Facebook WiFi alternative: what venues use since it ended

Facebook Wi-Fi was Facebook's own captive portal service. A guest joining the venue's network was sent to the venue's Facebook Page and got online by checking in. It ended on 12 June 2023, and makers that offered it on their access points and routers, including TP-Link, Zyxel, EnGenius and NETGEAR, told customers to switch to another sign-in method.

This guide sets out what those makers said, with dates and links, what the check-in did for a venue, and what to run in its place. The vendor notices are quoted from their own support pages, checked on 3 October 2026. CaptiFi details come from its customer documentation and integrations directory.

What happened to Facebook Wi-Fi

Five hardware makers that supported Facebook Wi-Fi still carry notices about its end on their support sites. They agree on the date, and four of the five attribute the change to Facebook or Meta.

TP-Link's notice adds that end users "will not be able to authenticate via the Facebook Wi-Fi after June 12, 2023". The Facebook Wi-Fi page that EnGenius links to, facebook.com/facebook-wifi, returned an error page when we checked it on 3 October 2026, so the dates here come from the hardware makers' notices.

What the check-in gave a venue

NETGEAR's guide describes Facebook Wi-Fi as an authentication method that "redirects Wi-Fi clients to your chosen Facebook business page upon trying to join your wireless network", where the guest "is required to check in to the Facebook page or supply a passcode". The venue could also offer a Skip check-in link or require a WiFi code, and set how long a guest stayed online after checking in.

TP-Link's configuration guide for its Omada controllers sold the feature on visibility. Guests could "check in on your Facebook Page and leave a record in the Timeline, which may help advertise your business", and on the Page "you can collect the customers' comments, likes and feedback". It also notes that customers could "skip check-in to get authenticated".

So the check-in gave a venue visibility on Facebook: a record on the guest's Timeline, and more activity on its Page. None of the vendor guides above describes the venue receiving the guest's email address, phone number or marketing consent, and a guest who used the skip link got online without checking in at all.

Facebook Wi-Fi and Facebook Login are different products

The notices cover Facebook Wi-Fi, the check-in product. Facebook Login is Meta's general sign-in product for apps and websites, described in Meta's developer documentation. When a user on Zyxel's forum asked in May 2023 whether Facebook Login for captive portals would also be retired, a Zyxel employee replied that "Facebook Login authentication is still functional". A Facebook account sign-in built on Facebook Login is a separate question from Facebook Wi-Fi and depends on the WiFi platform. It brings the upkeep the guide to guest WiFi login options describes: a developer account with the provider, and the provider's sign-in pages reachable before the guest is online.

CaptiFi does not offer Facebook sign-in today. Guests sign in with an email address or a phone number on the venue's branded form. The Facebook integration is listed as coming soon, described as a way to "let guests skip the form and sign in to your WiFi with one Facebook click".

The alternatives compared

The first five are ways onto the network, and the last stands in for the public post. A venue that wants a list can run an email form, add a phone number if it plans to text, and add review requests on top.

An email or phone sign-in with consent

On CaptiFi the branded form asks for a name and email address as standard. You can add a phone number with a ready-made preset and country-code selector, a date of birth with a minimum age, or a question of your own. Every address is checked as it is typed: keyboard mash and filler entries are rejected, disposable inboxes are refused, common typos get a "Did you mean...?" prompt, and addresses that have already bounced on CaptiFi are turned away. Returning devices are recognised and let straight through.

Marketing consent is asked separately from the WiFi terms. The email marketing question is on by default and appears on the sign-in card the moment a guest taps Connect, and guests who say no still get online. When the form asks for a phone number, the page shows the text message terms in the guest's language, and an optional SMS opt-in checkbox makes texting strictly opt-in. UK, EU and Canadian rules all rule out marketing consent bundled into the WiFi terms, as the guide to guest WiFi marketing laws by country sets out.

A check-in left a record on the guest's Timeline. A sign-in leaves the venue with a contact: on Essentials you can export the list, and on Growth you can send it a welcome email, a review request or next month's offer for as long as the guest stays subscribed.

