How to make a Wi-Fi QR code for guests

Deze inhoud is in het Engels.

A Wi-Fi QR code lets a visitor join your network by pointing their phone camera at a square on the wall, instead of reading out a long password. It saves time at home, in holiday lets, in cafés and in offices. This guide explains what the code actually contains, how to create one with the Wi-Fi QR code tool on Valtrinity, how to handle passwords with unusual characters and where it is sensible to display the code.

Door Valtrinity. Bijgewerkt op 18 oktober 2026.

What a Wi-Fi QR code contains

A Wi-Fi QR code is not a link. It is a short piece of text that phones understand as instructions to join a network. The text follows a standard pattern: the letters WIFI, then the security type, the network name, the password, and a double semicolon at the end. For a WPA network named Home with the password sunshine42, the text inside the code reads WIFI:T:WPA;S:Home;P:sunshine42;;

This has one important consequence. The network name and the password are written inside the code in plain form. Anyone who scans the code can read them, so a code is only as well protected as the place where it is shown. It is the same as writing the password on a card.

• T is the security type, such as WPA for most home networks.
• S is the network name, also called the SSID.
• P is the password.

Create the code with the Wi-Fi QR code tool

Open the Wi-Fi QR code tool on Valtrinity. Enter the exact network name, choose the security type that matches your router, and type the password exactly as it is set on the router. Names and passwords are case sensitive, so a capital letter typed as a lowercase one will stop the code working.

Once the code appears, test it before you print anything. Use the camera on a phone that is not already connected to the network. A successful test shows a prompt to join the network. If nothing happens, check the name and password, and try again.

• Type the network name exactly, including spaces and capitals.
• Check the security type on your router settings page.
• Test with a phone that is not already on the network.

Worked example: a guest room

Suppose your holiday let has a network called Cottage Guest and a password of Harbour-Walk-27. Enter these into the tool with security type WPA. The code encodes WIFI:T:WPA;S:Cottage Guest;P:Harbour-Walk-27;; and a guest scanning it will be prompted to join the network.

Print the code at a size that is easy to scan from a metre away, usually a few centimetres square or larger, and place it where guests will naturally look, such as beside the television or on the inside of the front door. Add a short line of text beneath it so guests know what it does.

• Print at a size that scans easily from a short distance.
• Place it where guests look first.
• Add a line of text, such as Scan to join Wi-Fi.

Special characters and escaping

The format uses semicolons, colons, commas, quotation marks and backslashes as separators. If your network name or password contains one of these characters, it must be preceded by a backslash so the phone reads it as ordinary text. For example, a password that contains a semicolon has to be written with a backslash in front of the semicolon inside the code.

The Wi-Fi QR code tool handles this for you when the characters are typed in the fields. If the code fails to join even though the details look right, the most likely cause is a symbol in the name or password that was not escaped. Compare the password on the router with what you typed, character by character.

• Watch for semicolons, colons, commas, quotes and backslashes.
• Check passwords character by character if the code fails.
• Do not use the code with a password you have changed on the router without recreating it.

Where to display the code, and what to avoid

Display the code in a place where your guests are, not in a public area where strangers can photograph it. A holiday let or a home is usually fine. A café or office may prefer a guest network with a separate password, so that the main network stays protected even if the code is photographed.

If you change your password, the old code stops working. Make a new code, print it again and replace the old one. It is worth writing the date on the back of the printed card so you can see at a glance which version is in use.

• Use a separate guest network if the code will be seen by many people.
• Replace printed codes after every password change.
• Date the card so you know which version is current.

Using the code on a phone or tablet

Most modern phones read a Wi-Fi code through the camera app. Point the camera at the code and wait for the prompt that offers to join the network. Some devices need the code to be scanned from a settings screen instead, so keep a written copy of the password available as a fallback.

• Open the camera app and point it at the code.
• Keep the password written down as a fallback.

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