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Set up a hotspot on MikroTik

ISPMan builds the hotspot on your MikroTik for you: the bridge, DHCP, the hotspot server, firewall/NAT and the login files. You fill in a short form on the router’s device page and click Run.

Before you start

Section titled “Before you start”
  • The router is onboarded and shows as online in ISPMan. See Devices. If the onboarding bridge is missing, the hotspot form says “Bridge does not exist on this device. Please run the onboarding script first.”
  • You know which interface has internet (your uplink/WAN).
  • For a WiFi hotspot, the router has a wireless radio and the wireless or wifi package installed.
  • You have added at least one Hotspot Configuration (step 1 below).

Step 1: Add a hotspot configuration

Section titled “Step 1: Add a hotspot configuration”

A hotspot configuration decides what kind of portal the hotspot runs. Packages belong to a configuration.

  1. Go to Settings → Hotspot Configurations (/dashboard/settings/hotspot-configurations). The same table is also on the main Settings page.
  2. Click Add.
  3. Pick a configuration from the list:
    • Paid: customers buy packages. This is the one most ISPs use.
    • Free With Ads: free WiFi earned by watching ads, with no packages on sale.
    • Other types are marked (Coming soon) and can’t be added yet.
  4. The configuration now appears in the table. Click Manage to open it. For Paid, this is where you create packages (see Packages).

Step 2: Choose the right hotspot type

Section titled “Step 2: Choose the right hotspot type”

There are two buttons on the MikroTik device page:

Button Use it when
+ Hotspot The router broadcasts the WiFi itself (for example hAP ac and other models with a built-in radio). ISPMan sets up the wireless interface too.
+ Hotspot Server The router has no wireless (for example hEX, RB750, CCR), or you use external access points plugged into the router. ISPMan sets up the hotspot server on a wired interface.

Both buttons only appear when you can manage the device and the router is online and answering.

Step 3: Create the hotspot

Section titled “Step 3: Create the hotspot”

  1. Go to Devices and open your MikroTik.

  2. Click + Hotspot or + Hotspot Server. The Create Hotspot window opens.

  3. Fill in the form:

    Field What to enter
    Hotspot Name A unique name, e.g. Main-Cafe-WiFi. For a WiFi hotspot this is the SSID customers see.
    Hotspot Configuration The configuration from Step 1, usually Paid.
    Internet Enabled Interface The interface or bridge with internet. With + Hotspot Server, it’s the interface your access points connect to.
    Wifi Master Interface (+ Hotspot only) The wireless interface that will broadcast the SSID.
    Hotspot Network The network address for customers, e.g. 192.168.100.0.
    CIDR The network size, from 16 to 30. A /24 gives about 254 addresses, and a /22 about 1,000.

  4. Click Next to review the tasks ISPMan will run:

    • Create a bridge interface for the hotspot
    • Set up a DHCP server for the hotspot (address pool, DHCP server, DHCP network)
    • Set up the hotspot server
    • Set up the firewall (NAT for WiFi clients, forwarding to the WAN)
    • Upload the hotspot server files
    • Create the hotspot resource (so the setup can be rolled back)

  5. Click Run and wait. Each task gets a tick when it’s done. If something fails, fix it and click Re-Run.

Alternative: generate a hotspot server script

Section titled “Alternative: generate a hotspot server script”

To apply the configuration yourself (in Winbox or a terminal), use the script instead. On the MikroTik device page, under Service Scripts, click 🛜 Hotspot Server, then fill in LAN Bridge, Uplink Interface, Hotspot Name, Network (for example 10.111.0.0/16) and Hotspot Configuration. Click Generate Script, then copy it or download the .rsc file and run it on the router with /import.

Check that it works

Section titled “Check that it works”
  1. Open Hotspot → Servers. Your new hotspot is listed with its SSID, device and router IP.
  2. For a WiFi hotspot, scan for WiFi on a phone and look for your SSID.
  3. Connect a test phone. The loading screen should appear, then your captive portal with your packages.
  4. Buy a cheap test package, or connect a test customer by hand (see Hotspot customers), and check that the phone gets internet.

Managing an existing hotspot

Section titled “Managing an existing hotspot”

Click a row in Hotspot → Servers to open the hotspot’s page (/dashboard/hotspots/<id>). It shows the following.

  • Device Info, Wifi Interface, Hotspot Server, Hotspot Profile, DHCP Server, IP Pool, NAT and firewall rules, all read live from the router.
  • Hotspot Resources: everything ISPMan created for this hotspot.
  • QR Code: a “join this WiFi” QR code for the SSID that you can download and print (switch between Blue and Black).
  • The users online on this hotspot server.
  • Delete removes the hotspot and its related resources (networks and so on). Force Delete tries the same, but still removes the hotspot from ISPMan if the router clean-up fails. In that case some resources may stay on the router.

Tips and troubleshooting

Section titled “Tips and troubleshooting”
  • Use different network ranges for each hotspot. “IP Pool already exists” means the range is already in use on that router.
  • No wireless interface listed? The router can’t broadcast WiFi. Use + Hotspot Server instead.
  • The portal doesn’t load? The router needs working DNS and must let unauthenticated users reach the portal. Re-run the router’s onboarding scripts from its device page, and see Troubleshooting.
  • The look of the loading screen and status page that the router serves is set in Settings → Captive Experience. See Captive portal & branding.
Section titled “Related”