User Manual
Table of Contents
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Pangolin mobile app quick tips
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How to refresh the devices and alerts page and hide offline devices
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Adding and controlling multiple Pangolin devices on one account
These items will be in your Pangolin box when it arrives
- Pangolin device (x1)
- Power adapter (x1)
- Lan cable (x1)
- Quick Setup Guide
Setting up the Pangolin for the first time - PLEASE FOLLOW THESE STEPS FIRST
Whenever the Pangolin device is booted it will go through a security and update diagnostic process. Upon booting the Pangolin, please wait for the device LED to turn solid green, which means the device has been integrated with your network and is ready to go.
The initial boot of a newly registered Pangolin will take around 10-15 minutes depending on the speed of your network.
Updating the Pangolin
The Pangolin will automatically update itself whenever there is an update available, without interrupting your network traffic. The device's LED behavior will change based on the Pangolin's status.
A device update will typically take anywhere from 8-20 minutes to download, install and reboot, depending on the speed of your network.
Device LED behavior and meaning
LED Slow Blinking: Checking update server and Internet connection
LED Fast Blinking: Downloading new update
LED on: Device is registered and working properly
LED off: Device is updated but no user account is registered
Pangolin is not working on my network
Some routers (provided by your ISP or ones you may have purchased) have built-in rudimentary security features that can conflict with the Pangolin’s security suite. This may prevent the plug and play set up of the Pangolin Device, as the plug-and-play capability of the Pangolin utilizes a form of ARP spoofing.
Most routers allow the user to configure and disable these features.
We do our best to make sure Pangolin works with as many routing devices as possible. Please refer here for our most up-to-date router compatibility list.
BEFORE CONTINUING WITH THE STEPS BELOW:
Please check the Bandwidth Controls in your Pangolin app: if you have Bandwidth Controls ENABLED but you have NOT set your ISP plan's maximum download & upload speeds, please do so first and see if the issues you are experiencing continue.
A single Pangolin device can only be deployed on a single broadcast domain, meaning if you have multiple separate internal networks, a single Pangolin device will only be able to secure the broadcast domain it is connected to.
Also please note that at this time Pangolin is NOT COMPATIBLE with IPv6.
If you are unable to register your email on the app, please first ensure that there are no spaces before or after the email you input and try again.
NOTE on WiFi guest networks:
Due to the nature of how routers handle guest networks, the Pangolin will not function on the guest network of your routing device. This means any devices connected to the guest network of your router will not be protected by Pangolin's security, ad-blocking and parental control features, however if need be the router's guest network will still be functional.
For ASUS routers specifically:
Please disable the following:
- AiProtection
- Firewall
List of compatible ASUS routers:
All Previous Wireless N Routers
RT-AC51U/RT-AC52U/RT-AC53U/RT-AC54U/
RT-AC55U/RT-AC56U/RT-AC58U/RT-AC59U/
RT-AC59U-V2/RT-AC66U/RT-AC66U B1/
RT-AC68U/RT-AC86U/RT-AC87U/
RT-AC1200HP/RT-AC3200/RT-AC88U/
RT-AC3100/RT-AC5300/GT-AC5300/
RT-AX56U/RT-AX58U/RT-AX88U/RT-AX92U/
RT-AX95U/GT-AX11000
For TP-Link Deco Mesh Routers
Please disable the following:
- Intrusion Prevention System
- Infected Device Quarantine
You may leave Malicious Content Filter on
What is Advanced DHCP Mode and why might I need to use it?
For the routers that prevent the disabling of their poorly maintained security settings, we will need to utilize Pangolin’s DHCP mode instead.
Pangolin has a built-in DHCP mode that will automatically enable itself in order to work together with your current network equipment regardless of this situation.
Are there any limitations in DHCP mode?
All functions of the Pangolin device and app will continue to work without issue. There is only one limitation: In DHCP mode, Pangolin will be unable to monitor internal network traffic. This means that internal malware might go unnoticed until it decides to use one of your devices to make contact with the Internet.
Please note that, under DHCP mode, Pangolin protects users' devices by acting as the DHCP server. Users will need to ensure their PC or Android IP Settings are set to "AUTOMATIC (DHCP)", "DHCP", or "DYNAMIC (DHCP)" in order for Pangolin settings and firewall to take effect. These settings should be on by default in most cases.
