How can I tell if the Bark Home is ready to be activated?
✅ If the activation system is detecting your Bark Home device as online, you should be seeing a prompt to create a Bark account, as seen below. The message below and the LED lights on the Bark Home both indicate the Bark Home is detected and ready to be paired to a Bark account.
⛔ If the activation system is not detecting your Bark Home device as online, you may be seeing the message below or you may be seeing a blank white page. If this is the case, we have solutions below to get you on your way to filtering your in-home devices.
Verify that you have connected the Bark Home cords to the right ports on your router.
- Connect one end of the power cord to the Bark Home and the other end to the wall outlet.
NOTE: You may also want to verify that it's a working wall outlet by plugging in something like a lamp or phone charger.
- Connect one end of the ethernet cord to the LAN 1 port on your router and the other end to the Bark Home.
NOTE: We do not recommend plugging Bark Home into a network extender or a network switch.
- Wait a few minutes.
- Then, navigate to detect.network to activate your Bark Home for the first time.
- If still no luck, move on to the next troubleshooting solution below.
Verify that the device you're using to access detect.network is on the same network as the Bark Home.
Make sure that you are not connected to a different network or a mobile hotspot.
For example, if your home router generates a Wi-Fi network called "Smith Network," make sure that the computer you are using to activate the Bark Home is also connected to "Smith Network." Then, visit detect.network to complete activation. If still no luck, move on to the next troubleshooting solution below.
Verify that your router is compatible with the Bark Home.
The Bark Home was designed to work with as many routers as possible. Although we have tested with many router models, there are thousands of options available and not all have been tested.
Here is a list of known routers that do not work with the Bark Home, or need some settings changed.
If your router is not listed there, or if your router is listed as compatible, move on to the next troubleshooting solution below.
Try an Incognito Browser window.
If you are seeing a blank page when visiting detect.network, then open an Incognito Browser window on a device connected to the home Wi-Fi. Once you are prompted to create a Bark account or add Bark Home to an existing Bark account, you're on your way to finalizing the activation of the Bark Home! If still no luck, move on to the next troubleshooting solution below.
Try a different device.
Navigate to detect.network on a different device (like a computer, phone, or tablet). Once you are prompted to create a Bark account or add Bark Home to an existing Bark account, you're on your way to finalizing the activation of the Bark Home! If still no luck, move on to the next troubleshooting solution below.
Check your router settings.
Most routers come with a security system commonly called a firewall. A router's firewall tries to make sure that the traffic going through your home network is safe. Due to the technology Bark Home uses to enforce your web filtering rules, some firewall settings may prevent the Bark Home from activating properly.
To check your router settings, you will enter in its IP address into a web browser that is connected to your home network. To find the router's IP address, it only takes a little bit of research:
- You can find it on a label on the bottom, top, or sides of the router (usually an IP address like 192.168.1.1). Then, type in that address into a browser to access the router settings.
- Alternatively, you can try an online search. Type out your router model + router settings to find the web address you will use to log in to your router settings. Then, type in that address into a browser to access the router settings.
Adjusting Router Settings
Once you've logged into your router, let's check settings that could be impacting the Bark Home's activation.
STEP 1: Unplug the Bark Home from all ports (ie. unplug it from the router and from the power source).
STEP 2: Review this list of settings and compare them to the settings you see for your router. Not all of the settings below will be what you see in your router's settings, and that's okay!
- Firewall: While we don't recommend turning this entirely off, you may need to adjust the slider to be set to Medium or Low rather than High.
- ARP Spoofing: Depending on how it is worded for your router, you may need to turn this setting to the opposite of what it was on. In some routers, like Calix routers, you will enable ARP spoofing to allow Bark Home to get activated.
- NAT Acceleration (also known as "Express Forwarding"): If your router is capable of NAT acceleration and you're having connectivity trouble with Bark Home on your network, we recommend turning NAT acceleration off. Check your router's knowledge base for instructions on turning off NAT acceleration, and click here for a list of known routers that need NAT acceleration disabled.
- Access Control or Parental Controls: Check to see if you have Access Control or Parental Control features enabled on your router and disable them. If they are enabled, they may be preventing the Bark Home from getting activated.
- Other router settings: some routers need different settings adjustments than the ones listed above. Click here to check to see if your router is listed as needing a setting adjusted.
Once you've adjusted any applicable router settings, plug in the Bark Home and try the setup process again. If still no luck, move on to the next troubleshooting solution below.
If you have a mesh network, consider the following:
Typically mesh networks are networks where they have multiple gateways/routers scattered throughout the home. If you're unsure if you have a mesh network, you may wish to search your router model online to verify.
In mesh networks, one of the many router units is usually the "main hub" while the others are the "satellite units." The "main hub" is the one plugged into your internet source (like a modem provided by Xfinity, for example).
When trying to activate Bark Home on mesh networks, you may need to try the following steps:
- Unplug the Bark Home from all ports (ie. unplug it from the router and from the power source).
- Power down the mesh network's satellite units, while leaving the main hub/router of the mesh network turned on and connected to the internet.
- Wait 3-5 minutes.
- Plug in the Bark Home to the main hub/router.
- Wait up to 15 minutes for the Bark Home to take over the network. (You will know if it's ready for activation based on the LED lights.)
- See if any of the Wi-Fi connected devices (like a computer) can go to bark.us on a web browser. If they can, then that's good news. You can then navigate to detect.network to try the first-time activation process again. If still no luck, move on to the next troubleshooting solution below.
If you have an advanced network setup...
This may mean you have a combination of networking devices in your home (like multiple routers, network extenders, network switches, or other network utility devices). If you think your home network may meet this criteria, review this guide for potential adjustments and other information:
Need additional assistance?
Reference the LED lights of the Bark Home. Then, reach out to us with that LED light information, your router model, and a description of the issue!
