Firewalla App version 1.69 is available to all Beta users.

New to Beta? Click the links below to join:

• iOS: https://testflight.apple.com/join/Nr0IMETY
• Android: https://play.google.com/apps/testing/com.firewalla.chancellor

Some features require Box 1.983. Available for: 

• Orange Production boxes.
• Gold, Gold Plus, Gold SE, Gold Pro Beta boxes.
• Purple, Purple SE Early Access boxes.

 

To get the Beta Box:

• Open the Firewalla app, go to your box, and tap Settings > Advanced > Beta Program.
• Turn on Join Beta Program.

To get the Early Access Box:

• Open the Firewalla app, go to your box, and tap Settings > Advanced > Beta Program.
• Tap 'Join Box Beta Program' 10 times.
• The option to choose the release version will appear. Tap on Early Access.

 

 

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1. New Features
   1. New Controls Page: Bypass Prevention, Advanced Threat Filtering, and Region Blocking
      1. Lookalike/Punycode Domains Target List
      2. Newly Registered Domains
   2. Firewalla AI for Security Alarms
   3. AmneziaWG 2.0 Support
   4. Main Screen Enhancements
      1. Network Health
      2. Rules Hit Count (with Disturb)
      3. Combined Live Throughput for Dual WANs
      4. Recents Bar
2. Enhancements
   1. Last Hit Destination on Rule Details
   2. Stats for Device Active Protect 
   3. Filter Local, Online, and Offline Devices
      1. Firewalla Devices Section
   4. Improved New Device and New Alarm Visibility
      1. New Devices Section in Devices List
      2. Sort Devices by "First Seen"
      3. Hidden Alarms Banner
   5. General Enhancements
3. Bug Fixes

 

New Features

1. New Controls Page: Bypass Prevention, Advanced Threat Filtering, and Region Blocking

Introducing Controls! In this release, we've renamed "Family" to Controls and added new features to help you apply security blocks quickly and easily (some of these features already exist as target lists), including:

• Advanced Threat Filtering: Block potentially dangerous sites.
• Region Blocking: Block sites to and from specific countries.

And to give you more flexibility, Family Protect is now split into two separate features, which can be applied to separate sets of devices:

• Bypass Prevention: Stop devices from getting around your network policies.
• Content Filtering: Block inappropriate or offensive content.

While these features allow you to apply network blocks quickly, you can still create manual Rules and apply the same blocks to specific devices, groups, or networks.

• If you have manually created block rules for Regions on all devices, they will be displayed under Region Blocking.
• Purple, Purple SE, and Orange boxes have a 10-region limit across all rules (allow, block, Smart Queue, and Routes). Gold series boxes have no limit.

Learn more about Controls here.

 

1.1 Lookalike/Punycode Domains Target List

• Requires Box 1.983 or later.

Lookalike/Punycode Domains is a new Target List and is available under Advanced Threat Filtering in Controls. This Target List can block domains using non-English characters, which are typically used to represent characters in other languages in domain names.

• For example, a domain like firewαllα.com using a Greek 'alpha' (α) will be encoded as xn--firewll-5lfc.com.

These can sometimes be used to impersonate legitimate sites (also known as IDN Homograph Attacks), but they may block trusted websites in other languages.

Note: 

• This does NOT include domains that use valid English characters to impersonate sites, such as firewaIIa.com, using a capital 'i' instead of an 'L'.
• This Target List will also block trusted website domain names that do NOT use English.

 

1.2 Newly Registered Domains

Newly Registered Domains (NRDs) is an existing Target List and is now available under Advanced Threat Filtering. This Target List contains domains that have been newly registered in the past 14 days. 

It's a common security practice to block NRDs, as they can sometimes be used for phishing, malware, tracking, or other malicious activities. 

However, it's important to note that some legitimate new services may be blocked, and not all bad sites use newly registered domains.

Learn more about NRDs here.

 

2. Firewalla AI for Security Alarms

Firewalla AI can now better analyze Alarms and query destinations, explain what the site is, and why the access may have been flagged in the first place. The new Firewalla AI analysis is available for:

• Security Activity Alarms (excluding SSH Password Guessing and Port Scan)
• Abnormal Upload Alarms
• Large Upload Alarms

To view the new AI analysis, simply tap AI or Ask AI about this alarm.

• Firewalla AI Assistant is optional. It is not active by default and does not run in the background. It is only active the moment you use it.
• While we strive to provide accurate and helpful responses, AI-generated content may not always be accurate, complete, or up-to-date, and it is not a substitute for human judgment. Always verify important information before taking any action.

Learn more about Firewalla AI Assistant.

 

3. AmneziaWG 2.0 Support

• Requires Box 1.983 or later.

In this release, we now officially support AmneziaWG 2.0. AmneziaWG 2.0 can evade VPN blocking more effectively by disguising its traffic to look more legitimate. (Reference: https://docs.amnezia.org/documentation/amnezia-wg)

To update your AmneziaWG server, go to VPN Server > AmneziaWG > tap Upgrade to 2.0 on the AmneziaWG 2.0 banner.

Important Note:

• Upgrading to AmneziaWG 2.0 cannot be undone. You cannot downgrade to version 1.0.
• After upgrading to 2.0, all previously imported AmneziaWG VPN profiles with version 1.0 will stop working. 
• You must re-import all AmneziaWG VPN profiles to client devices after upgrading to version 2.0.
• The AmneziaWG VPN Server currently does not support I1-I5 parameters.

Learn more about AmneziaWG VPN Server.

