This is Android Q's quiet killer feature — trust us, you'll love it – CNET

No more looking for the scrap of paper with your Wi-Fi password. No more hunting for the password on your modem’s label. And no more mistyping it. In the  Android Q version of Google’s mobile OS, you’ll be able to generate a QR code with the credentials of your Wi-Fi network that guests can scan with their phone’s camera to log on. Of all the cool new features I’ve used so far in Android Q, this could be the best.

You could find third-party apps to do this on Android phones, but it could require your entering the credentials as part of the setup. In Android Q, you just tap a button in your Wi-Fi settings to generate a code to share. To scan it, just open up your iPhone or Android camera app and automatically scan the code. 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 — including smart home and internet of things devices — to the Wi-Fi network you manage via a QR code on a sticker or display you scan with your Android camera app. 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

In Android Q, here’s how to share your Wi-Fi credentials via a QR code.

1. Head to Settings, then Network & internet, then your Wi-Fi network’s name 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, is that the Camera app can scan QR codes once you turn on Lens.

1. Open Android’s Camera app.

2. If you haven’t 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 the iOS 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, without typing a password.

Originally published April 16.
Update, April 18: Expands intro.