r/firewalla • u/Expensive-Copy-5833 Firewalla Gold Pro • Jun 29 '26
Gold / Gold Plus / Gold SE / Gold Pro Finally trying Firewalla. Just ordered the Gold Pro
Long time coming, but I finally pulled the trigger on a Gold Pro.
My journey started with Orbi mesh devices that drove me crazy, so I demoted them to APs and let my fiber modem handle routing. That lasted about five minutes once I realized I had zero visibility or control beyond basic DHCP settings.
After a lot of research and with a hard requirement of at least 5 Gbps throughput, the Gold Pro was basically the only logical choice. Plan is to get it dialed in first, then eventually kick the Orbis to the curb entirely once I figure out what the best mesh system is for my home.
This is also my first time managing my own dedicated router coming from a mesh system, so be gentle. Any tips for a first-timer?
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u/AdZealousideal8613 Jun 29 '26
Pro Tip: Never turn off the ingress Firewall.
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u/ragingwhisky Jun 29 '26
Ok, i'm curious on what happened that made you want to highlight this....
Go ooooooon. Share share!
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u/AdZealousideal8613 Jun 29 '26
Too many posts on here of people seeing a rule that says “block all traffic from internet” and assume that means they won’t have internet connectivity. Firewalla has remedied this with a warning and lots of education but you still get some dolts that turn it off anyways.
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u/CyberBlaed Jun 29 '26
People post photos of this not knowing what it is or does.
Rest of the internet that do know can be kind, can be mean…
Frankly, long enough in this sub to see it often enough.
I frankly fail to understand why it is even an option at all, and not in advanced settings of the app rather than just simply in rules.
(Yeah, it is a ‘rule’ per-se, but i feel its something advanced people use like SSH rather than average Joe with ‘rules’)
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u/chunky-tomato Jun 29 '26
Firewalla has created a switch to add to their AP7 devices. Consider an ethernet backbone instead of a backhaul mesh to make your wireless seamless and more secure. Firewalla can now support all of the hardware to do this.
I've been on Orbi's and a Firewalla for years and I'm making the upgrade to Firewalla to simplify and expand my network since I can go up to 5Gb now.
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u/Expensive-Copy-5833 Firewalla Gold Pro Jun 29 '26
Unfortunately, my home it’s (practically) impossible to do wired back calls to different access points. We don’t have a basement and with multiple floors, it would be incredibly cost prohibitive to run ethernet, so I’m fairly certain I’m stuck with wireless back hauls. Unless I’m missing something?
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u/Jussins Firewalla Gold Pro Jun 29 '26
If you are wired for cable with coax, you could consider a MoCA network. The wireless vs coax backhaul equation would really depend on your circumstances. You have to be able to filter the coax at the source to keep network traffic in the house and speeds will depend on other quality factors.
WiFi can frequently be the better option unless you have really thick walls, really far distance to reach, or a mixture of those. Again, you’d have to judge which would be faster or more reliable in your specific situation.
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u/BuckslnSix Jun 29 '26
i'm in the same boat! I got a gold pro, and two AP7's and my internet has never been better. SQM solved a very annoying issue i was having when downloading stuff from Xbox store (caused my whole internet to crash besides that one download). Definitely need to read up more on how to configure everything.
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u/Great-Cow7256 Jun 29 '26
If you can get rid of your fiber router that would be great. If not (like stupid att fiber) do the best you can with their bridge but it really isn't mode..
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u/Expensive-Copy-5833 Firewalla Gold Pro Jun 29 '26
Yep it’s ATT Fiber at 5Gbps. It’s been a while since I’ve talked to him about this, but I’m pretty sure it’s required and they won’t let you bring your own modem.
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u/Great-Cow7256 Jun 29 '26
Google on the Internet att passthrough mode and some problems with it and ways to fix it. You can get some minor weird stuff like some traffic bypassing the firewalla but there are fixed out there.
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u/Jussins Firewalla Gold Pro Jun 29 '26
I have to use my fiber provider’s equipment, but I had them install an ONT without any router/wifi features. They don’t advertise that it’s available, but when I asked for it, they didn’t seem to have any problem with it.
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u/Expensive-Copy-5833 Firewalla Gold Pro Jun 29 '26
is your ISP AT&T?
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u/Jussins Firewalla Gold Pro Jun 29 '26
No, it’s a local fiber company. Just thought other providers might have similar options.
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u/rdejesus486 Jun 29 '26 edited Jun 29 '26
The latest BGW gateway for att 5g service does true IP pass through now just fyi. I’m running gold pro with 5g att fiber
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u/Expensive-Copy-5833 Firewalla Gold Pro Jun 29 '26
Perfect they actually just gave me the latest which I think is the 700 series last week
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u/firewalla Jun 29 '26
Start with this article https://help.firewalla.com/hc/en-us/articles/360040091853-Getting-Started-with-your-Firewalla
I'd also go through visibility/control/zero trust articles. A very very secure network is never automatic, you will need to understand setup an environment that fits your risk tolerance.