Firewalla Reviews 18

I tried to configure a WiFi WAN upstream and WiFi hostpot at the same time. This should have been my travelling kit. Getting just the WiFi WAN configured to the hotel internet and the rest of the gadgets remain to be connected to the WiFi hotspot.

It never worked, the box just restarted every now and then. Support was not helpful at all, just stated that the box might have a hardware problem. Though luck for me, it was already outside of the warranty. They did not even made me a special offer for a new one.

Get yourself some of the single board computers like Raspberry and build the appliance yourself. Much cheaper, much more stable, much more flexibility

I’m sharing my extremely disappointing experience with Firewalla (3031 Tisch Way #110, San Jose, CA 95128) concerning their Firewalla Gold Plus: 2.5G Cyber Security Firewall & Router and Firewalla’s Customer Service & Technical Support. A little bit about myself: I’m a full time RVer and live in a 25 feet long x 8 feet wide travel trailer (TT). Everything in my TT has to be secured in place so it doesn’t fly around when I’m on the road. I’m 100% in need of a reliable Wifi System/Network-I need Wifi to stream TV, for my Sonos Wifi Sound System, for online banking and for other necessary internet functions. Without reliable Wifi I’m just like the old cave men.

My Wifi Provider is StarLink and I use their Flat High Performance Kit. I have not had any problems with StarLink's Wifi Service. In May of 2025 I decided to add more security to my personal Wifi Network by adding firewall protection. I mistakenly decided to purchase a Firewalla Gold Plus: 2.5G Cyber Security Firewall & Router. This change required some modifications to my Wifi Network at that time. The Firewalla Gold Plus: 2.5G Cyber Security Firewall & Router does not have Wifi built in so I had to add a Wifi Access Point-I added a Unifi U6+, the U6+ also required a POE which I added to power it and I also added a Gigabit Switch. In order to use this setup I had to bypass my StarLink Router.

For a little less than 9 months everything worked well. Then on February 15, 2026 I lost my Wifi connect and had Zero Wifi from the Firewalla Gold Plus: 2.5G Cyber Security Firewall & Router. First I thought my StarLink Power Source had failed, then I thought maybe the Unifi U6+ Access Point might have failed. I didn’t suspect that my Firewalla Gold Plus: 2.5G Cyber Security Firewall & Router had already failed. So one thing I did was to connect my Apple MacBook Pro directly to the Firewalla Gold Plus: 2.5G Cyber Security Firewall & Router via ethernet cable-well guess what NO INTERNET. So, then I removed the Firewalla Gold Plus: 2.5G Cyber Security Firewall & Router completely form my network and went back to using StarLink's router. So I had to go about getting StarLlink setup again. After going back to using StarLink's router everything was back to normal-but not without having to make a bunch of updates-the biggest task was reconnecting all my Sonos Sound Components to the new network (New to Sonos) which was a pain in the ASS-I’m going to try to avoid this again.

Even after I told the Firewalla Customer Service & Technical Support that everything was back to normal after I switch back to using StarLink’s Router and eliminating their Firewalla Gold Plus: 2.5G Cyber Security Firewall & Router from my Network, they proceeded to tell me that StarLink’s Power Source was the problem-What????

I did contact Firewalla to see if there was an easy fix to their Firewalla Gold Plus: 2.5G Cyber Security Firewall & Router after it crashed. Well, the only way to get Technical Assistance from Firewalla is via email-NO PHONE SUPPORT-BAD. Trying to trouble shoot the problem via email would take days or maybe even weeks. If they diagnosed a problem with their Firewalla Gold Plus: 2.5G Cyber Security Firewall & Router that required repair or replacement that would even take longer-because the unit would have to be shipped to Firewalla at my EXPENSE!!! Again, I didn’t want to be without Wifi for such an Extended period of time.

The warranty on the Firewalla Gold Plus: 2.5G Cyber Security Firewall & Router is for one year. I told Firewalla via email I had decided to no longer use their Firewalla Gold Plus: 2.5G Cyber Security Firewall & Router because it was not reliable enough for me since it had already failed with less than 9 months of use. Thus, I asked Firewalla to partially reimburse for the original cost of $662.51. Firewalla did not even consider my request. Firewalla insisted on doing a lengthy diagnostic process via email-that just wouldn’t work for me to be without Wifi Service that long.

Since I’m not very tech savvy, I asked the Firewalla Tech via email how to uninstall their software etc from my devices. The Tech’s original response was uninstall them. What kind of response it that???