Reviews in place of check-ins

A public review is the closest thing to a check-in today. It stays on the venue's Google, Tripadvisor or Yelp listing, where people choosing somewhere to go can read it.

On the Growth plan, CaptiFi's review requests ask guests to rate their visit by email, and by text if you switch it on, 24 hours after they connect by default, with the delay adjustable in minutes, hours or days. Ratings at or above your minimum, 4 stars by default, go to Google, Tripadvisor or Yelp, or to a page listing every platform you have set up. Lower ratings open a private feedback form that still shows your public review links, so every guest can post publicly if they want to. Each guest is asked at most once every 90 days per venue.

Keeping your Facebook Page in front of guests

Two CaptiFi features link WiFi guests back to Facebook.

The After connecting promotion shows your artwork, a headline and a button on the screen guests see once they are online. The link must start with https://, so it can point at your Facebook Page or an event on it. It is part of the branded splash page on every plan. On venues using a Cisco Meraki controller the promotion is not shown on the connected screen and the guest is sent straight through, because the controller needs the browser to complete the sign-in step first.

For advertising, CaptiFi has no native Facebook Pixel integration. The route is Zapier, included on Growth and above: CaptiFi sends only guests who accepted marketing to Zapier, and the Zap adds them to a Facebook Custom Audience, which you can use for retargeting and lookalike audiences in Ads Manager. The Facebook Pixel page has the steps.

Switching the setting off on your hardware

Guests on an SSID still set to Facebook Wi-Fi cannot authenticate through it. Each maker's notice says what to change.

• TP-Link: "Omada Controllers V5.11 and above will no longer support configuring Facebook Wi-Fi. We recommend switching to other portal authentication methods as soon as possible." The Archer C50 and A5 routers also lost the setting.
• Zyxel recommends changing to another authentication method in Nebula Control Center.
• EnGenius asks customers to change "the Captive Portal settings to another authentication type for all the SSIDs enabled with Facebook Wi-Fi".
• NETGEAR recommends that you "choose an alternative captive portal option on your wireless access point".

To run CaptiFi in its place, point the guest network at CaptiFi's external portal following the setup guide for your hardware. CaptiFi works with UniFi, Omada, Aruba, Meraki, Cisco, Ruckus, MikroTik and Fortinet FortiAP networks, and venues without compatible kit can use the CaptiFi plug-and-play device. On UniFi, the setup guide has you switch off Password, Voucher, Facebook, Payment and RADIUS on the hotspot portal, so CaptiFi is the only thing that authorises guests.

Replacing it with CaptiFi

Guests sign in with an email address or a phone number on your branded form, and the marketing question is asked separately from getting online. Essentials, from $69/mo on the pricing page, includes the branded splash page, contact capture with consent, email export, paid WiFi and WiFi vouchers. Growth adds review requests, email marketing, SMS marketing and integrations, including the Zapier route to Facebook Custom Audiences. Facebook sign-in is coming soon and is not available on any plan today.

You can set up the form and the connected screen on your own network with a 30-day free trial.

Sources: TP-Link, Announcement on Discontinuation of Facebook Wi-Fi, its community forum notice of 12 April 2023 and its Facebook Portal configuration guide; Zyxel Community, Discontinuation of Facebook Wi-Fi Authentication Service (May 2023); EnGenius, Discontinuation of Facebook Wi-Fi; NETGEAR Support, Facebook Wi-Fi on the WAC720 and WAC730; ASUS Support, How to set up Facebook Wi-Fi on ASUS routers; Meta for Developers, Facebook Login; CaptiFi's customer documentation and integrations directory, all checked on 3 October 2026. Facebook and Meta are trade marks of Meta Platforms, Inc.; TP-Link, Omada, Zyxel, Nebula, EnGenius, NETGEAR, ASUS, UniFi, Aruba, Meraki, Cisco, Ruckus, MikroTik, Fortinet, FortiAP, Google, Tripadvisor, Yelp and Zapier are trade marks of their owners. CaptiFi is not affiliated with or endorsed by them.