Network Inspector Hates me And Avast firewall hates my network

[Lucia17]

I did a boo boo. I had an “unknown” device “connect” to my network (received avast notification)

I use mobile hotspot from my S24 to provide internet to my S22 phone (on which I have the two factor authenticator for work), my personal laptop (on which avast is installed) and my work laptop.

Since the notification Avast gave me just said “new device added” but no details, I went to Network Inspector to see details on that new device. When I checked Network inspector, I couldn’t see any details on it so I removed it (after all none of the devices I already had and was using were newly added no? how could avast be notifing me of new device being added to network for a device that was already added to the network??? who’d have thought to do an actual count to see if the number coincides, yes I’m dumb)

Everything continues working properly for the next few hours.

Then I’m in the middle of a work call and my internet goes down. I check my S24 to see if i ran out of Gbs, noted that i still had more than plenty to go through the month, so I check my personal laptop, it was connected to the internet and everything working. I then check my S22 phone, it wasn’t connected just like the work laptop.

I knew it must be from avast because I just installed it a few days ago and i never had any issues untill I installed it. Since I started using it i’ve been having all sorts of issues to which i managed to resolve myself (like for example a shop i visit daily ~because i’m into crafting and i’m constantly searching for materials~ kept logging me out each time i clicked on a product or tried adding sth to cart or favorites, which never happened so I figured it’s avast anti-tracking and simply listed the site as an exception).

So now, my work laptop and S22 phone weren’t connecting to my S24’s hotspot, only my personal laptop.

I unchecked some options in the settings to see if changed anything, I “forgot” the network from phone and tried connecting after rebooting laptop, nothing changed.

I completely disabled Network inspector, rebooted. somehow work laptop connected to the internet again, but S22 still didn’t.

I came across a forum post here (from 2010) which had the same problem after deleting an unknown device with just the device they deleted. They mentioned that the only way they fixed it was by uninistalling avast completely and deleting an “alwil” folder in avast “program data” folder.

I tried first repairing avast, rebooted, nothing changed.
Got angry and completely uninstalled avast, just to realize I don’t have an “alwil” folder in my “program data/avast” folder (in fact nowhere on my pc, did a full search).

So yet again at a loss.

I’d like to mention that even after completely uninstalling Avast, my S22 could still not connect to S24’s hotspot. The errors I kept getting were “could not connect to network” or “couldn’t find IP”

Anyhoo, I reinstall avast for some odd reason.

I go open a ticket with support.

Low and behold, as I’m talking to that person, my internet goes down on all 3 devices. Guess what, it’s not the ISP, it’s not the S24, it’s AVAST YET AGAIN. As now it does not recognize my fkn network hotspot and it won’t trust it no matter how hard i press the mouse button to check the fkn “I TRUST THIS NETWORK”?!?!?!?! - and that i found in the avast firewall, so I had to completely deactivate it for my personal laptop and work laptop to connect again to my hotspot. Why am I paying for this tool if I can’t use their options?!?!?

And still, the 3rd device can’t be found, I only get the laptop i’m on (with avast) my router (s24) and work laptop categorized as “other devices”

I thought of replying to that thread, but since it’s so old (wow 14 years since then and this is still an issue??!?!) I figured making a new one would be better.

[Silviu2]

hello,and welcom to avast forums to fix this problem download avast uninstall tool link hear: https://www.avast.com/uninstall-utility#pc restart your laptop in saiv mode and fallo instructions then download and install your avast product sorry for my bad english.

[Lucia17]

thank you Silviu,

I managed to fix it.

Came to post in case anyone else has this issue.

Here’s how to solve it without having to reinstall your avast, or delete any alwal folders or whatever.

The short story is that issue was caused because of Avast seeing my network password as weak and insecure. So change network password to something stronger, reconnect devices and it should work.

Now the long form:

I opened a ticket with avast helpdesk after I posted here, and to my surprise, like i previously mentioned, my internet went down on all devices that were still connected to the S24 hotspot. (So both work laptops, as I mentioned the S22 wasn’t able to before this happened).

I connect to my mom’s phone’s hotspot on my personal laptop so i can reopen the support chat. I tell the support guy my issue, he asks for permission for remote control, i grant it he switches to safe mode i connect again to my s24 hotspot and he does some tests (which i had already done), and comes to the conclusion that it’s “the phone’s fault”(because i previously told him I had avast free on my phone, but i uninstalled it after this happened) and offered to transfer me to the phone support.

I tell him it can’t be the phone, and if it is, it’s something avast did when it removed the unknown device, because the phone and work laptop and personal laptop were all connected to this s24 hotspot FOR A LONG TIME BEFORE I INSTALLED AVAST AND I NEVER HAD ANY NETWORKING ISSUES. This happened DAYS after i installed avast.

He replyes that Network inspector will only SHOW devices connected to the network, and that IT DOES NOT HAVE THE OPTION TO REMOVE THEM. I couldn’t tell him that’s not true because while he was viewing my screen the devices that appeared in network inspector SOMEHOW DIDN’T HAVE THE TRASHBIN. And now here they are. again.

