Guest Wi-Fi for Business: The Reyee Captive Portal Installer's Guide
Almost every café, pub, hotel, salon and office reception is now expected to offer guest Wi-Fi for business customers, and most of them are still handing out the staff password on a card by the till. This guide is for UK installers who want to sell and build guest Wi-Fi properly on Reyee: a separate guest network, a branded captive portal login page, speed limits per guest, and a hard wall between visitors and the CCTV recorder, card terminals and office PCs. It also covers what UK data protection rules mean for the login page, and gives four reference builds you can quote from. Specifications come from Ruijie’s own product pages and support material and are cited next to each claim.
What this guide covers
- Why guests need their own network: what goes wrong when visitors share the staff Wi-Fi with the NVR, tills and printers.
- How a Reyee captive portal works: one-click, voucher, account and SMS logins, and which Reyee platform supports which.
- Gateway or AP portal: when to run authentication on an RG-EG gateway and when the access points can do it.
- Hardware picks: gateways rated from 160 to 350 concurrent clients, plus ceiling, wall-plate and outdoor access points.
- Isolation, speed limits and UK GDPR: VLANs, per-guest bandwidth caps and a login page that asks for consent the right way.
- Reference builds: café, pub with beer garden, small hotel and office reception, with a set-up checklist.
What is guest Wi-Fi for business, and why does it need its own network?
Guest Wi-Fi for business is a separate wireless network, with its own name and its own rules, that gives visitors internet access and nothing else. The point is not the extra SSID — any home router can broadcast one — it is what sits behind it: guests should not be able to see the CCTV recorder, the card terminal, the back-office PC, the label printer or each other, and one customer streaming a match should not slow down the till.
When a small business shares one flat network with its customers, every visitor’s phone lands on the same subnet as the business kit. That means the NVR web page is one IP scan away, a compromised laptop can probe the tills, and the owner has no way of knowing who used the connection or how much bandwidth they took. Splitting the two is the single cheapest security improvement an installer can make on a small commercial site, and it is a natural add-on to any CCTV or alarm job: you are already on the ceiling running cable.
A business guest network on Reyee has four layers: a guest SSID broadcast by the access points, a separate VLAN or guest subnet that keeps that traffic apart, a captive portal that guests pass through before they get online, and policies — speed caps, session times and content filters — that keep the connection fair. The rest of this guide takes each in turn.
How does a Reyee captive portal work?
A captive portal holds every new guest device on a login page until the guest accepts your terms or enters a code, and only then lets traffic out to the internet. On Reyee the portal page is built and branded in Ruijie Cloud (or the Reyee app), and the actual blocking and releasing of devices is done either by an RG-EG gateway or by the access points themselves.
In practice the guest joins the open or password-protected guest SSID, their phone detects that the internet is not yet reachable and pops up the login page, they tap through, and the gateway or AP adds their device to the authenticated list for a set time. Ruijie’s own gateway pages describe this as a customisable captive portal page with a what-you-see-is-what-you-get editor, so you can put the venue’s logo, a short welcome and a link to the terms on the page without writing any HTML.
Two portal options matter on most jobs. Seamless login lets a returning guest back on without seeing the page again for a set period, and a post-login URL sends guests to the venue’s website or menu once they are through. Both are listed as supported on the Reyee EG cloud portal and the Reyee AP portal in Ruijie’s technical support comparison of its captive portal options.
Which login method should you choose: one-click, voucher, account or SMS?
Use one-click for cafés, pubs and receptions where speed matters more than control, vouchers for hotels, holiday lets and events where access should expire, and accounts for regular users such as contractors or residents. SMS login adds a verified phone number but needs an SMS service behind it, and it is not available on every Reyee platform.
The table below summarises which login methods and controls Ruijie lists for the two Reyee portal platforms, taken from Ruijie’s captive portal comparison. Check the current firmware notes for your exact model before promising a feature to a customer, because Ruijie add options over time.
| Login method or control | Reyee EG gateway (cloud auth) | Reyee AP portal | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-click (accept terms) | Yes | Yes | Cafés, pubs, waiting rooms |
| Voucher code | Yes | Yes | Hotels, B&Bs, events, training rooms |
| Account (username and password) | Yes | Yes | Contractors, residents, members |
| SMS code | Yes | Yes | Sites that want a verified phone number |
| Self-registration form | Yes | No | Venues collecting opt-in marketing contacts |
| Access period (time limit) | Yes | No | Short stays, timed sessions |
| Download and upload speed caps | Yes | Yes | Every guest network |
| Concurrent devices per login | Yes | Yes | Stopping one voucher being shared round a table |
A practical rule: if the customer’s main worry is “people outside are using our Wi-Fi”, vouchers solve it. If the worry is “customers keep asking for the password”, one-click with a printed QR code at each table solves it. If they want to build a mailing list, use the registration form — and read the data protection section below before you switch it on.
