Free WiFi QR Code Generator

A WiFi QR code your guests can actually scan

Reading a WiFi password out loud is a small, repeated tax. In a cafe it is a question asked forty times a day. In a shop it interrupts a sale. In a rental it is the first message every guest sends you. A WiFi QR code removes it: someone points a camera at a card on the table, taps once, and they are on the network.

This WiFi QR code generator makes that card. Type the network name and password, pick the security type, and download the code as a PNG or SVG. Everything runs in your browser, so the password never leaves your computer. There is no signup and no watermark.

What is actually inside a WiFi QR code

A WiFi QR code is not magic and it is not a link. It is a short line of text in a format phones recognise, encoded as a QR code. For a network called Cafe Guest with the password flatwhite2026, the text is exactly this:

WIFI:T:WPA;S:Cafe Guest;P:flatwhite2026;;

Three fields, separated by semicolons:

• T: the security type. WPA covers WPA, WPA2 and WPA3. WEP is the old standard. nopass means an open network with no password.
• S: the SSID, which is the network name as it appears in the WiFi list.
• P: the password. An open network leaves this out entirely.

A hidden network adds a fourth field, H:true, and the whole thing ends with two semicolons. That is the entire specification. When your phone camera sees this text it recognises the WIFI: prefix and offers to join instead of opening a browser.

This matters for one practical reason: the QR code contains your password in plain text. Anyone who scans it, or photographs the card and decodes it later, has the password. That is not a flaw in the format, it is what the format is for. It is also the reason the advice further down is to put your guest network on the card, not your main one.

Passwords with special characters: where most generators break

The format uses ; and : as separators. So what happens when your password itself contains a semicolon?

If the generator does nothing about it, the payload becomes ambiguous. A password of cafe;2026 produces P:cafe;2026;; and the scanner reads the password as cafe, then treats 2026 as a malformed field. The phone tries to join with the wrong password and reports that it cannot connect. Nothing on screen explains why.

The format handles this with backslash escaping. Four characters have to be escaped when they appear inside a network name or password:

So cafe;2026 is encoded as P:cafe\;2026;, and the scanner reads it back correctly. This tool escapes those characters for you. You type the password exactly as it is, and the encoding is handled underneath.

It is worth testing your own code with your own phone before you print a hundred of them. That is true of any generator, including this one.

Choosing the right security type

The security type has to match how your router is actually configured. Getting it wrong produces a code that scans fine and then fails to connect.

• WPA is the answer for almost every modern network. Use it for WPA, WPA2 and WPA3. Your router settings may call it WPA2-PSK or WPA2/WPA3-Personal; they all take WPA here.
• WEP is a much older standard that is no longer considered secure. Choose it only if your router genuinely still uses it, and treat that as a sign the router needs replacing.
• None is for an open network with no password at all. Choosing this hides the password field, because an open network has nothing to put in it.

If you are not sure, look at your phone. Open the WiFi settings, tap the network you are already connected to, and the security type is listed there.

Hidden networks

Some networks are configured not to broadcast their name. They still work, but they do not appear in the list of available networks, and a normal WiFi QR code will not connect to one. The phone scans the code, looks for a network with that name, finds nothing, and gives up.

Turn on the Hidden network switch and the code carries the extra H:true field that tells the phone to look for the network by name rather than waiting to see it announced.

If your network shows up normally in the WiFi list, leave this off.

Which phones can scan it

Both major platforms handle WiFi QR codes from the built-in camera app, with no separate scanner app to install.

• iPhone: the Camera app has recognised QR codes since iOS 11, released in 2017. Point the camera at the code and a notification appears at the top of the screen offering to join the network.
• Android: recent versions scan QR codes from the camera or from Google Lens, and Android 10 added the matching feature in the other direction, letting you share a saved network as a QR code from the WiFi settings.

Older devices may need a QR scanner app, but on anything sold in the last several years the camera is enough.

Print it so people actually use it

A WiFi code that nobody notices saves nobody any time. A few things that make the difference:

• Say what it is. A bare QR code on a table tells a guest nothing. Put "Scan to join our WiFi" above it and the network name below.
• Print the password as text as well. Some guests will have an older phone, and some will simply prefer to type. The code should be the fast path, not the only path.
• Do not print it too small. Around 2 to 3 cm square is the practical floor for a phone held at a comfortable distance. Bigger is better on a wall or a window.
• Keep the contrast high. Dark code on a light background scans best. A pale code on a busy photograph is the most common reason a code fails to read.
• Download the SVG for anything printed. SVG is vector, so it stays sharp at any size. Use the PNG for a screen, an email or a social post.

Where a shop or a rental should use one

• Cafes and restaurants: on the table tent, the menu, or the back of the receipt.
• Retail counters: next to the till, so customers can look up a product while they are still in the shop.
• Short-term rentals: in the welcome book and on the fridge. This is the single most asked question a host gets.
• Offices and coworking: in the reception area and each meeting room, on the guest network.
• Events, popups and market stalls: on the signage, so visitors can get online to look you up or pay.

Use your guest network, not your main one

This is the one piece of security advice worth repeating, because the convenience of a WiFi QR code makes it easy to forget.

