MikroTik WAN Failover — Automatic ISP Switching

Summary MKController adds automatic WAN failover to any adopted MikroTik router — with no scripting. You set the priority order of your internet links (primary, backup 1, backup 2) with a drag-and-drop, and MKController keeps a managed default route pointed at the highest-priority link that is actually reaching the internet. When a link goes down, traffic switches to the next link automatically; when it recovers, it switches back. You also get per-link latency and availability charts so you can see how each ISP is really performing.

WAN failover is the ability to run more than one internet connection on a router and switch automatically to a backup link when the primary one fails. On a MikroTik router this normally means writing and maintaining scripts, netwatch rules, and recursive routing by hand. MKController does it for you: you pick the order, and the platform generates and installs the failover logic on the device.

MKController uses priority-based failover — the links are ranked (Primary → Backup 1 → Backup 2) and traffic always uses the highest-priority link that is online. This is the right model for ISPs, WISPs, and businesses that pair a main fiber or radio link with a cheaper backup, or with Starlink as a resilient secondary.

Scenario	Failover a good fit?
A main ISP plus a cheaper backup ISP	Yes — the backup only carries traffic while the main is down
Fiber/radio primary with Starlink as backup	Yes — keeps a site online through primary outages
Business that cannot tolerate internet downtime	Yes — automatic switching removes the manual reroute
Remote/unattended site behind CGNAT	Yes — MKController manages it through the device tunnel, no public IP needed
You want to add the bandwidth of both links together	No — use load balancing instead, not failover
Only one internet source is available	No — failover needs at least two links

For ISPs and WISPs, failover on every edge CPE means a single upstream cut doesn’t take the customer offline — and you can prove it with the availability chart. For a business or solo technician, it turns a 3 a.m. “the internet is down” call into an automatic switch the site never notices.

When you enable failover, MKController installs a small managed job (a /system scheduler named MKController-failover) on the router and keeps it in sync. Every ~30 seconds the router:

• Tests each link end-to-end by pinging a public IP address through that specific link. This detects a dead ISP even when the modem or ONT is still up — something a simple “is the interface up?” check misses.
• Points the default route at the highest-priority link that passed the test. If the primary fails, traffic moves to Backup 1; if that fails too, to Backup 2; and it returns to a higher-priority link as soon as it recovers.
• Auto-detects each link’s gateway (from DHCP, from a static /30 address, or from the neighbor table), so you never type a gateway by hand.
• Reports telemetry back to MKController — which link is active, whether each link is online, and its latency — to build the charts.

Because everything is managed through the MKController device tunnel, this works even on routers behind CGNAT with no public IP.

1. Log in to app.mkcontroller.com.

2. Open the Devices menu, find your MikroTik, and click View More.

3. Go to the Internet Link tab. You need at least two internet sources listed under Data Sources. If you have fewer, add them first — see Monitor MikroTik Internet Link Usage.

4. In the Failover card, click Configure.

   

5. Drag the links to set their priority (top = primary), and toggle on the links you want in the failover. Select 2 to 3 links, then click Save and apply. MKController generates the failover logic and installs it on the router.

6. The card switches to Active and shows the priority chain with the link that is active now.

   

The Failover card includes two charts for the last 24 hours:

• Latency per link — the round-trip time MKController measured through each link, so you can compare how each ISP actually performs and spot a link that is degrading before it fails.
• Availability per link — the share of the last 24 hours that each link was the active carrier. A healthy setup shows the primary near 100% and the backups near 0% — the backups only accumulate time when the primary was down.

To turn failover off, open the ⋯ menu on the Failover card and choose Disable failover. MKController removes the managed scheduler from the router. Your links and the rest of the Internet Link tab are unaffected.

• Order links by cost and quality. Put your best/most cost-effective link as Primary and your backups below it, in the order you want them used.
• Use genuinely independent links. Two circuits from the same upstream provider can fail together; pairing different ISPs — or an ISP with Starlink — gives real redundancy.
• Keep at least two links enabled. Failover needs a minimum of two; you can prioritize up to three.
• Watch the latency chart for a link that is trending worse over days — it often warns you before an outage.
• Confirm both links independently by temporarily unplugging the primary and checking that the card switches to the backup and traffic keeps flowing.

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Do I need to write a MikroTik script to use failover? No. MKController generates and installs the failover logic for you and keeps it updated. You only choose the priority order and which links to include.

How quickly does it switch to the backup link? The router re-checks every ~30 seconds, so a failed primary is detected and traffic moves to the next link within about half a minute. Recovery back to a higher-priority link happens on the same cycle.

Does failover combine the bandwidth of both links? No. Failover uses one link at a time by priority. Adding link bandwidth together is load balancing, a separate configuration. If you need that, contact support to discuss the trade-offs.

Which kinds of links can I use — static IP, DHCP, or PPPoE? All of them. MKController auto-detects each link’s gateway from DHCP, from a static /30 address, or from the device’s neighbor table, so you don’t configure a gateway manually.

Why are the latency and availability charts empty right after I enable it? Because they are built from an hourly rollup of closed hours. For the first one to two hours the card shows a “collecting data” state, then the charts populate automatically.

Does failover work on a router behind CGNAT with no public IP? Yes. MKController manages the router through its device tunnel, so failover is configured and monitored the same way whether or not the device has a public IP.

What happens if the router loses contact with MKController? The failover logic runs on the router itself, so link switching keeps working locally even if the platform is temporarily unreachable; telemetry simply resumes when the connection is restored.

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To add or edit the internet sources that failover chooses between, see Monitor MikroTik Internet Link Usage. To track whether each device stays online over time, see Device Availability.

Questions about setting up failover for your fleet? Contact MKController support on WhatsApp — we can help you plan link priority and verify the switchover.