How to Connect to WiFi Without a Password: 6 Ways

How to Connect to WiFi Without a Password

The simplest way to join a WiFi network without typing the password is to scan a WiFi QR code with your phone’s camera. Anyone already on the network can generate one in a few taps, and your camera will offer to join. If you need devices to connect automatically and repeatedly without any password, that is what Passpoint and Hotspot 2.0 are for.

Scope, stated plainly: this guide covers networks you have been given permission to use — your own, a friend’s, your workplace, a hotel, a campus. It does not cover gaining access to networks you are not authorized to use. That is a separate matter, it is unlawful in most places, and it is not what any method here does.

Why you would want this

Typing a 24-character random password on a phone keyboard is miserable, and it gets worse when you are reading it off a sticker on the back of a router. There are also situations where sharing the password is not appropriate: a guest network in a business, a venue serving hundreds of people a day, or a smart device with no keyboard at all.

Every method below solves one of those. Two things people expect to find here are covered honestly: WPS, which no longer works on modern Android phones, and automatic connection, which does work but through a technology almost nobody writes about.

Method 1: Scan a WiFi QR code

The default answer, and the one that works nearly everywhere.

To join a network from a QR code: point your phone’s normal camera app at it, or use Google Lens. A prompt appears offering to join the network. Tap it. No app required — this is built into both Android and iPhone cameras.

To generate the code on Android (10 and later):

1. Settings → Network & internet → Internet.
2. Tap the connected network, or the gear icon beside it.
3. Tap Share and authenticate with fingerprint or PIN.
4. Show the QR code to your guest.

On Samsung: Settings → Connections → Wi-Fi → gear icon next to the network → QR code.

On iPhone: the Settings app and the Passwords app can both produce a WiFi QR code for a saved network — which is the easiest way to get an Android device onto a network an iPhone user knows the password for.

Limitation: this works for password-based networks only. Enterprise networks that authenticate each user individually cannot be shared this way, because there is no shared password to encode.

A QR code contains the password as plain text, so treat a printed one like a printed password — fine taped inside a café, less fine on a public-facing window.

Method 2: Wi-Fi Easy Connect (DPP)

Wi-Fi Easy Connect, also called DPP, is the official replacement for WPS. Android has supported it since Android 10, and it is designed for provisioning credentials to a device — particularly a device with no screen or keyboard, like a smart speaker or printer.

Its neatest property: it needs neither location nor WiFi permissions to work, which is unusual and a deliberate privacy improvement over what came before.

Honest limitation. Support is strong on the Android side but thin in consumer router firmware. In practice you will meet Easy Connect most often when onboarding IoT devices rather than when joining a home network. If your router supports it, its interface will say so; most do not advertise it because most do not have it.

Method 3: Passpoint and Hotspot 2.0 — genuine automatic connection

This is the answer to “how do I connect automatically without a password,” and it is almost entirely absent from other articles on this subject.

Passpoint, also known as Hotspot 2.0, lets a device discover and authenticate to a network with no password prompt at all — not the first time, and not any time after. It is the technology behind eduroam on university campuses, OpenRoaming in public venues, and carrier WiFi offload on mobile networks.

Passpoint support has been required on all WiFi Android devices since Android 11, and optional before that. Release 1 has been supported since Android 6.0, with Release 2 arriving in Android 10.

How you actually use it: you install a profile. Typically you download a configuration file over HTTPS from your institution — your university, employer, or carrier — and Android launches an installer and asks you to confirm. After that the device connects automatically whenever it is in range of any network in that federation, anywhere in the world.

If you are a student or a member of staff at an institution that offers eduroam, this is the single best answer on this page, and you only have to do it once.

One historical note: Passpoint Release 2’s online sign-up mechanism was deprecated by the Wi-Fi Alliance on 30 June 2023, so ignore older guidance describing that flow.

Method 4: Share from another device

Android to Android. From Android 12 onward, Quick Share can push WiFi credentials to a nearby Android device without a QR code. The sending device needs Android 12 or later; receiving devices on Android 10 and later can accept.

iPhone to iPhone or Mac. Hold the devices near each other and a prompt offers to share the password. Both need to be signed into iCloud and have each other in Contacts.

iPhone to Android, or Android to iPhone. Use a QR code, as in Method 1. It is the reliable cross-platform bridge.

Samsung. Samsung’s own support documentation describes the QR code method rather than a Quick Share route for WiFi, so use the QR code on Galaxy devices.

Method 5: Open guest networks and captive portals

If you run the network, the cleanest way to stop handing out a password is to stop having one.

A guest SSID with client isolation, paired with a captive portal, lets people connect and then accept terms, enter an email, or use a voucher code in the browser instead of typing a key. This is standard in hotels, cafés, airports, and retail, and it is the right pattern for any business with public visitors.

