WiFi QR code for guests: scan to connect without typing a password

On the WiFi QR code page, enter the "WiFi name (SSID)" and "Password" exactly as your router has them, set "Security" to match (WPA/WPA2/WPA3 for routers using WPA2 or WPA3), then download or print the code. Guests point an iPhone or Android camera at it and tap to join, with no typing. The name and password are stored inside the code, so it never expires, but if you change the WiFi password you need a new code.

Find the network name, password and security type

• Network name: the name in your phone's Wi-Fi list. Match capital letters, spaces and symbols exactly. If your router shows separate 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz names (one often ends in _5G), a code can point to only one of them, so pick the one you want guests on.
• Password: if it was never changed, it is often printed on a label on the router. If you forgot it but your iPhone has joined the network, open the Passwords app, tap "Wi-Fi", tap the network, then tap the Password field (Apple's steps). On Android, open Settings, then "Network & internet", then "Internet", tap the network and tap "Share" to show its QR code (Google's steps; menu names vary by brand). Scan that code from another device with our QR scanner and the password appears as text.
• Security type: look in your router's settings page or app, under Wi-Fi security. It often says WPA2 Personal, WPA2/WPA3 or WPA3 Personal, and for all of these you choose WPA/WPA2/WPA3. Choose WEP only if it says WEP, and "No password" only for a network without a password.

Steps

1. Open the WiFi QR code page and fill in "WiFi name (SSID)" and "Password".
2. Pick the "Security" type. Tick "Hidden network" only if your router really hides its name. Apple advises against hiding a network, since it doesn't keep anyone out.
3. Add a "Caption under the code", such as the network name and password for devices that can't scan easily, like laptops, or simply "Scan for WiFi".
4. Download the image, or choose an "A4 print sheet" layout such as "4 table cards (7.5 cm code)" or "12 stickers (4.5 cm code)" and tap "Print".
5. Test with an iPhone and an Android phone that have never joined this network. A phone that already knows the password proves nothing.

The code is generated in your browser. The network name and password are never sent to qrfast, and this type has no landing page and no scan count.

Can iPhone and Android cameras scan it?

• iPhone: open Camera in Photo mode, frame the code and tap what appears at the bottom of the screen, or use the Scan Code control in Control Center (Apple's steps). The iPhone Passwords app itself has a "Show Network QR Code" button so another device can scan it to join.
• Android: Google's Pixel help says the Camera app can scan QR codes that connect you to a Wi-Fi network when "Camera scan suggestions" is on. You can also use the "Scan QR code" button in Quick Settings, or Google Lens (Google's steps). Other brands may name these differently.

For a friend visiting once, you may not need a printed code at all: iPhone has "Show Network QR Code" in the Passwords app and Android has "Share" in its Wi-Fi settings, both showing a code on screen. A printed code makes sense for a shop, office or rental that hands out WiFi every day.

Keep guests on a separate network

A WiFi QR code is your password in a form cameras can read. Anyone who photographs it and opens it in a generic scanner, such as our QR scanner, sees the name and password as text. Treat it as a guest password.

• If your router offers a guest network, turn it on and make the code for that network. Keep your till, computers, printers and security cameras on the main network, whose password you don't hand out.
• Don't remove the password to make joining easier. Apple strongly discourages turning off security, because anyone could then join your network and reach shared printers, computers and smart devices, and it notes this is a risk even for a guest network (Apple's recommended router settings).
• Set the router's security to WPA3 Personal, or WPA2/WPA3 Transitional for older devices, as Apple recommends. Avoid WEP, which is no longer secure.
• Place the code where you want guests to use it. If you don't want passers-by on your network, keep it out of the front window.

Changed the password? Make a new code

The name and password are encoded in the pattern itself, so there is no manage link to edit. When you change the router password:

1. Change it in the router's settings page or app.
2. Create a new code with the new password and replace every printed copy. If your caption shows the password, update it too.
3. Test with a phone that has never joined the network.

Devices that joined with the old password may need to forget the network and scan again. If you change the password regularly, use a sign holder that makes swapping the paper easy.

FAQ

It scans but won't connect

Check that the network name and password match exactly, because capital letters matter, that the security type matches the router, and that the phone is within range. If the phone saved this network with an old password, forget the network and scan again.

My router uses WPA3 only

Choose WPA/WPA2/WPA3. Apple notes that WPA3 Personal works with all devices that support Wi-Fi 6 and only some older ones. If guests with older phones can't connect, switch the router to WPA2/WPA3 Transitional, which Apple recommends for compatibility with older devices.

Does it work with networks that need a username or a login page?

Not for usernames: this code supports password networks (WPA or WEP) and open networks only. On networks that show a login page after joining, guests still go through that page as usual.