DHCP & Hotspot Issues After Upgrading to RouterOS 7.18.x

RouterOS General
1

After upgrading my MikroTik Hex S router from RouterOS 7.17.2 to 7.18.0, I encountered issues with DHCP and the hotspot functionality. These issues forced me to downgrade back to 7.17.2, where everything works fine.

I have checked the changelogs for 7.18.1 and 7.18.2, but I did not see any mention of a fix related to this problem. I am unsure if this issue is specific to my setup or if others have also experienced it.

Important Note: This router is a live hotspot with active users, so I cannot upgrade and test new versions anytime. I can only perform upgrades when there are no customers connected (e.g., no running time on vouchers or all users are disconnected).

Setup Details:

  • Router Model: MikroTik Hex S


  • RouterOS Version: 7.18.0 (Issue started), 7.17.2 (Works fine)


  • Network Setup:
  • The MikroTik router is connected to an Access Point (AP).
  • It is used as a hotspot with voucher-based authentication.

Issues Encountered in 7.18.0:

  • Clients unable to obtain an IP address:
  • Some clients get stuck at “Obtaining IP address” and fail to connect.
  • This did not happen in 7.17.2.


  • Clients experiencing DNS errors after authentication:
  • Some clients reach the hotspot portal, but after entering a valid voucher code, they receive a DNS error and cannot browse the internet.
  • Again, this was not an issue in 7.17.2.

Steps Taken to Troubleshoot:

  • I tried rebooting the router, clearing DHCP leases, and testing with different client devices.


  • No firewall or DHCP settings were changed before or after the upgrade.


  • Downgrading to 7.17.2 immediately resolves the issue.

Questions:

  • Has anyone else experienced this issue after upgrading to 7.18.x?


  • Is there any known fix or workaround for this?


  • Could this be a bug introduced in 7.18.0? If so, I’d like to report it to MikroTik for further investigation.

Any insights or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

2

Yep, the same errors here, and ipsec vpn also throws a lots error which cannot be detected in Winbox, just unreachable networks what’s left.

3

Same Here with 7.18.2

4

I am facing os 7.18.2 hotspot not working. how can i resolve this issue.

5

Same here with the my MikroTik hEX S (2025) with RouterOS V7.18.2, i cannot make any HotSpot configurations using Hotspot Setup. Somehow it does not create anything, not even Firewall rules, NAT, or any DHCP config.

This kind of problem does not exist with my older MikroTik CSS, which is on the version of RouterOS V6.49.2

Edit: Turns out the problem is in the Device-Mode, I need to turn on the HotSpot functionality before i can use the setup.

7

I ran into very similar behavior after upgrading to RouterOS 7.18.x. DHCP leases were being assigned, but hotspot clients would intermittently fail authentication or lose connectivity shortly after login.

In my case, the issue turned out to be related to changes in how RouterOS v7 handles firewall/NAT and connection tracking for hotspot traffic. Flushing connection tracking after the upgrade helped temporarily, but the more stable fix was:

  • Rebooting after upgrade AND after restoring config
  • Flushing DHCP leases and connection tracking
  • Verifying hotspot-related firewall rules order (some got reordered after upgrade)
  • Disabling FastTrack for hotspot traffic
  • Re-checking IP bindings and hotspot profiles

Rolling back to 7.17.x immediately stabilized things, so this does feel like a v7.18.x regression. Might be worth opening a support ticket with Supout, including a supout file if this persists.

Would be interested to hear if anyone has a permanent fix on 7.18.x without downgrading.