Forum Discussion

anthonyw's avatar
anthonyw
New Contributor II
21 days ago
Solved

Does MAC address filtering work?

Ever since I upgraded to a new Panoramic WiFi modem/router (Technicolor CGM4331), my MAC address filtering has not been working correctly.  Once the whitelist is completed; the filtering option set to Allow; and the router restarted, the whitelist disappears and is completely empty.  Interestingly the filtering appears to work for a little while (a few weeks) before it just stops working.  At this point, I'm guessing that since the whitelist is empty it is now working correctly and filtering all devices.  If I switch the filtering to AllowAll then all my devices can connect to the internet once more.

Has anyone else noticed this odd behavior?  I don't know why the whitelist disappears which is the main issue.  I've tried resetting the router to factory settings but same behavior.  I'm probably going to exchange the router this weekend.  But I'm wondering if it might be a larger issue with MAC filtering and Cox which isn't fixable?

Thanks in advance for your help!   

  • anthonyw's avatar
    anthonyw
    13 days ago

    I ended up returning my CGM4331 to Cox and upgrading to a CGM4981 which resolved my issue.  So it was either a problem with my particular unit or the model in general.

    Thanks everyone for your comments!

  • DannyS's avatar
    DannyS
    Moderator
    20 days ago

    anthonyw, this link may help with your questions regarding MAC filtering Ways to Secure Your Wireless Network.  If you have any other questions, please send an email to cox.help@cox.com, along with a link to this forum, for assistance. 

    • anthonyw's avatar
      anthonyw
      New Contributor II
      20 days ago

      Thanks. I did come across the article in your link.  Unfortunately, MAC address filtering is listed as an "unsupported reccomendation".

    • anthonyw's avatar
      anthonyw
      New Contributor II
      13 days ago

      Replacing and upgrading my modem solved my issue.

  • ExtraChrispy's avatar
    ExtraChrispy
    Contributor III
    20 days ago

    If you try to use MAC address whitelisting and have smartphones you'll be pulling your hair out due to smartphones all now randomizing their MAC ID's by default.  Android and Apple claim this is for security but it doesn't make you more secure and only makes network management more complicated.

    • anthonyw's avatar
      anthonyw
      New Contributor II
      20 days ago

      When configuring your network connection while connecting your device, if you select advanced settings, there is usually an option to select a randomized MAC address (default) or your device MAC address. 

  • Darkatt's avatar
    Darkatt
    Honored Contributor
    20 days ago

    Make sure after adding everything to the whitelist, you SAVE the settings. If you don't save them, then when you reboot, they will all disappear. 

    • anthonyw's avatar
      anthonyw
      New Contributor II
      20 days ago

      Definitely saving the whitelist.  MAC filtering was working on my old Panoramic modem/router, just this new model is causing issues.  Hopefully it is just this specific modem/router and not a software issue.

  • anthonyw's avatar
    anthonyw
    New Contributor II
    13 days ago

    I ended up returning my CGM4331 to Cox and upgrading to a CGM4981 which resolved my issue.  So it was either a problem with my particular unit or the model in general.

    Thanks everyone for your comments!