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Cloud-managed wireless

Purple on Cisco Meraki: captive portal, iPSK and staff WiFi

Meraki access points send guests to a splash page and staff to RADIUS, both set in the Meraki Dashboard. Point both at Purple and the MR access points you already own deliver branded guest sign-in, first-party data and per-user staff WiFi. Identity PSK (iPSK) gives each resident or tenant their own key on one shared SSID.

What Purple supports on Cisco Meraki

Four capabilities are supported on Cisco Meraki, the same four we list for it in the hardware integrations directory. Each one uses settings the Meraki Dashboard already has, so nothing new is installed on site.

Guest captive portal

The Meraki Dashboard redirects guests on your guest SSID to a Purple splash page, where they sign in by email, social login or SMS. Every sign-in becomes a consented first-party record you can report on and market to.

802.1X staff WiFi

Add Purple as the RADIUS server for your staff SSID and each person signs in with their own credentials rather than a shared password, so a leaver loses access the moment their account is removed.

Multi-tenant WiFi: iPSK (Identity PSK)

Each resident, tenant or device group gets a personal key on one shared SSID. Purple manages the keys and the Meraki Dashboard enforces them.

Dynamic VLAN steering

Purple returns a VLAN with each RADIUS decision, so a user or key lands on the right network segment without an SSID per group.

Supported Cisco Meraki platforms

Cisco Meraki MR Series (CW9166, MR36, MR46, MR56), Catalyst 9100 Series, Meraki Dashboard API

RADIUS servers, ports and the walled garden allowlist are maintained by our support team and can differ per deployment. Get the current Cisco Meraki configuration from Purple Support.

How to set up Purple on Cisco Meraki

A guest WiFi rollout on Cisco Meraki follows the same five steps whatever the size of the estate. The step-by-step guides linked here cover the exact Meraki Dashboard screens.

  1. Check your platform is on the supported list

    Purple supports Cisco Meraki MR Series (CW9166, MR36, MR46, MR56), Catalyst 9100 Series, Meraki Dashboard API. If your controller or firmware is not listed, ask us before you start.

  2. Point the guest SSID at Purple in the Meraki Dashboard

    Set the guest network's captive portal or splash page to Purple's hosted portal and add Purple as its RADIUS server. The Cisco Meraki setup guide walks through each screen.

  3. Add the walled garden and RADIUS details from Purple Support

    The walled garden entries and RADIUS servers are set per deployment and change over time, so take them from the hardware guide on support.purple.ai, not from a summary page.

  4. Build your splash page and choose sign-in methods

    Design the splash page in Purple, pick the login methods and data fields you need, and set consent wording for your region.

  5. Test on real devices, then roll out

    Connect with an iPhone, an Android phone and a laptop before you open the network to guests. If the portal does not appear, the troubleshooting guides below cover the usual causes.

Start with these Cisco Meraki guides

Every Cisco Meraki guide, by task

31 published guides name Cisco Meraki in their title or cover it in depth. This list updates as new guides are published.

Captive portal and splash page setup (5)

802.1X, RADIUS and network access control (2)

iPSK, PPSK and per-device keys (4)

Troubleshooting (4)

Architecture, comparisons and planning (16)

What you can run on Cisco Meraki

The integration is the entry point. These are the Purple products that run on top of it, each on the Cisco Meraki hardware you already have.

Running more than one vendor?

Purple is one platform across mixed estates. The other hardware hubs cover the same four capabilities:

Comparing Purple with another guest WiFi or RADIUS platform instead? See every Purple comparison or captive portal software compared.

Cisco Meraki and Purple: questions

Does Purple work with Cisco Meraki?

Yes. On Cisco Meraki, Purple provides the guest captive portal, cloud RADIUS for 802.1X staff WiFi, iPSK (Identity PSK) for multi-tenant WiFi and dynamic VLAN steering. Supported platforms: Cisco Meraki MR Series (CW9166, MR36, MR46, MR56), Catalyst 9100 Series, Meraki Dashboard API.

Do I need to replace my Cisco Meraki access points to use Purple?

No. Purple runs on the access points you already own. You configure the guest SSID in the Meraki Dashboard to redirect to Purple's hosted splash page and add Purple as a RADIUS server; the hardware stays as it is.

Where do I find the RADIUS servers and walled garden entries for Cisco Meraki?

In the hardware guides on support.purple.ai. Those values are set per deployment and change over time, so we do not publish them on marketing pages or in guides. Always take them from Purple Support.

How does multi-tenant WiFi work on Cisco Meraki?

With iPSK (Identity PSK). Each resident, tenant or device group gets its own key on a shared SSID, and Purple returns the matching VLAN over RADIUS, so each unit gets a private network without an SSID per unit.

Which Cisco Meraki guide should I read first?

Start with "Captive portal for Cisco Meraki: set it up with Purple". It covers the Meraki Dashboard settings for the guest portal. The rest of the Cisco Meraki guides on this page are grouped by task: portal setup, 802.1X and RADIUS, per-user keys and troubleshooting.

Can I run Purple across Cisco Meraki and other hardware?

Yes. Purple is one platform across mixed estates, so sites on different vendors share the same splash pages, sign-in data, reporting and RADIUS policies. The hardware integrations directory lists every supported vendor.

See Purple on your Cisco Meraki network

Tell us what you run today and we will show you the guest, staff and multi-tenant setup on your own hardware.