Are you losing hotspot revenue without realizing it? Many MikroTik hotspot owners suffer from users sharing internet through USB tethering or secondary hotspots. In this guide, we show you a simple TTL configuration that ensures one user equals one device — protecting your bandwidth and increasing your profits.
Innocent Mujuni
February 15, 2026
Your network may look busy.
Users are connected.
Traffic is flowing.
But your income does not reflect the usage.
Why?
Because>And that is costing you money.
A customer buys> They log in successfully.
Then they:
Share the internet via USB tethering
Turn their phone into a secondary hotspot
Connect multiple laptops and devices behind>From your system’s perspective, it’s>In reality, it could be 3 to 10 people using the same connection.
Revenue loss
Multiple users consume bandwidth while>
Slow network performance
Bandwidth is stretched beyond what you planned.
Customer complaints
Legitimate users experience slow speeds and blame your hotspot.
Router strain
Your MikroTik handles more load than expected.
This is not just a technical issue.
It is a business issue.
The good news?
You can fix this in less than two minutes using WinBox.
MikroTik allows you to control something called TTL (Time To Live). Without going too technical, TTL is a value that helps identify how many “hops” a packet has taken.
When someone shares the internet with another device, the TTL changes.
By forcing the TTL to a specific value, you prevent device sharing from working properly.
In simple terms:
You make sure>
Open WinBox, then follow these steps:
Go to IP
Click Firewall
Select the Mangle tab
Click Add (+)
Now configure the rule as follows:
Chain: postrouting
Out Interface: hotspot bridge
Action: change TTL
New TTL: 1
Click Apply and then OK.
That’s it.
This rule ensures that if a user tries to share the internet with another device, the connection will not function properly.
It does not affect normal single-device usage.
It>The result:
One user =>
Fair bandwidth usage
Improved speed stability
Increased revenue
This small configuration change can significantly improve your hotspot profitability.
If even 10 users per day are sharing connections, you could be losing a substantial percentage of your potential income.
Stopping tethering abuse means:
More voucher sales
Better bandwidth control
Happier paying customers
Stronger business growth
And when combined with proper billing and monitoring, your hotspot becomes predictable and scalable.
Technical tweaks like TTL rules protect your network.
But true hotspot growth comes from:
Smart billing
Real-time monitoring
Automated voucher generation
Mobile money collections
Centralized multi-site management
That is where XenFi comes in.
At XenFi, we help MikroTik hotspot owners turn WiFi into a structured, scalable business.
If you’re serious about protecting your revenue and growing your hotspot operation, it’s time to manage smarter.
Visit XenFi and start building a hotspot business that works for you — not against you.
Smart billing, automation and management for hotspot providers and ISPs.
Very useful information. Thank you
This is so helpful, i love it