How to add a Wi-Fi login page to a UniFi network

Most cafés and restaurants that run Ubiquiti UniFi already have everything they need for a proper guest Wi-Fi login page. UniFi includes a hotspot portal: when a phone joins the guest network, it is shown a page before it gets internet. By default that page is UniFi's own, plain and unbranded. Pointing it to an external portal lets you show your logo, your colours and a real reason to log in.

What you need before you start

• A UniFi console (Cloud Gateway, Dream Machine or a self-hosted UniFi Network application) and at least one UniFi access point.
• A separate guest network (SSID). Keep your staff and till on their own network.
• Admin access to UniFi Network, to create an API key.
• A portal to send guests to. In this guide it is a Wispot welcome page, but the steps are the same for any external portal.

Step 1: create an API key

In UniFi Network, open Settings › Control Plane › Integrations and create an API key. The portal uses it to tell the console "this phone may go online now, for this long". Keep the console address and the site ID (default for most venues) next to it.

Step 2: turn on the hotspot for the guest network

1. Open Settings › WiFi and choose your guest network.
2. Switch on Hotspot Portal.
3. In Hotspot › Authentication, choose External Portal Server.
4. Paste the portal address. In Wispot it is shown on the router's setup page, ready to copy.

Give the network a name guests recognise, such as "Café Maârif · Free Wi-Fi". A clear name does more for logins than any page design.

Step 3: allow the portal before login

This is the step most installations miss. Before a guest logs in, the access point blocks everything, including the welcome page itself. Add the portal's hosts to Pre-Authorization Access so the page and its images load. Without it, phones show a blank screen or "no internet" and guests give up.

Step 4: test with a real phone

Forget the network on your phone, join the guest Wi-Fi and wait a second: the welcome page should open by itself. Log in, check that the internet works, then try again a day later. A returning phone should go straight online.

Common problems

• The page never opens: the guest network is not set to Hotspot Portal, or the phone still remembers an older session. Forget the network and rejoin.
• Blank page: a host is missing from Pre-Authorization Access.
• Guests are logged out too often: raise the session length. Two to four hours suits a café; a hotel needs a day or more.

What to put on the welcome page

Ask for as little as possible. One tap to connect, or a WhatsApp code, converts far better than a long form. Ask for marketing consent with a separate, unticked box, and show the offer guests get for joining. Our guide to Wi-Fi marketing for cafés covers what to do with the list once it grows.