Set up a UniFi Hotspot Portal and Guest WiFi

Introduction

Setting up a UniFi Hotspot Portal (aka “Captive Portal”) and Guest WiFi offers a seamless and secure internet experience for guests while keeping your core network isolated. Whether for a café, business, or event, UniFi’s hotspot capabilities allow you to manage guest access through portals, vouchers, or even payment integration. This guide combines advanced Wi-Fi settings and step-by-step configuration to create a scalable and customizable guest WiFi network.

Prerequisites

• UniFi Controller (latest version preferred)
• UniFi Access Points (e.g., U6-LR, U6-Pro)
• VLAN for Guests (optional but recommended)
• UXG Gateway or equivalent for routing and firewall setup

Step 1: Log in to the UniFi Controller

1. Access your UniFi Controller via browser: https://<controller-ip>:8443
2. Log in with your admin credentials.
3. Navigate to Settings from the left-hand sidebar.

Step 2: Create the Guest WiFi Network

1. Go to WiFi Networks:
   • In Settings, select WiFi under Networks.
2. Add New Network:
   • Click Create New WiFi Network.
   • Assign a name (SSID), e.g., “Guest WiFi”.
3. Security Options:
   • Choose WPA3 or WPA2 based on device compatibility.
   • If it’s an open network, leave the password field blank for public access.
4. VLAN Assignment (Optional):
   • Use VLAN tagging to segment guest traffic (e.g., VLAN ID 10 for guests).
5. Enable Captive portal:
   • Select the Captive portal in Hotspot 2.0.

A captive portal forces users to interact with a login page (Guest Portal) before accessing the network, which is useful for public WiFi, guest authentication, and managing network traffic.

Step 3: Configure the Hotspot Portal

1. Configure Guest Portal:
   • Navigate to Insights Menu → Select Hotspot and click on Landing page button.
2. Branding:
   • UniFi provides an intuitive way to add custom branding to your landing page. Configurable options include Title, Welcome Text, Login Button, Logo, Success Text, and complete Color Schemes.
3. Authentication:

Easily select one or multiple ways for your guests to connect

• Facebook: Guests can authenticate using a Facebook account.
• Password: Guests must enter a password to connect.
• Payment: Guests must pay to use the WiFi. This is currently supported by Stripe.
• Vouchers: Provide guests with vouchers that can be used to authenticate. Customize vouchers to support various expiration times, bandwidth limits, or data consumption quotas.
• RADIUS (advanced): Preconfigure guest authentication via a RADIUS server.
• External Portal Server (advanced): Integrate with a third-party portal server.

Step 4: Create Vouchers (Optional)

1. In the Hotspot Manager, click on Vouchers.
2. Set parameters such as:
   • Time limit, data usage, or bandwidth restrictions.
   • Print and distribute the generated codes for guest access.

Step 5: Bandwidth Limiting

1. Go to Settings → Profiles → User Groups.
2. Create a group called “Guests” and set Rate Limits (e.g., 5 Mbps download, 1 Mbps upload).
3. Apply this user group to your guest WiFi network.

Step 6: Monitoring and Fine-Tuning

1. Guest Insights:
   • Use the Insights tab in the controller to monitor guest connections, traffic, and bandwidth usage.
2. Adjust Advanced Settings:
   • Fine-tune features like Minimum RSSI, Airtime Fairness, and Band Steering to improve guest experience and optimize network performance based on device density and traffic volume​.

Conclusion

By following these steps, you’ve successfully configured a UniFi Hotspot Portal and Guest WiFi with enhanced security, user management, and a customizable guest experience. Leveraging UniFi’s powerful tools, you can ensure a reliable, fast, and secure guest network with tailored access control and a branded portal.