Giving guests your WiFi password has always been annoying. You spell out a 16-character string, they type it wrong, and you do it again. A WiFi QR code solves this — one scan and the phone connects automatically.

How it works

A WiFi QR code is just a structured text string that iOS and Android both understand. When the camera reads it, the OS recognizes the format as a network credential and passes it to the WiFi manager to handle the connection.

The text inside the code looks like this:

WIFI:T:WPA;S:My Home Network;P:SuperSecretPassword123!;H:false;;

What each part means

• WIFI: — Tells the phone this is a network command, not a URL.
• T:WPA; — The encryption type. Almost always WPA or WPA2 for modern routers. Older routers might use WEP (which you should replace); open networks use nopass.
• S:My Home Network; — The SSID: the exact, case-sensitive name of your network. A single wrong character here means the code won't connect.
• P:SuperSecretPassword123!; — The password, also case-sensitive. If your password includes semicolons or commas, the generator needs to escape them (e.g., \;) or the string breaks.
• H:false;; — Whether the network is hidden. Set to true if your router doesn't broadcast its name, which tells the phone to actively search for it.

Is it safe?

The code itself is safe. If generated client-side (as GetEasyQR does), your password is never sent to any server. The risk is different.

Treat a printed WiFi QR code the same way you'd treat writing the password on a sticky note. Don't put it somewhere a stranger can scan it.

Use a guest network

The best practice for businesses and privacy-conscious homeowners is to not share your primary network at all. Your main network is where your personal computers, NAS drives, printers, and smart home devices live. If a guest joins it — or brings a compromised device — they can probe everything on the local network.

The solution is a guest network:

When the code doesn't work