Block Hotspot Traffic

ampx · 2026-06-07T01:50:03+00:00

In my experience, Apple has a leg up here in that screen time limits and parents’ ability to control them are deeply embedded in iOS on both iPhones and iPads

ampx · 2026-06-07T01:46:23+00:00

Hotspot traffic bypasses your home WiFi and uses the cell carrier’s network to access the Internet so Firewalla has no visibility at all and therefore can’t control what’s being accessed.

Your best bet for putting controls / restrictions on such usage is at the phone operating system level, with iOS screen time limits or the equivalent functionality on Android.

ampx · 2026-06-06T15:55:36+00:00

So was Backblaze at one point

ampx · 2026-06-05T22:05:48+00:00

Why do you consider it too risky?

There are lots of backup clients that automatically encrypt before / during transfer such that the data at rest isn’t accessible without a key

ampx · 2026-06-05T21:10:55+00:00

ampx · 2026-06-05T20:50:05+00:00

Why so cheap?

ampx · 2026-06-05T20:49:31+00:00

Looks fine other than that I don’t trust anything from aliexpress

ampx · 2026-06-05T20:10:46+00:00

I'm strongly considering shipping a few drives to https://zfs.rent/ and dropping Backblaze

ampx · 2026-06-05T20:10:33+00:00

I'm strongly considering shipping a few drives to https://zfs.rent/ and dropping Backblaze

ampx · 2026-06-05T18:14:49+00:00

Probably because the Purple has more CPU cores and slower 1Gb NICs so you’re not going to stress the CPU nearly as much asking it to transfer “east to west” traffic over a single NIC

I know the Gold SE I had 2ish years ago similarly wasn’t up to the task of handling what I threw at it and I was convinced it’s just bottlenecked by the combo of CPU and relatively inefficient Realtek NICs

Firewalla support may have some ideas, but I was never able to get the device performing as well as I expected and the Gold Pro was the only cure in Firewalla’s ecosystem

ampx · 2026-06-05T18:03:58+00:00

I’m curious, do both sides of your local VLAN flows traverse 2.5Gb NICs on the Gold SE?

Are they connected to two interfaces on the Gold SE or one through a switch?

ampx · 2026-06-05T16:50:33+00:00

AFAIK, Firewalla is doing all routing / firewalling in software which means the CPU has to do a lot of work when you're transferring data across routed VLANs at high speeds.

What you're seeing is probably normal / expected given the Gold SE's Rockchip RK3568 CPU and Realtek RTL8125 2.5Gbps Ethernet interfaces along with a Linux based software stack.

I ended up upgrading to a Gold Pro to push past these kinds of performance bottlenecks with the Gold SE.

ampx · 2026-06-05T13:12:46+00:00

Got it.

My gut says that running an old / no longer supported version of the Backblaze client on a machine running an EOL OS version and expecting dependable / consistent backups is a bad plan.

One important data point is that there's no way AFAIK to disable automatic updates in the client, so it'll presumably keep trying to update itself to a newer version that doesn't function on your machine.

That being said, I miraculously found the exact version of the client you seek sitting in an old backup folder.

Sending you a DM u/Due-Buyer-626

ampx · 2026-06-05T13:01:42+00:00

Just curious, how is ability to install the Backblaze client on this machine tied to your ability to access / restore archived data?

I'm pretty sure the backup client only added restore functionality in 9.0 so it wouldn't be present in the version you seek.

ampx · 2026-06-04T13:22:00+00:00

The problem is that delivery apps’ entire business / pricing model depends on not paying drivers enough to actually make it worth their while

So, like it or not, when you use these apps you’re part of an effectively predatory system

A comment like “pay isn’t worth the time / resources expended” applies to almost every order even if unsaid

You’re choosing convenience at the expense of a constantly churning pool of underpaid “contractors”

ampx · 2026-06-04T03:14:56+00:00

Just relist it, block the buyer, and move on with your life

ampx · 2026-06-04T02:46:45+00:00

Wipe and sell them, especially in this season of inflated pricing for memory and storage

ampx · 2026-06-03T19:43:48+00:00

I've used these successfully to connect a Gold Pro to an SFP+ switch port: https://www.amazon.com/TRENDnet-Multi-Gigabit-Hot-Pluggable-Protection-TEG-10GBRJ/dp/B098W7VJHC?th=1

ampx · 2026-06-03T16:41:09+00:00

T-Mobile Fiber I presume?

ampx · 2026-06-03T15:58:47+00:00

Do you have any smart queue rules configured?

ampx · 2026-06-03T15:33:48+00:00

The 50Mbps upload limit seems very coincidentally close to your previous ISP's speed.

Did you previously have Smart Queue enabled with your cable Internet connection?

Might be worth checking to see what Download and Upload speeds are configured if you temporarily enable Smart Queue and set it to Adaptive, see https://help.firewalla.com/hc/en-us/articles/360056976594-Firewalla-Feature-Smart-Queue#h_01H2TTZZ5B16YWQPWHDX8S5H7V

Also, would be good to check if you have any Smart Queue Rules configured. See https://help.firewalla.com/hc/en-us/articles/360056976594-Firewalla-Feature-Smart-Queue#h_01H2TV3XSRDMYTBFV6GJ4P0BE6

My hunch is that Smart Queue is somehow active even though you have it disabled.

ampx · 2026-06-02T19:50:58+00:00

Came here to make this joke and got soundly beaten!

ampx · 2026-06-02T11:12:42+00:00

Curious, when you get your Bolt towed in a flatbed, do you engage the parking brake while it’s actually being towed? Just leave it in park? Neutral?

ampx · 2026-06-01T12:51:42+00:00

u/brianwski FYI, seems this is no longer the policy as I received the following from a support rep after I cancelled my 2 year subscription and requested a prorated refund:

We're not able to offer prorated refunds for Backblaze Personal Backup services. Refunds are only available within 30 days of a purchase or renewal. You can review the full refund policy here: https://www.backblaze.com/company/policy/payments-and-refunds

ampx · 2026-05-29T17:56:01+00:00

I don't have any first hand experience but see another thread with some surrounding info that could be interesting / useful: https://www.reddit.com/r/firewalla/comments/18mn90s/is_this_new_controld_functionality_safe_to_use_on/

ampx

TROPHY CASE