WiFi QR code generator
Make a QR code that joins your WiFi network when scanned. The password is escaped properly and the code is test-scanned before you download it.
Fill in the details and the code appears here.
What happens when someone scans it
Point an iPhone camera or a recent Android camera at a WiFi code and a banner offers to join the named network. Tap it and the phone connects with the stored password, without the guest ever seeing or typing it. The network is saved like any other, so the phone reconnects automatically next time it is in range. Older Android phones may need Google Lens or the scanner built into the WiFi settings screen instead of the plain camera.
Punctuation in the network name or password
The WiFi format uses semicolons, colons, commas, backslashes and double quotes as its own separators. A password like pass;word written into the code without escaping scans perfectly and then fails to join, because the phone reads the password as pass. This generator escapes those characters the way phones expect and the scan-back check confirms the password survives intact.
Where a WiFi code earns its keep
Anywhere people ask for the password more than once a week. A holiday rental, a waiting room, a meeting room, a shop with free WiFi, a spare bedroom. A card on the wall means nobody has to read out a string of random characters and nobody gets one letter wrong and gives up.
It also lets you use a long, genuinely strong password on a guest network, because nobody ever has to type it. That is the quiet security benefit: the convenient option and the secure option stop being different options.
Getting the network name exactly right
The name in the code must match the network character for character, including capitals and spaces. “Home WiFi” and “home wifi” are different networks to a phone. Copy the name from the list of networks on a device that is already connected rather than typing it from memory.
Printing it
A WiFi payload is short, so the code comes out small and scans easily. Print it at least three centimetres across for a table card and larger for a wall where people will scan from a step or two away. Put the network name in plain text beside it too, so anyone whose phone refuses the code can still join by hand.
Android phones can also show a WiFi code for the network they’re connected to, under the network’s share option in settings. That is handy for a one-off, but a generated code can be printed, framed and reused for as long as the password stays the same.
Common questions
Is it safe to put my WiFi password in a QR code?
The password is inside the code in plain text, so anyone who can photograph the code can read it with any scanner, including this site's. Treat the printed code like a written-down password. For a café, rental or office lobby, point it at a guest network rather than the one your own devices use.
Which security option should I choose?
WPA2 or WPA3 for virtually every network set up in the last fifteen years. The code only tells the phone to expect a password; the phone negotiates the exact protocol with the router itself. Choose WEP only for genuinely old equipment and None only for a network with no password at all.
Will the code stop working if I change the password?
Yes. The password is written into the code, so a new password needs a new code. That is also the reason a static code is safe to print: nobody can change what it does after the fact and nothing between the code and your router can be switched off.
Does the code work for hidden networks?
Tick Hidden network and the code includes the flag that tells the phone to connect even though the network doesn’t broadcast its name. Leave it unticked for normal networks, since some phones handle the flag inconsistently when it isn’t needed.
Do guests need an app to scan it?
Not on current phones. The iPhone camera has read WiFi codes since iOS 11 and Android's camera or Google Lens handles them on most devices from Android 10 onward. Older phones may need a scanner app.
Guides
QR codes for a specific job
Each opens the generator set up for that kind of code.