What we don’t recommend you touch. And the honest reason why.

VLANs and firewall rules

These are under Settings > Networks and Settings > Policy Engine. (The one exception is the Simple app and site blocking in Parental controls and scheduling, which is safe.)

They decide which parts of your network can talk to which. They are what keep your guest Wi-Fi away from your cameras, and your smart TV away from your work laptop.

Why we keep them off this list:

• One wrong change can quietly break something that looks unrelated. The cameras stop recording. The doors stop answering. The printer disappears. Nothing tells you why.
• It can open a hole in your security that you will not notice until someone else does.
• When something breaks after a change, finding it can take longer than the original job. That is a bad afternoon for you and an expensive one too.

It is not that you could not learn it. It is that a mistake here costs much more than a phone call. If you need a change, call us. Most are quick.

Also on the leave-alone list

• Remove or Forget on any device. That factory-resets it (see Everyday maintenance).
• Factory reset of the console. This wipes your whole system.
• Early Access updates. Test software.
• Switch port settings. Changing what a port does can cut power or service to whatever is plugged into it.
• Pulling drives out of the recorder.

Changed something and now it’s broken?

Tell us what you changed. Do not try to undo it by guessing. We would much rather hear “I clicked this” than spend an hour finding it. No judgement, ever.