For Windows, check IP Settings:
For Android, this will be under the Advanced area of Network & Internet Options/Settings:
After changing your PC / mobile device settings, you will need to access your current router’s web configuration (see image below).
You can access this through your browser by typing in the default gateway of your router. This is usually 192.168.1.1, though this may differ depending on your router manufacturer. If it is a different IP address, then you may need to refer to your router manual to obtain it. Our example utilizes a popular ASUS gaming router, but the process should be the same regardless of brand and model.
From Settings, you will need to navigate to the “LAN” Options of your router’s web configuration:
Configure LAN IP Address to 192.168.88.1 and click apply or save setting. You may keep the Subnet Mask as 255.255.255.0 :
Once you have saved the LAN IP settings, navigate to the DHCP Server tab in your router.
Under “Enable the DHCP Server” click “no” or disable the DHCP Server.
You can then click apply to save the settings.
This is necessary so that Pangolin can take over the DHCP duties of your router.
IMPORTANT: Please make sure that if your router has a DNS relay option, that this option is enabled. Otherwise devices on your network will not be able to resolve the proper DNS.
Once the router settings have been applied, you can go ahead and connect your Pangolin device to your router via a LAN cable and Pangolin will do the rest of the work for you:
What is IP Masquerading and when to enable it?
When using a firewall such as Pangolin, there may occasionally be instances where certain devices might have trouble accessing certain services and websites, especially depending on your ISP.
If you run into an instance where you cannot access a certain site, and you have determined that it is not because of parental controls or ad-blocking, then try enabling IP Masquerading on the device you are trying to access the site with (such as your PC or smart phone). This may resolve the issue.
CAUTION: IP Masquerading may work in certain instances as described above, but can potentially come at the cost of having difficulties accessing other sites or services. Due to the wide range of ISPs and how IP addresses are resolved, we cannot predict here exactly how your device’s access will perform when enabling IP Masquerading.
Random MAC detection
Pangolin has random MAC detection functionality. Apple and Android devices now use random MAC address assignment as a default network setting, as do some Microsoft devices, which must be changed by the user if they wish to have a fixed MAC address.
For greater usability out of the box, Pangolin is able to detect devices with random MAC addresses and will assign them as a ‘Guest’ device. A device with a random MAC address will be deleted from the device list in the Pangolin app if it is offline for over 24 hours.
To avoid this issue, please set your device to use fixed MAC via your mobile OS’s appropriate settings.
How to refresh the devices and alerts page and hide offline devices
Our app allows you to easily refresh your list of alerts, as well as your device list. All you’ve got to do is visit either page, then swipe down on your screen until you see the refresh icon!
To hide devices in the app's device list that are currently offline, simply navigate to Settings and activate the "Hide Offline Devices" toggle in the options listed.
Network graphs & analytics
For greater transparency and usability, the Pangolin mobile app summarizes certain key network metrics and bandwidth usage.
Analytics
On the Pangolin app Home page, just under Parental Controls you will see a summary of Pangolin’s efforts to keep your network secure and private. The six key metrics displayed are described below.
Devices Online: the number of devices that are currently connected to the same network as your Pangolin device.
Trackers Blocked: the number of website and online service trackers that have been blocked to date by Pangolin for all devices on your network.
Threats Blocked: the number of malware and malicious sites that have been blocked to date by Pangolin for all devices on your network.
Total Queries: the total number of all queries made by all devices on your network to Internet websites and services to date.
Queries Blocked: the total number of malware, malicious sites, trackers, ads, websites under parental control rules, and blocked devices’ Internet access attempts that have been blocked to date by Pangolin for all devices on your network.
Percent Blocked: Queries Blocked as a percentage of the Total Queries that have been made by the devices on your network.
Bandwidth
On the Pangolin app Home page, just under the analytics summary is a graph that displace total network-wide bandwidth usage, which you can toggle to on an hourly, daily or weekly bases by tapping the “Hourly”, “Daily” and “Weekly” just above the graph. Download usage is the blue area on the chart, and upload usage is the purple area on the chart.
