How a phone joins from a picture
The code holds a short line of text in a format both Android and iOS recognise: the network name, the security type and the password. The camera reads it and offers to join — iOS since version 11, Android since 10. Nothing is looked up and nothing is transmitted; the phone simply has the details it would otherwise ask you to type.
Older phones without built-in support can still read it with any QR app, which will show the details as text to enter by hand.
Getting the details exactly right
The network name is case sensitive and must match exactly, including spaces. WPA covers WPA, WPA2 and WPA3 — that is nearly every home network. Choose None only for a genuinely open network with no password.
Tick hidden if the network does not broadcast its name. Without that flag a phone will look for a network it cannot see and give up.
Where to put it, and where not to
A printed code is a password in a form anyone in the room can copy. On a café table or a guest-room wall that is the point. On the front window it is an invitation from the street.
If your router supports a guest network, put the code on that rather than the main one. A guest network hands out internet without handing out the printers, the network drives and everything else on the LAN.
Frequently asked questions
Which phones can join by scanning?
iPhones from iOS 11 and Android from version 10 do it straight from the camera. Older devices can read the code with a QR app and see the password to type in.
My network name has an emoji or a comma. Will it work?
Yes — characters with special meaning in the WiFi format are escaped for you. Type the name exactly as the router shows it, including case.
Is my WiFi password sent anywhere?
No. The code is generated in your browser and the password never leaves the device. That matters more here than for most tools — it is the key to your network.
Should I use my main network or the guest one?
The guest network, if your router has one. It gives visitors internet without access to everything else on your LAN, and the password can be changed without reconnecting every device you own.
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