How to make a wifi QR code

Reading a long wifi password aloud to a guest is tedious and error prone. Phones will join a network straight from a QR code, and making one takes a few seconds.

QR code
Whichever tool you use here, the file stays on your device. How that works

Step by step

  1. 1Open the tool and choose wifi network as the type.
  2. 2Type the network name exactly as it appears, including capital letters, and enter the password.
  3. 3Choose the security type. Almost every modern router is WPA or WPA2.
  4. 4Point a phone at the code on screen to check it connects, then save the PNG for a screen or the SVG for printing.

Put it on the guest network, not the main one

A wifi code is exactly as private as the password inside it. Anyone who can see it, including anyone in the background of a photograph taken in that room, can join the network. Printed and stuck on a wall, it is the same as writing the password on the wall.

For a cafe, a rental or a waiting room that is usually the intention. For your home, put guests on the guest network and leave the main one alone, so a code on the fridge cannot reach the devices that matter.

It is also worth knowing where the code was made. A generator that builds the image on a server has your network name and password on somebody else's machine before you ever see the result. This one is built in the page, so what you type stays with you.

Questions

Does it work on both iPhone and Android?

Yes. Both read wifi codes with the built-in camera, with no extra app.

My password has symbols in it. Is that a problem?

No. Semicolons, colons, commas and backslashes are handled correctly, which is where some generators quietly produce a code that fails.

Can I change the password later?

You will need a new code. The password is inside the code itself rather than looked up somewhere.