How does Tenda router limit children's internet time? Create groups to manage two kids separately, so you can change your time slot right in the company app

has two kids at home: the older took online classes on a tablet in middle school, and the younger was in elementary school with an old phone watching cartoons. Previously, I used a clumsy method for them to go online: collecting devices one by one before bed. After two weeks of storage, I hid my old phone under my pillow, looked at it under the covers at midnight, and went to school the next day with dark circles under my eyes. My wife gave a strict order: the router is on the pipe, and the device is taken away—this trick is useless.

My main router is the Tenda AX12. I previously set speed limit and blacklist it, so I'm pretty familiar with the backend. This time, I focused on parental control and found that Tenda's approach is completely different from Mercury's. The biggest advantage is that grouped management, allowing two kids to set separately. I'll write down all the pitfalls I fell into.

first clarify three things: speed limits, bans, and parental control—using the wrong tools is a waste of effort

Before I start writing,

will clarify where I misunderstood. When I was scrolling through the menu in the backend, I saw three features that looked like relatives:

I went off track on my first trip, thinking my child was just "playing too wildly," so I limited the tablet to 20MB first. Yet the other person still watched it late at night, just with the video highlighting a bit. Speed limits can't control time, so parents have to control the work.

some people use WiFi timer switches to shut down the whole house when the internet is on time. My family tried one night, but the disconnection was from FamilyMart. I worked overtime until 11:30 and had no internet, and the living room camera disconnected. The next day, my child went to bed on time, and I had dark circles under my eyes. Cutting it all out won't last even one night in my family.

three steps to the webpage backend: create groups, select devices, and draw time slots

the browser's address bar and enter tendawifi.com, enter the management password to enter the backend (if you can't open it, check my previous troubleshooting —90% of the time it's stuck in the first three blunders). On the left menu, find 'Parental Control', click 'Add Parental Control', and three items will appear:

First, group names. the "Laoda Tablet" I built. This group name isn't for show; when adding equipment or changing the time, you recognize it, and just pick a name that matches your account.

second item: select equipment. the backend to list online devices and check the tablet. Here's a trick to identifying devices: first check the device name. If you can't recognize it, turn off WiFi on other devices, and whoever remains in the list is the same. If an unfamiliar name appears in the list, don't rush to check it. First, use the method in the MAC address to recognize it. If the child's device has a random MAC enabled, the name will show as "Anonymous device" or something similar. You need to have the child connect before checking the box.

third item: time periods. this is the key point. Tengda provides a weekly calendar grid based on the allowed internet time according to the Tianhua calendar. The rules I set for the boss:

Finish drawing and save the dots. At exactly nine o'clock that night, the tablet's WiFi icon automatically crossed, the game disconnected on the spot, and my child came over to ask if the router was broken. I said this was called a physical cheat.

second group: two kids separated by tubes, which is where Tenda is better than Mercury

boss's rules were set, now it's the younger's turn. The older ones are in elementary school and can't get much screen time, so I set up a group called "small old phones," with completely separate time slots: usually only 40 minutes from 19:00 to 19:40, and one hour each in the morning and afternoon on weekends.

two groups each managed their own affairs, and when the time came, they would each sever their own ways without getting involved with the other. I specifically compared this point: Previously, when I helped a neighbor set up their Mercury router, the parental control was to "all devices outside the parent list are managed by the child." His two kids couldn't do it because they wanted one older and one small, so they had to set a compromise timeline. The eldest thought it was too short and the other too long. Tengda's system is grouped, with one slot per device and several kids according to the rules.

By the way, here's an extra skill Tengda parents have in control: they can restrict website within groups. I entered the domain of a certain mini-game website, but the web version couldn't open at all. But to be clear, this only blocks web pages in the browser; the app runs on its own server, and the domain name can't be blocked. If you really want to control the app, you have to rely on time slots to cut it off. Don't expect a domain name to be a permanent solution.

can be managed even while at the office: remote time slot changes in the app

last Friday, on my way home from work, I remembered my eldest was going out with classmates the next day, so I didn't need to go to bed early. According to Friday's 22:00 slot, the internet was cut too early. In the past, you could only wait until you got home to turn on the computer and make changes, but now you just pull out your phone and do it.

Tenda After linking the router to the WiFi App (the binding won't work the five situations I've tried, the second-hand ones being tied is the most troublesome), there is a parental control entry below, and the grouped settings created in the webpage backend are fully visible in the app. I opened the "Laoda tablet" on the subway, changed the Friday slot to 22:30, saved it, and when I got home, my child was still online with his classmates, and it didn't stop.

this remote capability is genuinely convenient. I can't handle the Mercury system—their app doesn't have parental control at all, so you have to set it up in the web backend, so you can't control it when you're not home. The family belongs to Mercury, and I wrote about managing children's time in an article where Mercury's parents control different paths and pitfalls.

App also has a one-click temporary network disconnection. During exam week, I directly paused both groups, which is faster than changing the time slot. Remember to unplug it after use. I forgot once—my child came to me on Friday night to protest, saying the router was broken again.

Expires Nonstop Online, Child Changes Disguises: I Stepped Down on All Three Traps for You

Pit One: When the time is up, I can't stop online. there was a period when the boss could still get online at 9:30 PM. I thought the function was broken, but when I checked the backend, the system time was set at 4 a.m.—a couple of days ago, the community had a power outage, the router ran out of battery, and the time reset to zero. The 21:00 rule still didn't seem to it yet. The router's time is calibrated by the network. When manually calibrating in system settings, or if the time is wrong in the article replace the NTP server with a domestic one for a one-time solution.

pitfall two: changing equipment is like changing your disguise. group recognized equipment, not people. After I confiscated the old phone, he found grandma's backup phone, connected it to WiFi, and looked after it like a mountain—the new device wasn't in any group, so he just ignored it. After finding out, I checked my grandmother's unit into the 'Small' group as well, which counted as locking it down. If you have many devices at home, be cautious when new devices connect to the internet, and check the background device list every few days.

pit three, after the changes I didn't click save. Tenda's interface, after changing the time period, you must go down and tap the save button; if you don't click, it's as if the changes haven't been changed. On my first trip, after drawing the weekend grid, I closed the webpage right away. On Saturday morning at 9 a.m., my child came to see me, but the promised internet time didn't show up. One more reminder: don't let your child know the management password. At this age, it's not hard to delete a group in the background. Set the password to the birthday type at home, and change it first.

Three situations

can't control and a checklist

to be fair, parental control of a router is not a trap. If the child uses mobile data to access the internet, the router can't manage it, so they have to go to the carrier to set a data limit for the secondary card; If the child knows the neighbor's WiFi password and runs off to someone else's internet, they can only keep their own door shut; Also, for older kids who tend to mess around, restoring factory settings once will leave all groups—so the management password is the last hurdle and should be set strictly.

finish with a clear order: first think carefully about what rules each child should set, then go backend to create groups and check devices to draw grids. After setting them up, watch them on the night and see if they can't get disconnected, then bind the app to open up the remote system. The full setup takes half an hour, and your shop won't argue over equipment for half a month. This deal is worth it.