How to Create WiFi QR Codes: Step-by-Step Tutorial

A WiFi QR code holds your network name, password and security type in a text format that phone cameras understand. Scan it and the phone offers to join with everything filled in. By the end of this tutorial you will have a code that connects a phone in one tap, a printed sign that scans from across a table, and fixes for the things that go wrong.

What the code contains

The code is a short text string with no encryption and no website involved. The password sits in plain text inside the pattern, so a public sign should only carry a guest network.

WIFI:T:WPA;S:CoffeeShop_Guest;P:Welcome2024;;

Each field ends with a semicolon and the whole string ends with a second one. An open network still carries an empty password field, so it encodes as WIFI:T:nopass;S:LibraryFree;P:;;. A hidden network adds the flag: WIFI:T:WPA;S:BackOffice;P:secret;H:true;;.

A semicolon, comma, colon or backslash inside the name or password must be escaped with a backslash (\;) or the phone cuts the field short. The generator does this for you.

Find your network name and security type

1. Read the router label. Most consumer routers print the default SSID and password on a sticker underneath.
2. Open the router admin page. Type the router's address into a browser (commonly 192.168.0.1, 192.168.1.1 or 10.0.0.1, printed on the same sticker) and find the Wireless section. A setting of WPA2-PSK, WPA2/WPA3 Personal or WPA3 is WPA in the code.
3. Or check a connected phone. On Android, Settings, Network and internet, Internet, then the gear next to the network lists the security type. On iPhone (iOS 16 and later), Settings, WiFi, the "i" next to the network reveals the password.
4. Confirm the band. If the router broadcasts Home_2G and Home_5G separately, put the 2.4 GHz one on the sign. Every phone can join it.

WEP is obsolete. If your router is still set to WEP, switch it to WPA2 first.

Make the code

1. Open the WiFi QR generator.
2. Paste the network name into "Network name (SSID)". Copy it from the router page so the case and spacing match.
3. Type or paste the password.
4. Choose the security type: WPA/WPA2, WEP, or "No password" for an open network, which disables the password field.
5. Tick "Hidden network" only if you turned off SSID broadcast on the router. A stray hidden flag stops some phones joining a normal network.
6. Scan the code on screen with your own phone.
7. Download PNG for a quick print, or SVG or PDF for a print shop.

The code is generated in your browser; the password is not uploaded anywhere. It has no expiry and keeps working as long as the name and password stay the same.

Which phones scan it

Print a sign

• Size. At least one tenth of the scanning distance: a table tent read from 30 cm needs a 3 cm code, a wall sign read from 1.5 m needs 15 cm. Never below 2 cm.
• Contrast. Black modules on white paper. With brand colors, keep at least 4.5:1 and the background lighter than the modules.
• Quiet zone. A blank margin of at least four modules on every side, with no frame or text touching the pattern.
• Resolution. PNG at 300 DPI for the printed size, or the SVG for a print shop.
• Laminate. Matte, not gloss. Glossy sleeves reflect ceiling lights and fail at an angle.
• Text. "Scan to join WiFi" above, the network name below, the password in small type.

Scan the printed sign, not just the screen, before you hang it. The QR code tester reads a photo of the print and reports whether it decodes.

Troubleshooting

The phone reads the code but will not connect. The security type is wrong; a WPA2 network encoded as WEP fails silently. Regenerate with the correct type.

"Incorrect password" after scanning. Wrong case, a trailing space copied from a document, or smart quotes in place of straight ones.

Connected, but no internet. The network has a captive portal, a login page accepted in a browser. A static code cannot accept those terms; the guest still has to click through. Say so on the sign, or turn the portal off.

Some phones cannot see the network. It is 5 GHz only. Older phones and most smart devices need 2.4 GHz, so enable that band.

The camera does not react. The code is too small for the distance, the print has low contrast, or the phone predates iOS 11 or Android 10. Move closer, then try a scanner app.

It worked last month and not now. Someone changed the password. A static code cannot update itself: generate a new one and reprint.

For a guest network in a shop or office, including password rotation and multi-site signs, see the business guest network guide.

Make your code in the WiFi QR generator and scan it once before you print.