How to Make a WiFi QR Code for Your Guests

When guests arrive, the WiFi question comes right after the coats: "What's the password?" Then someone reads out a string of letters and numbers while three people type it wrong. A WiFi QR code skips all of that. Guests point their phone camera at it, tap once, and they're on your network. You can make one in about a minute, print it on a small card and leave it where people will see it.

What a WiFi QR code holds

A WiFi QR code isn't a link to a website. It holds three things in a standard format that phones understand: your network's name, its password and its security type. When a phone reads it, the phone offers to join that network, so nobody has to type anything.

Because the details are stored in the code itself, it doesn't expire and doesn't depend on any service staying online. It keeps working until you change your network name or password. After that, you make a new one.

How to make one

1. Open the QR Code Generator and choose WiFi.
2. Type the Network Name (SSID) exactly as it appears in your phone's WiFi list. Capital letters and spaces count: "Maple Street Guest" and "maple street guest" are different names.
3. Type the password, then pick the Security type: WPA / WPA2 unless your router's settings say WEP, or None for a network without a password.
4. Click Generate QR Code. If you're going to print it, move the size slider to 512 px first; the tool recommends its largest size for print.
5. Click Download PNG to save the code, or Copy to Clipboard to paste it straight into a document.

The code is built in your browser, so your WiFi password isn't sent to a server. Passwords with symbols are fine too. Characters such as ; : , " and \ have a special meaning inside WiFi QR codes, so the generator adds the escape characters the format requires, and guests' phones receive exactly the password you typed. Network names with accents or emoji work as well.

Test it before you print

Open your phone's camera, point it at the code on your screen and check that it offers to join the right network. If there's an iPhone and an Android phone in the house, try both. It takes ten seconds and saves reprinting a stack of cards.

How guests join

• iPhone: open the Camera app (or the Code Scanner in Control Center), hold the phone so the code is in view and tap the prompt that appears, as Apple describes. For a WiFi code, that prompt offers to join the network, something iPhones have done since iOS 11 (9to5Mac).
• Android: on most phones, the camera app or Google Lens reads the code and offers to connect. Menus differ between phone makers, so if the camera doesn't react, look for a scan option in the phone's WiFi settings.

Make a small card for the counter

A printed card means you don't have to unlock your phone every time someone new arrives. A few details make it work better:

• Size: a code about the size of a sticky note is easy to scan from arm's length.
• Margin: leave plain white space around the code, so it doesn't touch the edge of the card or other pictures. Phones use that border to find the code.
• Contrast: keep the code dark on a light background. If you change the colours in the generator, make sure they still contrast strongly.
• Plain text too: not every device can scan a code, so write the network name and password underneath.
• Placement: the guest room, the hallway table or the fridge door, wherever people put their phones down.

Want it to match your decorations? The QR code with logo tool puts a small image in the middle and checks that the code still scans before you download it.

Use a guest network if your router has one

Many routers can run a separate guest network alongside your main one. Turn it on in the router's app or settings page and make your QR code for that network instead. A guest network is meant to keep visitors away from the computers, printers and smart-home devices on your main network. When the holidays are over, you can change the guest password, or switch the network off, without reconnecting all of your own devices. Print a new card after any password change, because the old code still holds the old password.

If the code doesn't connect

What happens	Likely cause	What to do
The phone offers to join, then fails	The password or security type doesn't match	Check the password character by character, and use WPA / WPA2 unless your router says otherwise.
The phone can't find the network	The name doesn't match exactly	Copy the name as your WiFi list shows it, including capitals and spaces.
The phone can't find a hidden network	The network doesn't broadcast its name	QR Vault's WiFi codes don't include the hidden-network setting. Use a network that shows up in the WiFi list, such as a guest network.
It worked last month but not now	The password changed	Make a new code with the current password.

Your phone can show a code too

If a guest is standing next to you, your own phone can do the job. On Android, open Settings, then Network & internet, then Internet, tap your network and tap Share to show its QR code (Google's instructions; some steps need Android 12 or later). On an iPhone with iOS 18 or later, open the Passwords app, tap Wi-Fi, choose the network and tap Show Network QR Code (MacRumors). A printed card is still handier when people arrive in waves, or when you'd rather not pass your unlocked phone around.

Frequently asked questions

Do WiFi QR codes expire?

No. The code stores your network name and password directly, so it keeps working until you change either of them. Then make a new code.

Is it safe to share WiFi with a QR code?

Anyone who scans the code, or reads the card, can join, so treat it like the password written down. A guest network keeps visitors off the network your own devices use, and QR Vault builds the code in your browser without uploading your password.

Will the same code work on iPhone and Android?

Yes. iPhones have offered to join networks from WiFi QR codes in the Camera app since iOS 11, and Android phones read the same format with the camera app or Google Lens.

What if my WiFi password has symbols?

That's fine. Characters like ; : , " and \ have a special meaning in WiFi QR codes, so the generator adds the escape characters the format needs. Network names with accents or emoji work too.