Gateway portal or AP portal: where should authentication run?
Run the portal on an RG-EG gateway whenever the site has one, because the gateway sees all guest traffic, enforces time limits and speed caps in one place, and also handles the VLANs and the internet connection. The AP-based portal is a useful fallback for sites where the customer’s ISP router has to stay and you are only adding access points.
Gateway authentication suits most commercial installs. The Reyee RG-EG105GW-X all-in-one router, the RG-EG210G-P-V3 PoE gateway and the RG-EG310GH-P-E office router all list cloud portal authentication on Ruijie’s product pages, so the portal, the guest VLAN and the bandwidth rules all live on one box and one cloud project. The smaller RG-EG105G-P-V3 PoE router belongs to the same cloud-managed EG family; confirm portal support for it on the current datasheet before you quote it for a portal job.
The AP portal is the answer when the business has a leased line or ISP router you are not allowed to replace. Ruijie’s support comparison shows that the Reyee AP portal lacks the registration form and access-period options that the gateway portal offers, so if the customer wants timed vouchers or a sign-up form, budget for a gateway behind the ISP router. Do not run a portal on the gateway and on the APs at the same time — pick one place for authentication and keep it there.
Which Reyee gateway suits a guest Wi-Fi site?
Size the gateway on concurrent devices at the busiest hour, not on seats: a café with 30 covers can easily have 60 phones and laptops connected, plus the staff and the business kit. Ruijie publish a recommended concurrent-client figure for each EG model, and that is the number to plan against.
| Gateway | Recommended concurrent clients | Throughput | Fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| RG-EG105GW-X (built-in Wi-Fi 6) | 160 (Ruijie) | 1200 Mbps | Single-room café, salon, small shop |
| RG-EG210G-P-V3 (110 W PoE) | 200 (Ruijie) | 1000 Mbps turbo / 600 Mbps normal | Pub, restaurant, small hotel |
| RG-EG310GH-P-E (110 W PoE) | 350 (Ruijie) | 1500 Mbps turbo | Larger hotel, office with busy reception, multi-room venue |
The RG-EG105GW-X is the neat answer for a single-room site: it is a router and a Wi-Fi 6 access point in one box, with a maximum wireless data rate of 2974 Mbps and both application-based and user-based bandwidth policies according to Ruijie’s RG-EG105GW-X page. Where the router sits in a back office and the customers are in the next room, add a ceiling AP rather than relying on the built-in radio.
Once ceiling access points and a camera or two are involved, a PoE gateway saves a separate switch. The RG-EG210G-P-V3 carries a 110 W PoE budget, and the RG-EG310GH-P-E also has 110 W of PoE with a 350-client rating. Where all the PoE comes from a separate switch, the non-PoE RG-EG210G-E does the routing and portal work on its own. The Reyee EG series gateway guide compares the whole range in more depth.
Which access points work best for guest Wi-Fi?
Ceiling-mount Wi-Fi 6 access points are the default for guest areas, wall-plate APs suit hotel rooms and holiday lets where you already have a data socket, and IP-rated outdoor APs cover beer gardens, terraces and car parks. Plan on the busiest room and add an AP rather than turning the power up.
For a café or restaurant floor, the RG-RAP2260(G) AX1800 ceiling AP and the compact RG-RAP62 are the everyday choices. Where a function room or busy bar needs more capacity, step up to the 4x4 RG-RAP2260(E), or to the Wi-Fi 7 RG-RAP72 if the customer wants the newest standard. Our Reyee Wi-Fi 6 ceiling access point guide goes through each model’s radios, power draw and client capacity.
Hotel rooms, B&B bedrooms and serviced offices are where wall-plate APs earn their keep. The RG-RAP1261 and RG-RAP62-WALL-LITE fit over a standard back box and replace the data outlet, so each room gets its own strong signal without new cable runs. One AP per room or per pair of rooms beats a single powerful ceiling AP in the corridor trying to push through fire doors.
Outside, the IP68 RG-RAP6262(G) and the RG-RAP62-OD cover a beer garden or terrace from the building wall. Mount them on the outside of the building looking at the seating, not inside behind glass — modern coated glazing blocks Wi-Fi far more than people expect. The Reyee outdoor access point guide covers mounting and cabling in detail.
How do you keep guests away from CCTV, tills and staff devices?
Put guests on their own VLAN or guest subnet, turn on client isolation so guest devices cannot see each other, and keep the NVR, cameras, card terminals and office PCs on separate VLANs that the guest network has no route to. Then test it: join the guest SSID and try to reach the recorder.
