Troubleshooting Devices in Fallback Mode

You can use the troubleshooting scenarios in this article to investigate the details of users with devices going into Fallback mode. Fallback Mode is triggered when a device has a poor internet connection and will block a device from accessing adult content. Fallback Mode is an upgraded and more sophisticated function that replaced a previous feature called “Safe Guard”.

There are three (3) steps in setting up Fallback mode:

1. Confirm that domains have been added to your school’s firewall.
   
   Allowing these domains enables connectivity to all Linewize services and ensures devices are not being incorrectly identified in Fallback Mode. Test a device connected to an off campus network to rule out an issue with your school network.
2. Find any users with devices in Fallback Mode.
3. Determine if the event was one off or frequent.
   
   For example, if you see a single user or a group of users occasionally in Fallback Mode, the most common cause is their device had a poor network connection and Fallback Mode protected the device. However, you may be more concerned when you see multiple users in Fallback Mode or the same user is frequently in Fallback Mode.

You will need to investigate if their devices were on your physical network, hotspotting or connecting to an off campus network (like public WiFi).

Student’s Device was On Campus

If the device was in Fallback mode during school hours, Linewize Connect or Authentication Agent may have been tampered with.

If this is a Windows or macOS laptop, take the following steps to reinstate Connect.

1. Install Linewize Connect and Authentication Agent.
2. Restart the user’s computer after the installation is complete. 
3. Connect to your school’s network. 
4. Open a web browser and go to http://127.0.0.1:5770 (you must include the “http://”). Verify the network safety status, device and user details.

Student’s Device was Off Campus

How to tell if the user was off campus during Fallback:

Investigate if it’s a regular occurrence. They may have unreliable internet access, slow connections or poor bandwidth, and Fallback mode may be triggering correctly.

Blocked Connections Occur before Fallback

The user was connected to your school network and Fallback is active shortly after blocked connections.

Review the categories and addresses of the blocked websites. The student may be attempting to hotspot with a mobile device. You may need to work with the teacher, school counselor or pastoral care staff to support the student with safe online behavior.

Student is Using a Chromebook

A Chromebook may go into Fallback mode when the user has not logged into the Google ID your school has provided.

The Connect for Chrome - Education extension will be restored as soon as the student successfully signs in with the Google ID you created for the student in your Google Admin Console.