I’m going to mention another very annoying think concerning the Firewalla Gold Plus: 2.5G Cyber Security Firewall & Router. The Firewalla Gold Plus: 2.5G Cyber Security Firewall & Router constantly sends out stupid Alarms 99% of which are about the same repeating items that don’t warrant an Alarm-annoying as hell. I finally had to place my iPhone SE 3 Gen in airplane mode so I could sleep at night.

Based on my experience and opinion I would not recommend buying the Firewalla Gold Plus: 2.5G Cyber Security Firewall & Router.

I strongly do not recommend the Firewalla Gold Pro 10G for business environments. Despite the “10G” branding, this product is clearly designed for home and family use — not for professional or enterprise networks.

In my experience, it lacks critical business features and flexibility required for real-world business setups, including reliable support for Microsoft Remote Access and other essential configurations that many companies depend on.

Customer support was disappointing. Responses were slow and not solution-oriented. When I decided to return the product, the return process was frustrating:

You must pay for return shipping yourself.

You must insure the package at your own cost.

They also deduct the original shipping cost they charged to send it to you.

This means you end up paying both inbound and outbound shipping — even when the product does not meet business requirements.

For a company marketing premium-priced hardware, the level of support and customer service does not reflect professionalism or care for customers. The return policy feels designed to protect the company financially rather than support customers.

If you are running a business, do not purchase Firewalla Gold Pro 10G expecting enterprise-grade performance or support.

For home users, it may be acceptable depending on needs — but for business use, I cannot recommend it.

Support from this company is extremely poor. We purchased devices that never arrived / were stolen in transit, and after a lot of back and forth support basically refused to disable access to the devices in effect supporting the whoever stole it. So if you purchase goods that dont arrive expect no assistance from Firewalla.

Don't buy the Firewalla Gold SE. The instructions are incredibly basic, and their customer support is no better. I spent two frustrating hours with a data technician, and even he couldn't get it to work. When I tried to return the device because it wasn't compatible, they refused my request. Stay away from this product and company!

Poor experience with Firewalla Gold SE. The speeds are much slower than my previous router. I sent a very detailed email to their support outlining everything I've tried so far and they responded with 2 things to try, both of which I already tried and told them in my email. So they obviously didn't even read the email I sent. I spent hours gathering all this information and they just ignored it all. I'm sending the unit back.

e of the best products ever used. Unfortunately I had to pay import charges to EU/UK and it make a bit expensive. However, we are super happy with the product, its feature and customer support. Recommended!

If you don't have full access to a recent smart phone, avoid this like the plague. It's mandatory for configuration. This product isn't suited for disabled individuals. They also won't refund your shipping cost and will require you to pay for shipping to return. Very poor customer service. As well, they have no phone support. Only via app or sporadically and very rudely via email.

I've gone from the Gold to Gold Plus to Gold Pro as my ISP has offered faster fiber. All three have been excellent, stable and reliable. Lots of information available for review. Helpful UI or you can ssh. Effective quarantine, VLANs, alerting, rule creation, etc. Very feature full and even the Pro is less expensive than anything reasonably competitive with full IPS/IDS turned on.

I've been using Firewalla for the past three years. I have the original Gold model and I'm very satisfied. A lot of customization, very good data analysis, perfect security. I'm able to run multiple VPNs and route specific websites and apps through different VPN sessions, I can quarantine new devices and follow the activity on my network. I wish that I'd have the 2.5Gbit ports on mine, but it's only available on the newer model so I'll have to use link aggregation and settle on 2Gbps.

Beside, their support is extremely fast and helpful. Never had an issue, we're always helping to help. I recommend it, especially if you're new to this security field.

Keep up the good work!

No matter what marketing advises, these are consumer grade devices. The best use case for any model is a small consumer based network with very basic needs. If used in ARP spoofing mode, the device will miss packets & cause more network congestion, bridge isn't really that, it's a watered down version of DHCP, & DHCP is fine if it can keep up with traffic. Hardware is not remarkable given the cost, though Jetway the hardware vendor offers a two-year warranty, Firewalla offers a 30 day if a refund is requested. There is no locally accessible UI & the backed automation will still require you to dig into the command line when hunting down issues, which you will be doing on your own. If you are a consumer with very simple demands, feel free to roll the dice, though almost any consumer grade all in one router in this price point will have the same or better features. If you are a professional, save money & accept some things will never be UI facing, build the same or better appliance with the exact same open source software firewalla uses. Also, these devices are purely software driven, but the manufacture refuses to patch regularly even though this is marketed as a firewall. MANY positive reviewers seem to be part of this companies 'reseller' program.