 

4. Main Screen Enhancements

We've reorganized the main screen layout, included more useful stats, and added new ways to navigate through the app, so you can better understand what's happening on your network at a glance. 

 

4.1 Network Health

The "Network Performance" widget is now Network Health — a name that better reflects what it tracks. 

If Firewalla detects any WAN changes or power outages, the Network Health widget will display them under the status bar. Tap on the widget to go to the Network Health page.

To view all recent Network Events, tap View All Events. You can individually tap into each Event to see more details.

Learn more about Network Performance and Quality Monitoring.

 

4.2 Rules Hit Count (with Disturb)

Rules have graduated from a button to a full card on the main screen, along with total Rule Hits stats at a glance.

Disturb rules now also include hit counts, similar to Allow, Block, and Time Limit rules, so you know how often a Rule is being hit.

Learn more about Rules here.

 

4.3 Combined Live Throughput for Dual WANs

If you're running dual WANs, your Live Throughput graphs now display in a single, unified widget. Tap the widget to see the total throughput per WAN and per device in real time.

Note: To view the Live Throughput widget, make sure your app is connected to your Firewalla's local network and that local network access for the Firewalla app is enabled. 

Learn more about Live Throughput here.

 

4.4 Recents Bar

Introducing our new Recents bar! This bar, located above your other feature buttons, will help keep track of any recently accessed devices, users, groups, and sub-features. 

It'll also be the new location of the Wi-Fi Test or VPN Test when connected to your Firewalla's local network or VPN Server. 

 

Enhancements

1. Last Hit Destination on Rule Details

• Requires Box 1.983 or later.

Rule Detail pages now show the most recent destination and device that triggered the rule, under a new Last Hit section. This is great for easily figuring out who and what last triggered your rules.

If the flow was within the last 24 hours, you can tap View Flow to go directly to the flow detail page. 

Note: Firewalla keeps the last hit destination for up to a year. If a rule hasn't been hit in that time, it will only display the last hit time.

 

2. Stats for Device Active Protect 

To help you know if Device Active Protect (DAP) is actively working, we've added stats to DAP.

From your Firewalla's main screen, tap Protect > tap into Protected Devices. You'll see overall stats of all Trusted, Learned, and Blocked flows managed by DAP. On each eligible device, you'll also see a new hit count next to each device.

Tap into any eligible device to see the individual DAP stats.

Learn more about Device Active Protect.

 

3. Filter Local, Online, and Offline Devices

As requested by the community, you can now filter your Devices List by tapping the Local, Online, and Offline tabs in the Device Summary! Tap the filter again to turn the filter off.

Note: VPN Devices are not included in these device counts, as they are not considered local devices.

 

3.1 Firewalla Devices Section

We've moved Firewalla devices to a different location in the Devices List, so you can always stay focused on your actual devices. 

• Firewalla devices are now hidden from the "Groups" tab and only display from the "All" tab.
• Grouping devices by "Device Type" or "Connected Access Point" (with Firewalla AP7 or Orange Wi-Fi) will display a new "Firewalla Devices" section.

 

4. Improved New Device and New Alarm Visibility

To help you find your new devices and alarms, we've made some changes to improve visibility in the app.

 

4.1 New Devices Section in Devices List

When new devices join your network, the "Devices" tab will display an active notification badge. Tapping it will now show the new devices at the top of the list for easy access. Tapping away from the Devices list will merge them back into the rest of the list.

 

Similarly, if you have New Device Quarantine enabled, tapping View Quarantined Devices on the New Device Banner will display the new devices on top. Dismissing the banner will merge them into the rest of the list.

 

4.2 Sort Devices by "First Seen"

Along with the New Devices section, you can now sort your Devices List by First Seen to easily view devices based on when they first joined your network.

 

4.3 Hidden Alarms Banner

If new alarms arrive while you're filtering the Alarms list, a banner will appear, letting you know some are hidden by your current filters. Tap View All to clear the filters and see them.

 

5. General Enhancements

• Global Search can now suggest recently accessed features, rules, and users. 
   
• On the main screen, feature icons have been improved and are now color-coded by status:
  • Blue/Multicolored: Enabled
  • Gray: Disabled
  • Red: Error
• With Firewalla AP7 or Firewalla Orange, when creating a new Wi-Fi LAN, you can now open Advanced Settings to configure bands, security, group/user assignments, and more, without needing to save and edit them later. 
   
• When applying features to devices, you can now quickly search for devices.
   
• Social Hour has been moved out of the Controls page (previously Family) and now has its own dedicated feature page. Go to All Features > Social Hour to turn it on/off.

 

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue where the Wi-Fi test may show an incorrect signal on the 5 GHz channel (iOS only).

• Fixed an issue where the app's bottom navigation bar may interfere with the system's bottom navigation widget (Android only). 

• Fixed an issue where the Amnezia VPN server may not work properly on a multi-WAN network. 

• Fixed an issue where Firewalla Orange may not be able to connect to an SSID with a trailing space.

• Fixed an issue where IPv6 traffic may be routed to the secondary WAN when the primary WAN is shown as active. 

• Fixed an issue where VPN blocking rules may block T-Mobile's Wi-Fi Calling service. 

• Fixed an issue where Firewalla may fail to assign devices to the selected group/user when devices are connected via access points of certain brands. 

• Fixed an issue where mute settings using IPv6 CIDR may fail to work. 

• Fixed an issue where local IPv6 traffic may be incorrectly blocked by local blocking rules on other networks. 

• Fixed an issue where DAP may cause the internet connection to be paused for 5–10 minutes after a system reboot.

• Other minor display improvements and bug fixes.