Get your SmartFi Vendo running

Sign up at app.smartfi.ph and verify your email. Free — no credit card required for the account itself.

• Use your real email — verification link is sent there.
• Google sign-in works too if you’d rather skip a password.

Every new vendo starts with a 14-day free trial — no credit needed up front. After the trial, one credit keeps your device running for one full year.

• Trial activates the moment you register your first device. No card on file required.
• After 14 days, top up with credits to keep going. One credit = one device-year.
• Buy credits directly from the dashboard, or get them through a SmartFi distributor in your area.
• Pay with GCash, Maya, QRPH, or card via Xendit. Credits never expire until you activate them on a device.

Set up the physical cabling before you open the dashboard wizard. Plug everything in, then power up.

• ISP (Starlink / fiber / 5G modem) → ether1 on the hEX (WAN).
• TP-Link EAP110 (or your AP) → any of ether2 to ether5 on the hEX. AP must be in pure bridge mode.
• NodeMCU + coin acceptor → another ether2–5 port on the hEX.
• Power on each device. Wait ~60 seconds for the hEX to finish booting.

In the SmartFi dashboard, open the Register Device wizard. The wizard walks you through naming your store, picking your hardware, and flashing the NodeMCU.

• Pick router model (hEX RB750Gr3 is the validated default).
• Pick AP model — TP-Link EAP110 if you’re on the Starter Kit, or “Other” with the exact brand/model if you’re using your own.
• Flash the NodeMCU with the WebSerial flasher (Chrome or Edge desktop). Skipped if you got a pre-flashed Starter Kit.
• Enter the SSID you want customers to see.

New MikroTik routers ship with some commands locked at the OS level. Run this one-time unlock before pasting the SmartFi script. If your router is already unlocked, running it again is safe — it does nothing.

• Open Winbox, log in to your hEX, and open the Terminal from the side menu.
• Paste this single command: /system device-mode update mode=advanced
• Within 60 seconds: unplug your router, wait 3 seconds, plug it back in. This power-cycle is MikroTik’s physical-confirmation step.
• Once the router boots back up, reconnect to Winbox. You’re ready for the next step.
• Why is this needed? MikroTik introduced a security feature in late 2023 (RouterOS 7.13) that ships new routers in a restricted home mode where the hotspot service, the file fetch tool, and the scheduler are blocked. SmartFi needs all three. Switching to advanced mode unlocks them.

When the wizard generates a custom RouterOS script for your device, paste it into the hEX terminal. The script sets up the hotspot, captive portal, walled garden, IPv6 protection, and SmartFi-specific firewall rules — all in one go.

• Open Winbox or WebFig on the hEX. Paste the entire script into the terminal.
• The script is idempotent — re-running it on a partly-configured router won’t double up resources.
• After paste, the hEX should appear as Online in your dashboard within ~30 seconds.

The router script runs on the hEX, but the AP broadcasts the WiFi name (SSID). Log in to your AP and set the SSID to the one you entered in Step 4.

• For TP-Link EAP110: open its admin page in your browser. Set SSID, then put the AP in bridge mode.
• For other APs: same idea — pure bridge mode, no NAT, no DHCP.
• Match the SSID you entered during registration so customers see the right name.

Take a phone, forget any old WiFi networks, and connect to your new SSID. The SmartFi captive portal should pop up automatically.

• On Android: the login page usually opens by itself within a few seconds.
• On iOS: tap the WiFi name; the captive portal sheet should appear.
• Drop a real coin (or enter a voucher) to confirm the full flow works end-to-end.

Your vendo is now ready for paying customers. Watch sales, device health, and customer sessions from the SmartFi dashboard in real time.

• Open the Device Health tab any time to check internet, heartbeat, NodeMCU and DHCP status.
• If something breaks, the Self-Fix Guide tells you exactly which part needs attention.