How to Resume Piso WiFi
You paused your session, and now you want your remaining minutes back. Resume is a separate action from pause, and it fails for different reasons. This post covers resume only: how to get back into a paused session, why the same device matters, what the button may be called on each platform, and how to tell whether a session is gone or just hard to find.
For how pause itself works, and for the limits that apply before you pause, see the Pause Time pillar. That pillar is the authority for pause rules. This post does not repeat its pause steps. It starts at the point where your session is already paused.
Answer first: Resume on the same device and the same WiFi network, open a fresh portal page, tap Resume, and wait until the timer counts down again from the paused point. If the portal shows no session, check the device, the network, and a fresh page before paying again.
Up: Pause Time. Also in Pause and Sessions: Pause Time Limit and Session Expired While Paused.
Resume in Four Checks, Not Just One Tap
Resume usually works when four things line up at the same time: the same device, the same network, a session that has not expired, and a portal page that is showing live data rather than a cached copy. If one of those is wrong, the Resume button may do nothing, or it may open a fresh session with no time left. Work through the checks in order before you pay again.
Check 1: Use the device that started the session
Use the exact phone, tablet, or laptop that paid for the session. A second phone, even one owned by the same person, is a different device to the machine. The machine links a session to a device identifier, usually an IP address or a MAC address, which is the hardware identifier of the network adapter. When you tap Resume, the machine looks for a session that matches that identifier. If no match is found, it cannot safely hand over someone else’s remaining time.
This rule also applies inside one phone. If you paid while connected through one network adapter and then try to resume through another, for example after switching from WiFi to a hotspot tether, the match can fail. Stay on the device and the connection you started with.
Check 2: Rejoin the same WiFi network
Confirm that you are connected to the same Piso WiFi network name, the SSID, that you used at payment time. A similarly named network in a nearby shop is not the same machine. A home WiFi network is not the machine either, even if the portal address looks the same. The address 10.0.0.1 is a private local address, and it points to a different machine on each network.
Turn mobile data off for a moment while you resume, so your phone does not slip back to mobile data when the portal page is slow. Turn any VPN off as well, because a VPN can route your portal request away from the local machine.
Check 3: Open a fresh portal page
Open a browser and type http://10.0.0.1 in the address bar, not in the search box, and use http rather than https for this local page. Do not resume from an old screenshot of the timer, and do not rely on a browser tab left open from hours ago. That tab may show a paused timer even after the session has expired on the machine.
If the page looks unchanged after a tap, refresh it, or open it in a private or incognito window. A cached page is a common cause of a Resume tap that appears to do nothing. A live page should show a current session status, a remaining time figure, or a clear message that no session was found.
Check 4: Tap Resume and wait for confirmation
Tap the Resume control and wait for the portal to confirm that the session is active again and that the timer is counting down from the paused point. A button changing colour is not enough on its own. Look for a status change, a timer that moves, and internet access that works in a new browser tab. If the timer shows the full amount you had before pausing, but browsing still fails, the session may be active while the internet source is down, which is a different problem covered in the Troubleshooting guide.
Resume Labels by Platform
The button is not called the same thing everywhere. Menu labels vary by platform and by firmware version, so look for the meaning rather than one exact word.
| Platform | What you are likely to see | Note for resume |
|---|---|---|
| LPB Piso WiFi | Resume Time | Resume restarts the countdown from the paused point, subject to the admin pause duration limit |
| AdoPiSoft | Resume or Continue | Resume uses the same session, but remember that each pause already counted against the allowed number of pauses for that session |
| PisoFi | Resume, or a resume control on the session screen | On some setups, reconnecting after a disconnect can resume automatically, so check the timer before tapping again |
| JuanFi | Varies by operator build | The label depends on the hotspot script the operator installed, so ask the operator if no resume control is visible |
| Ruijie and SmartFi | Resume on reconnect, where auto pause is enabled | A short disconnect may have paused the session automatically, and reconnecting to the same network may resume it without a manual tap |
If you see both a Resume control and a new payment or insert coin control on the same screen, do not pay again yet. The new payment control is for a new session. Tap Resume first, confirm the old session, and only pay again if the portal clearly shows no session for your device.
Same Device Rule in Detail: MAC Address and Private Address
Two settings cause most resume failures, and both are easy to change by accident between pausing and resuming.
First, a private WiFi address. On iPhone, this is the Private WiFi Address setting for that network. On Android, it is the MAC address type setting for that network, often set to Randomized MAC by default. These settings protect privacy on public networks, but on a machine that matches sessions by MAC address, a changed address can make the same phone look like a new device.
The important point is timing. Changing the setting after a session has started does not recover a session that was matched to the old address. The useful action is to keep the setting unchanged for the whole session, from payment through pause to resume. If you must change it, do so before you pay for the next session, not in the middle of a paused one.
Second, WiFi disconnection during a long pause. Some phones turn WiFi off when the screen locks, or when a battery saver runs, or when the phone switches to mobile data for a stronger signal. That alone does not always delete a paused session, but it can make the portal harder to reach, and it can combine with a private address change to break the match. While paused, keep WiFi on, stay in range of the machine, and reopen the portal from the browser when you return.
Resume After a Phone Restart, a Browser Close, or a Short Disconnect
A phone restart does not automatically delete a paused session, because the session record lives on the machine, not on your phone. After a restart, rejoin the same network, open a fresh portal page, and check for the session before you assume it is lost. The same applies after closing the browser. Closing a tab does not cancel a paused session.
