WifiCone Help
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Frequently Asked Questions

Installation & Setup

Q: What operating systems does WifiCone support?

Debian 12, Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, and later versions of both. Raspberry Pi OS (Debian-based) is also supported. Windows and macOS are not supported.

Q: What hardware architectures are supported?

x64 (amd64), arm64 (aarch64), and armv7. This covers most mini PCs, Raspberry Pi 4/5 (arm64), Raspberry Pi 2/3 (armv7), and standard desktop/server hardware (x64).

Q: Can I run WifiCone on a Raspberry Pi?

Yes. Raspberry Pi 4 and 5 use the arm64 binary. Raspberry Pi 2 and 3 use the armv7 binary. The installer detects your architecture automatically.

Q: The installer says "Unsupported architecture" — what do I do?

Run uname -m on your device. If it shows armv6l (Raspberry Pi 1 or Zero), that architecture is not currently supported. Use a Pi 2, 3, 4, or 5 instead.

Q: How do I access the admin panel?

After installing, open a browser on any device connected to the same network and go to http://<your-device-ip>/admin/login.html. Default login is admin / admin.

Q: Can I access the admin panel from the internet?

Not directly — the admin panel is only accessible on the local network by default. For remote access, see Remote Management.

Licensing

Q: What does a WifiCone license cover?

One license covers one device (one machine). The license enables all features of the software for the duration of the plan. Purchase additional licenses for additional devices.

Q: What happens when my license expires?

Some features will be limited. Basic captive portal operation may continue in a reduced state. To restore full functionality, renew your license at my.wificone.com.

Q: Can I transfer my license to a new device?

Contact support at my.wificone.com to request a license transfer. Licenses are bound to hardware fingerprints, so a manual transfer is required.

Q: What is the trial period?

New installations get a free trial so you can evaluate WifiCone before purchasing. The trial includes all features. See the trial end date on the Device page.

Payments & Coin Acceptors

Q: Why aren't coins being registered?

Check the following:

  1. GPIO pin number is correct in settings
  2. The coin acceptor has 12V power
  3. Debounce value matches your acceptor (try increasing to 100ms if double-counting)
  4. The acceptor's signal wire is connected to the correct GPIO pin

Q: Can I use coins and GCash at the same time?

Yes. All payment methods can be active simultaneously. Customers choose their preferred method on the captive portal.

Q: GCash QR is showing but payments aren't being credited automatically.

GCash QR payments are not auto-verified — the customer confirms manually after paying. For automated GCash payment verification, a webhook integration with your GCash merchant account is required (advanced setup).

Q: Can I accept foreign currency or USD?

WifiCone's built-in payment system is configured for Philippine Peso (₱). For foreign currency, a custom payment integration via webhook would be needed.

Vouchers

Q: What is the difference between Time and Data vouchers?

  • Time vouchers: the timer counts down continuously from first use, even if the customer is not connected.
  • Data vouchers: only data usage counts — no time expiry. The voucher lasts until the data allowance is consumed.

Q: Can I print vouchers without a thermal printer?

Yes — you can export voucher codes to a list and print them from any printer using a text editor or spreadsheet, or distribute them digitally (SMS, messaging apps).

Q: A customer lost their voucher code — can I retrieve it?

Go to Vouchers, search by the batch, and look up the code. You can re-issue the code to the customer if it is still unused.

Network

Q: The Internet indicator on the dashboard is red.

  1. Check your WAN cable is plugged in.
  2. Verify the WAN interface is selected correctly in Network → WAN.
  3. Check your modem/ISP is working.
  4. If using PPPoE, verify username and password in Network → PPPoE.

Q: Customers are getting "No Internet" on the captive portal.

The Check internet before coin setting is enabled (see Sessions), and the device cannot currently reach the internet. The portal shows this warning to prevent customers from paying when there's no connectivity. Resolve the WAN issue and the warning clears automatically.

Q: How do I isolate customer WiFi from my LAN management network?

Use a separate VLAN or a different physical interface for management. Assign the customer-facing interface as the LAN in WifiCone, and use a separate interface/VLAN for admin access.

Updates & Maintenance

Q: How does auto-update work?

The wificone-updater systemd timer runs every 5 minutes. By default, updates are only applied during the 3:00 AM maintenance window. The service is stopped briefly, the new binary is installed, and the service restarts. If the new version fails, it automatically rolls back to the previous binary.

Q: How do I update manually?

sudo bash /opt/wificone/update.sh

Or force an update on the next timer run:

sudo touch /var/run/wificone-update-pending

Q: A software update failed — what do I do?

Check the update log:

sudo journalctl -u wificone-updater -n 50

If the update rolled back automatically, the device is running the previous version. A rollback flag is written to /var/run/wificone-rollback with details. Contact support if the issue persists.

Q: How do I back up my data before a major change?

Go to System → Backup → Create Backup and download the .zip file. Store it safely — you can restore from this file at any time.

Troubleshooting

Q: The admin panel is not loading.

  1. Verify the service is running: sudo systemctl status wificone
  2. Check nginx is running: sudo systemctl status nginx
  3. Confirm the device IP: hostname -I
  4. Try accessing http://<ip>:3000/health directly — if this works, nginx may be the issue.

Q: The service shows "failed" in systemctl.

View the error:

sudo journalctl -u wificone -n 50

Common causes:

  • Database not running: sudo systemctl start postgresql
  • Port 3000 in use: check with sudo ss -tlnp | grep 3000
  • Missing license state file — run sudo systemctl restart wificone

Q: I forgot my admin password.

SSH into the device and reset the password via the command line:

sudo -u wificone /usr/local/bin/wificone --reset-password admin

Or contact support if you don't have SSH access.

Q: How do I completely reinstall WifiCone?

# Stop the service
sudo systemctl stop wificone

# Run the installer again (it will update in place)
bash <(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/wificone/wfc-release/main/install.sh)

For a full factory reset including data, go to System → Database → Reset before reinstalling.