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Onboarding a gateway ends when the status reads Online. This page is everything after that. Go to Gateways and select a gateway to open its page.

What the status means

The gateway page also shows last contact — the last time the device reached us at all. That is a different question from status, and it is the one to read when you are deciding whether a router is dead or merely idle.

Remote actions

These run over the WifiPadi tunnel, from the Remote control card on the gateway page. You do not need to be on site or plugged into anything.
The Remote control card on a MikroTik gateway page, with Update configuration, Re-provision, Back up config and Reboot buttons
Update agent (Nano Pi) and Update configuration (MikroTik) are the ones to reach for after we ship a change — fair-use shaping, for instance. Neither is a reboot and guests stay connected. If a gateway is behaving in a way this guide does not describe, run the one for your router before you contact support. A gateway marked out of date on its page has an update waiting.
The Configuration row on the gateway page shows which version the router runs, and says out of date when an update is waiting.
The Block B device details, with the Configuration row reading out of date

One-click updates on MikroTik

A MikroTik checks in with WifiPadi every 45 seconds. Update configuration uses that check-in to apply the current WifiPadi settings — the rules that let WifiPadi disconnect a customer the moment their plan ends or moves to another device, the payment sites unpaid customers can reach, and the router’s background checks. It does not touch your network, the tunnel or the hotspot, so nobody is disconnected. The command shows done once the router confirms it is running the new settings, and failed with a reason if it could not apply them. A router set up before one-click updates existed does not have the button yet. Its gateway page says so, under Configuration. Set it up once more, and from then on updates are one click:
1

Select Re-provision

On the gateway page, select Re-provision and confirm. This issues a fresh install command and retires the old one. Customers keep connecting as normal; the router just cannot check in with WifiPadi — so remote actions wait — until you run the new command.
2

Run it at a quiet time

Open Winbox, choose New Terminal, paste the command and press Enter. It rebuilds the hotspot, so anyone connected drops for a moment and reconnects on their own.
3

Check the gateway page

Within a minute the router checks in again, is no longer marked out of date, and shows Update configuration from then on.
Run the command soon after you issue it. Until you do, the router cannot receive remote actions or report to WifiPadi.

Access points

Access point monitoring and offline alerts are available on a Nano Pi gateway. A MikroTik gateway does not scan for or monitor access points yet.
Most venues run one gateway and several access points — the boxes on the ceiling actually broadcasting the WiFi. WifiPadi watches them for you and tells you when one dies. You do not need to change any setting on the access points.
1

They are found for you

Every hour, a Nano Pi gateway sweeps its local network. Anything made by a known access-point maker — TP-Link, Ubiquiti, Cambium, Ruijie and others — is added and monitored automatically, marked Found automatically. On a gateway whose agent predates this feature, access points that ignore ping are listed in the scan instead — run Update agent and they are picked up within the hour.
2

Check the rest

Select Scan for APs to see everything else the sweep found, ranked by how likely it is to be an access point rather than somebody’s phone. An unbranded or white-label AP looks exactly like a laptop from the network’s point of view, so for those you decide.
The access point scan results, ranking devices on the venue network as likely, possible or unlikely access points, each with the reason it was ranked that way
3

Name them by where they are

Block C stairwell beats TP-Link AP 0eef. When one goes down at 9pm, the name is what tells you where to walk.
The gateway checks each access point every few seconds and records outages. An access point that was found automatically only starts alerting once it has been seen online. Removing one stops monitoring it for good — the hourly sweep will not add it back.
The Connected Access Points list on the Front Desk gateway: one online with its ping time, one online at layer 2 only, one offline with no reply, and one found automatically and waiting for its first check
An access point in bridge mode with no IP address on the venue network cannot be found or monitored by anyone. Give it a static address in the gateway’s range and it will be picked up within the hour.

Outage history and restarts

The gateway page has an Outage history card. Pick Last 7 days, Last 30 days or Last 90 days and read three numbers: Downtime, Outages and Restarts, with each event listed below, newest first.
  • An outage is measured from the last time the router checked in before the silence, so the few minutes it takes us to notice are included.
  • A restart is listed even when it was too quick to count as an outage. That usually means the router briefly lost power, for example from a loose plug or a power cut.
Use it to answer “was the WiFi down on Tuesday night?” and to spot a router that keeps restarting.

The install log

While a gateway is installing, and afterwards, its page shows an Install log. It lists every request the router made during setup, newest first, so the top line is the last step it reached. If the install failed, open What the router reported to see the error and the router’s recent log. Send that to support if you get stuck.

