Share Wi-Fi Credentials via QR code!

DannyG1P

👋 Hey everyone!

We’ve made it even easier to share your Wi-Fi credentials with nearby family and friends with a new improvement to the Wireless Router item in 1Password: automatic QR codes! Conveniently share your Wi-Fi network name and password via QR code with your nearby family and friends by having them scan the code - no links or extra taps needed!

How does it work?

Starting today, 1Password will automatically generate and display a unique QR code for your Wireless Router item. Simply create the item, fill out the network name and network password fields, and voila! Your QR code will automatically appear and be ready for use 🙌

Can I conceal the code?

By default, the QR code will display automatically for quick and convenient sharing. But, if you’d prefer to have it concealed by default, head to Settings -> Security -> Concealed Fields and deselect "Always show Wi-Fi QR codes”. With this setting turned off, you’ll be able to tap the code to reveal it before sharing.

Where is this available?

This feature is available in the latest version of 1Password for iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, and Linux.

And that’s it! As always, we’d love to hear your feedback on this new feature. Let us know what you think in the comments. Stay safe 🔒

JuliusH

Great feature! Would be great if one could print the QR code directly from 1P

bspachman

Nifty looking! Older entries I have don't auto-generate the QR code unless I move the password information from 'base station password' to 'wireless network password'. I'm sure there's a subtle technical reason those two types of passwords are different, but it might be an improvement to have the QR code generate regardless of which password field is populated.

ag_andrew

@JuliusH Love the feedback, we've had a few people ask for that internally as well 😉, no promises but that idea definitely has its fans.

@bspachman That's something we thought hard about. Our Wireless Router template is a little dated and has several different password fields. Because it doesn't support designating a particular password field as "the one I want for a QR code", we decided to play it safe; we don't want to accidentally use your router admin password instead of your Wi-Fi password, so we err on the side of safety and only use the "wireless network password" for the QR code. It's not a perfect solution but I hope this helps explain why it is the way it is.

bspachman

@ag_andrew --

Understood, but I couldn't find any information in the documentation or forums about that specific field requirement. I was able to figure it out because I had several base stations that I could cross-compare their 1P entries. Might be worth highlighting the specificity needed in the feature post (my entries still don't have a 'network password' field, only 'base station password' and 'wireless network password' fields). But as a bonus, folks can use one of the other password fields to prevent a QR code from being generated in the first place :-)

ag_andrew

@bspachman Great feedback, I do hope we can add more in-app messaging around the required fields.
Until then I'm hoping folks will be able to find our support article that covers some of those pitfalls.

Please let us know if you run into any more trouble, and thanks again for the thoughtful comments 👍

robflate

How does this work with WiFi networks that use PPSK (Private Pre-Shared Key)? I.e. Multiple passwords on the same network name? I can currently only see a single QR code.

ag_andrew

@robflate That's a great question, and the answer (unsatisfying as it may be) is that currently we only support 1 QR code per Wireless Router item. I would love to lift this restriction in the future but it's going to take time to get there.

Paul2

Consider updating your template to include guest network name and password; and show QR codes for both the main network and the quest network. Allow either or both the QR codes to be concealed.

I see from the previous comment/response that you only support 1 QR code per item - I guess I can make my guest network a separate item and link it to (related item) to the main wifi router item. Ugh.

ag_andrew

Hey @Paul2, I think that's a great idea. Changes to our templates are a double-edged sword because those changes only apply to new items; existing items don't benefit from the template changes. In the future I'd like to make adding an additional network (SSID & password) to the item as easy as adding a new section.

Until then, two linked items is your way forward.

Thanks for your feedback and for the extra motivation to keep working on making it even better 💙

Paul2

One other idea: prepopulate the notes field of the existing template with a reminder of on which network/pw the QR code is based. End user can simply delete the note if desired. That interim change will help with your messaging.

ag_andrew

Thanks @Paul2, I'd love to provide some in-app messaging for which fields are required for Wi-Fi QR codes. I think I'll leave it to our designers, but we've heard that request both internally and externally.

rctneil

Hey,

Can you allow us to both print the QR codes (in multiple sizes) and save them out as images. I'd love to be able to save/print them to stick on the wall.

Would be useful for more public places or in waiting areas with free guest wifi access etc.

Ronso

Hi, thanks for this feature.

I created my router via New Object -> "WLAN-Router".
Since my router sends several WLANs, I thought that all QR codes would be displayed.
Unfortunately, this was not the case.
So I created all my WLANs as a new objects, whereby the term "WLAN router" is probably not quite correct here, but unfortunately there is no "WIFI" or "WLAN" object.

Just a little suggestion.

Thanks again

ag_andrew

Hey @rctneil, I think this is a great suggestion. It's something we've talked about but haven't scheduled at this point. I think we'd probably start with image export since those can be used & printed in many ways.

Thanks again for your feedback, keep it coming 💙

ag_andrew

Hey @Ronso, I'm glad you're finding it useful!

You're right. The Wireless Router item is showing its age. It's from a time when most consumer level routers only supported one network. I'd love to re-work that item to support a larger number of networks (and hence a larger number of QR codes), but for now you'll need to use the workaround you found (using multiple items). You can link the items together to more quickly jump between them if you need.

Let us know if you run into any more trouble 💙

Ronso

Already linked them.

I like using that functionality.

Although I would also love it if I linked item A to item B, it would automatically link item B to item A.

But that's another story altogether 😅

ag_andrew

@Ronso Amazing, ahead of the curve! You're right that item linking could also be improved.

Lots to do 😅

rctneil

@ag_andrew Can I ask if some of these things that i've been seen mentioned on the forum as "we intend to do them", or "lots to do", or "we also want to do this", will actually get done?

Some examples, updated item templates, custom templates, bi-directional item linking.

I see new features being released to developers and other brand new initiatives, but these things are always on the "yes, that could be improved" list and never materialise.

ag_andrew

That's such a great question @rctneil. I can't promise anything will 100% for sure get done. The reality is things come up, lists get re-prioritized, some things get done and some don't. That's true for every product I've ever worked on.

While building this feature, I went back through the forums and found posts from 2017 and earlier asking for Wi-Fi QR codes. The answers at the time were "we also want to do this". And we did want to. But it took until this summer to deliver it because there is always "lots to do".

I don't want anything to take that long but I can't see the future. I hope that we've earned your trust over the years to know that we're doing our best and working every day to deliver you a valuable product.