A license covers one machine, bound to its Hardware ID. Choose 30 to 5,000 devices online at once, in steps of 10. A license costs 30 months of the monthly service at the same size (such as US$297 for 30 devices, US$597 for 100, US$2,397 for 1,000) and includes a year of updates. The Console always shows the current price before you pay.
How it differs from the monthly service
| Monthly (cloud) | Perpetual License (on-premises) | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Monthly or yearly, per location | Once, plus optional maintenance at 20% of the license price a year after the first |
| Management | The Console, from anywhere | The machine’s admin pages at https://<the machine’s IP>:8443 |
| Computer Crime Act log | Kept for you in the cloud | Kept on the machine’s disk; you back it up |
| More devices than the size | Keep new devices off, or pay per use | New devices can’t get on until you upgrade the license |
| Single sign-on (Entra ID/Google) | Yes (Enterprise) | No |
| 802.1X (WPA2/WPA3-Enterprise) | Yes (Enterprise) | Yes, on the admin pages under 802.1X (PEAP, EAP-TTLS, device certificates) |
| Sign-in with your Active Directory accounts | No | Yes, on the admin pages under Active Directory (the machine must reach a domain controller on port 636 or 389) |
| Gateway / Transparent placement | Gateway on every package, Transparent on Enterprise Wi-Fi only | Either |
| Software updates | Looked after for you | Press Update now on the admin pages, or upload a .thpkg file, while updates are covered |
| Internet connection to us | Needed (a Hotspot Server keeps working while the line is down) | Not needed (when it can reach us, the machine asks about updates once a day; can be turned off) |
Buy and install
- Install the software on a Linux machine with two ports and note the Hardware ID it prints.
- In Wi-Fi Hotspot › Perpetual License, click Buy a license with that Hardware ID.
- Download the License file onto the machine, set the admin password, then open
https://<the machine’s IP>:8443.
The full steps, the install command’s options, wiring for Gateway and Transparent, installing with no Internet, and fixes for common problems are in Install the Perpetual License step by step.
The Computer Crime Act log is kept only on this machine’s disk. We hold no copy, so if the disk fails the log goes with it. Back the log up somewhere else regularly.
Updating the software
A machine that can reach the Internet asks once a day whether a new version is out, sending only the serial, its Hardware ID and the version it runs, never the log or any user’s data. When a version within your updates is out, the admin pages say so; press Update now when it suits you. If the new version doesn’t work, the machine goes back to the old one by itself. Turn the question off under System.
A machine with no Internet: while updates are covered (see Updates until on the license), download the Update for the machine’s type (amd64 or arm64, a .thpkg file) and upload it on the machine’s admin pages under System, or run sudo thwifi update FILE. Updates are signed by us; the machine installs nothing that didn’t come from us.
Renew maintenance
- A license includes a year of updates. After that, click Renew maintenance on the license to keep getting them, at 20% of the license price a year.
- You can renew up to 3 years ahead.
- If updates have already ended, renewal is back-dated from the day they ended up to today, but never costs more than a new license.
- After renewing, a machine that can reach the Internet takes the new license with Get the new license on its admin pages. Otherwise download the new License file and load it with
sudo thwifi license FILE.lic. - We email you 30 and 7 days before updates end, and when a new version is out (at most monthly; you can turn these off).
- Renewing is optional: without it the machine keeps working with the version it has.
Upgrade edition
The machine takes no more devices at once than the license allows; once full, new devices can’t get on (there is no pay per use). Click Upgrade edition on the license, enter the new number under Grow to devices at once, and pay only the difference in license price. Then download the new license file and put it on the machine.
Only people who manage the Project’s billing can buy, renew or upgrade. Payment comes from the Project’s wallet, is not refunded once paid, and promo codes and Preview discounts don’t apply. For more than 5,000 devices or many machines, click Contact sales.
If something goes wrong
It says the Hardware ID is not valid
Run sudo thwifi hwid on the machine you’ll use and copy all four groups, in the form XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX. If you already bought with another machine’s Hardware ID, the license won’t work on this one; open a ticket with the license’s Serial.
I replaced the mainboard or network card, or moved to a new machine
The Hardware ID changes and the old license no longer works. Open a ticket with the license’s Serial and the new Hardware ID. A license can be moved at most twice in 12 months while its maintenance runs, and the old machine must stop being used.
It says Updates have ended (the machine keeps working)
The machine keeps working as normal; it just can’t install versions released after updates ended. To update, click Renew maintenance and load the new license file on the machine before installing the update.
New devices can’t get on although others work fine
The license’s devices at once may be full. Wait for a device to leave, or click Upgrade edition to add more.