WiFi QR code
The format that lets a guest join a network with a scan instead of a spelled-out password. Here is what it does, what it cannot do, and how to make one.
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?
Why bother, when you could just print the password?
Because passwords get mistyped. Uppercase versus lowercase, a zero read as an O, a symbol read as a different symbol. Every one of those turns a two-tap guest login into a five-minute conversation at the counter. A code removes the transcription step entirely.
The second reason is scale. A cafe with 60 covers does not hand out the WiFi password 60 times a day by hand. It prints one card per table and rotates the network when staff notice the tables are busy. The code is what makes that workflow possible.
The four steps
Set up a separate guest network
On your router, create a network separate from your devices. It is the only version of a WiFi code that is safe to print in public.
Generate the code
Type the guest network name and password above. The code is drawn in your browser — the password never travels anywhere.
Print it where people wait
Table tents, an entrance notice, every guest room. Matte stock, 4 cm square or larger if the print quality is uncertain.
Rotate when it should be
When the password changes, the printed card is wrong. That reprint step is the honest cost of a static code.
Before anything else: put these codes on a guest network, never the one your own devices use. The password in a WiFi code is readable by anyone who can photograph it.
Guest networks, briefly
A guest network isolates visitors from your devices: they can reach the internet and each other, not your laptops, printers, or NAS. Most routers create one in a setting labeled guest, visitor, or isolation. Combined with a printed code, it is what turns "ask the front desk" into self-service.
Set the guest password to something long and random, and change it on a schedule. The printed card is a public artifact — treating it like a secret is the mistake that turns a convenience into a security problem.
Related codes
WiFi QR code questions
What does a WiFi QR code actually contain?
Three values: the network name (SSID), the password, and the security type (WPA, WEP, or open). Nothing else — no account, no tracking, no expiry.
Can I make one without knowing the router password?
No, and you should not try. The value is the guest network password, which you set yourself on the router.
Will a WiFi QR code work for hotel and business networks?
Not with 802.1X or captive portals, which need a username, a certificate, or a browser sign-in that a code cannot carry. For those, print a code pointing at a page with instructions.
How big does the code need to be?
2 cm minimum for a plain code on good stock, 4 cm if the print is not crisp or the card is glossy. Under 1.5 cm, assume some phones will fail.
Does the guest have to install anything?
No. iPhone camera and Android Google Lens both read the WiFi format directly and offer to join the network.
Why is my WiFi code not scanning?
Three usual causes: it is too small, the print is glossy and reflecting, or the security type is set wrong (WPA2 networks are still entered as WPA in the code format).
Can I track how many people scanned it?
No. There is no redirect server in the path, so nobody — including us — can count scans. See the static vs dynamic page.
Does it stop working when I change the password?
Yes. The old code still carries the old password. That is the single largest practical difference from a dynamic code.