I should submit this as a bug to TP-Link but I figured that I would create an account and post my findings here first. I have setup parental controls in order to curb a teen and his excessive xbox usage! Initially, I had setup the xbox as a wired connection to the router and let them know that the connection would be faster and more stable than a wireless connection to the router. The parental control profile was setup and the xbox was added as a device using the connection that it had to the device which was based on the wired NIC MAC address. This worked fine for awhile but then my child decided to connect to the router using the wifi connection. Since I had not added the wifi NIC as a device, they were able to circumvent the controls until I noticed that the usage logs were empty but I knew they were online and playing. This was remedied by adding the wifi NIC to the list of devices for this profile. All was working properly until recently when I noticed that not only was this child online and playing, but the usage logs as well as the system logs were blank and the time limits were showing 0 minutes used of the allotted time allowed. This past weekend, I watched the log continuously until their time was up and the system kicked them offline. The Internet Usage Report showed all of the time used for that day as well as the time for the previous day. A remark was made that they could "Hack me" and so I asked them to prove it. I purposefully did NOT watch what was done and within 2 mintues or so, they were back online playing the xbox. However, when I logged back in to the routers interface, I found that all of the usage logs as well as the system logs were BLANKED. Completely cleared of all information even though I had seen his usage for the day not more than five minutes previous. Not only were all of the usage logs cleared but their time was reset to 0 minutes used of the allotted time! I then spent about an hour trying to do some google-fu and perused this board as well as all of the TP-Link documentation but could not find anything that related to what I had been seeing. I know that he does not know the login info for the router and even when I am logged in, I can't find a way to completely clear those logs. So, the next day I asked them to do it again and they agreed after I allowed some more playing time if they were successful. They were able to do it again but this time, I noticed something as my laptop had disconnected from the SSID and connected to another in the vicinity. I missed this the first time as the laptop eventually reconnected to the routers correct SSID. That alerted me to the fact that there was a power cycle involved or something related to taking the wifi down temporarily. At this point, I had one small log of usage from the time just played and I tested by simply unplugging the router and plugging it back in to power. Sure enough, when I logged back into the router, all of the logs were blank (including system logs up to the reboot) and the time used had been reset to 0 minutes. This behavior is repeatable 100% of the time! Unfortunately, the router is close proximity to the xbox and can't be moved.  The time of day controls will still work after this is done but if the router is power cycled during the available time ALL LOGS ARE BLANKED AND TIME USAGE IS RESET TO 0 MINUTES! So do I file a bug report with TP-LINK or do I just simply warn you folks who are trying to use the parental controls that if router is power cycled is will simply reset everything in regards to a parental control policy except for the time of day usage controls? I find this behavior unacceptable for a device with so called parental controls where a simple ON/OFF will reset time usage and associated logs. At least now, I know that if I see cleared logs, the router has been reset. Otherwise, not sure what else that I can do, Thanks for letting me ramble but I'll admit that I couldn't believe that it is this simple to bypass "Parental Controls"!

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#1
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4 Reply
Re:Parental controls broken
2021-04-22 19:08:08

@j4m2k 

 

Are you on the latest firmware?

 

See https://www.tp-link.com/us/support/download/archer-a7/#Firmware

 

 

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#2
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Re:Parental controls broken
2021-04-24 18:05:36

@ArcherC8 

Yes, I believe that it is:

 

Firmware Version: 1.1.2 Build 20210125 rel.39623(5553)

Hardware Version: Archer A7 v5.0

 

Sorry, I had the wrong hdwr version listed in the original post as I was away from the device when I posted.

 

 

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#3
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Re:Parental controls broken
2021-04-24 21:25:19
Since you appear to be current, I would contact TP Link Support as it appears to be a bug.
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#4
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Re:Parental controls broken
2021-04-26 23:04:21

@j4m2k 

Thank you very much for the help and reply. I figured that might be the case but figured I would try to air it out here before filing a bug report. Once again, thank you, ArcherC8, for taking the time to respond!

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#5
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