Reyee makes the first step simple. In Ruijie’s own Reyee Wireless PoC guide, the guest network is created from the Wireless and Wi-Fi menu by enabling the Guest Wi-Fi function and entering an SSID, and the test is to connect a device and try to ping users on the other SSIDs. Build the same check into your handover: if a guest phone can ping the NVR, the job is not finished.
On larger sites, carry the VLANs through the switches. A cloud-managed switch such as the RG-ES210GS-P or RG-ES220GS-P joins the same Ruijie Cloud project as the gateway and APs, so the guest, staff and CCTV VLANs are set once and pushed to every port. Where the customer wants an L2 managed switch with a fuller feature set, the RG-NBS3100-8GT2SFP-P-V2 is a compact 8-port PoE+ option, and the 24-port RG-ES226GC-P suits a rack in a hotel comms cupboard. Our step-by-step CCTV VLAN setup guide for Reyee networks shows the exact VLAN plan we recommend, with the cameras isolated as tightly as the guests.
Two smaller points catch people out. First, if the ISP router has its own Wi-Fi switched on with the default password, turn it off — otherwise you have built a secure guest network next to an open back door. Second, keep card-payment terminals off Wi-Fi altogether where you can, and on their own wired VLAN where you cannot.
How do you stop one guest using all the bandwidth?
Set a download and upload cap per guest on the portal, limit how many devices one login can use, and use the gateway’s application controls to keep large downloads and streaming from swamping the business connection. A guest network that is fair to everyone gets fewer complaints than one that is fast for whoever got there first.
Both Reyee portal platforms support per-user download and upload speed limits and a concurrent-device limit per login, as listed in Ruijie’s portal comparison. A sensible starting point on an ordinary business broadband line is a modest per-guest cap that still lets someone stream video, then adjust after a week of real use from the cloud dashboard.
On top of per-guest caps, the gateways can prioritise the business itself. Ruijie show the RG-EG105GW-X with both application-based and user-group bandwidth policies, so the till, the booking system and remote CCTV viewing can be given priority over guest streaming. If the site has two broadband lines, the multi-WAN gateways can also put guests on one line and the business on the other.
What does UK data protection mean for a guest Wi-Fi login page?
If the portal collects names, email addresses or phone numbers, the business is handling personal data under UK GDPR, and any marketing consent must be a separate, unticked, optional box — never a condition of getting online. A one-click portal that collects nothing is the simplest way to stay out of trouble.
The ICO’s guidance on consent is clear on the points that matter for a login page: consent needs a positive opt-in, pre-ticked boxes are not allowed, consent requests should be kept separate from other terms and conditions, people should be able to refuse without detriment, and organisations should avoid making consent a precondition of a service. It also expects a record of who consented, when, how and what they were told. The ICO notes that this guidance is under review following the Data (Use and Access) Act, so check the live page before you design a sign-up form.
For the installer, the practical version is simple. Put the venue’s terms of use and a link to its privacy notice on the portal page; if the venue wants a mailing list, add a separate marketing tick box that starts unticked; and make sure guests who do not tick it still get online. The business, not the installer, is responsible for what it does with the data, but a correctly built portal makes it much easier for them to get it right. We are not lawyers, and a customer with a large marketing operation should take their own advice.
What does a typical Reyee guest Wi-Fi build look like?
Most guest Wi-Fi jobs fall into four shapes: a single-room café, a pub with a garden, a small hotel or B&B, and an office with a visitor reception. The table gives a starting kit list for each, using products we hold in stock.
| Site | Gateway | Access points | Switching and login |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single-room café or salon | RG-EG105GW-X (built-in AP) | Optional RG-RAP62 if the router is out of sight | One-click portal, QR code on each table |
| Pub with beer garden | RG-EG210G-P-V3 | 2 x RG-RAP2260(G) inside, 1 x RG-RAP6262(G) on the garden wall | PoE from the gateway; one-click with speed cap |
| Small hotel or B&B | RG-EG310GH-P-E | RG-RAP1261 wall-plate per room, RG-RAP2260(E) in the bar | RG-ES226GC-P in the comms cupboard; voucher per stay |
| Office with visitor reception | RG-EG210G-E | RG-RAP2260(G) per area, RG-RAP72 in meeting rooms | RG-ES220GS-P with guest, staff and CCTV VLANs; account or voucher logins |
Where an access point has to go somewhere the switch cannot reach with PoE — a single AP in an outbuilding fed from a non-PoE port, for example — a Reyee RG-POE-AT30 injector powers it from a mains socket. If the venue already has Hikvision CCTV on site, the same gateway and VLAN plan works alongside it; the Reyee networking buyer’s guide for CCTV covers the camera side of the network.
How do you set up guest Wi-Fi with a captive portal on Ruijie Cloud?
