How to Make a QR Code for Your WiFi Network

A WiFi QR code lets guests join your network by pointing their phone camera at it, with no spelling out of long passwords. It is useful at home, in a holiday rental, a café or an office reception. Making one takes a minute; making one that works first time and does not compromise your network takes a little more thought.

What you need

• The network name (SSID), exactly as it appears in your phone's WiFi list. It is case-sensitive, so MyHome and myhome are different networks.
• The password, again exactly, including capitals and symbols.
• The security type. Nearly all home and small business networks use WPA2 or WPA3 personal; choose WPA for either. Choose WEP only for very old equipment, and None for an open network.
• Whether the network is hidden, meaning it does not broadcast its name.

Your router's label or its admin page shows all of these if you are not sure.

Making the code

1. Open the QR code generator and choose WiFi.
2. Enter the network name and password, pick the security type, and tick Hidden network if needed.
3. Download the SVG for printing, or the PNG for a screen or a document.
4. Test it with at least one iPhone and one Android phone before you print copies.

Phone cameras on current iOS and Android versions recognise WiFi codes and offer a button to join. On some Android phones the option sits in the WiFi settings, next to the list of networks, as a scan icon.

What is inside the code

A WiFi QR code is plain text in a standard format, for example WIFI:T:WPA;S:MyHome;P:my-password;; where T is the security type, S the network name and P the password. Characters such as semicolons, colons, commas and backslashes in a name or password have to be escaped with a backslash, which the generator does for you. This is also why a WiFi code always contains your password in readable form: anyone who scans or photographs it can read it.

Keep your main network safe

• Use a guest network. Most routers can run a separate guest network that gives internet access but keeps visitors away from your computers, printers and smart devices. Put the guest network in the QR code.
• Do not post it publicly, such as in an online listing or social media photo.
• Change the guest password occasionally, in a rental between long stays for example, and print a new code. A static code does not update itself.

Printing tips

• For a card on a table or a fridge, about 3 to 5 cm across scans comfortably from arm's length.
• Keep the white border around the code and print dark on light. Inverted or low-contrast designs fail on some phones.
• Print the network name and password in text beneath it too, for laptops and older devices without a camera scanner.
• Laminate it or put it in a frame if it will be handled.

When a phone will not connect

• Check the name and password. A capital letter or a trailing space is the most common cause.
• Dual-band routers sometimes broadcast different names for 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. Use the exact name of the band you want guests on.
• WPA3-only networks can refuse older phones that only support WPA2. A router mode that allows both, often called WPA2/WPA3 transitional, fixes this.
• Enterprise networks that need a username as well as a password, common in offices and universities, cannot be shared with a standard WiFi QR code.
• Captive portals, the sign-in pages used by hotels and cafés, still appear after joining; the QR code only handles the WiFi connection.