4 Ways to Share WiFi Without Giving Away Your Password.
Guests and friends come to you often, and the first thing they ask is your WiFi password. I’m sure you don’t want to disappoint them and refuse them to use your Wi-Fi, but at the same time, you’ve worked so hard to secure your network. So, is there a middle ground?
If friends and colleagues often come to you and share your Wi-Fi, then it makes sense to set up your home network so that you can share WiFi without giving your password. And luckily there are several ways to do this, let’s check them out.
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Share WiFi without giving away your password
1. Automatically connect with WPS
To deal with this inconvenience of issuing a complex password, most Wi-Fi devices have a feature called WPS (WiFi Protected Setup). WPS was first created around 2007 to connect your home router to a specific device that does not have a display interface, such as your printers, WiFi repeaters, and IOT (Internet of Things) devices. But you know what, most computers running Android and Windows also support WPS.
Transferring your Wi-Fi password using WPS is as easy as pressing two buttons (one on your router and the other on the device you want to connect it to).
How to use WPS
To connect your Android smartphone to a WiFi router using the WPS function. On your Android go to Settings Network & Internet WiFi. Scroll down and find the Wi-Fi Preferences option and click Next, there you will find WiFi Button click on it. Now go to your WiFi router and press the WPS button (usually on the back). Once you press both buttons at the same time, your Android device will connect to the Wi-Fi network without sharing a password. Some routers with WPS support (for example from TP-link) can also connect using an 8-digit PIN code. Look for a sticker attached to the back of your Wi-Fi router, if you see an 8-digit PIN, you can use it as your Wi-Fi password. also.
pros
Just press two buttons and the device will automatically connect to the Wi-Fi network.
Minuses
You can’t always fire up and press a button on your router as soon as someone asks for access to your Wi-Fi network. We are a lazy breed after all
Since the WPS PIN is only eight digits long, hackers can easily crack it. If you are not using WPS, it is better to disable them by going to the settings of your router, watch the following video.
WPS only works if both the home router and WiFi client devices support it. Although most Android and Windows computers support WPS, Apple devices such as Macbook and iPhone do not.
2. Scan the QR or NFC tags to connect to the WiFi network
There are many websites and apps that allow you to create QR codes for Wi-Fi passwords. If you work in the Android ecosystem, check out these QR code apps to transfer your Wi-Fi password from one phone to another, or if you are on the Internet, go to QR Stuff and select “Wi-Fi Login” in left menu, then enter your SSID. (network name), password and encryption type. Once you receive the QR code, print it on a piece of paper and stick it next to your WiFi router.
If you want to create an NFC tag that connects your Android guest smartphone to a Wi-Fi network, you can use WiFiKeyShare.
How to connect to a QR code
To connect to your network, your guest will need to scan a QR code. and instantly connect them to a Wi-Fi network. Although in order to scan a Wi-Fi network, your guest will have to install a QR code scanner app (if they don’t already have one on their phone), or if they have an iPhone, the default camera app should be sufficient, given that they run the latter iOS version 11 or higher.
pros
The user can simply bring their phone to the NFC tag and it will automatically connect to the Wi-Fi network. Unlike a QR code, they don’t need to install any app.
Minuses
Not every smartphone has NFC.
If your guests aren’t tech savvy, QR codes and NFC tags can fly overhead.
3. Use the guest mode of the router
The best analogy for understanding guest mode on a router is comparing it to the front door of our house. If the main Wi-Fi network is like the front door of your house, the entrance to which the user will have access to almost part of the house, then the guest mode is the door to the garage, that is, the guest can still use your home, but they will be limited to a certain the sensitive part is still inaccessible to moving the house.
Almost all home routers have a feature called “Guest Mode”. Instead of having your friends and guest connect to your regular Wi-Fi network, you can ask them to connect to the guest network, which may have a passphrase separate from your regular Wi-Fi network. This way, you can keep a strong password for the regular network and a simple password for the guest, or even leave it open.
How to set up guest mode
Log in to your router’s admin page by entering the router’s IP address in the address bar of your web browser. This is usually 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1, or use this guide to find out the IP address of your router and then log into your network.
Once there, find the guest network (it should be somewhere in the wireless settings) and turn it on.
Enter a new network name (SSID) and set a new simple password like 123456 or qwertyui, etc. Then click Save for the settings to take effect.
pros
You don’t need to reveal your usual Wi-Fi password. Ideal if the guest is frequent or staying for a long time
On a guest network, users do not have access to files that are shared on the network.
Most home routers allow you to limit the bandwidth and usage schedule of the guest network.
Minuses
Guest mode is often insecure
4. Create a WiFi hotspot from your device.
Most of you probably know that you can turn your Windows computer into a hotspot and thus share your Wi-Fi, but as it turns out, you can also use your Android as a WiFi repeater.
In general, you can create a Wi-Fi hotspot on your Android device, but this only works with data. You cannot share WiFi to WiFi. However, there is no root with the Netshare app. you can create a Wi-Fi hotspot from a Wi-Fi hotspot. And best of all, it doesn’t require root access. This is not an ideal use case here. since you will still have to use wifi. Here’s a detailed guide on how to create an Android Wi-Fi hotspot that’s already connected to Wi-Fi.
pros
Share your Wi-Fi connection right from the device in your hand
Minuses
Does not work if the guest plans to stay for more than a few hours
Conclusion: Share WiFi without giving a password
There are several ways to share WiFi without revealing WiFi password, for example – guest network, WPS, using QR code or NFC.
Plus, if nothing else works, you can always enter the code on their device. On Android, it is not possible to see the saved Wi-Fi password after connecting to this network. However, on iOS, you can see the Wi-Fi password of the connected network if you connect your iPhone or iPad to a Macbook associated with the same Apple account. But without a Macbook, even iOS won’t be able to find out the current WiFi password.
If you share your Wi-Fi password with people who are not good to you, it can open your network to a potential threat, thankfully there are steps to keep your Wi-Fi network secure, and if you are skeptical about some of them, don’t enough of your network, you see what others are browsing on your network and if they do something illegal, you can even kick them out of your Wi-Fi network.