104

Feature request: MAC address filtering

Are you planning on implementing MAC address filtering? I love your product and recently started using it (got 2 eeros covering my 2500 sq/ft home). Your security approach is very much appreciated, but I believe having MAC address filtering provides additional level of security, as passwords can be breached. I understand that MAC addresses can also be spoofed, but it is much more difficult. If the password is not designed to be difficult enough to guess, once it is breached, the access to network is wide open, whereas with MAC address filtering, any device without the approved address will not gain access to the network.
On the eero app, (at the point of identification of all devices), it would be helpful to have an option to approve the device's MAC address or reject it if you do not recognize it.

71 replies

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    • eero Community Manager
    • Jeff_C
    • 7 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Hi  mfgiggsy  —

    Thanks for reaching out and welcome to the eero community!

    I am happy to hear how much you are loving your eeros, and we hope that you will continue to be happy with them. 

    We greatly appreciate your feedback, and I am happy to share this with our team. If there are any updates, I'll be sure to share them here :)

    Thanks again!

    • FuzzyG
    • 7 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Welcome @mfgiggsy I wouldn't worry about MAC filtering. Like hiding your SSID, it isn't worth very much (if anything) as far as security is concerned. Passwords don't have to be difficult to be strong. I recently read a report stressing that length matters far more than something that looks difficult to enter. As an example h&5U2v$( isn't any more secure than thiSpassworDiSverYeasYtOremembeRbuTiSlonG. I will see if I get motivated to dig up that document. I do however like the idea of being notified when a new MAC connects.

    • FuzzyG
    • 7 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    I found this comic about it. If anybody cares I can dig more later. 

    http://xkcd.com/936/

    • mfgiggsy
    • 7 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    I still think that having MAC AF (Address Filtering) is very helpful in further securing your network.

    As another feature request, why not have an app for Mac/WIN as well, which would be much easier to manage MAC AF along many other tasks. Similar to how Apple does it with Airport Utility.

    • FuzzyG
    • 7 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    If you want it , you want it. I just wanted to let you know that it really doesn't do much. You can research about it if you care to learn why. 

    • UtterButter
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    I would like this possibly in the form of a BLOCK.  so if something joins my network i can BLOCK IT.  I supposed once COULD make a family filter can call it blocked, move devices there  and keep a permanent block but its not the same.

    • eero Community Manager
    • Jeff_C
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Official response
    • Reported - view

    Hi Utter-Butter

    I'm happy to share that with our recent app release, 1.5.3, we have introduced the ability to block individual devices. You can read more here.

    Also, we have a Help Center article on the new feature here.

    Thanks for your feedback! 

      • scotte
      • 3 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Jeff C. Although this is an old thread, I'd actually like to see all new devices joining the network (main or guest) be automatically added to the blocked list until I explicitly unblock them.  So even if someone manages to hack the network password or use a mac address spoofer, they don't have access to the network until approved by the admin.

      • ricardol
      • 1 yr ago
      • Reported - view

      Jeff C. This is not enough. It should be blocked by default. Then we can decide if we approve it or not. My children spoof MAC addresses daily and it is a cat and mouse game. Easier to deny by default.

      • Bwerrington
      • 5 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      I agree it should be blocked by default because my kids spoof there MAC addresses to get around parental controls on their windows machines.

    • UtterButter
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Jeff C. 

    • UtterButter
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Great!  Thank you EERO!

    • DMcWetty
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Loving the BLOCK feature (funny enough, I had to use it on myself once). But I was hoping to add something. Is it possible to "block" a MAC address from a specific Eero node, Jeff C. ? Ex: I don't want my iMac to "drift" to the upstairs node as the basement one is closest by far. I want to lock the iMac to the basement node by blocking its MAC address on the other two nodes. Possible? Crazy? Genius?

    • eero Community Manager
    • Jeff_C
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    DMcWetty —

    Glad to hear it!

    As for the situation you experienced, we actually have a feature request you may be interested in following 😀

    Feature request: Attach a device to a specific eero

    Hope that helps!

