How to share WiFi gracefully when the password is hard to reveal

"What's your home WiFi password?" This question may be asked by colleagues or friends you just met, relatives who come to visit during festivals, or neighbors who just moved in. You don't want to tell them the WiFi password you carefully set up, as they only come to your home twice a year. I believe many netizens have encountered this embarrassing situation. Considering the years when similar questions appeared on Zhihu, how to share WiFi without telling others the password seems to have become a historical problem left over from the mobile Internet era.

In fact, everyone knows that if you don't want to tell your WiFi password to someone you don't know well, it's not because you're stingy. After all, the Internet is charged annually and you can't use it all. People are more concerned about security, after all, passwords are personal privacy. Some people may only remember a few passwords in total and use them back and forth on different accounts, not to mention the "one code to the world" god. If you tell you a password, it's basically the same as telling you all his passwords. In addition to the less standardized mobile application ecosystem in the past few years, some software that claims to be able to connect to WiFi for free actually collects a large number of users' WiFi passwords and then shares them. If you connect to WiFi once on a mobile phone with this software installed, the entire Internet knows your home WiFi password, which invisibly increases a lot of risks. In addition to the above situation, it may also be because the owner of the WiFi really forgot the password because it was so long ago, and if he wants to change it, he can only reset the router.

There are also many netizens who forget their passwords

"It is a great pleasure to have friends coming from afar", this is what Confucius said thousands of years ago. How can we, a country of etiquette, be stumped by a small WiFi password? Besides, it is already 2022, and entering a password to connect to WiFi is really old-fashioned. Today, I will introduce to you my experience of sharing WiFi networks without entering a password, which I have treasured for many years, so that you can respond more elegantly next time you face the soul-searching question of "What is your WiFi password?"

1. iOS device close to shared WiFi Elegance index: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The huge number of Apple devices has greatly facilitated the interconnection between iOS devices, which is also reflected in the matter of connecting to WiFi. As early as the iPhone 7 era, Apple added the function of sharing WiFi to the iOS system, which is also very simple to implement. If a device that is not connected to WiFi is placed close to a device that is already connected to WiFi, the system will automatically pop up an animation prompting whether to share the WiFi password that is being connected with xxx. At this time, just click on the screen to easily complete it.

However, in order to achieve this step, in addition to both parties turning on the WiFi and Bluetooth of their devices, they also need to be friends in each other's address book, and the email address used as the Apple ID must have been stored in the other party's address book. This is suitable for familiar classmates, colleagues, and relatives, and can only be shared with iOS devices.

2. Android devices share WiFi via QR code Elegance index: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

After talking about iOS devices, Android users should not worry. After all, the Android ecosystem is all about "open source". How can a small shared WiFi password be difficult for major manufacturers? However, due to the continuous tightening of permissions of the Android system in recent years, some of the previous methods of using software or ROOT to read system information are no longer applicable. Fortunately, various brands have been constantly polishing their own systems, so that the function of sharing WiFi using QR codes has been integrated into the system, which is very convenient.

Since I don't have an Android device at hand for the time being, according to the information I collected online, brands such as Huawei and Xiaomi already have this function. Taking Huawei as an example, click on the name of the WiFi that has been connected in the system network settings. In addition to displaying detailed WiFi information, the pop-up window will automatically generate a QR code. The new device can automatically connect to the WiFi by scanning this QR code with the system camera.

The principle is very simple. The system automatically recognizes the WiFi name, password and other information and generates a QR code for the device to read. In the early years when this function did not exist, some enthusiasts would use a generator to generate a QR code by themselves, which could also achieve this effect. As long as the WiFi name and password have not been changed, this QR code will always be available. Friends who often have guests at home can print a copy and stick it on the wall.

3. Router NFC connection elegance index: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

With mobile device manufacturers working so hard, router manufacturers naturally cannot fall behind. Especially after entering the WiFi 6 era, in addition to continuous improvements in signal strength and speed, manufacturers have also made a lot of explorations in the usability of routers. Connecting to WiFi via NFC is a good example.

As far as I can remember, this feature first appeared on the AX3 Pro router launched by Huawei in 2020, but it did not trigger a large number of manufacturers to follow suit. This may be because the router itself has a WPS connection function, which makes people feel that adding more cost to make an NFC function is a bit superfluous, but for users, such a function itself is still very convenient.

For example, the ZTE AX5400 router below, which was launched last year, has an NFC recognition area added on the side. Users can connect to WiFi by simply turning on the NFC function of their phone and touching this area. However, this feature is only available to Android users and is not yet supported by iOS.

4. Router WPS button connection elegance index: ⭐⭐⭐

Although WPS connection is placed at the end, it is actually the earliest one to appear. I can’t even think of any router that does not have this function. Perhaps because the design is too hidden, or perhaps the manufacturer’s publicity is not in place, this small WPS button is often mistaken by some people as the reset button or power switch of the router.

The black button on the far right is the WPS button

In other words, the routers in our homes actually support the WiFi sharing function, and it is not difficult to operate. As long as the user selects the WiFi network to be connected on the device and presses this button on the router, it can automatically connect to the WiFi network. And this method supports almost all mobile phones, PCs, and tablets, and has no requirements for the system version.

However, this connection method also has some problems. In the past, I often encountered the situation that the device was disconnected. It is not as stable as directly entering the password, and I have not found the specific reason. In addition, the routers at home are usually placed in hidden places such as TV cabinets, desks, and even weak current boxes (not recommended), which are dusty. It may not be convenient to press this small button directly with your hands, so most people don’t know this method.

Well, the above are the tips on sharing WiFi networks that we brought to you this time. I believe that after reading the above content, the next time someone asks you for the WiFi password, you will no longer be in an embarrassing situation.