In this article, we explain how to share Wi-Fi passwords in different situations on different devices. How you share the Wi-Fi password is going to depend on a couple of things: the level of security you need to have over your Wi-Fi, the proximity of sharing, and how often you need to share your password.
It’s easy to give the password verbally to a friend every couple of months, but 60 times/day in your café is another story. Similarly, if you have a Wi-Fi set up for the front of the house in your café and keep a separate, secure connection for the back of the house, then you can feel safer in your decision to freely share the Wi-Fi password with patrons directly.
When dealing with the most secure business settings, the simplest solution is also the most secure: a password manager. Password managers allow you to share Wi-Fi passwords as well as all the other passwords you need across your team in a safe and secure manner. This is where TeamPassword comes in.
Teams sharing passwords will become increasingly common as organizations move toward more remote settings across various locations. TeamPassword’s password managers retain trust by enabling teams (up to fifty users per account) to share passwords while safeguarding confidential credentials and driving productivity within organizations.
Start a trial today to empower your teams with comprehensive password management.
How to share your Wi-Fi on iPhone, iPad, or Mac
You can share Wi-Fi passwords among Apple devices easily. Be sure that your guest is in your contacts and that you are in their contacts as well. Furthermore, ensure that your iPhone, iPad or Mac is up to date.
Your iPhone needs to be running iOS 11 or newer, your iPad running iPadOS, and your Mac macOS Sierra or newer. Once you’ve confirmed you are mutual contacts and running the appropriate operating system, follow the steps below to share Wi-Fi.
- Make sure that both devices have their Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned on. Then, confirm that Personal Hotspot is turned off. Be sure the other device is unlocked and nearby.
- Your device must be connected to the network you wish to share. If you have a guest network, then make sure you are also connected to the guest network.
- Your guest can now select your Wi-Fi network from the list of nearby networks.
- You should get a prompt asking if you wish to share the Wi-Fi password with the device.
- Finally, tap Share Password.
How to Share Your Wi-Fi on Android
With Android, things are slightly more complicated. First, make sure that your devices are running Android 10 or later. Then, you can use QR codes to share Wi-Fi passwords.
The good thing about learning this system is that it can be used among Android, Apple, and Windows devices as well, so even if it is just a little more complicated than the Apple system, once you know how to share Wi-Fi passwords with QR codes, you won’t need to learn a second method.
Note that not all Androids have the same Settings menu, so you might find things are a little different on your device from the instructions below.
- As with the Apple instructions, you need to be connected to the network you wish to share, and if that is your guest network, then you may need to first reconnect using the guest Wi-Fi.
- Go to Settings, Network, and Internet (this is sometimes called Connections), and then Wi-Fi.
- Click the cog next to your Wi-Fi network.
- Next, press the Share icon on the right. You should then see a QR code on the screen.
- Have your guest scan the QR code.
- If your guest is using an iPhone, they should be able to scan the QR code with their normal camera app.
- If your guest is using an Android phone, then have them go to Settings, Network, and Internet (again, this is sometimes called Connections), and then Wi-Fi. When they scroll down to Add Network, they should be able to see a QR code icon next to it. Once they tap on this, they can scan the QR code.
- For both iPhones and Androids, simply scanning the QR code should give them access to your Wi-Fi.
QR Code Generator
Using a QR code generator for sharing Wi-Fi passwords is the easiest and most device-agnostic method. Any modern device can generate as well as read QR codes. However, not all devices come with this functionality out of the box.
Thankfully there are loads of decent apps available for generating QR codes to share Wi-Fi passwords. QiFi.org and Qrafter are two popular choices. WiFi.org focuses on Wi-Fi codes, so it might be an easy choice if you aren’t that comfortable with technology. Qrafter has a free iOS app, so if you think this is something you won’t do very often, it might be best.
Another one is QR Code Generator. The following instructions for sharing the Wi-Fi password use QR Code Generator, but they are all very similar, and with a little clicking around, you should be able to figure it out.
Here are the instructions:
- Select the Wi-Fi setting.
- Enter the network name (the “SSID”) and password. Sometimes you need to enter the security type as well, so confirm that in your Wi-Fi settings if necessary.
- Click Generate to give you the code.
After all of that, you can follow Steps 5 and 6 for the Android sharing instructions.
This is the easiest way to share among different operating systems—Android, iOS, and Windows. With Windows, this is especially valuable as they have removed sharing networks with contacts using Wi-Fi Sense due to security concerns.
How to Find Your Wi-Fi Password on Windows
As mentioned above, you used to be able to share Wi-Fi passwords on Windows desktops with contacts using Wi-Fi Sense, but Microsoft scrapped this feature because of security concerns. There is really no easy shortcut now to share Wi-Fi passwords.
The easiest thing to do here is probably to look up the password and then share it verbally or type it into your guest’s device yourself.
You can find your Wi-Fi password by clicking on the Windows icon, going to Settings, and choosing Network & Internet. Go to the Status tab and then select Network and Sharing Center.
You can then click on Connections: Wi-Fi, choose Wireless Properties in the pop-up window, select the Security tab, and finally check the Show Characters box under the Network security key.
Why Can’t I Share Passwords via Email or Messenger?
Simply put, sharing passwords over email or chat is dangerous because the messages might not be end-to-end encrypted. That means someone could eavesdrop on the conversation and then use your login credentials.
While not every way of sharing a password listed below is dangerous, the others can be frustratingly slow or require more effort than is necessary.
- Written notes: While a written note could be safe, you have to have a lot of faith in the chain of custody. After you give the password away, are you confident that the receiver will shred and dispose of the piece of paper safely? If not, it might be best to avoid sharing your Wi-Fi password this way.
- Emails and text messages: As mentioned above, these messages can be sent as plain text, which means that anyone who intercepts the message will be able to see your password.
- Text files and spreadsheets: Having a shared document could be safe—if you password protect the document and keep that password safe. But, if your organization is keeping their passwords in a spreadsheet, it is a safe bet that the spreadsheet is also not optimally protected.
- Verbal communication: Yes, it is reasonably safe to share Wi-Fi passwords verbally, and this isn’t too much of an encumbrance when you have a friend visit your home once in a while. However, this eats up valuable time when repeated across your organization many times every day.
How to share a password with TeamPassword
Having strong passwords is a given, but if you share passwords via unsecured routes, you are trading one vulnerability for another. Indeed, most teams make obvious mistakes when sharing passwords.
The best way to secure your IT infrastructure is to use a password manager that includes sharing features. A password manager like TeamPassword offers high-level encryption and two-factor authentication so that only the right people can make sense of the passwords.
Before anyone can access the list of shared passwords, they must log in to the platform using their personal password and a short-term authentication code.
Teams often need to share passwords to access mutual accounts including Wi-Fi. However, you don't have to put your data at risk to make this possible. You can use TeamPassword to securely generate, store, and share Wi-Fi passwords within a team.
If you’re unsure where to begin, sign up for a TeamPassword free trial to secure your shared passwords once and for all.