I BEG TO DIFFER!

https://i.imgur.com/jDHaoJN.png

Go on now, tell me how avast doesn’t have an option do remove devices. Those 2 devices are my S22 and work laptop. Clear as day trashcans next to each of them.

Anyway I reply to him that I wasn’t halucinating and am not taking any drugs, this happened just a few hours ago and my short term memory isn’t that bad. (this gets funnier a bit later on).

He also concluded that it is the phone, because even after I uninstalled avast and tried connecting with S22 to S24 hotspot, it still didn’t work. The messages I kept receiving were “could not connect to network” “could not retreive/find IP address” “connection failed”. I tried rebooting phones forgetting connection and trying again, it didn’t work.

He also added that even if avast causes any issues it’ll cause them only on the device on which avast is installed and that it will not influence any other devices.

To which I have to state clearly, that as long as avast is handling and securing my network, and the option (trashbin) to remove devices exists in the aplication, it is obvious that it can make changes to the internet providing tool’s settings, when you click on those trashcans it automatically deletes those connections from the network, aka it influences the device from which the internet is provided, so let’s stop with the cap. In this case, the internet providing tool was my S24 phone through hot spot. So when avsat removed the device from the network it probably removed something that allowed my S22 to connect to my S24.

You’ll understand more about this conclusion later.

Then I ask him, what about avast suddenly not trusting the S24’s network anymore and blocking all my devices from connecting to it? (yes not just the device on which avast is installed, my work laptop also disconnected from the internet)

He repeats that network inspector only shows you the number of connected devices and you can’t remove them from there. (at which point i started getting triggered)

as i mentioned earlier he ran those tests in safe mode. after concluding it’s my phone he exits safe mode and as soon as he does that internet goes down (cuz avast doesn’t trust the network) so i reconnect to my mom’s hotspot, reconnect to the chat and connect my S22 to my mom’s hotspot and my work laptop, they all connect, i run network inspector and it detects them all.

Now (the funny) he concludes that “see it’s the phone, if avast detects it on your mom’s network but not on your S24”. le funny.

I reply that how was it a mobile issue if it worked up until i removed the device through network inspector option ON THE LAPTOP, and that if it’s discoverable on another router it’s clear that it’s not the S22 that’s at fault, it only makes it even clearer that AVAST DID DELETE SOMETHING FROM THE S24 and that’s why on that network the phone was blocked from connecting to the hotspot.

He YET AGAIN REPEATS THAT IT CAN’T DELETE DEVICES.
i say yet it did.
I repeat i’m not halucinating.
and I mention i saw a post here on the forum from 2010 where someone DID EXACTLY WHAT I DID!

After I ran the scan on my mom’s hotspot it found all of them including S22 I tell him that , and here’s another “le funny”

HE SAYS SEE THE DEVICE IS ADDED AS UNKNOWN AND THERE’S NO OPTION TO REMOVE IT (i was a bit “hmm” I don’t wanna say he temporarly suspended the otpion in the background but ya know, the screenshot above proves it is there and I’m not insane)

i yet again repeat there was before and that i’m not on drugs and halucinating.

And as I was looking at the inspector i had my lightbulb moment. Since it keeps saying the password is weak, what if avast refuses to trust the network, overriding my option to trust it as a result (as I mentioned I kep clicking on “i trust this network” and it kept instantly changing back to “i don’t trust this network”

So, I tell him, don’t leave the chat, I’m gonna try to change the password on my S24 and then connect the S22 to it without connecting anything else.

EUREKA! guess what, it worked. I assume in changing the passoword that bakground files were reset and now S22 wasn’t blocked anymore.

I tell him it worked, so I tell him to wait for me to reconnect to S24 from the laptop cuz connection will drop. I do that, all good, both laptop with avast and S22 connected to the network and avast recognizing network as trusted now cuz new password. Then i connect my work laptop (took a few tries cuz vpn was annoying as usual) it worked too.

[b]
So this huge headache of a story was just to showcase what can happen all because avast is a picky mf who didn’t like my prev password.

AND TO REINFORCE THE STATEMENT THAT AVAST DOES REMOVE DEVICES FROM NETWORK AND THAT IN DOING SO IT REMOVES THEIR ACCESS FROM SAID NETWORK DIRECTLY FROM THAT “ROUTER” BE IT PHONE HOTSPOT OR HOME INTERNET WIRELESS ROUTERS.[/b]

Not to mention, after he didn’t help me and instead tried to make me look insane “it’s not us it’s you”, he then tries to sell me VIP package. Have to say the boy tried so hard he should be transfered to sales tbh, cuz on tech supp he’s 0. If he couldn’t tell what the issue was for a software he works for and for which he should be aware of most easy fixes like simply changing a password, he shouldn’t be as tech supp.

So, in closing after wasting 5 hours of my workday trying to fix an issue that should have been fixed by tech support, and for having this migrane inducing issue in the first place, I regret to say that avast has not improved in the last 2 DECADES since I first tried it out (Yes, I first tried Avast back in 2004) and that I will be requesting a refund on all subscriptions i bought.