How to Create a WiFi QR Code (Free Guide)

"What's the WiFi password?" might be the most-asked question in any café, office, or guest room. A WiFi QR code answers it once and for all: visitors scan a small printed square and their phone connects automatically, no typing, no awkward spelling-out of a long passphrase. Here is how to make one for free, do it securely, and put it to good use.

What a WiFi QR code stores

A WiFi QR code is simply a special text string, formatted so phones recognise it as network credentials. It contains three pieces of information:

• SSID — the network name exactly as it appears in the WiFi list (it is case-sensitive).
• Password — the network passphrase.
• Encryption type — almost always WPA/WPA2/WPA3 for a secured network, or "none" for an open one.

When someone scans the code, their phone reads these values and offers to join the network directly. There is no website involved and nothing is sent over the internet; the code is just a faster way of typing the same details you would enter by hand. Because all three values are stored inside the pattern, this is a static code: change any detail and you must make a new one.

Step-by-step: make a WiFi QR code

The whole process takes about a minute with our free WiFi QR code generator or the free generator from our technology partner QRbug.

1. 1. Choose the WiFi type. In the generator, select "WiFi" rather than URL or text, so the output is formatted as network credentials.
2. 2. Enter your network details. Type the SSID exactly as it appears, including capitalisation and spaces, then the password, and select the encryption type (WPA/WPA2/WPA3 in almost all cases). Tick "hidden network" only if yours does not broadcast its name.
3. 3. Generate and customise. Create the code, and optionally add a label like "Free WiFi" or your logo so it looks clear and trustworthy on a sign. Keep strong contrast so it scans easily.
4. 4. Download, print, and test. Export as PNG for a quick print or SVG for a large, crisp sign. Then scan it with a phone that is not already on the network to confirm it connects.

That last test matters: scanning from a device already connected will not prove the code works. Forget the network first, or use a friend's phone.

Security best practices

A WiFi QR code is convenient precisely because it hands out access easily, so a little care keeps it from becoming a liability.

• Use a guest network for public spaces. Most routers can broadcast a separate guest SSID that is isolated from your main network and your connected devices. Put the QR code on the guest network so visitors never touch your primary one.
• Display it only where you trust the audience. Remember the code is effectively the password in visual form. A sticker on a public-facing window is fine for an open guest network, but think twice before posting your main credentials anywhere strangers can photograph them.
• Rotate the guest password periodically. Since the code is static, changing the password means reprinting, but rotating it now and then limits how long an old photo of the code stays useful.
• Keep the main network private. Reserve your primary network and its strong password for trusted devices only, and never put those credentials on a shared sign.

Done this way, a WiFi QR code gives you the convenience without exposing the parts of your network that matter.

Use cases: café, hotel, home, Airbnb

A WiFi QR code earns its place anywhere people regularly ask to connect.

Hospitality businesses often combine WiFi access with other on-table QR codes. If that is you, see our guides on QR codes for hotels and, for the bigger picture on flexibility, dynamic vs static QR codes to decide whether you ever need an editable code instead of a fixed one. If your network details rarely change, a free static WiFi code is all you need.

Frequently asked questions