Friends come over, and within five minutes someone asks for the WiFi. You read the password off the bottom of the router: "capital K, zero, not the letter O…" They get it wrong twice. Then the next guest asks.
Point a phone camera at a WiFi QR code and it joins the network without anyone typing the password. For a friend at home, your phone’s settings can show one on screen. For a cafe, office or rental where guests keep changing, a printed card works better.
From an Android phone
On most recent Android phones (Pixel, Samsung and others), open Settings → Network & internet (or Connections) → Wi-Fi, tap the gear next to your connected network, and tap Share or QR code. Your friend scans your screen and is connected.
From an iPhone
On iOS 18 and later, open the Passwords app, go to Wi-Fi, choose your network and tap Show Network QR Code.
Older iOS versions have no built-in QR code. They only have the prompt that shares the password with a nearby iPhone, which does not help your Android-using guests.
For a business or rental: print a card
Holding your phone out to every customer does not scale. A printed card does the job all day without you.
With the WiFi QR generator you enter the network name and password once and download a card with your venue name and a short note. Put it at the counter, on tables or inside the front door.
Before you print
- Match the network name exactly, including capitals and spaces.
- Choose WPA/WPA2/WPA3 unless you know your router uses something else.
- Make a new card when you change the password. The password is stored in the code itself.
- Print it at least 3 cm (1.2 in) wide, or 5 cm if people scan it from across a table.
A small Airbnb flat has the network Seaview_Guest with password Wave2026!. The host types both into the generator, adds "Welcome! Scan to connect" as the note, and prints two cards: one on the fridge, one by the bed.
When the host changes the password between seasons, they print two new cards. The old ones simply stop working.
Use a guest network
Anyone who scans the code can join. That is the point, but it also means you should think about what else lives on that network.
If your point-of-sale system or security cameras share the same network, set up your router’s guest network and print a card for that instead.
One network for everything, with the card on every table. Customers end up on the same network as your card reader.
A separate guest network on the card. Your business devices stay on the main network, and the password guests see is one you can change any time.
If the code does not connect
- Try a different scanner, such as the Google Lens button in the camera.
- Remake the card if your password has unusual characters. The generator escapes
; , : \ "automatically. - Very old phones may not see 5 GHz-only networks.
Tip: Before you laminate anything, scan the card with one iPhone and one Android phone. If both connect, you are done.
Ready to make yours? Open the WiFi QR generator, type your network name and password, and you will have a printable card in under a minute. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
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