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How to share your Wi-Fi password on an Android phone

File this one under 'life hacks.'
By

Published onJuly 18, 2023

Having a long and complicated Wi-Fi password isn’t a bad thing. But it can be a pain to tell people what it is to let them connect to your home network. With Android 10 and newer devices, it’s now far easier to share your Wi-Fi password without reading a long jumble of letters and numbers. Here’s how to share your Wi-Fi password on an Android phone.

QUICK ANSWER

To share your Wi-Fi password on Android, go to Settings > Wi-Fi and network > Wi-Fi and tap on the gear icon (or information icon) next to the name of the network you want to share. Tap on Share (or QR code or Wi-Fi QR code, depending on your device). Scan the code using the other device to connect to the Wi-Fi network. You can also use Nearby share if your device runs Android 12 or newer.


JUMP TO KEY SECTIONS

How to share your Wi-Fi password by creating a QR code

You share your Wi-Fi password by creating a QR code as long as your device runs Android 10 or higher. Go to Settings > Wi-Fi and network > Wi-Fi. Remember that the steps might differ depending on your device, but the idea is to get to your phone’s Wi-Fi settings.

Tap on the gear icon (or information icon on some phones) next to the name of the Wi-Fi network you want to share, and tap on Share to open the QR code. Again, the steps will be different on other devices and Android versions. On a Samsung device (with Android 12), you will see QR code icon at the bottom of the screen.

To scan a QR code to connect to a network, go to Settings > Wi-Fi and network > Wi-Fi and tap on the QR code icon next to Add network. On some Android 13 devices, you will see the QR code icon at the top right corner. Scan the code on the other phone to join the network.

You can also scan QR codes using your phone’s camera (if it supports this feature) or with Google Lens. Tap the Google Lens icon on your phone’s Google search bar or the camera app. Select Search with your camera, scan the QR code, and select Join network.

How to share your Wi-Fi password using Nearby Share

If you have a device running Android 12 or 13, you can also share your Wi-Fi password using Nearby Share, Google’s answer to Apple’s AirDrop. Go to Settings > Wi-Fi, tap on the network name and go to the QR code page. Tap on Nearby or Nearby share.

The phone will scan for other devices near it. You can set it to scan for everyone or only people in your contact list. You will see a connection request if the primary phone finds your device. Tap Accept to connect to the Wi-Fi network. Remember that while sharing your password using this method is only available on Android 12 or 13, you can accept the connection request on older devices that support Nearby share, so running Android 10 or newer.

You might have to activate Nearby share before using this feature. When you try to set up password sharing with Nearby share, the settings should pop up. If it doesn’t, go to Settings > Google > Devices and sharing > Nearby share.


FAQs

iPhones don’t have a built-in way to share Wi-Fi passwords with an Android phone. You will need to download a QR code generator app from the iOS app store, like Visual Codes, and use it to create a code that your Android phone can read.

Yes, you can share your Wi-Fi password from an Android to an iPhone using the QR code method mentioned above.

As long as you know and trust the person you’re sharing with, there are no risks in sharing your Wi-Fi password. If you want to learn more about staying safe, read our guide on securing your Wi-Fi, as well as our guide on kicking unwanted users off of Wi-Fi.

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