This has simply been a nightmare. Personally, I would not recommend this product for a host of reasons. There sales page is a little deceptive. There are 2 versions of the Firewalla Gold (FWG), but unless you pay close attention, you would not know that. Even after doing your homework, like I did, you would not realize on the sales page, the Firewalla original has a dropdown tab to the version b, which is a 2019 CPU vs the 2016 model every link on their site points to. The 2019 CPU is 30% faster than the 2016 model. Once I rec’d the device, the nightmare started. I downloaded the app, connected the box, blue like on, hear the beep, power was secure; but FWG not found. Unplugged, rinse and repeated for hours but FWG was not found. Googled and found this is a common problem, but already repeating process has stated. Reached out to customer support via email, since that’s the only way to contact support. Support responded in about an hour and told me to basically keep doing what I was already doing, via Googled search. Finally, FWG detected hours later, but now to the error of my own doing. Attempts had been made to connect to FWG multiple time, so I started using my iPhone 12 and my iPad 2021 to see if it was an issue with either device. The first time it connected, was finally to my iPad, and once connected, it needed Wi-Fi to download updates. I’m not sure why it was not able to use the connected ethernet cable to connect and provide a local connection like other devices; i.e., connecting your thermostat or other IOT devices in your home. I tried to use my phones hotspot connection, but that appeared not to work, as another hour rolled by and screen was stuck at “checking app permission.” I was terrified of starting the process over, because of the hours of failed to find FWG, but I had no choice. Again, shutdown, unplug, recycle, etc. This time, my iPhone did find FWG fairly quickly, and I was finally able to complete the initial setup process. The reason I purchased a $500 dollar router/firewall is because I had been using a popular OpnSource option and wanted something with less maintenance and upkeep. The OpnSource option came with many options, but required constant attention. Third party updates could break features, and anyone who’s used either of the two open-source options most people refer to, understand what I’m talking about. I was seeking a more set it and forget it solution, that didn’t require my constant attention to too much detail. Be careful of what you wish for! The main interface of this device is via the phone you set it up with. You can log in via a webpage at my.firewall.com, but most of the features on your phone are not included in the web version. I don’t want to have to do everything from my phone when I need to review and fine tune my network. I tried to see if I could get FWG app to work on iPad as an option, but no, once it’s pared to a device, that is the only device with full features. One of the first issues I noticed after the system was up and running is that on my Google TV, I was seeing ads I had not seen in years. I attempted to add lists to the built-in adblocker, but it has a limit of 200 manually added addresses. I never had ads using my pi-hole. I then researched to find you can add pi-hole via 3rd party SSH, but there are some comments of potential risk or dmg to the system with this option, so I elected not to go with this option. Why Firewalla doesn’t allow open-source list like from github blacklist project, makes no sense. Not allowing full management of the device from a web browser or allow a second device to have access; makes no sense. Having a built-in VPN server, that’s only good for tunneling back into your home, when you are away, is just a waste of space. The features that are built-in are good features, but they are not the best or provide the best protection, because they are only maintained by Firewalla. Is paying $500 for this device worth it, to gain a device that I may be able to setup and forget about it? I feel my system is less secure than with the OpnSource option. If it’s not protecting me against ads, then what else is it not protecting me against? I was expecting much more out of this device for the price; and I’ll also have to pay for the return.

I bought the Firewalla purple and use it as a router/firewall. It was operating fine for a few months and started having problems which I could not fix. The support time remotely looked at it and ask me to ship it back to them. They in return shipped a new one to me. The second one is working fine. The cool thing that helped me out was the tools this little box has. I can test the wifi speed and the gateway as being fine which help narrow down to the router operation issue. So far the tech team was good. I’ll have to see how it works out over time.

Don't kid yourself - this is not an appliance - this is a very expensive toy. Companies that stand behind their products offer actual phone support. Purchased my Firewalla Purple with high hopes. Worked well for almost 2 months and then started seeing major wifi degradation throughout my home / office. On a 1GB Verizon Fios network I was getting 25 MBPs wifi speeds when standing next to the router. Changed the setup multiple times. I just think that this "toy" cannot handle a large amount of packets in a smart home / office setting. A Unifi Dream Machine Pro costs roughly the same (maybe $50 more) and you cannot even compare - the support, the quality, its capabilities - I just didn’t want a large box and wanted something small and unnoticeable. Firewalla is app based only, there is absolutely ZERO phone support, the support team want to access your network to help you (mind you that I know what I am doing and have had another IT specialist try to figure this out). All I asked was to have the unit returned - it's defective and cannot handle even mild packet loads. Support sucks - they refuse to help and will not accept a return even though I have physically used this for less than 2 months. Once I disconnected it wifi speeds went back to normal. Again - this is not a Firewall Appliance - it's a firewall toy that's best served for less than 5 devices in a possible travel setting - nothing more. To me a company that doesn’t offer phone support means that they are trying to hide and not stand behind their product. It means to me that they don’t want to deal with customers who are having issues. Do yourself a favor and go with a more serious solution for the same price or even slightly more - it’s worth it cos this thing IS NOT!

