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For venues & enterprises

EZLINK RADIUS Bridge

If your building already runs on a corporate router (fiber, business ISP, Wi-Fi controllers), you don't need to install an EZLINK laptop agent. Your existing gear can talk to EZLINK over the standard RADIUS protocol — the same protocol hotels and universities have used for guest Wi-Fi for 20+ years. Onboarding is self-serve using the same node application flow as every other device type.

Have a home / consumer router (Netgear, Linksys, TP-Link Archer, ISP box)?

Those don't speak RADIUS. Use the standalone install path — a Windows laptop agent, MikroTik, or an EZLINK Node Kit works without touching your existing router.

Back to all install options

Who this is for

  • Hotels, hostels, motels and resorts serving paying guests
  • Coworking spaces, offices and business centers
  • Malls, retail chains and food courts
  • Airports, transit hubs and convention centers
  • Universities, campuses and student housing
  • Any venue on a corporate ISP with Meraki, UniFi, MikroTik or OpenWRT gear

How it works

  1. 1. Guest joins your Wi-Fi. Your router shows the EZLINK captive portal (a URL you paste into the router settings).
  2. 2. Guest buys or redeems a pass. Handled by EZLINK — nothing changes for you.
  3. 3. Your router asks EZLINK "is this guest paid?" A RADIUS Access-Request goes to radius.ezlinkapp.net. We answer Accept / Reject.
  4. 4. Your router reports usage back. RADIUS Accounting packets stream bytes-in / bytes-out. That's how you get paid — automatically, on the same 60/40 host split.

Router compatibility at a glance

Will your router talk to the EZLINK RADIUS bridge? Find your gear below.

Compatible out of the box

  • ✓MikroTik (RouterOS) — hAP, RB, CCR series
  • ✓Ubiquiti UniFi (UniFi OS / Network) — Dream Machine, UAP, USG
  • ✓Cisco Meraki (MR/MX cloud-managed)
  • ✓Aruba Instant On / Aruba OS
  • ✓Ruckus / CommScope
  • ✓TP-Link Omada (business line, not consumer Archer)
  • ✓EnGenius Cloud / ECW series
  • ✓pfSense / OPNsense firewalls

These already have a RADIUS / AAA server field. Paste the NAS ID + shared secret from your EZLINK dashboard and you're done.

⚠ Compatible only with firmware replacement

  • ~TP-Link Archer (select models on OpenWRT's supported list)
  • ~Netgear Nighthawk (select models)
  • ~Linksys WRT series
  • ~ASUS RT-AC / RT-AX (select models)
  • ~GL.iNet travel routers (many ship with OpenWRT already)

Stock firmware has no RADIUS field. An advanced user must flash OpenWRT (or DD-WRT) first — this can brick the router or void the warranty. Only do it if you know what you're doing.

✕ Not compatible

  • ✕ISP-provided routers (Safaricom, JTL, Zuku, Comcast, Xfinity, BT, etc.) — firmware is locked
  • ✕Most mesh systems (Google Nest Wifi, eero, Amazon eero, TP-Link Deco consumer)
  • ✕Mobile hotspot pucks (MiFi, Huawei E5, ZTE)
  • ✕Any consumer router not on OpenWRT's supported-devices list

You still have options — pick any of these instead:

  • 1. Windows laptop agent — turn a spare laptop into an EZLINK node using its Mobile Hotspot. Zero router changes.
  • 2. Android hotspot — install the EZLINK app; the phone becomes the node.
  • 3. EZLINK Node Kit — a pre-flashed GL.iNet router shipped ready to plug in behind your existing router. No firmware work on your side.
  • 4. Buy a small compatible router — a MikroTik hAP or GL.iNet Flint starts around $60 and plugs in behind your ISP box.
Why? A quick note on router software

A router is a box, but the software on it decides what it can do. MikroTik ships RouterOS, Ubiquiti ships UniFi OS, Cisco ships Meraki — all include a RADIUS/AAA field. Consumer brands (Netgear, TP-Link Archer, Linksys, ASUS) and ISP-provided boxes ship simple firmware with no RADIUS field. OpenWRT is not a brand — it's replacement firmware an advanced user flashes onto a compatible consumer router to add RADIUS.

Not sure which bucket your router falls in? Look on the sticker for the model number, then check openwrt.org/toh — if it's listed, it's flashable; if it's not, treat it as Not compatible and pick one of the four options above.

Installing OpenWRT (advanced)

If your router is in the ⚠ tier above, an advanced user can replace its factory firmware with OpenWRT — a free, community-maintained router operating system — which adds the RADIUS field EZLINK needs. EZLINK does not build, host, or distribute OpenWRT. You get it directly from the OpenWRT project.

⚠ Read this before you start

  • • Flashing the wrong file can permanently brick your router.
  • • It usually voids your warranty and may violate your ISP's terms.
  • • EZLINK cannot recover a bricked router. This is entirely at your own risk.
  • • If you're not comfortable with this, use a Node Kit (pre-flashed, plug-and-play) or a MikroTik hAP (~$60, works out of the box) instead.
  1. 1. Confirm your exact model is supported. Find the model number and hardware revision on the router's sticker (e.g. "Archer C7 v5" — the v5 matters). Search it on openwrt.org/toh/start. If it's not on that list, stop — flashing will brick it.
  2. 2. Download the two files OpenWRT gives you for your exact model:
    • • …-factory.bin — for the first install (replaces stock firmware)
    • • …-sysupgrade.bin — save this for future OpenWRT updates
    Files come straight from firmware-selector.openwrt.org. Do not download OpenWRT firmware from anywhere else.
  3. 3. Flash it using your router's own admin page. Log into the stock router (e.g. 192.168.0.1) → find Firmware Upgrade or System Tools → upload the factory.bin. The router reboots into OpenWRT after ~5 minutes. Do not unplug it during this step.
  4. 4. Open OpenWRT's admin page (LuCI) at 192.168.1.1 and set a root password. Follow OpenWRT's own quickstart: openwrt.org/docs/guide-quick-start.
  5. 5. Come back to EZLINK. Open your Corporate venues page, copy the NAS ID + shared secret, and paste them into OpenWRT's RADIUS server fields. That's the last step — your router is now an EZLINK node.

Official OpenWRT resources: openwrt.org · community forum · flashing guide.

What you keep from the laptop agent

  • Same host dashboard, earnings and payouts.
  • Same billable-vs-unbilled data breakdown.
  • Same daily caps and host protections.
  • Same guest experience — pass, roam, disconnect.
  • Same 60/40 revenue split — no separate enterprise pricing.

What's replaced: hotspot creation, ICS bridging, and the local captive-DNS enforcer — your router already does those.

Get started

Onboarding is the same self-serve flow as every other device type. The wizard will ask a few questions about your router and give you the RADIUS shared secret plus a vendor-specific config bundle.

Full technical spec: EZLINK-RADIUS-Integration-Spec-v1.pdf