Guest Hotspot
As a home user, one of the easiest and a cool way of making guest network on UniFi system is via “hotspot” approach. This approach uses portal webpage for logging into Wi-Fi network. This is identical to what we see in public space WiFi like at the Coffee shop, Airport etc.
How this approach work from end-user is simple.
- Select Wi-Fi network SSID e.g. My Home Guest WiFi
- Portal Webpage opens
- User (can be) authenticated on the web portal via simple password, Facebook account etc.
How to create guest hotspot
Creating Guest Hotspot is simple using the latest UniFi OS interface.
On your UniFi Network Controller, go to Settings > WiFi > Guestspot > Add New Guest Hotspot.
First you will fill in basic setup parameters.
Name
Name chosen here will be the Wi-Fi SSID. E.g. “My Home Guest Network” This is what the user will see on the Wi-Fi network connection list.
Guest Portal
“On”
If you turn this option “on”, you can ensure user(s) need to be authenticated before using your guest network. Even my own devices switching from main LAN to hotspot had to go through the portal when this option is turned on.
“Off”
As I recall, this is by default turned off.
While I have this turned off, even though I had my Authentication type selected as Password, I was still able to log into the guest network without any prompt/entering password. I believe/hope this is just related to the fact my devices are already authenticated to my network before and that was enough to go bypass the portal, but I don’t have a true/brand new guest device to test this. So not sure if the hotspot is just wide open when this is “off” setting.
Warning: If you turn this option “on” and later decide to go with VLAN based Guest Network route, this setting can interfere with internet connection (see troubleshooting section).
Authentication Type
“Password”
There are several options one can select as a means of authenticating user to the guest network. As a home user, I chose simple password. You can then choose own password here.
There are more advanced options like using Facebook authentication, Voucher, credit card info etc.
Log in Page Design
The login (Portal) page where users of your guest network will be entering password can be customized. This includes using own background and texts. This is totally optional. I personally did not change any setting here.
Advanced Setting
Under Advanced category, there are several additional options.
Some of the options that even basic users may be interested include:
- only 2.4 GHz for Guest network users
- only certain Access points (APs) to allow Guest Network connection
- Schedule time/week of day when Guest Network is available
From the “keep it simple” approach stand point of view, I say at start with default settings at first. Once you confirm everything is working as intended, perhaps you can start playing around with some parameters.
Reset Access Points
Creating Guest Hotspot will re-provision the AP(s); however, this is not the same as rebooting the AP(s). So I recommend rebooting AP(s) at this point.
Device > Hover a mouse over the target AP > click Restart on the right
Test
That’s it. At this point, you should have new WiFi SSID broad casting from your AP(s). Up on connecting, browser should open and take you to the guest log in portal page. Now, try accessing to your controller locally i.e. typing IP address e.g. 192.168.1.1. It should fail as your guest network is isolated from the internal network.
Limitation of Guest Hotspot
Even though setting up Guest Hotspot was quick and easy with a single page interface, there are couple limitations that hindered me from using Hotspot approach.
- Unable to limit user bandwidth
- Unable to authenticate user at SSID connection level
Limiting user bandwidth is important for me as I do not want to have my guest(s) to hog down the primary network.
In general, WiFi guest users at my home are our parents visiting from a far. They typically stay at our home weeks at a time. For them, I’d like to have them stay on the network for the entire time of their stay without re-authenticating. Hotspot has an advanced setting option to specific duration of authentication expiration. So technically, I can set this parameter to “many” days to achieve almost “never expire” setup. However, this will still require them to be re-authenticated at their next visit.