Internet Pause

Updated April 15, 2024 15:42

Karl Shannon

Have more questions? Submit a request

What are Block and Pause?

Fing includes a Block and Pause device feature which can be used for network security and parental control.

Block device: Permanently block a device from accessing your network, such as intruders. This prevents the target device from accessing the internal LAN traffic and Internet traffic. Use Block to blacklist suspicious unrecognized devices that might be using your Wi-Fi without your consent. Any attempt to obtain an IP address will be countered, and it will not be able to send data to and receive data from any other device in the network, preventing sharing, streaming, casting, and any other local network activity.
Pause Internet: Stop a target device from accessing the Internet temporarily via the current network but still allow connectivity to internal devices. For example, a child's computer can temporarily have no access to the Internet but can still send a document to the printer; a paused mobile device could still cast a video on a streaming dongle.
Schedule Internet downtime: Use Pause to temporarily pause Internet access and enforce Internet downtime; attempts to access the local network will be allowed, but requests to access the Internet via the network gateway will be denied. Stop a user's devices from accessing the Internet during specific times or days, such as homework time for your child.

Note: Block and Pause cannot run simultaneously on the same device.

How to access Fingbox

Control Fingbox features from the Fing Mobile App on iOS or Android. To do this:

From Overview, click the circular icon with three dots at the top right of the page
This will open the My Networks page. Here, click on the network with the Fingbox icon beside it.

Pause the Internet with Fingbox

The Fingbox Internet Pause feature is similar to the Fingbox device block feature. The Fingbox block feature blocks the Internet from reaching a device or a user. By contrast, the Fingbox Internet Pause feature does not cut off a device from accessing the entire network and still allows the device to communicate with other devices on your network. For example, you can pause Internet access for your child's laptop, but the laptop can still send devices to the printer.

There are three ways to pause the Internet with Fingbox:

On-Demand Device Pause: Pause the Internet to a single device. Select a set amount of time to pause the Internet and unpause it when you wish.
On-Demand User Pause: If you have set up the Digital Presence feature, block all the devices belonging to one user.
Scheduled User Pause: If you have set up the Digital Presence feature, set up an Internet schedule for your users, with automatic blocking at selected times and days.

Pause the Internet without a Fingbox

If you do not have a Fingbox, you can pause the Internet with a Fing Desktop Premium subscription.

You also need a Fing Premium subscription to pause the Internet from Fing Mobile App. Control Fingbox features from the Fing Mobile App on iOS or Android. Once you have a Fing Premium subscription, sync your Fing Desktop and Fing Mobile networks. To do this:

From Overview, click the circular icon with three dots at the top right of the page
This will open the My Networks page. Click on any of the networks under the Monitored Networks heading.

Once you have synced your Fing Desktop App with your Fing Mobile App, any actions you take on Fing Mobile are sent to Fing's server and then to the desktop app.

Note: Follow the above steps to enable Schedule Downtime and Block and Autoblock on Fing Mobile App.

Prerequisites for Block and Pause Devices: Fing Desktop

Block and Pause Devices is only allowed on private networks. To choose what type of network to monitor, click the Network tab in the left sidebar. In the Network tab, click the blue highlighted text next to Context, if the network is not already assigned.
The Block and Pause devices feature is intended to be used in a private, controlled environment where you are the owner and administrator of the network.
Once you click Pause or Block, a dialog with the Terms & Conditions of the service will appear. Accept the Terms & Conditions by clicking the I agree button. This will allow you to proceed and use the Pause and Block feature. You can also access the Terms & Conditions online by clicking the link in the dialog which directs you to the Fing website. To ensure compliance with the terms of service, some details of the network and blocked devices will be logged.

Approval process for Desktop Block and Pause devices

Each network is identified by the Gateway MAC address and must be approved to enable the Block and Pause feature. Use the Block and Pause feature according to the Terms & Conditions available on the website.

As such, the following prompts may be displayed, based on the approval process status:

The network context is missing

To set the context, click the Network tab in the left sidebar and click the blue highlighted text next to Context. You will be shown options to assign a network context to: Home, Office, Rental and Public.

Your Network is not private

In the Network tab, the Context is not set as Home. To set the context to Home, click the Network tab in the left sidebar and click the blue highlighted text next to Context. You will be shown options to assign a network context. Select Home.

Terms & Conditions agreement is missing

The Terms & Conditions agreement must be included.

Approval Pending

Access to the Block and Pause feature is under review by Fing for this Network. The Fing Support team will contact you before proceeding.

