Omada and UniFi
Captive portal troubleshooting
Start from what the guest sees, not from the settings. Every guide below is cause, check and fix, with the exact error kinds and codes the VoqadoWiFi integration records, so you can match what is on your screen to what is wrong.
How do I fix a captive portal that is not working?
First decide which half failed. If the login never appears, check the phone, the redirect and the walled garden. If the login appears and the guest stays offline, the call to your controller failed: open Portal Health in the dashboard and read the error kind on the attempt, then follow the matching guide below.
Pick the symptom
Captive portal not showing on iPhoneThe login window never opens on an iPhone.Portal loads but the WiFi never unlocksGuests submit the form and stay offline.Guests see a certificate warning before the WiFi loginA “not private” or certificate warning appears instead of the portal.Android says connected, no internetAndroid shows “connected, no internet” or no sign in prompt.Captive portal keeps coming back after loginThe login reappears, or guests land on a forget and rejoin screen.Omada portal authorization error codesPortal Health shows an Omada error code on failed attempts.UniFi authorize guest returns 403UniFi answers 401 or 403 when the portal authorizes a guest.Guests have to log in to the WiFi every dayRegulars see the portal again on every visit.
The two minute triage
- Use a phone that has never joined the guest network, with mobile data off.
- Join. Does the login window open within a few seconds? If not, go to portal not showing on iPhone or Android no internet.
- Does it open but stay blank or unstyled? The walled garden is incomplete.
- Does the form submit and the phone stay offline? Open Portal Health and read the error kind.
- Does the login come back later? See guests reconnect every day.
Error kinds in Portal Health
Every authorization attempt is recorded with one of six error kinds when it fails. They are the same for Omada and UniFi.
| Error kind | Meaning | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| network | The controller address could not be reached | WiFi never unlocks |
| timeout | No answer within 8 seconds | WiFi never unlocks |
| ssl | Certificate failure on the way to the controller | Certificate warnings |
| auth | Login or token rejected, or nothing configured | UniFi 403, Omada codes |
| controller | The controller answered with an error | Omada codes |
| unknown | Anything else; read the message | WiFi never unlocks |
Questions
What is the first thing to check when a captive portal fails?
Which side failed. If the login page never appears, the problem is between the phone and the controller: walled garden, redirect, phone settings. If the page appears and the guest stays offline, the authorization call to the controller failed, and Portal Health shows why.
Why does it work on my phone and not on guests’ phones?
Your phone probably already has a session, so it never needed the portal. Test with a phone that has never joined the network and with mobile data off.
Do these guides apply to other hardware?
They are written for TP-Link Omada and Ubiquiti UniFi, the two vendors VoqadoWiFi works with. The phone side causes apply to any captive portal.
Keep reading
Checked against the integration code on 7 October 2026.
Get Portal Health on your own network
The free dashboard records every guest authorization with its error kind. One location and 25 guest logins a month, no card.