Hotspot Guide

Wi-Fi login page won't load? Fix it in 5 seconds.

Don't miss another client call. Hotspot Guide finds the culprit, links the fix, and works 100% offline. The Wi-Fi tool you install before you need it.

Download on the Mac App Store Download on the App Store

Launch price — 20% off $9.99 $7.99 one-time

Mac, iPhone & iPad · No subscription · All features included
Hotspot Guide showing the nearby networks scanner with channel congestion and signal strength for every visible Wi-Fi network

The moment it's built for

You're at the gate. Meeting in four minutes. Hotel Wi-Fi connected — but Safari is spinning and the login page never appeared. You can't Google what's wrong because you're not online yet.

Open Hotspot Guide. In under five seconds: iCloud Private Relay is blocking the login page. Tap the link. Toggle it off. Reload. You're in.

I'm Dan. I've missed calls to this exact problem — so I built Hotspot Guide and now I install it before every trip. You should too: you can't download it once you're already stuck offline.

All diagnostics and guides run offline — before you have internet. That's the entire point.

What it checks. What it fixes.

Nine probes run the moment you tap the button. Every flagged result links directly to the fix.

Nine checks, five seconds

iCloud Private Relay, VPN, custom DNS, MDM profiles, captive portal detection, proxy settings, real internet vs. portal HTML. Every check. Every time.

One tap to the fix

Every flagged result deep-links into the exact System Settings pane you need. Two taps, not ten minutes of searching.

Works with zero internet

All diagnostics and troubleshooting guides run completely offline. That's the entire point — you need this most when you can't get online.

Remembers your hotel login

After you authenticate, Hotspot Guide offers to save your name, email, and loyalty number for that network. Encrypted in the macOS Keychain. Autofills on return visits.

Sees the whole Wi-Fi picture

Nearby networks scanner shows channel congestion, signal strength, and security for every visible network. Speed, packet loss, and jitter tell you whether the Wi-Fi is slow or just flaky.

Nothing leaves your Mac

No telemetry, no analytics, no cloud. App Sandbox. No background processes. Diagnostic data stays on your device.

Who it's for

flight
Business travelers

You've lost at least one hour to bad hotel Wi-Fi. You know which Marriott properties are the worst. This is for you.

local_cafe
Remote workers

Cafés, coworking spaces, airport lounges — you live on networks you don't control. Diagnose in seconds, not minutes.

build
IT admins

A portable, App Sandbox-safe tool for diagnosing captive portal issues on field devices — without installing anything sketchy.

smartphone
Anyone who's ever tethered just to fix a portal

There's a faster way. Install Hotspot Guide before your next trip and you won't need to.

Built by a frequent traveler who got tired of doing the same dance every time a hotel portal misbehaved. I use it on every trip.

block No telemetry or analytics
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laptop_mac All diagnostics run locally
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key Credentials stored in macOS Keychain
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wifi_tethering Location used only for Wi-Fi name

App Sandbox, no analytics endpoints, no cloud backend — the only connections it makes are the diagnostic probes you trigger, and you can watch every one in Little Snitch or Activity Monitor.

What people are saying

this is a massive pain point fr. private relay + vpn + dns profiles is a guaranteed recipe for getting completely locked out of hotel and airline portals. love that this focuses on the device side.

— Mac User

This is awesome! I have not encountered an app that solved these issues yet and I definitely relate to them. Awesome job!

— Mac User

I travel a lot, and I'd argue captive portals have gotten less predictable over the years, not more. Between Private Relay, DNS filtering, VPNs, and browser security changes, the "connect and a login page appears" workflow breaks surprisingly often.

— Mac User

Bought! Random hotspots not letting me do the portal I’m willing to give this a go! Thanks!

— Mac User

Frequently asked questions

What is a captive portal? +
It's the login or terms-acceptance page that appears when you join hotel, airport, or café Wi-Fi. The network blocks internet access until you complete it. Hotspot Guide diagnoses why that page fails to appear or load correctly.
What's the difference between a mobile hotspot and a public Wi-Fi hotspot? +
A mobile hotspot is your phone sharing its cellular data — iPhone's Personal Hotspot, for example. You connect to your phone's Wi-Fi and use its data plan. No login page, no captive portal, no drama. A public Wi-Fi hotspot is a network at a hotel, airport, or café that requires you to pass through a login or terms page (the captive portal) before getting internet access. Hotspot Guide is for public Wi-Fi hotspots — the ones with the login pages that break. If you're on your own phone's hotspot, everything should just work, and this app isn't what you need.
When should I just use my phone's hotspot instead of fixing hotel Wi-Fi? +
Immediately, if you're under time pressure and your phone has signal. Hotspot Guide tells you within five seconds if the network infrastructure itself is broken — in which case tethering is the right answer and nothing on your Mac will fix it. But if the problem is iCloud Private Relay or a VPN (which it usually is), the fix takes two taps and you're on the full hotel connection instead of burning cellular data.
Can't I just Google how to fix this? +
You're not online. That's the problem. All of Hotspot Guide's diagnostics and troubleshooting guides work with zero internet connection — because that's when you need them most.
Is it a subscription? +
No. One payment, all features unlocked, yours forever. No recurring charges, no premium tier, no features held back. It's $7.99 for the launch — 20% off the regular $9.99 — and includes Mac, iPhone, and iPad.
What if I don't like it? +
Apple refunds you, no questions asked — every App Store purchase is covered by Apple's standard refund policy. And there's no subscription to cancel: it's a one-time purchase, so the worst case is a few dollars for a few minutes.
What macOS version is required? +
macOS 15 Sequoia or later. Runs natively on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.
Why does it need Location permission? +
Apple requires Location authorization for any third-party app that reads the Wi-Fi network name (SSID). Without it, Hotspot Guide can't tell which network you're on — the venue database, connection history, and credential autofill all break. Your geographic location is never accessed, stored, or transmitted anywhere.
Does it fix the problem automatically? +
No — and that's intentional. macOS doesn't give apps permission to change your network settings on your behalf. What Hotspot Guide does: it tells you exactly what's wrong and opens the right System Settings pane so you can make the change yourself. It's usually two taps: follow the link, toggle the setting.
What's the difference between slow Wi-Fi and flaky Wi-Fi? +
Slow Wi-Fi has low throughput — downloads take forever, video buffers. But once a packet gets through, it gets through reliably. Flaky Wi-Fi has packet loss or high jitter — packets are dropped unpredictably, which destroys video calls and VoIP even when the speed test looks fine. Hotspot Guide measures both and distinguishes between them.
Is there an iPhone and iPad version? +
Yes — Hotspot Guide is now available on iPhone and iPad as well as Mac, included in the same one-time purchase.
Also for Mac

Connection Information Suite

Four menu bar apps that surface what your Mac's connections are actually doing — USB speeds, audio routing, display signal, and network throughput. From the same developer.

View the suite →

Install before you need it

Launch price — 20% off — $7.99, down from the regular $9.99. One-time purchase, all features, no subscription. Don't love it? Apple refunds you, no questions asked.

Download on the Mac App Store Download on the App Store