Appearance
Planner & WiFi Automations
The Planner is a marketing calendar that can run your WiFi for you. Plan an event once, attach a WiFi automation to it, and CaptiFi applies it at the start time and puts everything back at the end time, in your venue's own timezone. No late-night logins to switch the quiz night splash off, no forgetting to rename the network back after a festival.
You can schedule three kinds of automation:
- Swap splash page: show a different design from your design library for the event window, then return to your default
- Change WiFi name: rename your guest network for the window, then restore the original name
- Message strip: show a short dismissible banner on top of your current splash page, without swapping designs
Where to Find It
- Log in to my.captifi.io
- Go to My Venues → Planner in the sidebar
- Pick the Planner tab (the Heatmaps tab shows your footfall patterns)
The calendar shows your marketing events on top of footfall shading. Days with automations get a small WiFi or palette badge, tinted by status (upcoming, active now, done, or failed). An Upcoming automations panel sits next to the calendar (below it on mobile) with a live countdown to each run, and the full Scheduled automations view lists everything that is queued or has already run.
When you save an automation you get an immediate confirmation showing exactly when it will run in the venue's local time, with a countdown (for example "WiFi name changes today 17:00 - 23:00, in 32 min"). Nothing changes on your network until that start time arrives.
Scheduling an Automation
- Click a day on the calendar (or Plan an event) to open the event editor
- Fill in the event details as usual: title, date, type, colour, notes
- Open the WiFi automation section
- Choose the venue the automation applies to. Automations always target a single venue; if the same event covers several venues, add an automation per venue
- Turn on one or more automations, fill in their details, and set a start time and end time for each
- Save
Start and end times are in the venue's local timezone, and the end time is required: every automation reverts automatically. You never need to schedule the "undo" yourself.
Swap Splash Page
Pick any design from your venue's design library; thumbnails and a Preview link show exactly what guests will get. At the start time the design goes live, and guests see it the next time they connect. At the end time your venue's default design is restored.
Tip: build the event design ahead of time by duplicating your default, or start from a seasonal template. A design that is referenced by a scheduled automation cannot be deleted until the automation is cancelled or finished.
Change WiFi Name
Enter the temporary network name (up to 32 characters). The editor shows what it reverts to and when, for example "reverts to BBB Guest WiFi at 23:00". At the end time your original WiFi name is restored automatically.
Renaming your WiFi disconnects everyone
When the network name changes, every connected device is dropped, and phones do not automatically join a network with a new name: guests must pick the new network themselves and sign in again. On UniFi, applying the change also briefly re-provisions your access points. Schedule name changes for quiet hours (before opening, after closing, or a lull between services), never mid-service.
WiFi name changes are only available where your WiFi hardware supports remote renaming; see the support table below. Where it is not supported, the toggle is disabled with an explanation.
Message Strip
The lightweight option: a short banner (up to 200 characters) shown on top of your venue's current splash page, whatever design is live. Perfect for "Happy hour 5-7 tonight" or "Kick-off 3pm, pints £4 until then". Choose the text and a style, and set the window; guests can dismiss the banner, and it disappears for everyone automatically at the end time. No design work needed.
Automatic Revert
Every automation has a mandatory end time, and CaptiFi always puts things back:
| Automation | At the end time |
|---|---|
| Swap splash page | Your venue's default design goes live again |
| Change WiFi name | Your original WiFi name is restored |
| Message strip | The banner is removed |
Splash swaps always revert to the design marked as your venue's default (not simply "whatever was live before"), so make sure the right design is set as default.
To stop an automation early, use Cancel in the Scheduled automations list. Cancelling one that has not started yet simply removes it; cancelling one that is currently active reverts it immediately (your default splash design or original WiFi name comes back straight away).
Weekly Repeats
Turn on Repeat → Weekly to run an automation every week: pick the days of the week and, optionally, an end date. "Quiz night splash, every Friday 17:00-23:00" runs itself until you stop it.
- Each week's occurrence appears in the Scheduled automations list as its own entry, so you can cancel a single week without touching the series
- Times stay fixed to your venue's local clock: a 17:00 Friday slot is still 17:00 after the clocks change
- Cancelling the repeating automation cancels all of its upcoming occurrences
Which Automations Work on Your Hardware
Splash swaps and message strips work on every platform, because CaptiFi serves your splash page. WiFi name changes need remote-rename support from your WiFi controller:
| Your WiFi hardware | Splash swap | Message strip | WiFi name change |
|---|---|---|---|
| CaptiFi plug-and-play device | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| UniFi (all connection types) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| TP-Link Omada | Yes | Yes | Not yet |
| Cisco Meraki | Yes | Yes | Not yet |
| Ruckus | Yes | Yes | Not yet |
| Aruba Instant On | Yes | Yes | Not supported |
Where WiFi name changes are not available, the Change WiFi name toggle is disabled with a short explanation for your setup. We are extending support to more platforms over time; check What's New for updates.
Keeping Track
The Scheduled Automations List
The Planner page includes a per-venue Scheduled automations view with two lists:
- Upcoming: everything scheduled, with its window and a Cancel button
- History: what has already run, with its final status and any error details
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Scheduled | Waiting for its start time |
| Active | Applied and running; reverts at the end time |
| Done | Applied and reverted, all finished |
| Failed | Could not be applied (or reverted); the error is shown and we email you straight away |
| Cancelled | Stopped by you, or its venue or event was removed |
| Skipped | Not applied because the account's subscription was not active at the time |
Email Confirmations
- Morning-of confirmation: on days with scheduled automations, the account owner gets an email at 8am venue time listing what will run ("Tonight at 17:00 we will switch The Ship Inn to the Quiz Night splash")
- Failure alerts: if an automation fails to apply, or fails to revert at the end of its window, you get an immediate alert so nothing stays wrong silently
Both respect your notification preferences.
Overlaps and Conflicts
- Two WiFi name changes can never overlap on the same venue; the Planner blocks the save, because there would be no way to know which name to restore
- Overlapping splash swaps (or overlapping message strips) on the same venue trigger a warning first; you can confirm and save anyway if the overlap is intentional
Team Permissions
Creating, editing, or cancelling automations requires the Manage splash pages permission (see Team Members). Automations belong to the venue, not to the person who created them: everyone with access to the venue sees them on the calendar and in the Scheduled automations list.
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| The WiFi name toggle is greyed out | Your WiFi hardware does not support remote renaming yet; see the support table. Splash swaps and message strips still work |
| Guests still see the old splash mid-window | Splash changes apply to new connections; a guest already online keeps their session. Reconnect the test device to see the new design |
| An automation shows Failed | Open it in the history list to see the error. Common cause: your controller was unreachable at fire time. We retry automatically before marking it failed, and you receive an alert email |
| An automation shows Skipped | The account's subscription was not active when the start time arrived. Fix billing under Account → Billing, then schedule it again |
| I cannot save two automations at the same time | Same-type windows on one venue overlap; adjust the times, or confirm the warning for splash swaps and message strips. Overlapping WiFi name changes are always blocked |
| I cannot delete a splash design | It is referenced by a scheduled automation; cancel the automation first |
Related Pages
- Splash Page Builder: the design library, seasonal templates, and the message strip on the splash page
- Multi-Venue Management: managing several venues, WiFi names, and site settings
- Team Members: permissions for who can schedule automations