How to Make a WiFi QR Code (and Keep Your Password Safe)

A WiFi QR code lets guests join your network by pointing their phone camera at it. No spelling out a long password at the counter, no typos, no sticky note taped to the register. It takes about a minute to make, but a little planning keeps your main network safe.

How a WiFi QR code works

A WiFi QR code doesn’t link to a website. It holds your network details as a short piece of text in a standard format that phones understand:

WIFI:T:WPA;S:CafeGuest;P:your-password;;

• T is the security type (WPA covers most modern routers)
• S is the network name, also called the SSID
• P is the password

When someone scans it, the phone reads those details and offers to join the network. The iPhone Camera app has done this since iOS 11, and most modern Android phones can do it from the camera app or Google Lens. Nothing is sent over the internet to make this happen. It all happens on the guest’s phone.

What you need before you start

Gather three things, exactly as your router shows them:

1. The network name. Capitals, spaces and punctuation all count. “Cafe Guest” and “cafe guest” are two different networks to a phone.
2. The password. Also case sensitive. Copy it from your router’s settings or label if you can, rather than typing it from memory.
3. The security type. Most routers today use WPA2 or WPA3, which is the “WPA, WPA2 or WPA3” option. Choose “No password” only if the network is truly open.

Then open our WiFi QR code generator, enter the details, and check the preview. It’s free, needs no signup, and adds no watermark.

Keep your password safe

This is the part most people skip. A WiFi QR code is not a secret. Anyone who scans it with a QR reader app can see the password in plain text, and anyone who photographs your sign can scan it later from home.

That’s fine as long as you plan for it:

• Use a guest network. Most business routers can run a separate guest network. Put that one on the QR code, and keep the network your card reader, point-of-sale system, security cameras and office computers use private.
• Don’t reuse passwords. The guest password shouldn’t match your main WiFi password, your router login or any account password.
• Change it now and then. If you rotate the guest password, print a fresh code the same day so guests aren’t stuck.
• Think about where it hangs. A code in the front window can be scanned from the sidewalk. If you only want paying customers online, put it at tables or behind the counter instead.

On the KeptLink side, your password stays on your device. The code is generated in your browser, and what you type is never sent to our servers or saved in your browser storage. For more on staying safe with QR codes in general, see are QR codes safe?

Where to put it and how big to print it

Put the code where people actually wait or sit: table tents, the counter, a waiting room wall, a hotel room card or an Airbnb welcome book. Add a short label so people know what it does, like “Scan to join our WiFi”. Our frames let you add call-to-action text around the code.

For size, use the simple rule from our QR code size guide: the code should be about one tenth as wide as the scanning distance, and never smaller than 0.8 inch (2 cm).

Where it’s placed	Typical scan distance	Code width
Table tent or welcome card	12–20 in	1.5–2 in
Counter sign	2–3 ft	3–4 in
Wall sign in a waiting area	4–6 ft	5–7 in

WiFi codes are small, so they usually scan easily. If you add a logo, KeptLink switches to a higher level of error correction and keeps the logo to no more than 30% of the code width so there’s enough code left to read.

If the code doesn’t connect

When a WiFi code scans but won’t join, the cause is almost always the details inside it, not the code itself:

• the password or network name has a typo or a wrong capital letter
• the password was changed after the code was printed
• the security type doesn’t match the router
• the guest is out of range of the router, even though the code scanned fine

Fix the details, make a new code, and test it with both an iPhone and an Android phone before you print a stack of them. If the code won’t scan at all, our QR code not scanning guide walks through the usual suspects.

Remember that WiFi codes are static. They never expire, but they can’t be edited after printing, so any change to the network name or password means printing a new one.