Excellent products (I own a Firewalla Gold and a Firewalla Purple) and responsive customer service. Worth every penny if you want to keep your network safe - which you should.

I purchased the Firewalla Red for my home network, mainly for parental controls. I had high hopes as on paper it seems great,
But sadly I have to report it just doesn't work properly and is not fit for purpose.

In the SIMPLE mode, it is just not reliable, blocked devices are randomly not blocked, rules will not work, and quarantine mode randomly does not quarantine devices.
In other words, devices can easily bypass the firewall.

I had mine set to auto block new devices and put them in quarantine so that my kids cannot bypass the firewall by using PRIVATE IP (MAC address spoofing) which is on by default on iPhones, and so their friends cannot connect to my network.
However, despite devices being in quarantine, they could still sometimes access everything.
And If I blocked my kid's devices at bedtime or when they are banned, they would often still have access, same for specific services which are blocked.

I was then told to use DHCP mode instead, and this just caused even more problems. It will randomly just break my whole network and all internet access.
It will try to assign my powerline adaptor as the gateway, which also breaks internet access. So I have to constantly turn off my powerline adaptor and reboot everything.

Support constantly told me to turn off monitoring, which defeats the point in the firewall, it also tends to just revert devices to the primary network IP range when in DHCP mode, and then they lose internet access, since that is the IP range normally assigned by your routers DCHP, which you will have turned off to use Firewalla for DCHP.

In the last week the device has constantly started rebooting all the time, and I am told that is because I now need a more powerful device as the red cannot even cope with a home network. Even though that is the exact target market for red and it clearly wasn't rebooting until now. So how was it coping the last few months?

I spent over 1 month just going back and forth with support, performing the same steps over and over again, switching DHCP mode on and off, rebooting, turning off monitoring on devices.... and got nowhere.

Dealing with Firewalla support has been a nightmare, as you need to repeat everything continuously as they never ever read the ticket properly so never have any idea what the issue is.

If it worked and was fit for purpose, I think it would be brilliant, as the features are great and easy to use, the app is good, but sadly I cannot recommend Firewalla based on this experience and I don't think I would trust it to block incoming traffic either.

In general a good product but the company is unable to deliver a consistent quality of service. I upgraded from model blue to model blue plus. One function is to quarantine new devices. (For example new devices in your network are blocked from access to internet etc until you approve those.) With the upgrade to blue plus the function stopped working. Over several weeks I worked w/ the Firewalla tech support team to help them fixing their software problem. I helped as a beta tester. After a while they told me it will be fixed in a future release and kind of gave up. No further communication. Now several months later the problem is still not fixed. Summary: Good product idea. Bad execution. Be careful.

Update: At the same time I posted this review I contacted the company again. (Ticket.) The problems is now resolved.

EXTRAORDINARY CUSTOMER SERVICE

Firewalla support AT firewalla DOT zendesk DOT com
15:20 (Il y a 4 heures)
À moi
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Talib-Elhoda Ghani
Sep 22, 06:20 PDT

Hi

i 'm facing hacking harassment online (wifi and via my router) and even with my vpn software so

i have no hand on the traffic with my chromebook or android phone with windscribe or airvpn (i can only see if i'm connected thats all) ==> url spoofing, fake captcha, ads injections, session hijacking, mitm fake ca... even with vpn so i need to know if i'm truly connected to my vpn service....

i hope i will be able to monitor all the traffic with your firewalla?

and kind of sophisticated traffic rules can i activate?

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Firewalla (Firewalla) support AT firewalla DOT zendesk DOT com
18:30 (Il y a 1 heure)
À moi


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Firewalla
Firewalla (Firewalla)

Sep 22, 09:30 PDT

It is hard to know the details of your asking. Here are the manuals, see if you can see anything that may help you out.

https:// firewalla DOT com / pages / user-manual ==> MANUAL SO THERE IS NO SUPPORT ON FIREWALLA IF THE ONLY ANSWER IS READ THE MANUAL.......IT IS A SOPHISTICATED FIREWALL ROUTER VPN ANTI PHISHING ADS.... BUT WITH A OUTDATED CUSTOMER SERVICE.........

Talib-Elhoda Ghani
19:11 (Il y a 25 minutes)
À support+id2041

well

you are the support team right?

so is there a hardcoded login (remote access) in the firmware of your firewalla?

what type of memory and cpu (hardware) is embedded in the logic board of your firewalla?

i'm waiting for THE answer ..........THE TRUE DEATH ^^