Guest WiFi and captive portal, live on your controller in under 15 minutes
Guests sign in through your captive portal, consent is recorded, and BYOD and unmanaged devices get an onboarding lane to a certificate. Add RADIUS and the splash URL to the controller you already run, and it is live.
- Under 15 minutes per controller
- 80,000+ venues
- Consent for GDPR and CCPA
Guest WiFi
A guest network kept apart from everything that matters
Guests land on their own VLAN, away from tills, staff devices and internal systems, with a branded sign-in at every site.
- Isolated by designAccess points place guest devices on a guest-only VLAN, so a visitor's device never sees a till.
- One portal, every venueDesign the sign-in once and publish it to every SSID across the estate.
- No new access pointsRuns as a cloud overlay on Cisco Meraki, HPE Aruba, Ruckus, Juniper Mist, Ubiquiti UniFi, Cambium, Extreme and Fortinet.
Captive portal
Every sign-in method your venues ask for
Run different methods on different SSIDs from the same dashboard.
- SSOMembers and staff sign in with single sign-on.
- Google, Apple and FacebookSocial sign-in for guests who want one tap.
- SMS one-time passcodeEvery connection tied to a verified number.
- Custom fieldsAsk for the fields you need and nothing more.
- Hotel PMS room checkGuests verified against the property management system with their room number.
The onboarding lane
The portal is how a device graduates to the secure network
BYOD and unmanaged devices start on the open network, then move to a certificate or a Passpoint profile.
Sign in on the open SSID
The device joins the open network and the user signs in through the captive portal.
Install a profile once
A Passpoint profile or the Purple app installs at the end of that one sign-in.
Connect securely from then on
Next visit, the device joins the secure network on its own, encrypted from association, with no portal.
Visitor pre-arrival
Visitors are online before they reach reception
Invite a visitor and the WiFi is sorted before they leave home. No forms, no manual approval, no password at the desk.
The calendar invite carries the WiFi
The host books the meeting and the visitor's invite brings their WiFi access with it.
Their device connects on arrival
The visitor walks in and their device joins automatically, on the guest VLAN, with no portal and no password at the desk.
The host is notified
The moment the visitor connects, their host gets a notification that they have arrived.
Consent and data
Consent on record for GDPR and CCPA, every sign-up
Every sign-in flow captures consent and keeps the record. You choose the fields and Purple acts as the processor.
- Timestamped consent per sign-up.
- Only the fields you ask for.
- Marketing to guests is a job for Purple Engage, not the network.
Add-on: Purple Shield
Make this network safer and faster with Purple Shield
Purple Shield bolts onto Access or runs standalone. Set a different DNS policy per VLAN and by time of day, so staff, guests and residents each get the filtering that fits them, with dashboard analytics. Page loads up to 500% faster and 20 to 40% less web traffic. Try it free for 30 days.
FAQ
Common questions
What is a captive portal?
The web page a guest sees before getting internet access on an open network. It signs them in by SSO, social login, SMS passcode, custom fields or room number, asks them to accept your terms and records their consent.
Which access points does the captive portal run on?
Cisco Meraki, HPE Aruba, Ruckus, Juniper Mist, Ubiquiti UniFi, Cambium, Extreme and Fortinet, as a cloud overlay. You keep the hardware.
How long does it take to set up?
Adding the RADIUS and splash URL settings to an existing controller takes under 15 minutes.
Do we need RADIUS for guest WiFi?
A basic captive portal does not. Purple runs cloud RADIUS for you when you want per-user or per-device authentication on the secure and xPSK networks.
Can visitors be connected before they arrive?
Yes. The visitor's calendar invite carries their WiFi access, their device connects automatically when they walk in, and their host is notified.
Put the open network on your hardware
Tell us which access points you run and how guests should sign in. Your controller is under 15 minutes from live. All in a 45-minute design session.
- Get your three-SSID plan in 45 minutesTell us what runs on your WiFi today, and a Purple network engineer maps it with you.
- Map your SSIDs onto threeOpen, secure and xPSK, on the access points you already own. You leave with the plan.
- Prove it on one site firstJudge the result on tickets and audit evidence, then roll out.
Your design session
45 minutes. Your estate. A plan you keep.
Led by a Purple network engineer. No slides. You keep the plan.