How to Share Your WiFi with a QR Code

Everyone knows the ritual: a guest asks for the WiFi, you read a 20-character password off the back of the router, they mistype it twice, and everyone gets mildly frustrated. There is a much better way — a WiFi QR code that lets anyone join your network by simply pointing their camera at it. Here is how it works and how to make one.

How WiFi QR codes work

There is a standard format for encoding network credentials into a QR code. When a phone scans it, the operating system recognizes the format and offers to join the network automatically — no typing required. The encoded text looks like this behind the scenes:

WIFI:T:WPA;S:MyNetworkName;P:MyPassword;;

It simply contains three things: the security type (T), the network name or SSID (S), and the password (P). The QR code is just a visual encoding of that string.

Does it work on every phone?

On modern devices, yes. iPhones (iOS 11 and later) and Android phones (Android 10 and later) both support WiFi QR codes natively through the built-in camera app — point, tap the prompt, connected. Older Android phones may need a dedicated QR scanner app, but the vast majority of phones in use today handle it out of the box.

Creating one: step by step

1. Enter your network name (SSID) exactly as it appears, including capitalization — it is case-sensitive.
2. Choose the security type. For almost every modern home network this is WPA/WPA2 (WPA3 networks also use the WPA setting). Only choose "None" for a genuinely open network.
3. Enter the password exactly.
4. Generate and download the QR code image.
5. Print it and place it where guests can see it — a framed card in a guest room, on the fridge, or by the entrance.

Great places to use one

• Guest rooms and Airbnbs — guests connect instantly without you being present.
• Cafes and restaurants — a card on each table beats writing the password on a chalkboard.
• Offices — a guest-network code in the reception area or meeting rooms.
• Home — just so you never read out that long password again.

A word on security

Be aware that the QR code contains your password in plain form — anyone who scans it, or photographs it and decodes the image, gets the password. This is the same level of trust as writing it on the router sticker, so display the code only where physical access already implies trust. For a public-facing business, it is good practice to put guests on a separate guest network rather than your main one.

Privacy when generating

Since the code contains your password, you do not want to type it into a website that sends it to a server. The generator below builds the QR code entirely in your browser — your network name and password never leave your device. Enter your details, download the image, and print it.