TP-Link Omada Captive Portal Setup Guide

TP-Link Omada covers access points, switches and gateways, run from a controller you own or rent. The controller's own portal can already put a login page in front of guests, with options such as a simple password, vouchers and a Form Auth questionnaire. This guide shows how to point Omada's External Portal Server at CaptiFi instead, so each guest login adds a contact to your guest list with their marketing consent recorded, following the same steps as the CaptiFi Omada setup guide in our customer docs.

One thing to clear up first, because it has caught out plenty of readers of earlier versions of this guide: there is no RADIUS server to configure. Omada redirects guests to the CaptiFi splash page, and CaptiFi authorises them afterwards through an operator account on your controller. Everything you type into Omada is a URL, four pre-auth entries and one operator login.

What a captive portal does

A captive portal is the page guests see when they connect to your WiFi, before they get online. Instead of an open network or a password on the wall, the portal lets you capture guest details such as an email, name or phone number, show your own branding, record the marketing consent that UK GDPR and PECR require, and hand the guest to your WiFi marketing software the moment they connect. Omada handles the radio and the network; CaptiFi handles the page, the data and everything that happens after the login.

CaptiFi is external captive portal software. It works with TP-Link Omada as well as UniFi, Cisco Meraki, Aruba, MikroTik, Ruckus, Fortinet and DrayTek, and with the CaptiFi device (on a refundable deposit) if you would rather not touch a controller at all.

What you need

• A TP-Link Omada controller that CaptiFi can reach over the internet: an OC200 or OC300 hardware controller, the free self-hosted software controller, or the paid Omada Cloud-Based Controller (CBC).
• Not the free Essentials tier, which TP-Link now calls Omada Central Essentials (it was Omada Cloud Essentials). TP-Link's feature table lists an External Portal Server option there, but CaptiFi's Omada connection is supported only on the controllers above. If your controller address looks like xxx-omada-essential-device.tplinkcloud.com, you are on Essentials. Move the access points to an OC200, the software controller or the paid Cloud-Based Controller, or skip the controller entirely with the CaptiFi device, on a refundable deposit.
• Controller firmware 5.x or later is recommended, and v5.15 or later is required for WiFi 7 EAPs such as the EAP772 and EAP773.
• One or more Omada EAP access points, adopted and online.
• Admin access to the controller.
• A CaptiFi account at my.captifi.io, with your site ID to hand. It is shown in your dashboard, or support can send it to you. Start a free 30-day trial if you do not have an account yet.
• The controller reachable from the internet. The default port is 8043 on the software controller and 443 on the OC200 and OC300, so an on-premise controller usually needs a port forward.

The four steps at a glance

1. Guest SSID: create a dedicated open wireless network for guests.
2. External portal: point that SSID's portal at CaptiFi.
3. Walled garden: allow the CaptiFi domains before authentication so the splash page can load.
4. Controller connection: create an operator account and link the controller in CaptiFi.

Then test from a phone. The whole run is a single sitting for anyone comfortable in the Omada controller.

Step 1: Create a guest SSID

Open your Omada controller, local or cloud, open your site and go to Network Config, then Network Settings, then WLAN (on Omada 5 it is Settings, then Wireless Networks). Add a new wireless network and set the SSID name to whatever guests should see, such as "Free WiFi". Set Security to None, because the captive portal handles who gets online, and leave SSID Broadcast enabled. Under Band choose 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz or both, then Save.

For network isolation, put guest traffic on its own VLAN. Go to Network Config, Network Settings, LAN (Settings, Wired Networks, LAN on Omada 5), create a new network for guests, then return to the wireless network and assign the guest SSID to it. This keeps guests away from your tills, printers and office machines.

Step 2: Configure the external portal

This is the step that matters most. Go to Network Config, Authentication, Portal (Settings, Authentication, Portal on Omada 5), click Create New Portal and fill in the Basic tab.

Leave the Basic tab's Portal URL field as it is: that is the controller's own address, not CaptiFi's. Then open the Authentication tab, set Authentication Type to External Portal Server and Custom Portal Server to URL. Choose https:// in the drop-down and type the rest of your address into the box next to it: app.captifi.io/guest/omada?site_id=YOUR_SITE_ID. The box refuses an address that starts with https://, so paste everything after it. Save the portal.

Replace YOUR_SITE_ID with your CaptiFi site ID; the set-up wizard shows your full address with a copy button. The address must be entered exactly, and a typo here is the most common reason the splash page never appears. It accepts the redirect parameters from Omada controller versions 4, 5 and 6 automatically. There is no timeout to set in Omada for an external portal: how long guests stay online is the Session length on your venue in CaptiFi, which CaptiFi sends with each sign-in.

