How to make a Wi-Fi QR code
- Type the Network name exactly as it appears in your phone's Wi-Fi list, then the Password.
- Pick the security type. Almost every home and office router uses WPA/WPA2/WPA3. Tick Hidden network only if the name doesn't show up in the list.
- Scan the code with your own phone to test it, then download it as PNG or SVG and print it.
Where to put a Wi-Fi code
A printed Wi-Fi code saves reading out a long password letter by letter. Common spots are a frame by the front door or on the fridge, a card in a guest room or holiday rental, the counter of a café, and the welcome sign in a meeting room. Guests point their camera at it and tap the prompt to join.
If you run a separate guest network on your router, use that one for the code. Anyone who photographs the code can read the password from it, so a guest network keeps your own devices out of reach.
What’s inside the code
The code holds a short line of text in a format that phones recognise, for example WIFI:T:WPA;S:HomeNetwork;P:correct-horse;;. T is the security type, S is the network name and P is the password. Special characters such as ;, : and , in your name or password are escaped automatically, so they don’t break the code. You can check any Wi-Fi code with the QR code scanner.