Overview
Effective August 01, 2025, ANTlabs will discontinue offering the Advanced QoS Plus module and Web-Filtering service for the SG 5 range of gateways.
This change affects only the Advanced QoS Plus and Web-Filtering optional add-ons. All other features — including standard QoS, access control functions, and the Advanced QoS module — will continue to be supported and available.
Key Points
Discontinued:
Still available and supported:
Note: While these modules will no longer be bundled or offered by default in new SG 5 deployments, they may still be made available on a project basis upon request, subject to commercial and technical considerations.
Our Commitment
ANTlabs continues to deliver intelligent and scalable network management solutions. Though we are retiring selected optional modules, our team retains deep expertise in supporting traffic shaping and content control needs as required.
In line with our roadmap, we will be introducing new service modules and enhancements in the coming months to address the evolving needs of the hospitality industry.
Contact
For further clarification or to discuss your specific project needs, please reach out to your ANTlabs representative or contact us at:
📧 sales@antlabs.com
Publication Date: 30 Sep 2024
iOS 18 introduces a significant update in how devices manage MAC address randomization, enhancing user privacy. The feature, known as “Rotate Wi-Fi Address,” will change the MAC address of a device every 2 weeks. In the example below, the Private Wi-Fi Address setting for the particular Wi-Fi network has been set to “Rotating”, meaning that MAC Address randomization is enabled on the iOS device.
iOS 18 MAC Randomization Feature – Under Settings->Wi-Fi->
Click the “i” to see the “Private Wi-Fi Address” Setting
Rotating value indicates MAC Randomization in effect
For hotels offering public or guest Wi-Fi, this can create challenges. Guests who return after two weeks may experience login prompts as if they’re connecting for the first time. For long-stay guests, iOS 18’s MAC address randomization will cause them to see the login page again every two weeks, even if they’ve previously connected. As the network no longer recognizes their device, this disrupts what should be a seamless reconnection process.
Frequent re-authentication could frustrate returning guests, particularly those expecting uninterrupted access after an initial login. In an environment where guest satisfaction is paramount, these repeated prompts may lead to negative feedback, even though it’s caused by Apple’s privacy updates. Another critical issue is that hotel Wi-Fi networks lose the ability to retain their guest device and status recognition, preventing network services from providing differentiating services like higher bandwidth for elite members, or auto-completion of guest details and accord privileges reserved for elite members.
Short-Term Solution: Guests can disable MAC randomization for your network through their device settings, but this solution places the responsibility on them. To do so, guests can select “Fixed” under the Private Wi-Fi address setting.
A Long-Term Strategy: To mitigate these disruptions, consider integrating network solutions designed to handle iOS 18’s privacy features without affecting the guest experience. At ANTlabs, we specialize in networking solutions like Hotspot 2.0 or Wi-Fi profile that address these changes head-on, ensuring smooth and consistent connectivity for your guests while keeping their privacy intact.
Next Steps
Now is the time to explore more robust, long-term options. Contact ANTlabs to discuss how we can help your network adapt to these changes, improving both guest satisfaction and network management efficiency.
Talk to us to know more about ANTlabs Hotspot 2.0 solutions to solve the MAC Randomization issue.
Source: Apple Support – Use private Wi-Fi addresses on Apple devices (Scroll to the section “Learn how this feature works”)
Publication Date: 16 December 2021 We are aware of a new security vulnerability targeting the open source Log4j logging utility that was announced recently. The vulnerability allows hackers to execute malicious code on servers and client machines. ANTlabs products are not affected by this vulnerability as we do not use the Log4j logging utility. Please […]
The current ezxcess.antlabs.com SSL certificate on our gateways will expire on April 7, 2021. For HTTPS login pages that are served out with the ezxcess.antlabs.com SSL certificate, browsers will present certificate errors after April 7, 2021, if the SSL certificate expiry is not extended. Also, for deployments that integrate with the Accor FLINT-HTNG PMS, the […]
Last Updated: 15 Oct 2020Publication Date: 24 Sep 2020 What is Randomized MAC and what is it for? With the recent launch of IOS 14 and Android 10, a new feature is introduced which configures the phone to use a randomized MAC address when connecting to a WiFi network. The feature is enabled by default […]
Updated: 23 July 2020 We have added the walled garden HTTPS domains feature as the recommended approach to allow downstream devices to access the payment gateways before login. In doing so, we are effectively decommissioning the IP Address-based walled garden configuration. As such, it is advised to add the relevant HTTPS domains to the walled […]
Last Updated: Oct 15, 2020 – The Instagram WiFi login issue has been resolved with the recent ANTlabs Update #41 for both IG 4 and SG 4. Admins are advised to apply the latest update on their gateways to ensure a smoother login flow. After updating gateways to Update #41, using the Instagram login method […]
[UPDATED: 19 Jan 2021] WeChat login is now once again working as one of the ANTlabs social WiFi login methods. WeChat login requires the following update to be installed on these gateways: IG 4 Update #42 SG 4 Update #42 IG 4 S Series Update #4 SG 4 S Series Update #4 [Advisory Date: 20 […]
Publication Date: 7 July 2019
Last Updated: 27 August 2019
It has come to our attention that some users have been experiencing a delay in loading captive portals on Apple devices. The said delay sometimes takes up to a minute. This behavior has been observed on devices that are on iOS 12. It was also observed that there is no issue on other iOS devices that are on earlier versions, Android, OSX, and Windows devices.
According
to Apple forum discussions, Apple has been informed and has acknowledged the
issue. Although it has not been confirmed officially by Apple, sources say that
it has been partially fixed in iOS 12.4 Beta 3 and additional fixes are
expected in iOS 13. iOS 12.4 is expected to be out in a month, and iOS 13 in
the Fall.
We have released IG 4 Update #34 which includes improvement on how the gateway handles CaptiveNetworkPortal agent to help speed up the loading of captive portals. Please update your gateways to the latest patch.
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On March 7, 2019, Google shut down legacy Google+ APIs. ANTlabs has used Google+ sign-in across its product families and we have migrated since then to Google sign-in. Some products may still carry the Google+ logo in login portals and admin user interfaces but rest assured, all ANTlabs products have already replaced it with Google […]