Step 3: Add the pre-auth entries

The walled garden, which Omada 6 calls Pre-Authentication Access, lets guests reach CaptiFi's servers before they have logged in. Without these entries the splash page cannot load. On the Portal page, open the Access Control tab, turn on Pre-Authentication Access and click Add for each entry below (on Omada 5, look for the Pre-Auth Policy or Walled Garden section in the portal settings).

Add the three hosts as URL entries and the IP as an IP Range entry with subnet mask 32. Omada does not accept wildcard entries such as *.captifi.io, and the page does not need one. Some Omada controller versions accept IP-based walled garden entries only. If yours refuses a domain, the IP entry 46.62.168.7 keeps the portal reachable. Click Save or Apply when the list is complete.

Step 4: Connect the controller to CaptiFi

Create an operator account in Omada

CaptiFi authorises guests through Omada's hotspot operator API, so it needs a dedicated operator account rather than your main admin login. In the controller, open your site and click Hotspot in the left menu (Omada 6 opens Hotspot Management in a new tab; on Omada 5 it is Hotspot Manager), then go to Operators. Add a new operator for your site, for example with the username captifi, and give it a strong password.

Add the location in CaptiFi

1. Make sure the controller is reachable from the internet. On-premise controllers usually need a port forward for 8043 (software controller) or 443 (OC200/OC300).
2. Log in to my.captifi.io and go to My Venues, then Add venue, or pick your hardware during onboarding, and choose TP-Link Omada.
3. Enter the Controller URL: the controller's own address including the port, for example https://YOUR-CONTROLLER-IP:8043, or its domain. On the paid Cloud-Based Controller, use the controller URL from your Omada cloud account. Do not paste omada:// links from the Omada app; they are not controller addresses.
4. Enter the Controller ID, which is the long ID segment in your Omada controller's URL.
5. Enter the operator username and password you just created.
6. Click Connect. CaptiFi tests the login and confirms the link.

Verify the port forward

If the controller is on-premise, check remote access before you test with guests. Find your public IP at whatismyip.com, then from outside your network visit https://YOUR_PUBLIC_IP:8043. You should see the Omada login page, possibly behind a certificate warning you can accept.

Step 5: Test from a phone

1. Connect a phone or laptop to the guest WiFi.
2. The CaptiFi splash page should appear automatically. On a phone that does not pop it up, open a browser and visit any HTTP site, such as http://example.com.
3. Complete the login form on the splash page.
4. Confirm you have internet access after logging in.
5. Open your CaptiFi dashboard: the test guest should appear in your guest log.

Troubleshooting

Compatible Omada hardware

CaptiFi works with Omada EAP access points adopted by a supported controller, including the EAP225 and EAP245 indoor units, the EAP660 HD and EAP670 WiFi 6 units, the EAP225-Outdoor and EAP610-Outdoor, and the EAP772 and EAP773 WiFi 7 ceiling mounts on controller v5.15 or later. Supported controllers are the OC200, the OC300, the self-hosted software controller and the paid Cloud-Based Controller. The free Cloud Essentials tier is not supported. If you run WiFi 7 access points or a venue on Starlink, the customer docs carry a dedicated Omada WiFi 7 and Starlink guide covering controller version requirements, the 6 GHz guest SSID limitation and Starlink's CGNAT.

What happens after setup

Once the portal is live, every guest who connects sees your branded page and CaptiFi takes over from there. It keeps each guest's details and consent from the login and tracks repeat visits, so you can see who your regulars are. From Essentials it can also send a welcome email after a first visit, a Google review request once the guest has left, and a win-back offer to guests who haven't been back for a while. You set it up once and it keeps running.

Omada's built-in portal vs Omada with CaptiFi

Here is what changes when you swap the controller's own portal for CaptiFi as the external one. The Omada column is what TP-Link's documentation describes; where it doesn't mention something, the cell says so.

Running several Omada sites

If you manage more than one Omada site or location, each one can have its own splash page design in CaptiFi. Per-location settings live under My Venues in your dashboard. Each additional CaptiFi location beyond the one included in your plan is charged at your currency's extra-venue rate, listed on the plans page in the customer docs.

If you only want guest capture and CSV export on the kit you already run, Lite is £19.99/mo for one site. Start Lite.

Setting up a TP-Link Omada captive portal with CaptiFi is one sitting in the controller and one form in your dashboard. Start your free 30-day trial, connect your Omada controller, and your guest WiFi starts building a list from the first login. If you get stuck, email hello@captifi.io with your controller type and firmware version.

Sources: TP-Link, portal authentication types, Omada Central Essentials and Omada Software Controller; all read on 28 October 2026. CaptiFi's Omada steps follow our customer docs. TP-Link and Omada are trade marks of TP-Link; CaptiFi is not affiliated with or endorsed by TP-Link.