Tuesday, May 27, 2008

DD-WRT v24 Compatibility (UPDATED)

DD-WRT v24 final came out a few days ago ( click here for binary downloads ). Our Hotspot System is fully compatible with v24, so if you'd like to use this firmware to create your Wi-Fi hotspot, you need to do the following:

The installation can be done the same way as v23, via the automatic command. If you upgrade from the original LinkSys firmware, it is recommended to upgrade it with the NoKaid firmware. Other option is to upgrade it with the mini, then the NoKaid/Standard.

After that your Hotspot router will be working perfectly, including the Router Alert feature. If you have already installed/upgraded to v24, then Reset the router to Factory Defaults, then run the command again.

It is now recommended to upgrade to v24 if you used v23 before as this release is much stable, especially when you have lots of Wi-Fi hotspot users connecting simultaneously to the router.

Note: After you run the command, be sure that DHCP Interface is set to "WLAN" in the Services > Hotspot menu.

Support for your Hotspot users

Some changes has been made related to the support for your Wi-Fi Hotspot users.

When it comes to support, your hotspot users have the following alternatives:

1. They can contact you directly using the location's contact details you've provided for the location.
2. They can use the online form. The content of the form is sent to us (Hotspot System Staff) AND your contact email additionally (this is a new feature).
3. They can contact us using our standard Help Desk, or phone and fax numbers.

The reason why we send the form to you too is that there are several tasks that have to be handled by the Operator (f.e. the user cannot connect to the router, has low signal problems, need a tax invoice, etc.), and there are others that have to be handled by us (f.e. the user paid twice by accident and needs a refund, or cannot login because of mistyping the username or password, etc.

More features added for Secondary Logins

Secondary Logins are sub-accounts that are created by the Operators. For example if an operator runs a camping network, he can create Secondary Logins for each campground where the local camping owner or receptionist can check/view some important information about the hotspot. Operators assign which location(s) are viewable by a Secondary Login.

Some new functions have been added to Secondary Logins:

- Hotspot Locations menu (View a list of assigned locations, check system load, check active/logged-in users, view basic hotspot information)
- Purchase report on Gross Purchases only: this is very useful if the local owner sells Pre-Paid cards, so after each month he can generate a report so he can see how much money he collected in that month.

They can also see transactions, and usage by hotspot users.

RSS feed is also working so they can check their transaction real time.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

View active / logged-in users


This is a long-awaited feature and we have added this by popular request.

You can now see who has valid account to a hotspot, and you can also see, who is currently logged-in.

Go to 'Hotspot Locations'. You can see a router icon on the right, with two numbers next to it. It shows how many users have valid account (first number) and how many are logged in (second number). When you click on these numbers you can get a list of the users in details, with expiration, last login date and usage.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Live RSS Stats

You can now use your favorite RSS reader to check your statistics LIVE without having to log in each time. The feed includes the total summary of purchases and gross profit for today, yesterday, this month, previous month and also contains the last 10 transactions (date, package, price, location) and the customer's details (name, country, username).

To find out the URL of your RSS feed, log in to the Operator Area and find 'Live RSS Stats' on the upper right.

If you don't know how to handle RSS, click here.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Purchase Stats - April, 2008

Here're some interesting information about user's purchase at all Hotspots operated by HotSpotSystem.com.


In the first chart you can see that payments by PayPal are less than 10%. That's why it is important to accept credit card payments directly in your Hotspot (this is a feature which you can rarely find with other hotspot solutions).


Visa is ahead with almost 60% (including Visa Delta), Mastercard is below 40%. As you can see you can accept Visa Delta cards too in your Hotspot.