Approval Denied

Fing has denied access to the Block and Pause feature for this Network. Contact the Fing Support team if you think you own this Network. You can contact the Support team for further instruction by clicking your name at the bottom left of the screen. Then click Help.

How to use On-Demand Device Internet Pause

Pause: Fing Mobile App

Open Fing Mobile App
Click Overview on the bottom toolbar
Click the Online devices widget or the blue See devices button
Click the device you want to pause. This will take you to the Device details page.
Scroll down to the Manage this device heading and click the blue Pause Internet button
A pop-up will appear with a selection of time lengths to pause the Internet. Select a timeframe.

Alternatively:

From Overview, click the Users widget. Alternatively, click the Online Devices widget and then click the People tab.
Click a user and select Pause Internet

The Pause Internet button will turn red to signal that the device is now paused, and will now say Resume Internet.

The device's ability to access Internet will be suspended for the selected duration. When you select the option Pause and resume later, the Pause will remain until you unpause the device manually.

A new network scan will be scheduled to run when the time expires. This will update the list of your devices. Under normal usage, the timing is sharp. However, depending on the status of the PC (power-safe mode, sleep-mode), it may take a few additional minutes to run, causing a slightly longer period of blocking.

Unpause: Fing Mobile App

If you wish to unpause the device sooner than the allotted amount of time:

Open Fing Mobile App
Click Overview on the bottom toolbar
Click the Online devices widget or the blue See devices button
Click the device you want to unpause. This will take you to the Device details page.
Scroll down to the Manage this device heading and click the red Resume Internet button

Pause Mobile.gif

Pause: Fing Desktop

Click the Devices tab in the left sidebar. Alternatively, from Overview, click the See all devices button in the Connected Devices widget. Either action will bring you the Devices page, where you will see a list of all your devices.
Click the device you would like to pause Internet access for. You will be brought to the Device details page.
Under the Improve Security section to the right of the page, click the Pause button.

You will be prompted to select how long you would like to pause the selected device. The device's ability to access Internet will be suspended for the selected duration. When you select the option Pause and resume later, the Pause will remain until you unpause the device manually.

Unpause: Fing Desktop

Click the Devices tab in the left sidebar. Alternatively, from Overview, click the See all devices button in the Connected Devices widget in the home dashboard. Either action will bring you the Devices page, where you will see a list of all your devices.
To know if a device is paused, a pause icon will appear next to the device under the Status column. Click the device you want to unblock.
Under the Improve Security section to the right of the page, you will see that the Block button is disabled and the Pause button is labelled Resume. Click Resume.

Pause Desktop.gif

Block/Pause all devices assigned to a specific user: Fing Mobile

Open Fing Mobile App
Click Overview on the bottom toolbar
Click the Online Users widget. Alternatively, click the blue See devices button and click the People tab.
Click the user whose devices you wish to pause from Internet access
Click the blue Pause Internet button and select the amount of time you would want to pause the device's Internet access
Confirm you wish to pause the device

Unpause devices sooner than the allotted amount of time: Fing Mobile

Open Fing Mobile App
Click Overview on the bottom toolbar
Click the Online Users widget. Alternatively, click the blue See devices button and click the People tab.
Click the user whose devices you wish to unpause from Internet access
Click the red Resume button

Block/pause all devices assigned to a specific user: Fing Desktop

Open Fing Desktop
From Overview, click the Users widget. Alternatively, click the People tab on the left sidebar.
Click the user whose devices you wish to pause from Internet access
Click the red Pause Internet button and select the amount of time you would want to pause the device's Internet access

Unpause devices sooner than the allotted amount of time: Fing Desktop

Open Fing Desktop
From Overview, click the Users widget. Alternatively, click the People tab on the left sidebar.
Click the user whose devices you wish to pause from Internet access
Click the red Resume button

User pause1.gif

How to use Scheduled Internet Pause

Use the Scheduled Internet Pause tool to pause users' access to the Internet for set times, such as bedtime for children. The feature comes with scheduled templates you can customize or you can set up your own.

Fing Mobile App: Setting up, editing and deleting an Internet schedule

Open Fing Mobile App
Click Overview on the bottom toolbar
Click the Online Users widget. Alternatively, click the blue See devices button and click the People tab.
Scroll down and click the blue Create new schedule button. If you have any Scheduled Internet Pauses scheduled, they will be displayed here.
Select the type of schedule: Bedtime, Homework, Generic
Select the days and times you want to pause the user's Internet
Click the user you wish to restrict
Click Save

In the Schedule Pause section, you can see all your active schedules and edit or delete them when you wish.

