When your UniFi captive portal won't appear, guests can't connect to your WiFi network and you lose potential leads or revenue. This is one of the most common UniFi hotspot issues, but it's usually fixable in minutes.
This guide walks you through the three most common reasons your captive portal isn't showing up when users connect to your UniFi guest network, plus step-by-step fixes for each. Whether you're using a UniFi Cloud Key, Dream Machine, or self-hosted controller, these troubleshooting steps apply to all setups with Spotipo.
What you'll fix:
Firewall rules blocking Spotipo servers
Missing domain settings in UniFi hotspot configuration
Controller connection issues are preventing portal authentication
Most captive portal problems stem from firewall settings. Let's start there.
Check Firewall Settings
If your captive portal doesn't pop up the most common issue is that Spotipo servers are not allowed through firewall.
To check this, go to firewall settings on your UniFi controller and check if there is a firewall rule called spotipo_allow (it could be called differently if you have used a different name). This rule should accept connections coming from our servers. Configuration is pictured below.
Also, make sure that the address (in this example spotipo_servers) group contains these addresses.
107.178.247.148 35.244.104.229 35.236.87.84 104.155.46.61
You can check this under Profiles -> IP Groups
Check Hotspot settings
If everything was okay with your Firewall settings, second common issue could be domain option not being turned on in your hotspot settings.
To check for that, on your UniFi controller, go to Insights ->Hotspot -> Landing Page
Go to settings of Hotspot and check that the domain option is turned on and that the domain is set to app.spotipo.com. Also make sure that the addresses 107.178.247.148 and app.spotipo.com are allowed in the Authorization Access tab.
If this still doesn't fix your issue, there is a known bug, which stops portal from opening if there are too many Pre-Authorized addresses in the Authorization access tab. Remove some of the unnecessary addresses to try and fix the issue.
Check UniFi Controller status in Spotipo
If your problems are still not fixed, check the status of your controller in Spotipo portal.
To check your controller's status, go to Settings -> UniFi Controller. If everything is set up correctly. Controller's status should be Online.
If status of the controller is either Not Reachable, or Invalid Credits, the problem is in communication between UniFi controller and our server.
If you are using DDNS, the problem might be that your address is not updating automatically. Check the solution to this problem here.
If you are using reverse tunnel, it could be possible that the reverse tunnel is disabled/not running. Check the solution to that here.
Still Having Issues with Your UniFi Captive Portal?
If you've checked firewall rules, verified hotspot domain settings, and confirmed your controller status is online—but your captive portal still won't appear—there may be a configuration conflict specific to your UniFi setup.
Next steps:
Review our comprehensive UniFi setup guide for detailed configuration walkthroughs
Check common UniFi error messages and their solutions
Contact Spotipo support with your controller logs for direct assistance
Once your captive portal loads correctly, guests will authenticate seamlessly—and you can start capturing WiFi guest data, running marketing campaigns, or offering paid WiFi access through your UniFi network.
Need help with initial UniFi configuration? See our complete UniFi controller setup guide to ensure everything is configured correctly from the start.