"What's the Wi-Fi password?" is a question many cafés answer all day, and long passwords get mistyped. A Wi-Fi QR code fixes that: customers open the camera, scan, tap to join, and never type a thing.

How a Wi-Fi QR code works

The code stores the network name (SSID), the security type and the password in a format phone cameras understand. Scan it and the phone offers to join that network.

It is a plain QR code: everything is inside the pattern, the phone does not need to be online to read it, and no service sits behind it. It also means that when you change the Wi-Fi password, the old code still holds the old one.

First: a separate network for guests

Anyone who can see the code can join, including someone who takes a photo of the sign. So point the code at a guest network, kept apart from the network your till, computers, printer or security cameras use.

Many routers have a guest network option. If you are not sure, check the router manual or ask your internet provider, and never put your main network password on a sign customers can see.

Making the code on QRnaka

  1. Open the Wi-Fi QR page.
  2. In Network name (SSID), type the name exactly as phones show it, including capitals and spaces.
  3. Under Security, choose WPA/WPA2/WPA3 for a normal password-protected network, WEP only for an old network still set up that way, or Open for a network without a password. Your router's settings page tells you which.
  4. Type the Password exactly. For WPA, the page checks that it is 8 to 63 characters long.
  5. If your router hides the network name, tick Hidden network.
  6. Style it to match the shop. Under "Frame and label", add a label such as "Scan for Wi-Fi"; the logo section offers a Wi-Fi icon.
  7. Download PNG for everyday printing, or SVG or PDF for a print shop.

The code is made in your browser. The network name and password are not sent to QRnaka unless you are signed in, in which case the codes you download, copy, share or print are kept in your account history.

Test before you put it up

  1. Print one sample and scan the paper, in the shop's real lighting.
  2. Try the camera app on an iPhone and on an Android phone; each shows the result a little differently.
  3. Use a phone that has never joined this network, or make it forget the network first, so you know the code did the work and not a saved password.
  4. If it will not connect, open the QR reader and choose the code you downloaded. It shows the network name, security type and password inside the code, so you can compare them with the router.

For the right size at your scanning distance, see QR print size and scan tests.

Where to put it

  • The order counter, where people wait with their phones out.
  • Table tents, where people sit and work.
  • Walls near seats or power outlets, where laptops come out.
  • Inside the menu, if the password rarely changes.

Keep it at a comfortable height, avoid spots visible from the street, and print the network name and password as text under the code for laptops and other devices that cannot scan.

If the Wi-Fi code sits next to a scan-to-pay sign, label each one clearly and leave space between them so a camera does not pick the wrong one. For the payment sign itself, see PromptPay payment sign.

When you change the password

The password lives inside the code, so a new password means a new code and new signs everywhere. To avoid missing one:

  • Keep a list of every place a Wi-Fi sign is posted.
  • Change the password and the signs on the same day.
  • Scan every new sign before you open.

Wi-Fi codes cannot use scan statistics: the phone reads the network details from the code itself and opens no web link, so there is nothing to redirect or count.

FAQ

Do customers need a special app?

No. Most phones today read Wi-Fi QR codes with the camera app or the QR reader that comes with the phone.

Does the old code still work after I change the password?

No. It still holds the old password, so make a new code and replace the signs.

Is my Wi-Fi password sent anywhere?

If you are not signed in, the code is made in your browser and the password is not sent to QRnaka. If you are signed in, the codes you download are kept in your account history.

Can people outside the shop join using a photo of the sign?

Yes, if they are within range. Anyone with the code can join, just like anyone who knows the password. That is why a separate guest network matters.

Ready? Open the Wi-Fi QR page, enter the name and password, and download it for printing, free with no sign-up. Want customers to add your shop on LINE as well? See LINE QR codes for your shop.