How to share a Wi-Fi password with a QR code
On Android, open your Wi-Fi settings, tap the connected network and choose Share to show a QR code. On an iPhone with iOS 18, the Passwords app shows a network QR code. The other person scans it with their camera and joins without typing the password.
9 September 2026
Share Wi-Fi with a QR code on Android
On Samsung Galaxy phones the route is Settings, then Connections, then Wi-Fi. Tap the gear icon next to your network and choose QR code at the bottom of the screen. The exact menu names change a little between Android versions and makers, so look for Share or QR code in the network's details.
- Open Settings, then Network & internet, then Internet (on some phones, just Wi-Fi).
- Tap the gear icon next to the network you are connected to.
- Tap Share and confirm with your fingerprint, face or PIN.
- A QR code appears, with the password written underneath on most phones. Let the other person scan it with their camera.
Share a Wi-Fi password from an iPhone
iPhones have two ways. If the other person also has an Apple device, bring your iPhone close to theirs, past the lock screen, while they try to join the network. A prompt appears on your phone; tap Share Password. This works when you are in each other's contacts and have Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on.
For anyone else, use a QR code. In iOS 18 and later, open the Passwords app, tap Wi-Fi, choose the network and tap Show Network QR Code. Android phones and iPhones can both scan it. On older versions of iOS, go to Settings, then Wi-Fi, tap the i next to the network and tap Password to see it and read it out.
Find and share a Wi-Fi password on Windows
Windows does not show a QR code for your Wi-Fi in the same way, but it can show the saved password, which you can then put into a QR code generator. On recent versions of Windows 11, go to Settings, then Network & internet, then Wi-Fi, open the network's properties and choose to view the Wi-Fi security key.
On Windows 10 and 11, the older route also works: open Control Panel, then Network and Sharing Center, click your Wi-Fi connection, choose Wireless Properties, open the Security tab and tick Show characters.
How to read the password from a Wi-Fi QR code
Sometimes you need the password itself, not just a connection: for a laptop, a games console, a smart TV or a printer that has no camera. A Wi-Fi QR code holds the network name and password as plain text, in a format that starts WIFI:, so any QR code reader can show them.
Take a screenshot of the code your phone shows, or photograph the printed card, and open it in NeoReader's QR scanner. It works as an online Wi-Fi password scanner in the browser. It lists the Network, the Password and the Security type separately so you can copy the password and type it into the other device. The image is read on your device and never sent to our servers.
Use this only for networks you own or are allowed to join. A Wi-Fi QR code decoder simply reads what the code contains; it cannot crack or reveal a password that is not in the code.
Print a guest Wi-Fi QR code
For a home, holiday let, office or café, a printed card saves repeating the password all day. Make one with a Wi-Fi QR code generator rather than photographing your phone's share screen, which gives a small, blurry image.
- Open the Wi-Fi QR code generator and enter the network name exactly as it appears, including capital letters and spaces.
- Enter the password and choose the security type. WPA or WPA2 is right for almost all home and business routers.
- Tick Hidden if your network does not broadcast its name.
- Add a frame with a label such as "Scan to join the Wi-Fi", and your logo or colours if you like.
- Download as PDF or SVG for print, and write the network name and password under the code for laptops that cannot scan.
- Test it with an iPhone and an Android phone before you print a batch.
Keep your network safe
If a guest's phone scans the code but will not connect, check three things: the network name matches exactly, including capitals; the security type is right; and the phone is in range of the band your router broadcasts. A code made with the wrong security type is the most common cause, and the fix is a new code.
- Anyone who can photograph the code can join the network, so put printed codes where only guests see them, not in a window.
- Use your router's guest network for visitors if it has one. It keeps them away from your own computers and devices.
- If you change the password, the old QR code stops working. Print a new one at the same time.
- A Wi-Fi QR code is static. It does not expire and does not send your password anywhere; it only holds the details you type in.