The code carries the password in a form anyone can read. Printed on a card in a public room, it is effectively a published password. If that password is for the same network as your point of sale terminal, your office computers or your network storage, then every visitor is on the same network as your business.

Almost every router made in the last decade can run a separate guest network. It has its own name and its own password, and it keeps guests away from your internal devices. Set one up, put that on the card, and change it whenever you like without touching anything else.

Making codes for many networks at once

One network needs one code printed many times, which is a printing job. But if you manage several networks, each with its own name and password, the CSV Upload tab builds them all in one pass and hands back a zip with one PNG per row.

The columns are the same things you would type by hand:

Label,SSID,Password,Encryption,Hidden
Unit 1,Maple St Guest,welcome2026,WPA,false
Unit 2,Maple St Upper,"seaview,42",WPA,false
Lobby,Lobby Free WiFi,,none,false
Back office,Backoffice,staffonly,WPA,true

• Label names the file inside the zip. Leave it out and the network name is used instead.
• SSID is the only column a row cannot do without.
• Password is left blank for an open network.
• Encryption accepts WPA, WPA2, WPA3, WEP, or none and open for a network with no password. Leave it blank and WPA is assumed.
• Hidden accepts true or yes for a network that does not broadcast its name. Blank means a normal network.

Note row 2: the password contains a comma, and it is written inside quotes so the CSV itself parses correctly. You never escape anything for the QR code. Type the password exactly as it is, including semicolons and colons, and the payload escaping is applied when the code is built. That is the whole point of using columns rather than pasting a WIFI: string, because a hand-written payload carrying an unescaped ; produces a code that scans and then fails to connect.

This is the part that matters for property managers, franchise sites, coworking spaces and anyone deploying routers with per-site credentials.

Frequently asked questions

How does a WiFi QR code work?

A WiFi QR code encodes a short line of text in a format phones recognise, in the shape WIFI:T:WPA;S:NetworkName;P:password;;. The T field is the security type, S is the network name and P is the password. When a phone camera reads text beginning with WIFI:, it offers to join that network instead of opening a browser. The code is not a link and it does not contact any server; everything the phone needs is inside the code itself.

Is it safe to share my WiFi password as a QR code?

The password is stored in the code as plain text, so anyone who scans the code, or photographs it and decodes it later, can read it. That is inherent to the format rather than a weakness of any particular generator. The safe way to use one is to put your guest network on the code rather than your main network. A guest network has its own password and keeps visitors away from your computers, point of sale system and network storage, so a shared password costs you nothing.

Will a WiFi QR code work on both iPhone and Android?

Yes. iPhones have recognised QR codes in the Camera app since iOS 11 in 2017, and current Android versions scan them from the camera or from Google Lens. Android 10 also added the reverse feature, letting you share a network you are already connected to as a QR code from the WiFi settings. Very old devices may need a separate scanner app, but no app is required on a reasonably recent phone.

My WiFi password has special characters. Will the code still work?

Yes, as long as the generator escapes them. The format uses semicolons and colons as field separators, so a password containing ; : , or a backslash has to be written with a backslash in front of it, otherwise the scanner reads only part of the password and the connection fails with no useful error. This tool applies that escaping automatically, so you type the password exactly as it is. It is still worth scanning your finished code with your own phone before printing it in quantity.

How do I make a QR code for a hidden network?

Turn on the Hidden network switch before you download. That adds an H:true field to the code, which tells the phone to search for the network by name instead of waiting for it to appear in the list of nearby networks. Without that field the phone scans the code, cannot see a network with that name, and fails to connect. If your network appears normally in the WiFi list, leave the switch off.

Which security type should I choose?

Choose WPA for almost every modern network; it covers WPA, WPA2 and WPA3, which your router might label WPA2-PSK or WPA2/WPA3-Personal. Choose WEP only if your router genuinely still uses that older standard. Choose None for an open network with no password, which hides the password field because there is nothing to put in it. If you are unsure, open the WiFi settings on a phone already connected to the network and check the security type listed there.

Does the WiFi QR code expire or need internet to work?

No. The code is a fixed piece of text encoded as an image, so it works forever and works offline. It keeps working until you change the network name or the password, at which point the old code stops connecting and you need to make a new one. Since this generator runs entirely in your browser, you can also make the code on a machine with no internet connection at all.

Can I make WiFi QR codes for lots of networks at once?

Yes. The CSV Upload tab takes a file with the columns Label, SSID, Password, Encryption and Hidden, and returns a zip containing one PNG per row, named after the label or the network. SSID is the only column a row cannot do without: leave the password blank for an open network, write none or open in the encryption column for one, and put true in the hidden column for a network that does not broadcast its name. You type every password exactly as it is, including semicolons and colons, because the payload escaping is applied when each code is built. This is aimed at property managers, franchise sites and coworking spaces with a different network per location.

What size should I print a WiFi QR code?

Around 2 to 3 cm square is the practical minimum for a phone held at normal reading distance, and bigger is better for a wall, a window or a table tent seen from further away. Download the SVG for anything you are printing, because it is vector artwork and stays sharp at any size, and use the PNG for screens, emails and social posts. Keep the contrast high, with a dark code on a light background.