Device setup

Set up your CaptiFi device

Plug it in, join the CaptiFi Setup network, enter your 8-digit PIN. Most venues are live in under five minutes, and the light on the device tells you where you are.

Yellow

Starting up, 30 to 60 seconds

Purple

Waiting for your 8-digit PIN

Green

Done, and it stays green

Before you start

What you need

Everything below arrives in the box, apart from your router and your phone.

The CaptiFi WiFi access point, with the status light on the front edge circled
The status light on the front edge is how the device tells you what it is doing

In the box

CaptiFi access point

The white unit, with the status light on the front.

PoE injector

Powers the device down its ethernet cable, from any normal socket.

Two ethernet cables

One router to injector, one injector to device.

Mounting kit

For a wall or ceiling, if you want it fixed in place.

From you

Your router

A spare ethernet port, with internet working.

Your 8-digit PIN

In your welcome email, and in your dashboard.

A phone or laptop

To join the setup network and enter the PIN.

Step by step

Setting it up

Six steps, in order. Watch the light on the front of the device as you go.

1

Plug the device in

  1. Run one ethernet cable from a spare port on your router (or switch) into the socket marked LAN on the PoE injector.
  2. Run the second cable from the injector's PoE socket to the socket marked WAN/POE on the underside of the CaptiFi device.
  3. Plug the injector into a power socket. Already have a PoE switch? Skip the injector and plug the device straight into a PoE port.

No light at all? Check the cable to the device is in the injector's PoE socket and not LAN: only the PoE socket carries power. Mount the device high and central for the best coverage, and leave your router alone, there is nothing to configure on it.

The CaptiFi PoE injector, showing its two ethernet sockets
The injector's two sockets: LAN takes the cable from your router, PoE feeds the CaptiFi device
The label on the underside of the CaptiFi device, showing the Reset, WAN/POE, LAN, LED and DC sockets
On the device, use the socket marked WAN/POE
2

Wait for the light to turn purple

The light flashes yellow while the device boots, which takes 30 to 60 seconds. It then turns solid purple: the device is up and waiting to be activated.

Yellow flashing, booting Purple, ready to activate

Red after a couple of minutes means no internet. Check the cable into your router before going any further.

Flashing yellow, starting up
Solid purple, waiting for your PIN
Red, no internet yet, check the cable
3

Connect your phone to "CaptiFi Setup"

While the light is purple, the device broadcasts its own setup network. On your phone or laptop, open the WiFi list and join:

CaptiFi Setup

The activation page opens on its own. If it does not, open a browser and go to http://example.com.

Settings

Wi-Fi

CaptiFi Setup
Your venue WiFi
Neighbour WiFi

Your phone's WiFi list, while the light is purple

4

Enter your 8-digit PIN

Type the 8-digit activation PIN from your welcome email, then press Activate.

The PIN is also in your dashboard: open My Locations and click Show PIN on your venue card.

The light pulses blue while the device configures itself, which takes a minute or two.

CaptiFi device activation page asking for the 8-digit PIN

The activation page, as it opens on your phone

5

The light turns green and stays green

Solid green is the normal running state: activated, online, and broadcasting your venue's guest WiFi instead of the setup network. Green is what you should see from now on.

Connect a phone to the guest network and your branded splash page appears. That is the setup finished.

Solid green: activated, online, guest WiFi live

This is what the light looks like day to day

6

Check it in your dashboard

Log in at my.captifi.io and open My Locations. Your venue shows Online within a couple of minutes, and the first guest sign-in appears under Guest Visits.

From the same card you can edit your splash page, rename the WiFi network and download a QR code for your tables.

CaptiFi dashboard My Locations page showing a venue Online

My Locations, with the venue Online

Setting up more than one device?

Repeat the same six steps on each one. If we issued a shared PIN for your venue, every device takes that same PIN and joins the same venue, with the same WiFi name and splash page. Do them one at a time so you can tell which light belongs to which unit.

Light reference

What the light means

The light on the front of the device is the fastest way to see what is going on. Green is the normal running state.

Yellow (flashing)

Booting

The device is starting up.

What to do: Wait 30 to 60 seconds.

Purple (solid)

Waiting to be activated

It is broadcasting the CaptiFi Setup network.

What to do: Join that network and enter your 8-digit PIN.

Blue (pulsing)

Activating

Your PIN was accepted and the device is configuring itself.

What to do: Wait 1 to 2 minutes.

Green (solid)

All good, and it stays green

Activated, online, guest WiFi is live.

What to do: Nothing. This is the normal running state.

Blue (solid)

Internet fine, secure tunnel down

The device reached the internet but not our servers.

What to do: Usually clears itself. If not, check UDP 51820 is open.

Red (solid)

No internet

The device cannot reach the internet at all.

What to do: Check the ethernet cable and your router.

Red (fast flashing)

Failsafe

The device needs our help.

What to do: Contact support.

White (pulsing)

Updating firmware

A firmware update is being installed.

What to do: Do not unplug. It takes 2 to 5 minutes.