Build the project in Ruijie Cloud, create the guest SSID and VLAN, design the portal page, attach it to the guest SSID with the login method and limits you want, then test from a guest device before handover. Ruijie publish step-by-step videos for portal templates and portal authentication on the EG product pages.
- Survey and count. Note the busiest hour, the number of seats or rooms, the outdoor areas and where the broadband line comes in. Count devices, not people.
- Build the cloud project. Add the gateway, switches and APs to one Ruijie Cloud project so every setting is pushed from one place. Ruijie state that basic cloud management is free and quote 99.99% availability for the Ruijie Cloud platform.
- Create the networks. A staff SSID with a strong password, a guest SSID, and separate VLANs for staff, guests and CCTV. Turn on guest isolation.
- Design the portal. Use the portal template editor to add the venue logo, a short welcome, the terms of use and a privacy notice link. Add a separate, unticked marketing box only if the venue wants one.
- Set the rules. Choose the login method, set per-guest speed caps, a concurrent-device limit, the seamless re-login period and the post-login URL.
- Test from the guest side. Join the guest SSID on a phone, pass the portal, run a speed test, then try to reach the NVR, a till and another guest’s phone. All three should fail.
- Hand over. Show the owner the cloud app, how to print vouchers if used, and how to change the guest password. Leave a one-page network diagram with the VLAN plan.
The Reyee Cloud remote multi-site guide explains how to keep each customer in its own project so you can support them remotely after handover — which is what turns a one-off guest Wi-Fi job into a maintenance contract.
What are the most common guest Wi-Fi mistakes?
The usual faults are a flat network with the guests on the same subnet as the CCTV, no speed limits, a portal running in two places at once, and a sign-up form with a pre-ticked marketing box. All four are easy to avoid at design stage and awkward to fix once the customer is live.
- Guest SSID on the main VLAN. A separate network name is not a separate network. Check the VLAN and the isolation, then test it.
- Leaving the ISP router Wi-Fi on. It undoes all the work on the guest network. Disable it or change it to a strong private key.
- No per-guest caps. One large download ruins the connection for the till and every other customer.
- Portal on the gateway and the APs. Pick one. Running both causes login loops and confused guests.
- One AP for the whole building. Thick walls, fire doors and coated glass need more, smaller cells, not more transmit power.
- Bundled consent. Marketing consent tucked into the terms, or a pre-ticked box, is exactly what the ICO guidance tells businesses not to do.
Frequently asked questions
What is a captive portal for guest Wi-Fi?
A captive portal is the login page a guest sees before they get online. It can ask them to accept the terms, enter a voucher code or sign in, and it lets the business set time limits and speed caps for each guest.
Do I need a Reyee gateway for a captive portal?
Not always. Supported Reyee access points can run the portal themselves, but a gateway such as the RG-EG210G-P-V3 adds options such as timed access periods and a registration form, and handles the VLANs and speed rules in one place.
Can guests on the Wi-Fi see my CCTV recorder?
Only if the network has been built badly. With the guest network on its own VLAN and client isolation turned on, guest devices cannot reach the NVR, cameras, tills or each other. Test it at handover by trying to ping the recorder from a guest phone.
Is it legal to collect email addresses through guest Wi-Fi?
Yes, provided the business follows UK GDPR. The ICO says consent must be an active opt-in, not a pre-ticked box, kept separate from the terms and not made a condition of the service, so guests who decline marketing must still be able to get online.
How many guests can a Reyee gateway handle?
Ruijie recommend up to 160 concurrent clients for the RG-EG105GW-X, 200 for the RG-EG210G-P-V3 and 350 for the RG-EG310GH-P-E. Size on devices at the busiest hour, including staff and business equipment.
Can I use vouchers for hotel guest Wi-Fi on Reyee?
Yes. Voucher login is supported on both the Reyee EG gateway portal and the Reyee AP portal, and you can limit how many devices each voucher can use so one code is not shared around a whole party.
Related guides
- CCTV VLAN Setup: How to Isolate Cameras on a Reyee Network
- Reyee EG Series Gateways & Routers for CCTV: Installer Buyer’s Guide
- Reyee Wi-Fi 6 Ceiling Access Points: The UK Installer’s Guide
- Reyee Outdoor Access Points: The UK Installer’s Guide to Outdoor Wi-Fi
- Retail Security Systems: The Complete UK Installer’s Guide
Order Reyee guest Wi-Fi kit from Netview
Netview is an authorised UK Ruijie Reyee wholesaler based in Leicester. RG-EG gateways, Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7 ceiling, wall-plate and outdoor access points, cloud-managed PoE switches and PoE injectors are held in stock for same-day dispatch, with trade pricing for installers. Browse the full Reyee networking range, or see every brand we stock at netviewcctv.co.uk.
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