Guest Wi-Fi QR — Verify the result

Worked example

Test with a phone that has never joined the network: it must show the right name, connect without asking for a password, and load a page.

Reading a Wi-Fi code on the screen where you made it proves very little; the real check is whether a phone that has never seen the network can join it. Before printing, take a phone that has not connected to the guest network, or tell it to forget the network, and scan the exported file.

On a recent iPhone or Android phone the camera should show a prompt to join the network named in the code (for example Guest). Tap it and watch for three things: the network name shown is exactly the one you intended, the phone connects without asking for a password, and a web page loads afterward. A connection that succeeds but has no internet usually points to a router or captive-portal setting, not to the QR code.

To compare the content itself, scan with a reader app that prints the raw text. It should read WIFI:T:WPA;S:Guest;P: followed by the password and ending in two semicolons, with a backslash before any semicolon, comma, colon or backslash inside the name or password. If a field is missing or the type reads nopass when your network has a password, go back, correct the selection and export again.

The mistake that catches many owners is testing only with a phone that already knows the network, which will simply reconnect and tell you nothing. Test on a second brand of phone as well, because some readers handle hidden networks and special characters differently.

For a printed card, repeat the test at the final size and in the room lighting. The PNG you download is 720 by 720 px at the default, 1440 by 1440 if you chose that; open it at actual size to be sure the file matches what you set. Keep the verification date with the file name so the card can be re-checked after router changes.

Guest network; example-only password

WIFI:T:WPA;S:Guest;P:example-only;;

A successful scan prompt is not proof of connection; the phone must join and load a page, on a network it has not used before.