Operator Documentation
Operator Setup Guide

MikroTik Setup Guide

Step-by-step guide for operators connecting a MikroTik router to the WiFi Business System dashboard — hotspot billing, captive portal, mobile money, and vouchers.

You only need your dashboard login, Winbox (or SSH), and a MikroTik router with internet.

Captive Portal

Branded login page

Mobile Money

ZenoPay, Snippe, Selcom

Vouchers

Offline access codes

Source for operator docs

This file is the canonical content for MikroTik Setup Guide (v0). Sync updates there when publishing.

1What happens after setup

After setup, your router will automatically show a login page when customers connect to WiFi. They can pay with mobile money or use a voucher code to get internet access. Everything happens automatically — you don't need to do anything manually.

Customer's phone or laptop
Connects to your WiFi
Login page appears automatically
Customer pays or enters voucher code
Customer gets internet access
Your MikroTik Router
Shows the login page and manages customer connections
WiFi Business System
Handles payments, tracks who is online, and manages everything automatically

No technical setup needed

Your router automatically connects to our system every minute. Everything updates automatically — you don't need to change any router settings or open special ports.

With VPN management enabled (recommended), our system can securely reach your router without needing special IP addresses. This means every router can use the same simple settings, making setup much easier.

2Before you start

You only need a few things to get started:

What you needDetails
MikroTik routerAny MikroTik router (most models work fine)
Internet connectionThe router must be connected to the internet before starting
A computer or laptopTo configure the router (any computer works)
Dashboard loginYour username and password for the WiFi Business System

Check your plan

Your subscription may limit how many routers you can add. If you can't add a device, check your plan or contact support.

3Reset router to default settings

It's best to reset your router to factory settings if any of these apply:

  • The router was used before for a different WiFi setup
  • A previous setup didn't work properly
  • You're moving the router to a new location
  • Someone changed settings and things aren't working right
A

Winbox

Easiest
  1. 1Connect your computer to the router
  2. 2Open Winbox and connect (usually at 192.168.88.1)
  3. 3Go to System → Reset Configuration
  4. 4Click Reset Configuration
  5. 5Wait 1 minute for the router to restart
B

Command line

Advanced

Run the reset command below and confirm when prompted. The router will restart to factory settings.

RouterOS terminal
/system reset-configuration skip-backup=yes
C

Reset button

Hardware
  1. 1Turn on the router
  2. 2Hold the Reset button while the light flashes
  3. 3Release when the light pattern changes
  4. 4Wait for the router to restart
RouterOS terminal
/system reset-configuration skip-backup=yes

After reset — quick checks

  1. 1

    Set a password

    Set a strong password to protect your router (System → Password).

  2. 2

    Connect cables

    Plug your internet cable into port 1 and your computer into port 2.

  3. 3

    Check internet works

    RouterOS terminal
    /ping 8.8.8.8 count=3

    If this doesn't work, fix your internet connection first before continuing.

Newer routers (RouterOS 7+)

If you see an error about "device mode not allowed", run this command, unplug the router for 10 seconds, then plug it back in:
RouterOS terminal
/system device-mode update mode=advanced

4How to connect the cables

Connect your cables like this:

WhatWhich portWhat it does
Internet cablePort 1 (ether1)Connects to your internet source
Your computerPort 2 (ether2)For configuring the router
Customer WiFiPort 3+ and wirelessWhere customers connect to WiFi

Simple connection guide

Your internet source

Modem or ISP router

Port 1

Internet port

MikroTik Router

The main device

2

Your computer

For setup and configuration

3+

Access Point

Where customers connect

Keep it simple

Just connect internet to port 1, your computer to port 2, and let customers use ports 3+ or WiFi. The system handles everything else automatically.

5Prepare the router

Before connecting to the system, make sure your router has internet and is ready. Follow these steps in order using Winbox or the command line.

  1. 1

    Set a strong password

    Protect your router by setting a strong password.

    RouterOS terminal
    /user set admin password=YOUR_STRONG_PASSWORD

    Important

    Never leave the default password. Without a password, anyone could access your router and get free internet.
  2. 2

    Connect to the internet

    Tell the router to get internet from port 1.

    RouterOS terminal
    /ip dhcp-client add interface=ether1 disabled=no

    The router will now get internet automatically from your ISP.

  3. 3

    Share the internet with users

    This lets all WiFi users share the internet connection.

    RouterOS terminal
    /ip firewall nat add chain=srcnat out-interface=ether1 action=masquerade

    Without this, users can connect to WiFi but can't browse the internet.

  4. 4

    Set up DNS

    This helps users access websites by name (like google.com instead of numbers).

    RouterOS terminal
    /ip dns set servers=8.8.8.8,1.1.1.1 allow-remote-requests=yes

    This uses Google and Cloudflare DNS which are fast and reliable.

  5. 5

    Test the internet

    Make sure everything is working before continuing.

    RouterOS terminal
    /ping 8.8.8.8 count=3

    If this doesn't work

    Check that your internet cable is connected properly and that port 1 has internet. Fix this before continuing.
  6. 6

    Newer routers only (RouterOS 7+)

    If you have a newer router and see errors about "device mode", run this command:

    RouterOS terminal
    /system device-mode update mode=advanced

    After running this

    Unplug the router for 10 seconds, then plug it back in. This is required for newer routers to work with the system.

