WiFi QR How to scan a Wi-Fi QR code on iPhone and see the password
The iPhone Camera app will join a Wi-Fi QR code, but it won't show you the password hiding inside it. For that, open WiFi QR, go to the Scan tab and point the camera at the code: the Scanned Network sheet shows the name, security type and password, and you can reveal or copy that password.
When do you need the password, not just the connection?
The Camera app is enough if all you want is to connect the iPhone in your hand. You need the actual password to get a laptop, a smart TV, a games console or an old printer online — anything that can't scan a code itself — or to write it down, or just to double-check what a sign really contains before you trust it.
How to scan a Wi-Fi QR code in WiFi QR
- Open the Scan tab. The first time, a Camera Access Required screen explains why; tap Continue and allow the camera.
- Point the camera at the code. The screen reads Point camera at a WiFi QR code. In a dark room, tap the flashlight button top right.
- Once it reads, the Scanned Network sheet opens with Network Name, Password, Security and Hidden Network.
- Tap the eye next to the password to reveal it, or the copy button to grab it for another device.
- Tap Connect to Network to join right away, Save to History to keep it, or Scan Again for another code.
What the app reads from the code
A Wi-Fi code is text starting with WIFI:. The app pulls out the security type (T), the name (S), the password (P) and the hidden flag (H), and unpicks the backslash escapes and quotes other generators leave behind. WPA, WPA2, WPA3 and SAE all just show up as WPA.
| Text inside the code | Network Name | Password | Security |
|---|---|---|---|
WIFI:T:WPA;S:Casa Rossi;P:sole\;mare\:2024;; | Casa Rossi | sole;mare:2024 | WPA |
WIFI:T:WPA;S:HomeNet;P:"1234abcd";; | HomeNet | 1234abcd | WPA |
WIFI:T:nopass;S:Cafe Guest;; | Cafe Guest | none | Open |
Scan something that isn't a Wi-Fi code — a menu, a website link — and the app just says That QR code is not a Wi-Fi network instead of trying to open it.
Connect to Network: what happens
Connect to Network asks iOS to join, and iOS puts up its own confirmation on top. The app shows Connecting... and then either Connected! or an error. This is a one-time join only — iOS doesn't keep the network in your saved list afterwards. For something you'll use daily, like the office or a friend's place, join through the Camera app or iOS Settings instead, so it actually sticks.
Limits worth knowing
- Live camera only. It can't scan a Wi-Fi QR code from a screenshot, a photo or an image file — show the image on another screen and scan that instead.
- Enterprise networks needing a username (802.1X) can't be joined this way at all.
- The app just shows what the code says. If the password was changed after the code was printed, the code is simply wrong now, not broken.
- Saving a scanned network counts toward the same 3-network free limit as anything else.
Once it's saved, the network sits in History. Tap it any time to see the code again, reveal or copy the password, rename it or add notes.
Questions and answers
Can the iPhone camera show the Wi-Fi password from a QR code?
Can I get the Wi-Fi password from a QR code screenshot?
Is it legal to read the password inside a Wi-Fi QR code?
Why did the scan connect but my iPhone forgot the network later?
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