How to Share Your Wi-Fi With a QR Code (iPhone and Android)

By the SAA Tool editor, an IT support engineer · Last reviewed 1 October 2026 · 6 min read

Reading out a long Wi-Fi password to every visitor gets old quickly, and typing one on a phone keyboard is worse. A Wi-Fi QR code fixes both: guests point their phone camera at it, tap the prompt, and they're connected. This guide explains what's inside the code, how to make and print one, the sharing options already built into iPhone and Android, and how to keep your network safe while you do it.

What a Wi-Fi QR code contains

A Wi-Fi QR code is ordinary text in a format that phones recognise. The widely used version, documented by the open-source ZXing barcode project for Android and for iOS 11 and later, looks like this:

WIFI:T:WPA;S:Cafe Guest;P:blue-kettle-42;;

Each field ends with a semicolon and the whole thing ends with two. The order of the fields doesn't matter. Because ;, ,, :, " and \ have special meanings, they must be escaped with a backslash when they appear in a network name or password, so the password tea;time is written P:tea\;time;. Our generator does this for you.

No link or server is involved. The phone reads the network name and password straight from the pattern, so the code works offline and never expires. It does stop working the moment you change the password or rename the network, because the old details are printed into it.

These codes are small. The example above is 42 characters and makes a 29 × 29 module code, and even with a 63-character password it only grows to 37 × 37. That's easy to scan from a table card.

Choose the right network first

Anyone who can see the code can read the password inside it. Our own QR Code Scanner shows it in plain text, and any other QR reader can do the same. So think about which network you share.

• Use a guest network if your router has one. The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) points out that many routers let you set up a guest network with its own name and password. Fewer people then have your main password, and if a guest's phone carries malware, it stays off your main network and your own devices.
• Check the security setting. The FTC recommends WPA3 Personal or WPA2 Personal, and describes WPA and WEP as outdated and not secure. If your router still uses WEP, change it in the router's settings before you print anything.
• Get the name and password exactly right. Copy the network name as it appears in your phone's Wi-Fi list, including capitals and spaces. The password is often on a sticker on the router or in its admin page.
• Pick one band if you see two names. Some routers show separate names such as Home and Home-5G. Make the code for the one you want guests on.

Make a Wi-Fi QR code with SAA Tool

The Wi-Fi QR Generator builds the code in your browser, so your network name and password aren't uploaded.

1. Type your Network name (SSID).
2. Choose the Security type. WPA / WPA2 / WPA3 covers most home and office networks, and all three use the same T:WPA label in the code. Pick WEP only for a very old router, or No password for an open network.
3. Type the Password. Tick Hidden network only if your router doesn't broadcast its name.
4. If you like, change the Code colour, Background and Size. The code redraws as you type, and the status line warns you if the two colours are too similar to scan.
5. Open What's inside the code to see the exact text, then scan the preview with your own phone and join the network to prove it works.
6. Click Download PNG for documents and screens, or Download SVG for sharp printing at any size. If you print the PNG, choose the Large (1,200 px) size first.

A few honest limits. It makes codes for password-protected and open networks, not for work networks where you sign in with a username, which use extra fields. With WEP selected, it reminds you that WEP keys are usually 5, 13, 10 or 26 characters long. And it can't check that your password is right: only a test scan and join can do that.

Built-in sharing on Android and iPhone

Your phone may already be able to share its network, which is handy for a one-off visitor.

Android. Google's steps: open Settings, tap Network & internet and then Internet, tap your Wi-Fi network, then Share. The phone shows a QR code for your friend to scan with their own device. Google notes that some of these steps only work on Android 12 and up.

iPhone and iPad. Apple's password sharing works between Apple devices. Both people need Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned on and must be signed in to their Apple Account, each needs the other's Apple Account email or phone number saved in Contacts, and the devices must be close together. Your guest taps the network name, and you tap Share Password when the prompt appears on your device. On a Mac, the Passwords app also has a Show Network QR Code option.

Joining from a code. On an iPhone or Android phone, open the camera, point it at the code and tap the Wi-Fi prompt that appears. If the camera doesn't react, our QR Code Scanner reads the code in the browser and shows the network name and password so you can type them in, and the QR Code Decoder does the same from a photo or screenshot.

A printed code still has advantages over built-in sharing: it works for iPhone and Android guests alike, nobody needs to be in anyone's contacts, and you don't have to be there.

Printing and placing the code

• Print it big enough. A Wi-Fi code is simple, so 3 to 4 cm wide is plenty for a card read at arm's length. Go bigger for a wall sign read from across a room.
• Keep the white border. Our PNG and SVG include the four-module quiet zone the QR standard asks for. Don't crop it, and don't print the code over a photo or pattern.
• Add a few words. Print the network name and a line such as "Point your camera here to join". Not every laptop can join from a code, so where it's appropriate, print the password too.
• Think about who can see it. A guest room, reception desk or café table is fine. A window facing the street isn't.
• Test on two phones, ideally one iPhone and one Android, from where people will actually stand.

Keeping the password safe

Treat a Wi-Fi code like a written-down password. If a photo of it could end up online, assume the password will too.

• Use a long random password. Guests scan rather than type, so length costs nothing. The Password Generator makes 20-character passwords by default, and our guide to creating a strong password explains why length matters.
• Change the guest password now and then, for example when staff leave, and print a new code. The old one stops working straight away.
• Change the router's admin password too. The FTC notes it's separate from the Wi-Fi password, and anyone who has it could change your settings, including the Wi-Fi password.
• Be wary of codes in public. Before joining a network from a code you didn't make, check that the network name matches the venue, just as you'd check a link. Our QR codes guide covers QR scams in more detail.

Troubleshooting

• The phone offers to join but fails. Check the network name's capitals and spaces, the password and the security type. If you've changed the password since printing, make a new code.
• A hidden network isn't found. Tick Hidden network and make the code again.
• The camera ignores the code. Add light, avoid glare from lamination, hold the phone steady and make sure the whole code and its border are in view. If you chose pale colours, go back to dark on light.
• A guest's laptop can't scan. They can pick the network from the list and type the password, or open a photo of the code in our QR Code Decoder to read it.

Spotted a mistake or something out of date? Tell us and we'll fix it.