Save data on Android phones (Nano Pi)

The Save data on Android phones switch on a Nano Pi gateway tells Android phones that your WiFi is metered, like mobile data. They then hold back photo and video backups and app updates. Without it, a phone joining for the first time can upload a whole data plan in minutes. It applies to every Android phone on that gateway, unlimited plans included. iPhones ignore it. Phones already connected pick it up when they next renew their address, within about 30 minutes. If the card says the agent is older than the setting, run Update agent first. On a Nano Pi, the Share the internet link fairly switch makes sure that when the venue’s internet is busy, every device gets an equal share. One guest running many downloads at once then cannot slow everyone else down. The router raises the limit as guests use more of the link. The limit is a ceiling the router sets by itself, not a speed, so it can read lower than your internet speed when the venue is quiet. The card also shows the speed the link carried right now and its busiest moment in the last 24 hours, labelled apart from the limit. Routers need the newest agent to show these. The router keeps measuring how fast the link is right now, so it follows a connection that moves up and down, such as Starlink, by itself.
  • Max download (Mbps) and Max upload (Mbps) are optional. Set them to never share more than that, for example to keep part of the link for the office. Leave them empty for no limit.
  • The card shows how much the router is sharing right now.
  • Recent slowdowns lists the last few times the router slowed the share, for example Download slowed from 60 Mbps to 40 Mbps. Ping rose 52 ms with 38 Mbps in use. If the cause was only the link changing route, it says so when the speed goes back up.
If something else already manages the router’s internet port, such as a queue set up by hand, WifiPadi leaves it alone and says so on the card.

Remote Winbox (MikroTik)

Remote Winbox lets you sign in to a MikroTik with Winbox from anywhere, through the WifiPadi tunnel, so a fix does not need a trip to the site. No port on the router is opened to the internet, and access closes itself after an hour.

Before you start

  • The router is online and on one-click updates. A router set up before one-click updates existed has to be set up once more first; see One-click updates on MikroTik.
  • You have selected Update configuration at least once since 24 October 2026. That update adds the firewall rule that lets Winbox in through the tunnel. Without it, the tunnel connects but Winbox cannot reach the router.
  • You know the router’s own username and password. Remote Winbox opens the way in; signing in to the router is still up to you. WifiPadi does not hold router passwords.
  • The free WireGuard app (wireguard.com/install) and Winbox (mikrotik.com/download) are installed on your computer.
You need a manager or owner account on WifiPadi.

Connect

1

Open Remote Winbox

In the dashboard, go to Gateways, open the MikroTik and find the Remote Winbox card. Select Open Remote Winbox.
2

Download the connection file

Select Download .conf. The file is shown once: if you leave the page without it, open a new one. Note the address on the card, which is the one Winbox connects to, and how many seconds it asks you to wait.
3

Add the tunnel in WireGuard

In WireGuard, choose Add Tunnel (on Windows and Mac this is Import tunnel(s) from file), pick the file you downloaded, then select Activate. If your computer asks to allow a VPN configuration, allow it. The status turns Active. Your normal internet keeps working; the tunnel only carries traffic to this router.
4

Sign in with Winbox

Wait the number of seconds shown on the card, usually about a minute. In Winbox, type the address from the card in Connect To, enter the router’s own username and password, and select Connect.
The connection file is for the WireGuard app on your computer. It is not for the router. Do not paste it into Winbox or the router’s terminal. The router will reject every line, and the file contains a private key that you should keep to yourself.

Finish

When you are done, close Winbox and select Deactivate in WireGuard. Access lasts 1 hour and closes itself. Select End access now on the card to close it sooner, for example if the file was shared by mistake. Opening a new session closes the previous one for that router.
This is a real management session on a live router. Changes you make in Winbox to the hotspot, RADIUS or firewall configuration can stop guests being able to buy or use access, and WifiPadi will not put them back. Take a Back up config first.

If Winbox does not connect

  • WireGuard is not Active. Import the file again from the card, or open a new session if you no longer have it.
  • You connected too soon. Wait the full time shown on the card, then try again.
  • The router has not had the update. Select Update configuration on the gateway page, wait for it to show done, then open a new session.
  • The router is offline. Check its status at the top of the gateway page. The tunnel carries nothing while the router is down.
  • Winbox says the login is wrong. Use the router’s own username and password, not your WifiPadi sign-in.
  • The session expired. After an hour, open a new one.

Moving or renaming a gateway

Use the edit action on the gateway page to rename it or move it to another location. Renaming is cosmetic. Moving reassigns which location’s revenue and reporting it contributes to from that moment on; history stays where it was earned.

Troubleshooting

Check power and the WAN cable first — most of these are the internet line at the venue, not the router. If the line is fine, Reboot from the dashboard. If the reboot never lands, the device is not reaching us at all and someone has to look at it.
Run Update agent, then Reboot. This combination clears the case where the captive portal service came up before the network was ready and has been sitting in a half-started state — the dashboard still shows green throughout, because the rest of the device is checking in normally.
That is what Re-provision is for, and it is safe to run on a working gateway. Use it after we change the installer — for example when a new payment domain has to be added to the list of sites guests can reach before paying.
On a gateway whose agent has not been updated since 28 August 2026, an access point that ignores ping shows as Offline even while it works. Run Update agent on that gateway (off-peak: guests reconnect briefly) and it will show as Online · Layer 2 only. If it still reads Offline after the update, check its power and cable.