Your dashboard is the other half of the picture: My Locations shows each venue as Online, Connecting or Offline, and WiFi Access Points lists every device on the account.

If something is wrong

Troubleshooting

Find the colour you are looking at, then work down the list in order.

The light stays purple

The device is up, but it has not been activated yet.

  1. Join the CaptiFi Setup network on your phone and enter your 8-digit PIN
  2. Check you are using the PIN from your welcome email, or My Locations then Show PIN in your dashboard
  3. Make sure the ethernet cable is connected: the device needs internet to activate
  4. If the PIN is refused, email support@captifi.io and we will check it
The light is red

Red means the device cannot reach the internet.

  1. Check the ethernet cable at both ends: router to injector DATA, injector PoE to device
  2. Test that your router has internet using another device
  3. Try a different port on your router or switch
  4. Restart your router, wait 2 minutes, then unplug and replug the CaptiFi device
  5. On a managed firewall, allow outbound TCP 443 and UDP 51820
The light is solid blue

Your internet is fine, but the device has not finished building its secure tunnel to us.

  1. Wait 5 minutes, it almost always reconnects on its own
  2. Check UDP port 51820 is not blocked on your firewall
  3. Some corporate and guest networks block this traffic, so ask whoever manages the network
  4. Unplug for 10 seconds and replug if it is still blue after 10 minutes
There is no light at all

The device is not getting power.

  1. Check the PoE injector is in a working socket
  2. Check both cables: router to DATA, device to PoE. Swapping these two is the most common mistake
  3. Try another socket, or another PoE port if you are using a switch
  4. If there is still no light, contact support and we will replace it
The light is green but guests cannot get online

The device itself is healthy, so this is usually the splash page or the guest phone.

  1. Wait 2 to 3 minutes after activation for the guest network to appear
  2. On the guest phone, open a browser and visit http://example.com to trigger the splash page
  3. Ask the guest to turn WiFi off and on again
  4. Check the venue shows Online in My Locations, then contact support with your venue name
Restart and reset

Restarting the device

Most problems are fixed by a power cycle. The reset button is only for the two jobs below.

Power cycle, try this first
  1. Unplug the PoE injector from the socket, or the cable from your PoE switch.
  2. Wait 10 seconds.
  3. Plug it back in and wait 2 to 3 minutes.
  4. The light returns to green and the dashboard shows the venue Online again.

Use when: guests cannot see the WiFi, the device seems stuck, or the dashboard says Offline while your internet is fine.

Keeps your settings and your activation

Short press on the reset button, under 3 seconds

Restarts the network services and the secure tunnel without rebooting the whole device. The light pulses blue while it works, then goes back to green. Useful after you have changed routers or moved the device onto a different port.

Keeps your settings and your activation

Holding the reset button for 10 seconds or more

This releases the device from your venue. It tells us it has been unlinked, resets the WiFi name back to CaptiFi Setup and reboots, so the light comes back purple and the device has to be activated with a PIN again. Only do this if support asks you to, or you are moving the device to another venue.

Needs activating again afterwards

Two things to avoid
  • Never unplug the device while the light is pulsing white: it is installing a firmware update, which takes 2 to 5 minutes.
  • Do not hold the reset button "just in case". Anything over 10 seconds releases the device and means entering a PIN again.

We manage these devices remotely, so support can reboot or rebuild yours without anyone visiting the venue. Ask us before you touch the hardware.

FAQs

Frequently asked questions

Your 8-digit PIN is in your welcome email. It is also always in your dashboard: log in at my.captifi.io, open My Locations and click Show PIN on your venue card. If you cannot find it, email support@captifi.io.

No. For batch orders we can issue one shared activation PIN for the whole venue. Enter the same PIN on every device and each one joins the same venue with the same WiFi name and splash page, and a guest who signs in on one device stays signed in as they move between the others. Each device still needs its own cable back to your router or switch.

Two outbound ports: TCP 443 for HTTPS, and UDP 51820 for the secure tunnel to our servers. Almost every home and business router allows both by default, and nothing needs opening inbound.

Yes. The CaptiFi device creates a separate guest network and plugs into your existing router by cable. Your private network and your business devices are untouched.

Log in at my.captifi.io, open My Locations, click Edit site on your venue and change the WiFi network name. The device picks up the new name within about 60 seconds.

Roughly 30 to 50 metres indoors, depending on walls and interference, and 100 or more devices at once. Mount the device high and central. Larger venues can run several devices, all managed from one dashboard.

The device is built for indoor use. For gardens, terraces and courtyards, talk to us about an outdoor access point, or use one of our controller integrations with weatherproof hardware.

Moving it within the same venue needs nothing at all: unplug it, plug it in at the new spot, and it reconnects. Moving it to a different venue or account needs a quick word with support so we can reassign it.

Still stuck?

Tell us your venue name and what colour the light is, and we can see the device from our end. Longer guides, including every controller integration, live at docs.captifi.io.

Email support Open your dashboard