One important improvement to pair with it: Wi-Fi Enhanced Open, also called OWE, encrypts traffic on a network that has no password. Android has supported it since Android 10, and its transition mode lets older devices connect to the same network. An open network without OWE leaves guest traffic unencrypted over the air — worth fixing if you run one.

Method 6: NFC tags

You can write WiFi credentials to an NFC tag and join the network by tapping your phone against it. It is a genuinely nice solution for a reception desk or a meeting room.

Treat this as partially reliable. Only vendor and supplier sources document it — there is no Google or Wi-Fi Alliance documentation confirming that stock Android will always handle a WiFi NFC tag natively. Behavior varies between manufacturers and often needs a helper app. Test with your own devices before deploying it anywhere that matters.

What about WPS? It no longer works on phones

WPS — the push-button pairing on the back of many routers — is what most people remember as the way to connect without a password. It is worth being precise about its status, because router manufacturers still fit the button.

It has been removed from Android. WPS was deprecated in Android 9 and the option disappeared from the operating system’s WiFi settings. There is no WPS push-button option in Android 10 through 17. Motorola’s own support pages tell users the option has gone from the phone. Pressing WPS on your router will not pair a modern Android phone, because the phone has no way to respond.

It is incompatible with WPA3. ASUS states it directly: WPA3 does not permit WPS connections. Their suggested workaround is to downgrade the network to WPA2 — that is, to weaken your security in order to use WPS. Since Wi-Fi 6E, the 6 GHz band, and Wi-Fi 7 all mandate WPA3, WPS is effectively finished on modern equipment.

It was removed for good reasons. Two specific attacks killed it. In 2011, Stefan Viehböck showed that because the eight-digit PIN is validated in two halves, the search space collapses to at most around 11,000 guesses — recoverable in under four hours. In 2014, Dominique Bongard’s “Pixie Dust” attack exploited weak random number generation in widely used chipsets to recover the PIN within a couple of minutes. The accepted mitigation is to disable WPS entirely, and on some routers the toggle does not actually do so.

Where it still has a use: connecting a printer to a WPA2 router. Canon and others still document the button. Router to printer, sometimes. Router to modern phone, no.

If you have WPS enabled on your network and nothing depends on it, turn it off.

Which method should you use?

SituationBest method

Getting a guest online onceWiFi QR codeiPhone user helping an Android userQR code from iOSAndroid to Android, no QRQuick Share (Android 12+)University or workplace, automatic every timePasspoint / eduroam profilePublic venue or businessOpen guest network with OWE and a captive portalSmart device with no keyboardWi-Fi Easy Connect, if your router supports itReception desk or meeting roomNFC tag, tested on your own devices firstYou have the password but cannot read itSee how to view a saved WiFi password on Android

Frequently asked questions

How do I connect to WiFi without typing a password? Scan a WiFi QR code with your phone’s camera. Whoever is already on the network can generate one in a few taps from their WiFi settings. Your camera will offer to join the network.

How do I connect to WiFi automatically without a password? Install a Passpoint, also called Hotspot 2.0, profile from your institution or carrier. Android has required Passpoint support since Android 11. Once the profile is installed, the device connects automatically in range, with no password prompt. This is how eduroam works on university campuses.

How do I use the WPS button on Android? You cannot. WPS was deprecated in Android 9 and removed from the operating system’s WiFi settings, so Android 10 through 17 have no WPS option. It is also incompatible with WPA3, which Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 require.

What happens when I press the WPS button on my router? The router opens a short pairing window for a device that supports WPS. Modern Android phones no longer do, so nothing will happen with a current phone. Some printers and older devices still use it.

Is it safe to use WPS? No, and this is why it was removed. A 2011 flaw reduces the PIN to around 11,000 guesses, and the 2014 Pixie Dust attack on common chipsets recovers PINs in minutes. Disable WPS unless a specific device requires it.

Can I connect to WiFi with a QR code on iPhone? Yes. Point the camera at the code and a prompt offers to join. iPhones can also generate WiFi QR codes from Settings or the Passwords app, which is the simplest way to share a network with an Android user.

Can I connect to an enterprise or work WiFi without a password? Yes, but not through QR sharing. Enterprise networks authenticate each user individually, so there is no shared password to encode. They use a management profile or Passpoint instead — ask your IT team for the configuration profile.

Does sharing a WiFi QR code reveal my password? Yes. The code contains the password as plain text, so anyone who scans or photographs it has the password. Treat a printed QR code the way you would a printed password.

Can I join WiFi by tapping an NFC tag? On some devices, yes, though support is inconsistent and often needs an app. There is no official documentation guaranteeing native handling on all Android devices, so test before relying on it.

Is it legal to connect to someone’s WiFi without their password? Only with their permission. Every method here assumes you have been granted access — the point is avoiding the typing, not avoiding the permission. Accessing a network without authorization is a criminal offense in most jurisdictions.