Switch to DHCP Mode

When you first bring up Firewalla, it is running in simple mode by default. This mode works with most popular routers out there on the market.  However, a small percentage of users home router may not be compatible with Firewalla's simple mode.  To see if your router is in that list, check out this page: https://firewalla.com/compatibility

If you are running into a problem that is not working with simple mode, don't worry, Firewalla has DHCP mode you can try.  This mode is not set as default mode, because it involves an extra step, that is you need to turn off your router's DHCP function from its admin page.  

Why do you need to do this step?  Because in DHCP mode, Firewalla creates another network over the existing network.  So if you have 10.0.0.x network on your main router, you will also see 192.168.168.x or 192.168.218.x network from Firewalla.

Note, the 192.168.218.x network is there by default. You may use it by either using a DHCP server or manually configuring devices’ static IP address in that block.

Please see this article, it explains the three modes we support in Firewalla. "How does Firewalla Intercept Traffic?"

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The DHCP mode is far more complex than the Simple mode provided default by Firewalla installation process.   A bit of networking knowledge is required for this. In case problems encountered, you should know how to turn DHCP back on again.

To enable Firewalla DHCP mode:

STEP 1: Tapping on the “Monitoring” button, select "Mode", select "DHCP Mode".  Firewalla box will assign a new IP address to all your devices.

STEP 2: Turn off DHCP Server on your router.  Please record your router's IP address (should be like 192.168.x.1 or 10.x.x.1) before turning off DHCP server.  In case anything goes wrong, you will need to manually configure a static IP on your PC/Mac/Pad to get back the access to your router.

STEP 3: Have all the devices connected to your home router to rejoin network in order to get the new IP address from Firewalla DHCP service (you can either turn off/on the airplane mode on your mobile devices or simply reboot your devices). 

Note: Currently, Firewalla DHCP mode only monitors IPv4 traffic.  When turning off router's DHCP server, if your router has separate button to turn off IPv6 support, please do so.  Otherwise, devices assigned with IPv6 address may bypass Firewalla monitoring. 

To turn off DHCP mode on your router:

Here are some examples of how to on popular routers.  If your router is not on this list, please consult your router manual, or google it on the internet. 

• Netgear Routers

  1) Login to your Netgear router.
  2) Navigate to "Advanced" tab -> "Setup" -> "LAN Setup".
  3) Uncheck "Use Router as DHCP Server".
  4) click "Apply" button.

• Linksys Routers

  1) Under Router Settings, select Connectivity.
  2) Select Local Network.
  3) Uncheck the DHCP Server box.
  4) Click OK to save changes.

• Fritz!Box 7490

  1) Click "Home Network" in the FRITZ!Box user interface.
  2) Click "Home Network Overview" in the "Home Network" menu.
  3) Click on the "Network Settings" tab.
  4) Click the "IPv4 Addresses" button.
  (If the button is not displayed, enable the Advanced View first.)
  5) Turn Off DHCP.

• Google Wifi
• Synology 1900AC
• Xfinity Routers
• For routers that don't provide an option to turn off the built-in DHCP service, here is a simple workaround.

Additional Guides:

Under Firewalla DHCP mode, if you have a special need, please refer to these guides for details.

• How to setup port forwarding for devices in DHCP Mode?
• How to keep your network unchanged in DHCP mode?