How to Make a Wi-Fi QR Code for Guests (iPhone, Android)

To make a Wi-Fi QR code, use the share option your phone already has: on iPhone, open the Passwords app, tap Wi-Fi, pick the network and tap Show Network QR Code; on Android, open Settings > Network & internet > Internet, tap the gear next to the network and tap Share. For a code you can print and leave out for guests, generate a QR code from one line of text: WIFI:T:WPA;S:HomeNetwork;P:YourPassword;;. Guests point their camera at it and tap to join.

Share Wi-Fi as a QR code on iPhone (iOS 18 and iOS 26)

Since iOS 18, saved Wi-Fi passwords live in the Passwords app, and Apple added a QR code there.

1. Open the Passwords app.
2. Tap Wi-Fi. The network you're connected to is at the top; below are the networks you've saved.
3. Tap the network.
4. Tap Show Network QR Code.
5. Your guest scans the code on your screen with the Camera app (iPhone or Android) and taps the prompt to join.

If your guest has an iPhone and is in your contacts, there's an even simpler route: they select your network in their Wi-Fi settings, and your unlocked iPhone shows Share Password. Apple notes that both devices must be within Bluetooth and Wi-Fi range and not using Personal Hotspot.

Share Wi-Fi as a QR code on Android

Labels vary a little by manufacturer, but on Pixel and most recent Android phones:

1. Open Settings > Network & internet > Internet.
2. Make sure you're connected to the network you want to share.
3. Tap the gear icon next to it, then tap Share.
4. Confirm with your PIN, pattern or fingerprint if asked.
5. The phone shows a QR code, usually with the password written underneath.

On Pixel phones you can also pull down Quick Settings, tap Internet and tap Share Wi-Fi at the bottom left. To join, the guest scans the code with their camera app or Google Lens.

These on-screen codes are fine for one guest at a time. For a code that sits by the door or in a rental, make a printable one.

Make a printable Wi-Fi QR code

A Wi-Fi QR code holds no secret format. It's a short line of text that phones know how to read. The format was popularized by the open-source ZXing barcode project and later written into section 7 of the Wi-Fi Alliance's WPA3 specification, which registered the WIFI: URI scheme with IANA.

1. Write the line for your network, using the table below.
2. Paste it into a QR code generator as plain text. Our free QR code generator does this in your browser; any generator with a "Wi-Fi" or "text" mode works.
3. Test it with an iPhone and an Android phone before you print.
4. Print it with the network name and, ideally, the password in text underneath, for laptops that can't scan.

A complete example for a guest network: WIFI:T:WPA;S:HomeNetwork-Guest;P:correct-horse-lamp-42;;

Two more details. First, use T:WPA even if your router runs WPA3: the specification uses WPA for both, and some generators that write T:SAE produce codes Android phones reject. The WPA3 specification also defines optional fields, such as R: to tell devices not to fall back to WPA2, but older scanners ignore them; you don't need them for a guest code. Second, hidden networks (H:true) are less reliable with phone scanners, and hiding the name adds little security anyway.

Keep the guest network separate

A Wi-Fi QR code is your password in plain text. Anyone who scans it, or takes a photo of it, can read the password and join. That's the point of the code, so the safety comes from what the code opens.

• Use a guest network. Most home routers can broadcast a second network for guests. The NSA's home network guidance recommends separating your main Wi-Fi, guest Wi-Fi and smart devices, so a guest's phone can't reach your computers, printers or storage.
• Turn on client isolation if your router offers it, so guests can't see each other's devices either.
• Use WPA3, or WPA2/WPA3 mixed mode if older devices need it, and a long passphrase. The same NSA guidance suggests at least 20 characters. A long password costs nothing when guests scan instead of typing; check one with our password strength checker.
• Change the guest password when a tenant leaves, after an event, or when the printed code goes missing, then print a new code.
• Don't share your main network this way. If the main password ends up on a fridge photo, change it.

A guest network doesn't make everything safe: whoever is on it shares your internet connection, and what they do online comes from your address. For a café or a rental, check your router's guest settings and your provider's terms.

Where people go wrong

• Wrong security type. T:WEP for a WPA2 network, or nopass on a protected one, gives "unable to join".
• Trailing spaces or smart quotes copied from a notes app become part of the password.
• Changed router, old code. A new router often means a new network name or password; reprint the code.
• Codes on your screen in photos. Screenshots of the share screen end up in your photo library and cloud backups. Delete them, or keep them somewhere private.
• Printing too small or too low-contrast. Dark code on a light background, with a white margin around it, scans best.

The photo of your router label is a password too

Many people photograph the sticker on the router, the printed guest card, or the share screen, so they can find the password later. That photo sits in the camera roll next to everything else, syncs to the cloud, and shows up for anyone you hand your phone to. If you want to keep it, keep it somewhere locked. On iPhone, the Passwords app already stores the password itself, which is usually enough.

For photos like that, and for ID scans and other documents, sigil. keeps them in an encrypted vault on the phone that opens with a sign you draw on a 5×5 grid, not with your phone passcode. It strips location metadata on import, and photos taken with its private camera never touch the camera roll. It's local-first, with no cloud backup yet. If you hand your phone to guests often, see lending your phone.

Bottom line

Use Show Network QR Code on iPhone or Share on Android for a quick, one-off share. For a printed code, encode WIFI:T:WPA;S:<name>;P:<password>;;, escape special characters, and test it on two phones. Put it on a guest network with a long password, and change that password when the code leaves your hands.

Sources

• ZXing project: Barcode contents, Wi-Fi network config
• IANA: provisional registration of the "wifi" URI scheme (Wi-Fi Alliance, WPA3 specification section 7)
• Apple Support: Find and share your Wi-Fi password on iPhone
• Apple Support: Scan a QR code with your iPhone or iPad
• Pixel Phone Help: Connect to Wi-Fi networks on your Pixel phone
• Android Help: Connect to Wi-Fi networks on your Android device
• NSA: Best Practices for Securing Your Home Network (2023)