Wi-Fi QR code: let guests join without typing the password

"What's the Wi-Fi password?" is the question every café, office and host hears all day. Then comes the second round: a long password, a capital letter that was missed, and someone holding up their phone for help.

A Wi-Fi QR code ends that. Guests open the camera, point it at the code and tap to join. Nobody types anything. You can make one for free on QR Hub in about a minute, with no sign-up.

How a Wi-Fi QR code works

A normal QR code holds a link. A Wi-Fi QR code holds your network details instead: the network name, the security type and the password, written in a short standard format that phones understand.

When a phone reads it, it offers to join that network. There's no website in between and no app to install. Because the details live inside the printed code itself, it keeps working for as long as your network name and password stay the same.

What you need

• Your network name (also called the SSID), exactly as it shows in the Wi-Fi list on your phone — capitals, spaces and symbols included.
• Your Wi-Fi password.
• The security type. Most home and shop routers use WPA/WPA2. If you're not sure, it's almost always WPA.

Can't remember the password? It's often printed on a sticker on the router. On a recent Android phone you can also open the network in your Wi-Fi settings and tap Share to see it.

Step 1: Enter your network details

1. Open the free Wi-Fi QR code tool on QR Hub.
2. Type the network name exactly as it appears on your phone.
3. Choose the security: WPA/WPA2/WPA3 (most routers), WEP (very old routers) or No password for an open network.
4. Type the password.
5. Tick Hidden network only if your network doesn't show up in the Wi-Fi list.

Make this QR now

Your password stays in your browser: the code is made on your device, and the password goes only into the code.

Step 2: Design and download

Add a short frame text so people know what the code is for, like "Scan for Wi-Fi" or "Free Wi-Fi — scan me". Pick colours that fit your shop or home, but keep the code dark on a light background so every phone can read it.

Download PNG to print at home or share in a message, or SVG if a print shop is making table cards or stickers: SVG stays sharp at any size.

Step 3: Test it before you print

Test with two phones if you can — ideally one iPhone and one Android:

1. iPhone: open the Camera app, hold it so the code is in view, then tap the banner that appears (Apple Support).
2. Android: open the camera or Google Lens and point it at the code. Some phones also have a QR scan button in the Wi-Fi settings.

Before you test, tell the phone to "forget" the network if it's already saved. Otherwise it's already connected and you won't see whether the code really works.

Where to put your Wi-Fi QR code

• Cafés and restaurants: on table tents, the counter, the menu or the receipt.
• Hotels and holiday rentals: in a frame by the bed or on the welcome card.
• Offices and clinics: at reception and in the waiting room.
• At home: on the fridge or inside the guest-room door, so visiting family never has to ask.

For a table card, about 3–4 cm wide is a comfortable size. On a wall poster that people scan from a few steps away, go bigger. Leave a clear white border around the code, with no text or pictures touching it.

Keep your network safe

A Wi-Fi QR code shares your password with anyone who can scan it. That's the point, but it's worth a little planning:

• Use a guest network. Many routers can make a separate guest network. Put that one in the code and keep your main network, with your computers and cameras, private.
• Don't post the code online or in a public photo if it's your home network.
• Change the password now and then, for example after a big event, and print a new code.

Changing your password later

A Wi-Fi code is a static code: the password is written into the pattern itself. That's why it works without the internet and never expires. It also means that if you change the network name or password, the old printed code stops working. Make a new code with the new details — it's free — and swap the old prints.

Tip: keep the design file. Next time you only change the password and download again.

No code? Android can make one for you

If a guest is already connected on an Android phone, they can share the network without you. In Android's Wi-Fi settings, tap the network and then Share; the phone shows a QR code that another device can scan to join (Android Help). That's handy at home. For a shop, a printed code is easier: it works all day without anyone handing their phone around.

Common mistakes

• A typo in the network name. "CafeGuest" and "Cafe Guest" are different networks. Copy it exactly.
• The wrong security type. If in doubt, choose WPA/WPA2/WPA3.
• Testing on a phone that's already connected. Forget the network first.
• Printing too small or in light colours, or on glossy paper under bright lights.
• Forgetting to reprint after a password change.

Ready? Type your network details and print your Wi-Fi code today — your guests will thank you.