Fing Desktop: Setting up, editing and deleting an Internet schedule

From Overview, click the Users widget. Alternatively, click the Online Devices widget and then click the People tab.
Scroll down to Schedule Internet downtime and click the blue Create new schedule button
Select the type of schedule: Bedtime, Homework, Generic and click OK
This will bring you to the Edit page. Here, select the days and times you wish to pause the user's/device's access to the Internet. You can also name the schedule.
Click on the user you wish to restrict from accessing the Internet on these days and times
Click Save

Timeline of events

The Desktop app allows you to retrieve Pause and Block events in the device timeline. In the Device details page, click the View Timeline button to the top right of the page. This action will take you to the Device events history page.

The timeline will show you the following Pause and Block events:

When the Pause or Block event started
How long the event lasted

The block events are marked with a red dot and the pause events are marked with a yellow dot.

Protected Devices

The Pause and Block feature is disabled by default in your Network in order to ensure the right functionality of the entire network environment for the following devices:

The Gateway
The Fingbox, if present in your Network
The device where you currently run the Desktop app

Both tools will appear greyed-out and not executable.

Restricted Devices

Once you have blocked or paused devices, you will have a selection of devices that are restricted from accessing the Internet. To see which devices are restricted from accessing the Internet:

From Overview, click the Online devices widget. Alternatively, click the blue See Devices button.
Click the Network tab
Scroll down to Restricted devices

Network setup warnings

The Block and Pause functionality works with IPv4 networks. Based on your network setup, some IPv6 configurations may also work. Fing automatically detects an end-to-end IPv6 configuration and prompts a warning that blocking may not work on that setup.

IPV6 is active

The Desktop app can detect that an end-to-end IPv6 setup is active in your Network. When IPv6 is detected, Fing may be unable to pause Internet access or block devices and suggest disabling IPv6, opening the router configuration. The Desktop app will show a warning. If you click Don't show again, keeping IPv6 enabled in your Network, the warning will not display again.

The blocking device is offline

For each network, a user may have only a single PC that performs the Block and Pause network activity. If you have multiple Fing Desktop installations on the same network, only one device will perform the blocking.

The device that has been used to accept the Terms & Conditions is automatically elected as the 'Blocking device'. When looking at the network from another Fing App, if that device is detected as offline, a prompt will inform you that the request to pause or block has been recorded, but it will be applied only when the blocking device is back online.

To elect a new PC to act as the blocking device, go into the Network page in the home dashboard on the new device. Click Make this the blocking device.

Fingbox Internet Pause FAQs

Does the Fingbox Internet Pause feature work with IPv6?

No. This feature is currently only available for devices communicating on IPv4. As with other, similar products on the market, we are currently working on a way to pause Internet on IPv6.

My devices still have access to the Internet when I pause them

Applications will often download packets of data in advance to make using these packets smoother. For example, on YouTube, there is a bar at the bottom of the video. The red line indicates how far into the video you have watched. There is also a grey line ahead of the red line. This grey line shows where the application is in terms of downloading the data. Because this data has already reached your device and does not require the Internet for you to watch it, when the Internet is paused YouTube will continue to play the video until the red line catches up with the grey line. When red line catches up with the grey line, the video will stop working because YouTube cannot access the Internet to download more data.

This catch-up process may take approximately one minute. If you want to immediately know if an Internet Pause has worked, refresh the page or open a new screen.

If you can still access the Internet at this point, one of the following three issues are preventing the block from working:

IPv6: This is a method of communication that some devices use when IPv4 is blocked. Fing cannot block IPv6 communications. If your router allows it, you can disable IPv6 within your router settings. All devices communicate on IPv4 so this should not impact your network performance.
Incompatible router: Fingbox pauses the Internet using a technique called ARP spoofing. Some routers contain software designed to block ARP spoofing, which prevents Fingbox from pausing the Internet.
Firewalls: Fingbox is generally compatible with firewalls. However, as with routers, there may be some software in the firewall that clashes with the Fingbox software. If you believe this may be the case, click the Submit a request button at the top right of the page so we can investigate.

Note: Blocking and pausing needs to be done for each specific device. The Fingbox will block/pause network access for all devices/users at once. If you want to block all devices or groups of devices, you will need to do so on each individual device.

Troubleshoot

Click here to learn more about troubleshooting the Block and Pause functionalities.