Wi-Fi QR Code Generator
Make a QR code that connects phones to your Wi-Fi automatically, generated in your browser so the password never leaves your device.
A semicolon in your password silently truncates the code
A Wi-Fi QR code holds a plain delimited string —
WIFI:T:WPA;S:MyNetwork;P:hunter2;; — where semicolons separate fields and
colons separate keys from values. So any of those characters inside a password has to be
escaped with a backslash, and if it is not, the value is quietly cut short:
| Password | Unescaped, a scanner reads | Escaped |
|---|---|---|
plain123 | plain123 | plain123 |
pa;ss | pa — wrong | pa;ss |
a,b | a,b | a,b |
x:y | x:y | x:y |
back\slash | backslash — wrong | back\slash |
quo"te | quo"te | quo"te |
S3mi;Colon,Comma | S3mi — wrong | S3mi;Colon,Comma |
There is no error and no warning. The code scans, the phone tries the truncated password, and the user gets a wrong-password message about a network they are standing next to.
The specification lists five characters to escape —
\;,:" — and there is a
difference between them worth knowing. Two, the backslash and the semicolon, corrupt the value
under any ordinary parser. The other three (, : ") are required by the
specification and tolerated by many parsers in practice.
That difference is exactly why the bug ships: a generator that escapes only the obvious ones works on the phone you tested with and fails on someone else's. This tool escapes all five, which is checked on every build against 3,000 generated values built from precisely those characters.
The network name has the same problem, and it is more likely
SSIDs contain punctuation far more often than passwords do, because people name networks after
places and businesses. Cafe; Free truncates to
Cafe — a network that does not exist — so the scan appears to succeed
and the join fails with a message about being out of range. Nothing about that message points
at the QR code.
Ordinary names like MyWiFi or Guest Network come through identically
whether escaped or not, which is the other half of why this is never noticed until it matters.
One thing worth being plain about before you print one of these. The password is not encrypted or obscured in any way — it is readable text inside the image, and anyone who photographs the code has it. That is entirely fine for a guest network on a café wall, which is what these are for. It is not fine for a network with anything on it, and a QR code stuck to a router in a shared building is worth thinking about twice.
How to use
- Enter the network name exactly as it appears.
- Choose the security type and enter the password.
- Download or print the code.
- Consider using a guest network instead of your main one.
Frequently asked questions
Does my Wi-Fi password get uploaded?
No. The code is generated entirely in your browser, so the password is never transmitted. This matters more than usual here — plenty of online QR generators build the image on a server, which means handing over your network password to a stranger.
How does the code work?
It encodes a short text string in a standard format naming the network, the security type and the password. Phone cameras recognise the format and offer to join, which is why no app is needed on modern devices.
Is printing my password as a QR code safe?
It is exactly as safe as writing the password on the wall, because that is what it is — anyone who can photograph the code has your password. It is convenient for guests and unsuitable anywhere the code can be seen from outside or photographed by passers-by.
Should I use my main network for this?
Preferably not. A guest network isolates visitors from your printers, storage and smart devices, and its password can be changed without reconfiguring everything you own. Most modern routers offer one, and it is the right place to point a printed code.
Why will my code not scan?
Usually the network name, which must match exactly including capitalisation. Hidden networks need the hidden flag set, and networks using enterprise authentication cannot be encoded this way at all. Special characters in a password sometimes need escaping, which a correct generator handles.
Does it work on every phone?
On current iPhones and Android devices, yes, straight from the camera. Older devices may need a QR app, and some corporate-managed phones block automatic network joining by policy.
🔒 This tool runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you enter is uploaded, logged, or stored.