How to Create a WiFi QR Code for Guests (iPhone and Android)

Reading a 20-character WiFi password out loud is a small, repeated indignity. "Capital B, as in bravo… no, the number 3…"

A WiFi QR code fixes it. Your guest points their camera at a card on the table and their phone offers to join the network. No typing, no spelling out characters.

How it works

There is no magic and no app. The code contains a short line of text in a format phones have understood for years:

WIFI:T:WPA;S:MyNetwork;P:my-password;;

• T — the security type: WPA (covers WPA2), WEP, or nopass for an open network.
• S — the network name (SSID), exactly as it is broadcast.
• P — the password. Omitted for open networks.
• H:true — added only when the network is hidden.

When a phone camera reads text starting with WIFI:, it recognises the format and offers to join. The credentials are in the code itself, so this works even though neither device is online yet.

Which phones support it

Device	Support
iPhone, iOS 11 and later (2017+)	Built into the Camera app
Android 10 and later	Built into the camera, and Google Lens
Android 9 and earlier	Usually needs a scanner app
Most modern tablets	Same as their phone counterparts

Android 10+ can also generate one for a network you are already on: Settings → Network & internet → Wi-Fi → tap the network → Share. It shows a QR code in exactly this format. iPhones can share a password to a nearby Apple device, but do not generate a QR code, which is why people end up making one.

Making one

1. Open the QR code generator and choose WiFi.
2. Type the network name exactly as it appears — it is case-sensitive, and a trailing space will break it.
3. Pick the encryption: WPA/WPA2/WPA3 for almost every modern network, WEP only for genuinely ancient hardware, None for an open network.
4. Enter the password. Special characters are fine; the escaping is handled for you.
5. Turn on hidden network only if your SSID is not broadcast.
6. Download the PNG for screens, or the SVG or PDF if you are printing it.

Everything happens in your browser. The password is never uploaded, which matters more here than for any other kind of QR code.

Test it before you print 50 copies

Test on a phone that is not already on the network — an already-joined phone will happily "join" and tell you nothing. Use a colleague's phone, or forget the network on yours first.

Worth testing both an iPhone and an Android if you have them, since they handle edge cases like hidden networks differently.

Hidden networks, WPA3, and other edge cases

Hidden SSIDs. Set the hidden flag. Without it, the phone looks for a broadcast network, fails to find it, and reports that the network cannot be joined.

WPA3. The WPA type works for WPA2 and for the WPA2/WPA3 "transition mode" most routers ship with. If your router is in WPA3-only mode, support for the newer T:SAE value is inconsistent across phones. Easiest fix: use the Android share feature on a device already connected, or run the guest network in transition mode.

Enterprise networks (WPA2-Enterprise, the kind with a username and password) are not covered by this format. Those need a configuration profile from your IT team.

Emoji and unusual characters in the SSID generally work, but they are a common source of "it scans and then fails". If you hit trouble, that is the first thing to rule out.

Printing it for guests

• Size: 3–5 cm is plenty for a card on a table or a sticker by the door. See the print size guide for larger placements.
• Contrast: dark code on a light background. A clever light-on-dark design is the most common reason a printed WiFi code fails.
• Add the text too. Print the network name and password in small type underneath. Older phones, laptops, and games consoles cannot scan anything.
• Placement: by the door, on the table, inside the welcome folder — somewhere a guest looks without asking. Laminate it if it lives on a café table.
• Format: use SVG or PDF so the printer scales it without blurring.

The security trade-off, stated plainly

The password is inside the code in plain text. Anyone who scans it, or photographs it and decodes it later, has your WiFi password. A code stuck in a café window can be read from the street by someone who never buys a coffee.

Sensible precautions:

• Use the guest network. Almost every router has one. It gives internet access while keeping printers, NAS drives, cameras, and work laptops on a separate network.
• Turn on client isolation on the guest network if your router offers it, so guests cannot see each other's devices.
• Do not put your main network's code in public view. Inside a private home or office is fine; a street-facing window is not.
• Change the guest password periodically and reprint. It is a two-minute job.
• Never print a code for a network with sensitive equipment on it.

For a home, a guest network plus a QR code is a good setup. For a business, treat the guest network as untrusted and segment it properly.

Troubleshooting

"Nothing happens when I point the camera." Check the phone is new enough (iOS 11+, Android 10+), and check contrast and size. On some Androids you need Google Lens rather than the plain camera.

"It offers to join, then says it cannot." Almost always the SSID or password is slightly wrong — case, a space, a zero versus a capital O. Regenerate from a copy-pasted password rather than a typed one.

"It works on Android but not iPhone." Usually the hidden-network flag, or WPA3-only mode.

"It scans as plain text instead of joining." The code was made as a text code rather than a WiFi code. Regenerate with the WiFi type selected.

More general causes are in why QR codes fail to scan.

One honest caveat about the tool

The code our generator produces is static: the credentials live in the image. If you change your WiFi password, the old code stops working and you print a new one. That is a feature, not a limitation — there is no server that has to stay online, and no company holding your WiFi password.