On each respective device page there is the same graph with the same options and the same colors for download/upload as on the Home page, but showing only bandwidth usage for that particular device.
These graphs display the total bandwidth usage for the time frame selected; for example, if you choose to view “Weekly” bandwidth view, you can determine on what days your network (or particular device) is using the most amount of bandwidth.
How to edit a device in the app
Want to manually change settings on a per-device basis? It’s simple to do.
Just tap on the “Devices” icon at the bottom of your screen, and then tap on the appropriate device name.
The first screen that this takes you to will allow you to do the following:
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Block the device from the Internet. This option completely isolates the device from the network and is useful if a device is suspected to contain malware.
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Allow the device to ignore all parental controls
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Cause your app to trigger an alert when the device comes online
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Block or allow ads and tracking (ad blocking must be set manually)
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Disable security features (not recommended)
Tapping on “Edit” on the top right of your screen allows you to customize the device name, and manually choose the device type, icon, and operating system.
Creating Parental Control Rules
To create parental control rules, visit the app’s home screen by tapping “Home” on the bottom of your screen.
You’ll be able to see the parental controls icon here. Tap that to continue.
When you reach the parental controls screen, tap the plus symbol next to “Active Rules” to create a new custom rule.
You’ll be able to name it, set its start and end times, what day(s) it is active, and what websites or web categories you want to block. For example, you can choose to block all social media sites, or specifically block a site like YouTube.
After you’ve finished setting up your rules, you can then tap on “add device” near the bottom of the screen to choose which devices on your network are affected by the rules.
Once you’re done choosing them, just tap “Save” on the top right of the screen and you’re good to go!
What is Anti-bufferbloat?
NOTE: be sure to set your ISP plan's maximum download & upload speeds first BEFORE enabling Bandwidth Controls in order to avoid any issues with your network.
Bufferbloat occurs when there are multiple devices vying for bandwidth on the same network. For example, if you are trying to get that chicken dinner in Fortnite while some people in your household are streaming Netflix, bufferbloat may occur and cause a lag spike to happen during your gaming session. And we all know where that usually ends up.
Anti-bufferbloat makes sure that this lag spike does not occur through the utilization of SQM (Smart Queue Management). In heavy network use situations, it can tremendously improve browsing, streaming, and gaming experiences.
NOTE: we recommend enabling anti-bufferbloat only when the network is under heavy use for the best effect.
Enabling Anti-bufferbloat and Bandwidth Controls
To enable Anti-bufferbloat and bandwidth controls, visit the app’s home screen by tapping “Home” Icon on the bottom of your screen.
You’ll be able to see the Bandwidth Prioritization icon here. Tap that to continue.
When you reach the Edit Bandwidth screen, tap the download/upload box and it will take you to the bandwidth settings screen.
Enter the maximum Download and Upload speed provided by your ISP plan. It is important that you enter the proper bandwidth allotted to you in order for bandwidth controls to work properly.
It is recommended for users with heavy network use to enable our anti-bufferbloat feature. This option prevents lag spikes and latency build ups from happening within your network through the use of SQM. Anti-bufferbloat will place 30% of your network's bandwidth in reserve in order for the feature to work optimally.
Enabling Bandwidth Controls is advised for use in households or offices with multiple users vying for bandwidth. Do note that with bandwidth controls maximum network speed may drop to around 550 mbps on a gigabit network. If your network isn't currently being used heavily by multiple devices, we recommend keeping the feature turned off.
Setting bandwidth allocations
NOTE: be sure to set your ISP plan's maximum download & upload speeds first BEFORE enabling Bandwidth Controls in order to avoid any issues with your network.
Default scenario
In the default allocation where bandwidth controls are enabled and 0% is allocated to all devices, Pangolin's network algorithm will automatically distribute the bandwidth evenly among devices on the network.
Example scenario
Setting a bandwidth allocation greater than 0% to any device will guarantee the device will be allotted the set bandwidth amount regardless of the network situation. For example, if a user were to set 10% download and upload to their laptop on a 500 mbps network, the laptop will always be able to use at least 50 mbps of download and upload speed.
