How to make a Wi-Fi QR code so guests can connect in one scan

Reading out a long Wi-Fi password, letter by letter, to every guest gets old quickly. A Wi-Fi QR code does the job instead: a guest points their phone's camera at it, taps the prompt, and is connected.

What the code contains

A Wi-Fi QR code holds a short text record in a format phones recognise: the network name, the security type and the password. The camera apps on current iPhones and Android phones read that record and offer to join the network. Nothing is looked up online — everything the phone needs is in the pattern itself, which is also why the code never expires.

Make one step by step

1. Open the Wi-Fi and vCard QR Code Generator and choose Wi-Fi.
2. Enter the network name (SSID) exactly as your router shows it, including capital letters and spaces.
3. Enter the password, again exactly.
4. Choose the security type. WPA covers WPA2 and most WPA3 networks, which is what nearly every home and office router uses. Choose no password only for an open network.
5. Add a caption such as “Scan to join our Wi-Fi”, then download the code or print the ready-made card.

Your network details stay in your browser while the code is made; they are not sent anywhere. Passwords containing awkward characters such as semicolons, commas or quotes are handled correctly, because they are escaped the way the Wi-Fi format requires.

Where to find the network name and password

Most routers have a sticker on the back or underneath with the default network name and password. If you changed them, they are in the router's settings page or app. Many routers broadcast separate names for their 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands; pick the one you want guests on, or the combined name if your router offers one.

Test it before printing

Scan the code on screen with your own phone first. Then, on a second phone that has never joined the network, scan the printed copy. If both work, the details are right and the print is readable.

Printing it so it keeps working

• Dark on light. Keep the pattern dark on a light background. Light codes on dark backgrounds fail on many phones.
• Big enough. A code around 3–5 cm across scans easily from arm's length. Make it larger if people will scan it from further away, such as from a table across the room.
• Keep the margin. Leave the white border around the code empty.
• Protect it. A higher error-correction level helps a code survive smudges and wear. Laminating the card or putting it behind glass helps even more.

Security: think before you display it

A Wi-Fi QR code contains your password in readable form. Anyone who scans it — or photographs it — can see the password. So:

• Put guests on a separate guest network if your router supports one. It keeps visitors away from your own computers, printers and smart devices.
• Give the guest network a strong password. Since nobody has to type it, length costs nothing — the Password Generator can make a long one.
• Display the code only where you would be happy to write the password on the wall.
• When you change the password, make a new code. The old one stops working, because the password is stored inside it.

When the code will not connect

• Wrong name or password. Both must match exactly, including capitals. This is the cause most of the time.
• Wrong security type. Try WPA if you chose something else.
• Old phone. Very old phones may need a separate QR scanning app, or the password typed in by hand.
• Router restrictions. If the router only allows approved devices, a correct code still cannot get a new phone on.

Built-in alternatives

Phones can already share Wi-Fi with each other. On an iPhone, a nearby Apple device that is trying to join your network can be offered the password automatically. Recent Android phones can show a QR code for the network they are connected to, from the Wi-Fi settings. These are handy for one-off sharing; a printed code is better for a home, office, shop or holiday let where many people need to connect. For a QR code that opens a link, a menu or other text instead, use the QR Code Generator.