Troubleshoot Block and Pause: Fing Desktop
Change or update the primary blocking device
If the Update button does not work
Troubleshooting
To improve the performance of the Block and Pause feature:
- Ensure the blocking device where the Desktop app is running is connected to the Internet.
- If you have a mesh router and the blocking device is connected via Wi-Fi, you can connect the blocking device to the nearest Access Point.
The VPN connection may interfere with the Desktop app with different behaviors:
- The VPN application creates a tunnel communication with a new network/Gateway. In this case, the Desktop app detects the new network, but it can see only the router and your device connected. All your connected devices cannot be monitored. If you disable the VPN, the Desktop app reverts to your network.
- The VPN application creates a tunnel communication keeping the same network/Gateway. The Desktop app detects all your devices, but it is possible that the Block and Pause feature will not work as expected due to the VPN interaction. To make the Block and Pause feature more effective, you need to disable the VPN connection.
The following tells you how to solve some common issues with the Block and Pause functionalities:
Change or update the primary blocking device
When multiple instances of Fing Desktop run on the same network, only one device is elected as the blocking device. By default, the elected device is device you used to accept the terms and conditions to enable the functionality.
If you wish to change the blocking device and the original device is not available anymore (i.e. it has been replaced):
- From Overview, click the Network tab in the left sidebar. This will take you to the Network page.
- Scroll down and click the blue Update button beside the text 'Fing assigned a primary blocking device status to …'. This is under the heading Pause/Block devices.
Update button does not work
Sometimes, due to particular conditions with VPNs and Virtual Machines running on the PC, the Update button does not work. If this occurs:
Windows
- Logout from the Fing Desktop App
- Close the Fing Desktop App
- Delete the file C:\Users\<current_user>\AppData\Roaming\FingAgent\conf\fingagent where <current_user> is the windows user currently used
- Kill the Fing Agent Service in the Task Manager
- Open the Fing Desktop app and login again
- Refresh the discovery and open the Network page
- Update the primary blocking device
macOS
- Log-out from the Fing Desktop App
- Close the Fing Desktop App
- Delete the file /Users/root/.fingagent/conf/fingagent
- Kill the fingagent.bin in the activity monitor
- Open the Fing Desktop app and login again
- Refresh the discovery and open the Network page
- Update the primary blocking device
Frequently asked questions
Will the Pause and Block feature work on mobile too?
We plan to integrate the feature to allow users to Pause and Block from a mobile device. However, the feature it would still need a running Fing Desktop on the network to perform the action. It is not possible to Block or Pause devices using a mobile alone.
Do I need to install anything on the target devices that I want to block?
No. Fing works at the networking level and does not require you to install any additional software on the target devices. As such, you can block devices that do not allow the installation of extra apps such as Smart TVs, Smart Home devices, Gaming Consoles.
Does the Fing Desktop Internet Pause feature work with IPv6?
This feature is currently only available for devices communicating on IPv4. The feature will work depending on the type of IPv6 connection: local IPv6 only, full end-to-end IPv6. If Fing Desktop detects a full IPv6 end-to-end connection, a prompt will be displayed to warn about the limitation.
My devices still have access to the Internet when I pause them?
Some applications, social media and streaming websites such as YouTube download packets of data in advance to make the use of them smoother. You will see this on YouTube in the bar at the bottom of a video. The line in red indicates how far in the video you are, but you will also see a grey line further ahead of the red line. This grey line shows where the application is downloading the data. Because this data has already reached your device and does not require the Internet to watch when the Internet is paused, YouTube will continue to play the video until the red line catches up with the grey line. When the 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 can sometimes take a minute or so, so if you want to know immediately if an Internet Pause has worked, try refreshing or opening a new screen.
If you still have access to the Internet at this point, it could be one of three things preventing the block from working.
- IPv6: This is a method of communication that some devices use when IPv4 is blocked. However, some of the IPv6 communications cannot be blocked. If you feel comfortable and your router allows it, you can disable IPv6 within your router settings. All devices communicate on IPv4 so it should not impact the average user’s network performance.
- Incompatible Router: Fing Desktop pauses the Internet using a technique called ARP spoofing. Some high-end routers contain software designed to block ARP spoofing, to prevent it from enacting this feature. Kindly let us know what model & internet provider you are using, to improve the list of incompatible routers.
- Firewalls: Firewalls are generally not an issue for Fingbox. However, as with the routers, some software in the firewall may clash with the Fingbox software. If you believe this may be the case, email us on support@fing.com with the details of your firewall so we can investigate.
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