How To

Android Q makes it easy to share Wi-Fi without a password, thanks to this new feature – CNET

Published
android-q-beta-19

To share the credentials of your Wi-Fi network, tap Share.


Angela Lang/CNET

No more looking for the scrap of paper with your Wi-Fi password. And no more mistyping the password. In Android Q from Google, you’ll be able to generate a QR code with the credentials to your Wi-Fi network that guests can scan with their phone’s camera to log on.

You could find third-party apps to do this in Android phones, but it required a bit of setup. In Android Q, you just tap a button to generate a code to share. And it’s based on the Wi-Fi Alliance’s Wi-Fi Easy Connect standard for sharing network credentials with a QR code.

Android Q will also let you add devices to a network you manage via a QR code on a sticker or display. The device needs to support the Easy Connect Wi-Fi standard for this to work.

To create a QR code for a Wi-Fi network

androidqdarkmodewifi

Tap Share to create a QR code.


Screenshot Clifford Colby/CNET

In Android Q, you can share your Wi-Fi credentials via a QR code.

  1. Head to Settings, then Network & internet, then your Wi-Fi network and tap the gear to the right of your network.

  2. In the Network details window, tap the blue Share button on the right.

  3. Enter your passcode to generate a QR code with the Wi-Fi name and password.

There doesn’t seem to be a way to save the QR code, so you’ll need to regenerate it each time you use it.

To scan a QR code to join a network

On Android, you can choose Add network at the bottom of Wi-Fi settings to scan a QR code. What’s easier, however, the Camera app can scan QR codes once you turn on Lens:

  1. Open Android’s Camera app.

  2. If you’ve not used Lens yet, in the camera settings that run across the bottom, tap More.

  3. Tap Lens, and then tap Turn on camera to use Lens.

  4. Now, position the Camera viewfinder over the QR code and tap the code.

  5. When the name of the network appears below the QR code, tap it to join the Wi-FI network.

On an iPhone ($1,000 at Amazon) and iPad ($280 at Amazon) running iOS 11, it’s even easier:

  1. Open iOS’s Camera app.

  2. Position the Camera app’s viewfinder over the QR code. When the camera recognizes the QR code, it shows a notification.

  3. Tap the notification to join the Wi-Fi network.

Either on iPhone or Android, after you tap the notification, you’re on the Wi-Fi network, no typing a password.

source: cnet.com