WIFI: format
Let people on your WiFi.
A WiFi QR code holds the network name, the security type and the password. A phone camera reads it and offers to join — nobody has to read a password off a router, and nobody has to say it out loud.
live example — scannable
Payload format
The WIFI: payload, field by field
A WiFi code is not a link. It is a single line in a format both Android and iOS have understood natively for years. The trailing double semicolon is required and is the most common thing generators get wrong.
WIFI:T:WPA;S:Cafe Rio;P:flatwhite22;;- T:
- Security type — WPA, WEP, or nopass for an open network.
- S:
- The SSID, exactly as broadcast. Case-sensitive.
- P:
- The password. Omitted entirely when the type is nopass.
- H:true
- Optional. Marks the network as hidden, so the phone connects manually.
How to make one
Three fields and you are done
- 01
Enter the network name
Type the SSID exactly as it appears when you look for it on a phone.
- 02
Pick the security
WPA covers almost everything modern. Choose nopass for an open guest network.
- 03
Download and print
Export a PNG for screens or a vector for anything you will print large.
Where it earns its keep
Where a WiFi code pays for itself
- A card on the table in a cafe, so staff stop spelling the password.
- Inside a holiday let, where guests arrive after you have gone home.
- A guest network at the office, kept separate from anything internal.
- On the back of a router, for the next person who has to reconnect it.
Questions
WiFi QR codes, answered
Does my WiFi password get uploaded anywhere?
No. The code is built entirely inside this browser tab — there is no server involved in generating it. Open your browser's network tab and watch: your password never appears in a request.
Why does my password with a semicolon break other generators?
Because ; , : \ and " are field delimiters in the WIFI: format and have to be escaped with a backslash. An unescaped semicolon ends the password field early, so the code scans but the password is wrong. We escape all five.
Will this work on both iPhone and Android?
Yes. The WIFI: format is handled by the native camera app on iOS 11 and later and on Android 10 and later. Older Android phones may need a QR scanner app.
Can I change the password later without reprinting?
Not with a static code — the password is inside the square. If you change the WiFi password you need a new code. That permanence is also why the code keeps working with no service behind it.