You’ve probably been asked for the Wi-Fi password for your home network before — which you first had to dig out and your guests then had to painstakingly type in. Those days are thankfully over, because there are now easier ways to share a Wi-Fi password — especially between Apple devices. Read on to learn how you can securely and seamlessly transfer a Wi-Fi password from one iPhone to another iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Android device. Also discover how Avira Phantom VPN for iOS can help you strengthen the protection of other sensitive data when transferring it online.
Share your Wi-Fi password between Apple devices
A Wi-Fi password, or network security key, protects wireless local networks from unauthorized access, ensuring that only trusted devices can connect. In other words, a device can only join a secured Wi‑Fi network if it has the correct password. iPhone users can share a Wi-Fi password with other devices in four different ways, which differ in terms of ease of use as well as their level of protection. Your options are:
- via automatic Wi-Fi password sharing
- via a QR code
- via the Share feature
- by copying/pasting and sharing
The quickest and safest way is to use automatic Wi-Fi password sharing, although this only works between Apple devices. Despite what you might read elsewhere, an AirDrop mechanism isn’t used; it just happens to work in a similar way. Instead of AirDrop, a different Apple-proprietary protocol is used for automatic sharing, which is based on several technologies. Although this also uses Bluetooth for device detection and an encrypted peer-to-peer connection for data transfer — just like AirDrop — it is designed specifically to make it secure and easy to share network information. This means it differs in terms of its functionality as well as its verification and authentication processes.
Automatic Wi-Fi password sharing uses iCloud and the Apple ID information stored in your Contacts to verify the other device and prove the user’s identity in the background. This includes checking if both devices are trusted and whether both devices have each other’s Apple ID email address saved in the Contacts. Data transmission is encrypted and automatic, so the password is never displayed in plain text. This ensures that only authorized users and devices have access to the Wi-Fi password.
This method shouldn’t be confused with another Apple feature that allows you to share login credentials such as usernames, passwords, and passkeys for apps and websites via AirDrop. This special feature within the system’s integrated Passwords app uses proprietary security mechanisms, such as additional end-to-end encryption at the application level. Furthermore, the transfer always takes place in Contacts Only mode — regardless of the user’s AirDrop settings. For contact synchronization and keychain data transfer, both devices must be logged into iCloud.
But back to automatic Wi-Fi password sharing.
The following requirements must be met:
- The sending device must be logged in to the Wi-Fi network to which the receiving device wants to connect.
- Apple devices must be running iOS/iPadOS 11 or macOS High Sierra or later.
- Both devices must be within Bluetooth and Wi-Fi range.
- The sender and receiver must have each other’s names in their Contacts. Important to know: The email address associated with the Apple ID must be stored in the Contacts.
- Both sender and receiver must be logged in to iCloud with their Apple ID.
1. How to use automatic Wi-Fi password sharing
Thanks to this integrated Apple feature, you can share a Wi-Fi password automatically, securely, and seamlessly with other iPhones, iPads, and Macs.
Getting started
- Turn on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on both Apple devices and unlock them. If Personal Hotspot or Airplane Mode is enabled on any of the devices, turn it off.
- Log in to iCloud on both devices using the respective Apple IDs.
- Make sure that you both have each other’s Apple ID email address saved in Contacts.
- Bring the two devices very close to each other.
For the requestor (iPhone/iPad/Mac):
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad, or go to the System Settings on your Mac, and choose Wi-Fi.
- Now select the desired network under Networks.
- You’ll now be asked to enter the network password. Wait until the grantor has shared the password. The password is then entered automatically, added to the keychain, and the device is connected to the Wi-Fi network.
For the grantor (iPhone):
- The iPhone automatically detects that a known and trusted device is attempting to connect to the same Wi-Fi network and displays the following notification:
“Do you want to share the Wi-Fi password for “[network name]” with [requestor’s name]?”
- Tap Share Password and then Done once completed.
What can you do if sharing doesn’t work?
- Check the prerequisites as described above.
- Check your Wi-Fi connection and restart your router, if necessary.
- Read our article on the topic if your iPhone isn’t connecting to the Wi-Fi network.
- Restart both devices.
- Use a different method to share your Wi-Fi password.
2. How to share your Wi-Fi password via a QR code
On devices with iOS/iPadOS 17 or later, you can share Wi-Fi passwords with other devices, like Android smartphones and tablets, via a QR code. This way you can also share passwords stored on your iPhone for Wi-Fi networks you are not currently connected to.
Sharing a Wi-Fi password via a QR code is considered relatively secure because the code is scanned locally on the recipient’s device, no internet connection is required, and the password is not directly displayed.
For the grantor (iPhone):
- Open the built-in Passwords app on your iPhone and unlock it using Touch ID, Face ID, or your passcode.
