> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.wifipadi.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Use your own domain

> Serve your WiFi portal and dashboard on your own web address instead of a wifipadi.com one.

By default your workspace lives at `yourname.wifipadi.com`. If you own a domain, you can put your guest portal and your dashboard on your own address instead — so guests see `wifi.yourcompany.com` when they connect.

Go to **Settings → Custom domains**. There are two separate slots:

| Slot                  | What it changes                                             | Example                     |
| --------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------- |
| Captive portal domain | The page guests see when they join your WiFi and buy access | `wifi.yourcompany.com`      |
| Dashboard domain      | The private address you and your staff sign in at           | `dashboard.yourcompany.com` |

You can set one without the other.

## Before you start

Two requirements catch most people out, and both fail in confusing ways if you guess.

<Warning>
  **Use a subdomain, not your bare domain.** `wifi.yourcompany.com` works. `yourcompany.com` does not, and we will reject it — DNS does not allow the record we need at the root of a domain. If you want your bare domain to lead people there, set up a redirect at your domain registrar instead.
</Warning>

<Warning>
  **Use a CNAME record, not an A record.** An A record points at a fixed IP address. Ours can change, and your HTTPS certificate is renewed against the CNAME, so an A record will look correct and then simply never verify.
</Warning>

You will also need access to wherever your domain's DNS is managed — Cloudflare, Namecheap, GoDaddy, your web developer, or whoever set up your website.

## Setting it up

<Steps>
  <Step title="Enter the hostname">
    In **Settings → Custom domains**, type the subdomain you want into the relevant slot and select **Configure**. Nothing changes for your guests yet.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add the two DNS records">
    We now show you a CNAME and a TXT record, each with its name and value. Add both at your DNS provider exactly as shown.

    The CNAME points your subdomain at us. The TXT record proves you own the name — without it, anyone could claim your domain.

    <Note>
      Some DNS providers ask only for the part before your domain. If the name we show is `wifi.yourcompany.com`, enter just `wifi`. If it is `_wifipadi-verify.wifi.yourcompany.com`, enter `_wifipadi-verify.wifi`.
    </Note>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Verify">
    Select **Verify DNS**. If it fails, wait a few minutes and try again — DNS changes take time to spread across the internet, sometimes up to an hour. The page tells you exactly what it could not find.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Update your routers, if you use MikroTik">
    If you changed your **captive portal** domain, MikroTik routers need their installer command run again, because the portal address is written into the router itself.

    Nano Pi gateways pick up the change on their own within a minute. Nothing to do.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Your old `yourname.wifipadi.com` address keeps working. Setting a custom domain adds an address, it does not remove one.

## Keeping it working

We recheck your DNS every day.

<Warning>
  **Leave both records in place.** It is tempting to delete the TXT record once verification succeeds. Don't — the daily check needs it, and removing it will take your domain offline after three days.
</Warning>

If a check fails, here is what happens:

| When                | What we do                                                                                                   |
| ------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| First failed check  | Email you. Your domain keeps working normally.                                                               |
| Second failed check | Nothing — you have already been told.                                                                        |
| Third failed check  | Your custom address stops working and traffic moves back to your `wifipadi.com` address. We email you again. |

Once you have fixed the DNS, go back to **Settings → Custom domains** and select **Verify DNS**. We do not retry a failed domain automatically, so this step is needed to switch your address back on.

## If verification keeps failing

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="CNAME must point to domains.wifipadi.com">
    Either the CNAME is missing, or it is an A record instead. Check the record type at your DNS provider — it must say CNAME.

    If your provider refuses to create a CNAME, you are probably trying to use your bare domain rather than a subdomain.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="TXT verification token does not match">
    The TXT record exists but holds the wrong value. Copy it again from the settings page — it is easy to miss a character, and some providers add quote marks that should not be there.

    If you changed the hostname after first configuring it, we issued a new token. The old TXT value will no longer work.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Required DNS record was not found">
    We could not see the record at all. Most often it simply has not spread yet — wait and try again.

    If it has been more than an hour, check that you added the record to the same domain you typed into WifiPadi, and that your provider is not still showing it as pending.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Enter a valid fully qualified subdomain">
    You entered a bare domain such as `yourcompany.com`. Use a subdomain like `wifi.yourcompany.com`.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

If you are still stuck, contact support with the domain you are trying to use and we will look at what our checks are seeing.