Connecting to home or work Wi-Fi networks can be a big pain – typing long rows of junk digits to enter the password is a lot of work, especially when an error can get you started over. If you end up connecting to lots of networks or need to change devices frequently, multiply your work.
Fortunately, Android phones have a user-friendly trick that makes it much easier to connect – however, it does not seem that many people know about this, which is inconvenient as the method requires two people to be ‘in the know’.
That’s why we’ve written this article – to raise awareness about this useful Android Wi-Fi method, so hopefully it’s more widespread in the future (so we can ‘borrow’ more Wi-Fi passwords).
How to share a Wi-Fi password
If you are connected to one Wi-Fi network and want to share the password with another, it is easy.
Swipe down from the top of your phone so you can see the Wi-Fi button in the quick settings – press and hold. You will be taken to your phone’s Wi-Fi menu – find the network you want to share and click on the gear next to it (depending on your phone’s user interface this gear may not be there – click on Wi-Fi the name itself in that case).
Here you will be taken to the settings for this very Wi-Fi network. You should see opportunities to disconnect, forget about the network forever … and share it.
Obviously, this option is the one you are looking for – choose it. You will generally need to unlock your phone again to prove that it is you when you do this.
Now you will see a QR code displayed on your phone. Grab the person who needs the Wi-Fi password – this is where they come in.
This person needs to load the app they use to scan a QR code – some phones support this feature with the built-in camera app, and for others you need to install Google Lens or a third-party QR code app. We have a separate guide on how to scan a QR code if you need help.
Simply have the person who needs the Wi-Fi password scan this QR code and their phone will allow them to connect automatically. This saves the urge to type in a junk, super-long row of digits.
Some things to note
Just be warned that this method requires that the person is already connected to the internet – however data like 4G or 5G is fine for this and it does not exactly take up much of your supplement. But if you are not connected to the network at all, you still have to enter the long series of digits – sorry.
This method also works for tablets (both sharing the password from and to your tablet), although from experience it feels as if fewer built-in camera apps for tablets offer the original option of scanning QR codes.
Sharing a Wi-Fi password like this is admittedly a very situational trick, but there are moments where it can come in handy, like if you are hosting a dinner party and everyone needs your phones (there are lots of party games such as Spyfall and Heads-Up who need Wi-Fi) or have people working on a project in your home together.
So make sure you remember this technique – it’s pretty easy after all – so you can easily give or receive Wi-Fi benefits.