- Tap Wi-Fi and then select the desired Wi-Fi network.
- Now select Show Network QR Code. You’ll now see a QR code containing the network name (SSID), the security type (such as WPA2), and the password.
For the recipient (other device):
- Open the camera app and scan the QR code displayed on the grantor’s iPhone.
- Now confirm the connection request. You’ll be connected automatically to the network, and the Wi-Fi password will be saved on your device.
What can you do if sharing doesn’t work?
- Check the display brightness on the grantor’s device.
- Use a third-party QR code scanner app on the recipient device.
- Use a different method to share your Wi-Fi password.
3. How to send your Wi-Fi password using the Share feature
You can also use the Share feature in the Passwords app to share a Wi-Fi password with another device via email or text message. This allows you to share Wi-Fi passwords with devices that aren’t nearby, regardless of the platform. Here’s how:
- Open the built-in Passwords app on your iPhone and unlock it using Touch ID, Face ID, or your passcode.
- Tap Wi-Fi and then select the desired Wi-Fi network.
- Tap the Share icon on the top right.
- Now tap Messages or Mail.
- A new message or email will open containing the Wi-Fi name and password in plain text, which you can now send to the desired person via iMessage, text message, or email.
Since the Wi-Fi password is transmitted completely unencrypted when sent via text message, it’s best not to use this method. While conventional email sending uses transport encryption, the content is only protected during transmission between the email servers involved — on the servers themselves it is stored in plain text and can be viewed by potential attackers. Another downside is that the Wi-Fi password remains in the inbox and sent items folder or in the chat history after being shared, making it easy for prying eyes to see it. See our article on email encryption if you’d like to learn more.
4. How to send your Wi-Fi password manually
There are two ways to display your Wi-Fi password to copy and forward it manually. Unlike the method described in the previous section, this also works with messaging apps.
Via the Passwords app:
- Open the built-in Passwords app on your iPhone and unlock it using Touch ID, Face ID, or your passcode.
- Tap Wi-Fi and then select the desired Wi-Fi network.
- Tap the password. Instead of being displayed in a masked (dotted) format, it is now shown in plain text and an additional “Copy Password” field will appear.
Via the Settings app:
- Open your iPhone’s Settings app and tap Wi-Fi.
- Now select your desired Wi-Fi network.
- Tap the masked password and authenticate using Touch ID, Face ID, or your passcode. The password will now be displayed in plain text and a “Copy” field will appear.
- Tap Copy to save the Wi-Fi password to the clipboard. You can then paste it into an email, text message, or note. To do this, tap and hold wherever you want to paste it and select Insert from the context menu. Now you can send the message or note to the desired person via email, text message, messaging app, or AirDrop.
Since secure messaging apps like iMessage, WhatsApp, and Signal use end-to-end encryption by default, content is significantly better protected during transmission than when sending via email or text message. However, the content can still be viewed on the devices. The same applies to sharing a Wi-Fi password via AirDrop.
AirDrop uses a direct peer-to-peer connection, meaning the data is neither transmitted over the internet nor routed through any intermediate nodes like servers. In addition, TLS/SSL-based transport encryption is used for data transmission, making this method relatively secure. However, be sure to turn on Contacts Only in your AirDrop settings so that your Wi-Fi password is only sent to trusted people and is not visible to strangers nearby.
Important to know: “Contacts Only” mode is enforced automatically only when sharing login credentials (such as usernames and passwords for websites and apps) via the Passwords app’s built-in AirDrop feature. When manually sending a note via AirDrop, you must configure this setting yourself.
How can I protect my Wi-Fi password?
Never share highly confidential data such as Wi-Fi passwords in plain text. Instead, only use secure, encrypted channels. For Apple devices, automatic Wi-Fi password sharing is recommended as it was designed specifically for this purpose — and is also extremely practical. The data is not transmitted over the internet and the password is not displayed. If the receiving device is an Android smartphone, it’s best to share your Wi-Fi password via a QR code — which is also very quick and easy to do.
If you have no other option but to share a Wi-Fi password via text message, messaging app, or email, delete the message from the chat history or inbox and outbox on both devices. And if you fear there’s a risk of your Wi-Fi password falling into the wrong hands, change it immediately and replace it with a secure password.
Furthermore, we recommend that you handle not only your Wi-Fi password but also other sensitive data with care. Especially when you’re surfing on unsecured public Wi-Fi hotspots, there’s a greater risk of your data being intercepted when being transmitted online (such as through man-in-the-middle attacks), which can lead to a data leak or in the worst case even to identity theft.
As such, make sure your data is well protected during transfer — especially when shopping or banking online — such as by using a VPN like Avira Phantom VPN for iOS. This allows you to route all of your iPhone’s internet traffic through an encrypted tunnel, including that of your apps.
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