    • DMcWetty
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Jeff C. Thanks. That is of interest. I know Eero isn't doing a public roadmap, but I'm only seeing 2 (relatively easy) things in the "implemented" section of feature requests. Any clues as to what features are highest priority?

    • eero Community Manager
    • Jeff_C
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Official response
    • Reported - view

    DMcWetty —

    Well, nothing is relatively easy :)

    While those are the features we've completed that have been requested here, there were also plenty of features released before this community came to be (such as Family Profiles). Also, not everything we work on is based on a public request. While we hope to work on and develop many of the things that have been requested here, something that our team is always going to be focused on making better and better is our mesh—as we did with our release of TrueMesh. We are not ones to settle, so our team is always making improvements to the overall efficiency and performance of your system, which is provided in our frequent software updates. 

    There are also many other features we work on behind the scenes that don't get as much airtime, such as:

    • Improving speed test accuracy 
    • Improvements in roaming
    • Which eero a device is connected to
    • Connection quality between your eero and the network
    • Connection type of your eeros (wired/wireless)
    • Connection quality between your devices and the network
    • Connection type of your devices (wired/wireless)
    • Ability to diagnose network health issues from within the app

    As for what's the highest priority, well as you know, we don't have a public roadmap. However, our team is very much in tune with what is going on in our community and other channels. Simply put, our highest priority is delivering both the best mesh and connected home experience. While I realize that is a pretty vague answer, I can assure you we take every piece of feedback we receive very seriously and vet it and determine where it fits into the future of eero. We are excited for what's to come, and we appreciate both your's and everyone else's contributions in helping us continue to develop the eero home experience.

    • clintonmorris
    • 6 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    I have a son that is very tech savvy.  He is spoofing his MAC address to get around me shutting down his internet at night.  I know that I can block based on MAC address but I would like to only allow certain MAC addresses to be on the network so if he spoofs (changes) his address he can't connect to the network.  Is this possible and if so, how?

      • Garryladd
      • 6 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      clintonmorris 

      I have the same issue and made this request as well.  I wish new devices connecting go into a default group blocking internet access.  Then Admin gets notice to approve and apply to a family group so MAC address changes are not automatically connecting.

      • DLThompson06
      • 5 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      I’m in the same boat as clintonmorris and Yufasa in fact, it’s become a bit of a game to see which one of us can outsmart the other. Without having the ability to create a white list of MAC addresses, there’s not much more I can do with the eero to keep him off. Every time I block a new MAC address, he just creates another. It’s ridiculous not to have this feature. I realize some people on here feel that it doesn’t do much, so they don’t have to use it, but I for one would find it very helpful. I’m about ready to get rid of the eero at this point and find something else that will give me that option. 

      • DLThompson06
      • 5 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      clintonmorris Yufasa  I ended up putting our Eero system into bridge mode, using our old ASUS router to handle the advanced settings (not that MAC filtering is an advanced setting!).  Now I have the mesh coverage of the Eero, and the MAC filtering of the ASUS.  Problem solved.

      • Yufasa
      • 5 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      DLThompson06 This may eliminate users from accessing the internet side but they will still be able to join the mesh network and as such have access to local devices/servers/etc.

      • DLThompson06
      • 5 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Yufasa I'm looking for a way to block internet access for certain devices.  Won't MAC filtering through the router do that?

      • Yufasa
      • 5 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      DLThompson06 Sure but Eero actually have a way to block internet access built in, so why not use that? I will see if a can find the link to that functionality

      • DLThompson06
      • 5 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Yufasa like I said before, Eero can block specific devices based on their MAC address. I’ve tried that aproach, but all my son has to do is spoof a new MAC address and he’s back on. We went back and forth doing that about 6 times.  I needed a way to create a white list so only devices with specific MAC addresses are allowed on. Then it doesn’t matter how many new MAC addresses he comes up with, if it’s not on the list, he’s not getting on.

Content aside

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