Tips
- When bandwidth to a single device, we recommend allocating at least 3% to each other device on the network. This ensures all devices have an allocation of bandwidth and will always have sufficient network connection.
- Bandwidth allocation on the network is directly proportionate to the percentage set on a particular device. The higher the percentage assigned to a device, the more unused bandwidth will be allotted to that device as needed.
Once you have completed your settings and allocated your bandwidth as needed, you may tap the "Save" button to finalize and save the settings.
Adding multiple Pangolin devices on one Account
In the Pangolin app, tap the “More” Icon at the bottom of your screen.
From here, tap on “Add a Pangolin”.
Follow the on-screen instructions until you see the notification that you have successfully added another pangolin.
Controlling multiple Pangolins on one Account
Once you have added another Pangolin, under the same “More” menu, you can tap on “Manage Pangolins” in order to manage the different Pangolin devices you have deployed.
Be advised, each Pangolin has its own set of independent rules, so settings will have to be configured on each Pangolin independently.
Deleting an account
Users are now allowed to completely delete their accounts and associated data with us by accessing "Settings" > "View and edit account" and selecting "Delete account". Doing so will unlink the Pangolin device, wipe all data from the Pangolin device, and wipe the user's account from our servers.
It is also possible to delete an account even if no Pangolin is currently linked: tap the gear icon in the top right corner of the screen after logging into your account and select "Delete account".
Please note that deleting an account is final, as we cannot restore a user's account information or data once an account has been deleted.
Decommissioning a Pangolin Device from the App
In the Pangolin App, tap the “More” Icon at the bottom of your screen.
From here, tap on “Manage Pangolins”, and tap on “Super User Settings” on the next screen.
IMPORTANT: make sure the Pangolin device is ON when performing this action in order to wipe all data on the device.
On this screen, simply tap on “Unlink Pangolin” to decommission a device.
After successfully unlinking Pangolin, reboot the device in order for the factory reset to fully take place. You may then link Pangolin to a new account.
Once a Pangolin has been decommissioned, a new QR code will be emailed to the user’s registered email address. This new QR code can be used in linking the decommissioned Pangolin to a different account.
**Caution**
Decommissioning a device is permanent. All previous settings and data will be wiped on the Pangolin device.
Troubleshooting
How can I tell if my device is working and in proper condition?
Once you have registered a device, connected it to your router via the provided LAN cable, and powered it on, the device will go through a series of security checks, as designated by the blinking LED. Once the LED has stopped blinking and is solid green, the device is in proper working order. After a minute or two, the companion app will begin to fetch the details of your network directly from your Pangolin device. Once you start seeing devices appearing in the app's "Devices" page, you can begin to use the different functions of the Pangolin device.
There are no devices on my "Device" page and my Pangolin has a Solid Green LED.
Our app allows you to easily refresh your list of alerts, as well as your device list. All you’ve got to do is visit either page, then swipe down on your screen until you see the refresh icon.
Why is there no LED on the Pangolin after the boot process?
The Pangolin device will check if it is registered to a user account. An unregistered device will not have an active LED. Please register your Pangolin on our app with the unique QR code provided on your device, then restart the Pangolin.
Why is the Pangolin LED blinking fast and slow?
The Pangolin checks for firmware updates on every boot. Should an update be queued for the device, it will go through a download and update process where the LED will remain blinking the entire time. This process may take up to 18 minutes depending on the user's Internet speed.
Why is my Internet connection not working?
Please kindly check if your router has security functions that may be preventing the proper operation of the Pangolin device. Disabling the router's rudimentary security functions should allow the Pangolin to work as intended.
Please also check what ports you are using. Pangolin automatically blocks UDP port 443 to prevent Google QUIC from bypassing the firewall function. For VPN users this may be a common issue, so if you are using a VPN be sure to change to a port other than UDP port 443 or use TCP instead.
My Internet connection is still not working, what now?
Some ISP routers have forced security protocols that prevent the Pangolin from being used in its intended plug-and-play format. It is possible to enable the DHCP mode on the Pangolin by simply following the steps outlined in in this user manual. DHCP mode will work in all network conditions since it allows Pangolin to handle DHCP functionality.
Frequently Asked Questions
Please refer to our FAQ page for more information.
Last updated: March 15, 2021