Ready to go

If the internet test worked, your router is ready. Continue to the next section to connect it to the system.

6Connect the router to the system

  1. 1

    Log in to the dashboard

    Open your WiFi Business System website and sign in.

  2. 2

    Add your router

    Go to Devices → MikroTik → Add. Enter a name for your router (or use the auto-generated name). Optionally choose a location. Leave VPN management turned on (recommended). Click Next Step.

  3. 3

    Copy the setup command

    You'll see a command on the screen. Click Click to copy.

    RouterOS
    /tool fetch url="https://…/api/devices/mikrotik/provision/…/script" \
  dst-path=flash/provision.rsc check-certificate=yes; \
:delay 3s; /import flash/provision.rsc; :delay 2s; \
:do { /file remove [find name~"provision.rsc"] } on-error={}
  4. 4

    Run the command on your router

    Open Winbox, go to New Terminal, paste the command, and press Enter. This will set up everything automatically.

  5. 5

    Wait for it to finish (2-5 minutes)

    Watch the screen. When it's done, you should see "Done!" at the end.

    What happens during setup

    The system automatically sets up the WiFi login page, connects to the billing system, and configures everything for you.
  6. 6

    Check it worked

    Go back to the dashboard. Within 1 minute, your router should show as online and provisioned. If it still shows pending after 5 minutes, see the troubleshooting section.

7Customize the login page

Customize what customers see when they connect to your WiFi:

  1. 1

    Open Captive Portal settings

    Go to Captive Portal and select your router.

  2. 2

    Add your branding

    Set your WiFi name, colors, and logo. Enable vouchers or payments as needed.

  3. 3

    Save changes

    Click Save & Deploy. Changes apply within 1 minute.

8Create pricing packages

Create packages that customers can buy:

  1. 1

    Create a package

    Go to Finance → Packages → Create.

  2. 2

    Set the price and features

    Set the price, internet speed, data limit, time limit, and choose "hotspot" type.

  3. 3

    Assign to your router

    Select your MikroTik router and save.

Note

Only packages assigned to your router will appear for customers to buy.

9Set up payments

Let customers pay with mobile money:

Go to Settings, choose your payment provider (ZenoPay, Snippe, or Selcom), enter your account details, and save.

Tip

If you don't set up payments, customers can still connect using voucher codes (if you enable vouchers).

10Test with a phone

Make sure everything works by testing with a real phone:

  1. 1

    Connect to WiFi

    Connect your phone to the WiFi network.

  2. 2

    Open a browser

    The login page should appear automatically.

  3. 3

    Buy a package or use a voucher

    Try buying a package with mobile money or enter a test voucher code.

  4. 4

    Check internet works

    Make sure you can browse the internet. Check the dashboard to see the active session.

11Common problems and solutions

Setup doesn't start

ProblemSolution
No internet connectionMake sure port 1 is connected to your internet source. Test with: /ping 8.8.8.8 count=3
RouterOS version too oldUpdate your router software under System → Packages
Device mode errorRun the device mode command from section 3, unplug for 10 seconds, then try again
Download errorCheck internet connection, reset router, and try setup again

Router shows as offline or pending

If your router doesn't show as online after 5 minutes:

  1. 1

    Check the logs

    Run this command to see what's happening: /log print where message~"WiFi Billing"

  2. 2

    Run the setup command again

    Copy the command from the dashboard and run it again. It's safe to re-run.

Login page doesn't appear

If customers don't see the login page when connecting to WiFi:

  1. 1

    Check hotspot is running

    Run: /ip hotspot print

  2. 2

    Re-run the setup command

    This will fix any missing files or settings.

Customer paid but can't get online

If a customer paid but still can't access the internet:

  1. 1

    Check the device page

    Look at the device health indicators in the dashboard.

  2. 2

    Re-run the setup command

    This will fix any configuration issues.

Payments don't work

If customers can't pay with mobile money:

  1. 1

    Check payment settings

    Make sure your payment provider is configured in Settings.

  2. 2

    Test with a voucher

    If vouchers work but payments don't, the issue is with your payment provider setup.

Start fresh if needed

If nothing works, reset the router to factory settings (section 3), fix the internet connection, and run the setup command again. This will give you a clean start.

12Managing your router

Common tasks you might need to do:

TaskHow to do it
Change WiFi name or logoGo to Captive Portal, make changes, click Save & Deploy
Update router settingsGo to the device page and click Sync, or wait 1 minute for automatic update
Fix a router that's not workingGo to the device page, copy the setup command, and run it again on the router
See who's onlineGo to Active Users or check the device page

13Setup checklist

Make sure you've completed these steps:

  • Router reset to factory settings (if it was used before)
  • Internet is working on the router
  • Router added in the dashboard
  • Setup command completed successfully
  • Router shows as online in the dashboard
  • WiFi login page is configured
  • At least one pricing package created
  • Payments or vouchers are set up
  • Tested with a phone and it works

14Useful commands (advanced)

If you need to check things on the router, these commands can help:

Check what's happening
/log print where message~"WiFi Billing"
Check hotspot status
/ip hotspot print
/ip hotspot active print
Test internet
/ping 8.8.8.8 count=3

Tip

For most issues, you can just re-run the setup command from the dashboard. You usually don't need to use these commands.