Even though these complex passwords help prevent unauthorized access to your network, they are not easy to remember and share. As a result, when you have people over at your place requesting access to your Wi-Fi, it can sometimes get tricky to spell out your password, especially if it is an alphanumeric jumble with upper and lower case letters. However, if you use an iPhone/iPad/iPod touch, you get a pretty straightforward method of sharing your Wi-Fi password on iOS and iPadOS. This native Wi-Fi password sharing method is perfect if you want to share your Wi-Fi network password between Apple devices. But for times when you need to do it from your iPhone/iPod touch/iPad to an Android device, you have to use a different Wi-Fi password sharing method. In this guide, we will walk you through the steps for sharing your Wi-Fi password from your iPhone to an iPhone/iPod touch/iPad and from your iPhone to an Android device.
How to Share WiFi Password: iPhone to iPhone / iPod Touch / iPad
As mentioned earlier, sharing a Wi-Fi password between Apple devices — iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch — is fairly simple. To do this, all you need to do is perform three simple steps. However, before you move on to these steps, you need to take care of the following prerequisites:
Both the devices between which you intend to share your Wi-Fi password need to be running on the latest versions of their operating systems. If these devices are the iPhones and the iPod touch, make sure they are on iOS 14. If it is an iPad, it needs to be on iPadOS 14. The email address linked to your Apple ID on your device should be in your name entered on the other person’s Contacts list. Similarly, ensure that their name record in your Contacts list also contains their (Apple ID) email address with which they are using their device.
Once these requirements are met, you can proceed to share your Wi-Fi password with the other device. Here are the steps you need to follow. As soon as you share your WiFi password, the other device will instantly connect to your network and will be able to access the internet.
How to Share WiFi Password from iPhone to Android
Unlike the above method, sharing your Wi-Fi password from an iPhone/iPod touch/iPad to an Android device is not as straightforward: you need to use a couple of apps to make it work. First, you need to set up a way for your iPhone/iPod touch/iPad to generate and share your network’s password. To do this, we will be using the Shortcuts app, so make sure you have it installed on your device before proceeding further. (Shortcuts comes pre-installed on iOS 14. So unless you deleted it, it should be there on your device.) Next, download the Share Wi-Fi shortcut and add it to your Shortcuts library. However, since this is a third-party shortcut, you cannot run it directly. For this, before downloading the shortcut, head over to Settings > Shortcuts and enable Allow Untrusted Shortcuts. [For a detailed guide, check out How to Use Untrusted Shortcuts.] Once that is done, open the shortcut link (provided above) and hit the Get Shortcut button. In the Open in Shortcuts prompt, hit Open to open the shortcut in the Shortcuts app. Please scroll down to the bottom and click Add Untrusted Shortcut to add it to your shortcuts library. Now, follow the steps below to generate a QR code for your network information. Shortcuts will now present a QR code created using all the essential network information. If you wish, you can also modify the shortcut to ask you for your Wi-Fi password every time you run it. To do this, remove the Text window and add Ask for input. Replace Prompt with the prompt message you want. Tap on Text in the Variables window, choose Select Magic Variable, and click on Provided Input below the Scripting window.
We now need an app that can scan this QR code and retrieve the Wi-Fi password. While there are various apps that can do this, we recommend using Google Lens since it works flawlessly pretty much every single time and automatically fills the obtained password to establish a connection. Download Google Lens and install it on your device. Grant the app access to all the required permissions and set it up. With everything set, open Google Lens and point it to the QR code you generated on your iPhone/iPod touch/iPad. Click on the shutter button at the bottom to capture information from the QR code. Do note that you need to be connected to the internet for Google Lens to work. As soon as you do that, Google Lens will detect the network details from the QR code, and you will see a Join Network button. Click on it to automatically connect to the Wi-Fi network.
If you have a Pixel device, you get Google Lens baked into the system. To access it, simply click on the Google Search bar and tap the Lens icon. The rest of the process remains the same.
Successfully Sharing Wi-Fi Passwords From iPhone to Other Devices
Using both methods listed above, you can easily share your Wi-Fi password between an iPhone/iPod touch/iPad and an Android phone. An advantage of using Apple’s Wi-Fi sharing method is that you give access to your Wi-Fi network without explicitly revealing your Wi-Fi password to the other person. Similarly, the Shortcuts method, on the other hand, also has its own advantage. And besides being used just for sharing passwords with Android devices, it also comes in handy when you need to share your Wi-Fi password with many people at once. For instance, if you have guests at your home, you cannot share your password with everyone using the native way since that would quickly turn into a tedious job. Instead, what you can do is generate your network QR code using the Share Wi-Fi shortcut and print it out on paper or display it on some display for people to scan using their device and connect to your network.