A short disconnect is different on auto pause systems. On Ruijie and SmartFi setups where auto pause is enabled, a brief drop can pause a session on its own, and reconnecting can resume it. If your timer looks wrong after a reconnect, check the portal status first. Do not tap Resume repeatedly if the timer is already running, because a second tap can in some builds start a new action rather than confirming the first one.
If you switched to mobile data briefly while paused, switch back to the Piso WiFi network and reopen the portal. Mobile data use while paused does not use your Piso WiFi minutes, because the two connections are separate, but the machine cannot resume a session for a device that is not currently on its network.
Lost Session Diagnosis: Gone, Expired, or Just Not Found
Use this table before you pay again. Each row points to a different next step.
| What you see | Likely meaning | What to do next |
|---|---|---|
| Portal shows your session, paused, with time remaining | Session is still valid | Tap Resume on the same device, wait for confirmation, then test browsing |
| Portal shows no session, but you paused recently and did not change devices | Portal page may be cached, or you are on the wrong network | Check the network name, turn off mobile data and VPN, open a fresh portal page in a private window |
| Portal shows a session with no time left | Pause limit or auto expiry has passed, or the timer ran out before you paused | Do not keep tapping Resume, check the expiry section in the Session Expired While Paused post, then pay again only if you need more time |
| Portal shows a new empty session after you tapped Resume | Device match failed, often a private address change, or a new payment created a new session | Stop, note the device change, and ask the operator to check the session list for the original device, as explained below |
| Portal will not load at all | Network, DNS, VPN, or machine problem, not a resume problem | Follow the portal loading checks in the Troubleshooting guide, then return to resume |
If the operator can help, give them useful details rather than just saying the time is gone. Tell them the amount paid, the approximate time you paused, the device you used, whether you changed any WiFi setting, and whether there was a power cut or a restart. The operator can check the client or session list in the admin panel for a paused record that matches your device. If no record is listed, or if the record shows expired, the time is usually not recoverable from the customer side, and a new payment is needed for further use.
Mistakes That Turn a Recoverable Pause Into a Lost Session
Paying again before checking for the old session is the most common mistake. A new payment can create a new session and hide the old one from the portal screen, which makes diagnosis harder for both you and the operator.
Switching phones to resume is the second mistake. It feels natural to try another phone when the first one will not resume, but the machine is designed to refuse that match, because it would otherwise allow one payment to be shared across devices.
Changing a private address setting mid session is the third mistake. It is a sensible privacy setting in general, but mid session it breaks the link between your phone and your paused record.
Tapping Resume many times in a row on a slow portal is the fourth mistake. Wait for each tap to load, refresh once if needed, and check the live timer rather than tapping until something changes.
Frequently Asked Questions About Resuming a Paused Session
Can I resume if I closed the browser after pausing?
Yes, in the usual case. Closing the browser does not cancel a paused session, because the session record is held on the machine. Rejoin the same network, open a fresh portal page at http://10.0.0.1, and check for your session before paying again.
Why does resume fail after I restarted my phone?
A restart alone does not delete a paused session, but it can change how your phone reconnects. Check that you rejoined the same network, that mobile data and VPN are off for the resume attempt, and that your private WiFi address setting has not changed since payment. If the portal shows no session after those checks, the session may have expired while you were away, which is covered in the Session Expired While Paused post.
What if the Resume button is missing but my session was paused?
First, confirm you are on the same device and network, and open a fresh portal page in a private window, because a cached page can hide the current controls. Second, check whether the session has already expired, in which case no resume control is expected. Third, ask the operator whether pause and resume are enabled for your payment mode, coin or voucher, because some builds enable them separately. The Pause Button Not Showing post covers the missing button checks in detail.
Does resuming on a different WiFi name in the same shop work?
No, if the WiFi name belongs to a different machine or a different access point that does not share sessions with the first machine. Resume only works on the machine that holds your session. Confirm the exact network name you joined at payment time, not just the shop name.
Should I pay again if resume shows an empty session?
Not immediately. Stop and diagnose first, using the table in this post. Check the network, the device, and a fresh portal page, and ask the operator to check the session list if you paused recently. Pay again only when the portal clearly shows no recoverable session, or when you need internet urgently and accept that the old time may be lost.
Can an operator resume my session for me?
On some platforms, an admin can view client sessions and pause or resume a client from the admin panel. That depends on the platform and on whether your session is still listed. It is a request to the operator, not a customer right, and it cannot restore a session that has already expired or been cleared.
A Less Common Cause: Time Sync on the Machine
If the device, the network, and the private address setting are all correct, and resume still fails, ask the operator to check the time setting on the machine. A machine clock that is wrong can make a valid session look expired, because validity is measured against machine time, not only against the time shown on your phone. This is an operator check. Do not try to fix it by changing your phone clock, because that does not change the session record on the machine, and it can confuse other apps. Report the time you paused, the time you tried to resume, and the message shown, so the operator can compare the session record with the machine clock.
What to Read Next
If your session expired while paused, read the Session Expired While Paused post for expiry versus limit, recovery, and prevention. If the Resume button itself is missing, read the Pause Button Not Showing post. If you need the full pause rules, read the Pause Time pillar. If the portal will not load at all, read the Troubleshooting guide. If you want to move time to another device instead of resuming on the same device, read the Transfer Piso WiFi Time post, which explains why that usually does not work.