What the Tech: Help with Wi-Fi and holiday guests

LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - During the holiday season, you may have family and friends visiting your home. One of the first questions they might ask these days is ‘what is your wi-fi password?’

You can recite it or take their phone and enter it yourself, but there is an easier way.

Several easier ways in fact.

You don’t have to say to a house guest something like “upper case e, question mark, 2, lower case e...” so they can log onto your Wi-Fi network. Instead, prepare ahead of time for the question and show them, just how tech-savvy you are.

If you both have iPhones, Apple makes it simple. Just tell them the name of your network and you’ll get a notification asking if you’d like to share the password with them.

If you have an Android device, it’s still pretty easy.

On your phone, open settings, then network and internet. Depending on which Android phone you have, it might be called “connections.” Then, choose Wi-Fi and tap on the cog or gear, and tap “Share” which will reveal a QR code they can scan with their camera app and connect to your network.

You can also print out a QR code using any device. To find a QR code generator on a website, such as QRCodeGenerator.com. Add your Wi-Fi Network and password, then print out a QR code and tape it to the wall or fridge. When a guest needs to log on, they use their camera to scan the code. All they’ll have to do at that point is tap on the pop-up and they’re connected.

If they’re overnight guests, they may need to log on to your Wi-Fi on a laptop. If they have an iPhone that’s logged in, iOS 16 allows them to see the password by tapping settings, Wi-Fi, and revealing the password.

For Thanksgiving, suggest placing a bowl near the Thanksgiving dinner table and asking guests to put their phones in the bowl during dinner and save the internet for later.

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