What you need before you start
Nothing technical, and no app. Everything below happens in your browser.
- Your network name (SSID). It is case-sensitive, so copy it exactly as it appears in your phone settings.
- Your WiFi password. Spaces, quotes, colons and semicolons are fine: the generator escapes them for you.
- The security type. Unless you have checked your router, leave it on WPA/WPA2-Personal, which is what almost every modern network uses.
- A phone you can test the finished code with.
What a WiFi QR code actually contains
A WiFi QR code is not a picture of a password: it is a short piece of text in the format every phone understands. It begins with WIFI: and then lists the fields.
The characters that carry meaning inside that format, a backslash, semicolon, comma, colon or double quote, are escaped with a backslash. That is why a password such as my;pass, or a network name containing a comma, still encodes correctly, and why a generator that does not escape them produces a code that fails on the phone.
- T is the security type: WPA, WEP, or nopass for a network with no password.
- S is the network name, and P is the password.
- H is set to true when the network does not broadcast its name.
- A typical payload reads WIFI:T:WPA;S:MyNetwork;P:my password;; and ends with a double semicolon.
Step 1: find your network name and password
On iPhone, open Settings, then WiFi, and tap the network you are connected to. On Android, the same details are in Settings under WiFi or Connections.
Your router’s admin page also lists the network name and password, and many routers print both on a sticker on the back. Write down the name exactly: an uppercase letter where you expect a lowercase one is the most common reason a code opens the wrong network.
Step 2: encode the details correctly
Type the name, the password and the security type into the generator. The code is built as you type, and it never leaves your device: there is no upload, no account and no watermark.
- Special characters are escaped automatically, so passwords with spaces, quotes or semicolons still encode correctly.
- Accents and non-Latin characters are encoded in UTF-8, which every modern phone reads.
- If your network is hidden, switch on the hidden network option so the code tells the phone to look for it.
- WPA3-only networks may be refused by older devices, so only choose that type if you know your hardware supports it.
Step 3: download the file you need
The PNG is the everyday choice: it works in chat apps, slide decks and printed signs. Choose the SVG when the code will be scaled up, because it stays sharp at any size and prints cleanly at large formats.
Aim for a code at least 2 to 3 cm across when printed, with its white border intact.
Step 4: test the code before you share it
Scan your own code with two different phones, from about 30 cm away, while standing where a guest would stand. If both devices offer to join the right network first time, the code is ready.
If something looks wrong with a code you already have, the QR code tester decodes it in the browser and shows you exactly which network name, password and security type it contains.
Step 5: share it, and keep it current
Display the code where the question is asked: on a table, at the counter, on the fridge or inside the front door. Print a designed sign rather than taping a loose sheet to the wall, so the code stays large, flat and well lit.
Because the code is a readable copy of your password, give visitors a guest network when you can. If you change that password, generate a new code and replace the sign: the old one stops working immediately.
Put this into practice
Create your code in the generator, then turn it into a printable sign in a couple of clicks. Free, no account and no watermark.