Put the WiFi password where the WiFi is
One code on the table, one on the window, one in the guest room. Scanning it joins the network without anyone reading a password off a card and mistyping it.
Your WiFi QR code
PNG is exported at 1024×1024. Print at 2 cm minimum for a sticker or business card, 4 cm for a flyer, 8 cm for a wall sign.
How big should you print it?
A real WiFi code, scannable right here
Encoded by this page with the same code the generator uses. Scan it and you will joinCorner Cafe Guest — assuming you are standing in our imaginary cafe.
Corner Cafe Guest
WPA network with a guest password. The password sits inside the code in plain text.
What a guest actually does when they scan
On iPhone, the camera app recognizes the WiFi format and shows a banner asking to join — one tap, no app. On Android, Google Lens does the same from the lock screen or camera. On a laptop there is no native handler, so it appears as a saved network you can connect to from the WiFi menu.
The code carries three things: the network name, the password, and the security type. That is the whole payload — no account, no expiry, no redirect. Which also means the next point is unavoidable.
The password is in the code in plain text. Anyone who can photograph the printed card can read the password. Use a separate guest network with a password you rotate when guests leave — never your main network.
Where to put the code
Table tents and counter cards
4 cm square, matte stock, angled slightly toward the seat. 2 cm works if the print is crisp.
A4 notice by the entrance
For places where customers arrive before they are seated. Print at A5 or larger and leave a clear margin.
Every guest room
The single highest-value placement in hospitality — nobody asks the front desk for a password twice.
Packaging and receipts
Works on takeaway inserts, catering boxes, and event handouts. Small codes here need 3 cm minimum.
Networks that do not work
Enterprise or corporate WiFi with 802.1X authentication cannot be encoded this way — the code format has no field for a username or a certificate, so the phone cannot complete the login from a code alone. Captive portal networks (the "sign in through the browser" page a hotel shows) have the same problem. For those, a code pointing at a page with instructions is more useful than a code that pretends to log in.
Older WEP networks encode fine but are worth replacing anyway. If your guest network still runs WEP, the code is the least of the problems.
Rotating the password
This is the one place a static code genuinely costs you. Changing the guest password means reprinting every card — which is exactly the argument for dynamic codes, and also why most places simply set a long random password and change it when staff turnover makes it obvious that it should change. If you reprint often, a dynamic service with a redirect is the honest fit; this site does not do that, and thecomparison page spells out the difference.
WiFi QR code questions
Do guests need an app to join?
No. The native camera app on iPhone and Google Lens on Android both handle the WiFi format directly and offer to join the network.
Is it safe to print my WiFi password like this?
Only on a guest network. The password is readable by anyone who can photograph the code, which is why guest networks exist and why the main network should never be the one on the card.
Why does my code work on my phone but not my guest's?
Usually size or print quality. Under 2 cm, or on a glossy card that reflects light, some cameras struggle. Also check that the guest is on a current iOS or Android version.
Can I use this for my home network?
Technically yes, but it turns your front door into a published password. For home use, a code in a guest room for a guest network is the sensible version of this idea.
What about hidden networks?
Tick the hidden network box and the code includes the flag that tells a phone not to broadcast the name. Everything else is identical.
Does the code expire?
No, and neither does the password it contains. Access stops when you change the password on the router — which means reprinting the code, the trade-off discussed above.
Not a WiFi code?
Same generator, different fields already filled in.