The Easiest Way to Log Your iPhone, iPad or Mac Computer into Wi-Fi

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“What’s your Wi-Fi password?”

If that question strikes fear into your heart, you’ll be glad to learn that there’s a very easy way to share your Wi-Fi network with others who want to log in using their iPhone, iPad or Mac computer.

Maybe you have a password that’s complex, about 25 digits long filled with numbers and both capital and lower case letters. You can’t remember it and have to squint to read the password in tiny print on your router.

“Is that an L or a 1?” “Sorry, can you read that again? I must have typed it in wrong…”

Or maybe you’ve forgotten your Wi-Fi password because you haven’t needed to log into your network for a long time.

Or perhaps you aren’t wild about sharing your Wi-Fi password with others because it’s the same password you use for other accounts. (Not a good idea, but no judging here….)

Or maybe one family member logged into the hotel Wi-Fi network then promptly lost the slip of paper with the password on it.

The good news is that beginning with iOS 11 you can now easily let people log into your Wi-Fi network without knowing your password. This new feature is called “Share Your Wi-Fi.”

Easy for you, as you don’t need to remember your password. Easy for them, as they don’t need to type in a password.

Share Your Wi-Fi

Beginning with iOS 11 last fall, Wi-Fi network connections can be shared with others who use an iPhone, iPad or Mac Computer in just a few simple steps. Here’s how it works:

1. The person you’re sharing with must be in your Contacts. If they’re not, you can add them and then use these steps to share your Wi-Fi connection.

2. Both devices, either iPhone or iPad, must be updated to iOS 11 or later. Check Settings => General => About => Version to see which version of iOS the device is running. If you don’t see 11.0 or later, the device need to be updated for Share Your Wi-Fi to work.

If using a Mac, either to share the password or log into the network (or both), make sure that either or both computers is/are running MacOS High Sierra. Click on the Apple logo in the top toolbar => About This Mac. The window that appears shows what version of MacOS the computer is running.

If either Mac is running an earlier version of MacOS, Share Your Wi-Fi won’t work.

3. On the iPhone or iPad that is logging into the Wi-Fi network, open Settings => Wi-Fi and choose the Wi-Fi network to log into. The Enter Password screen will appear.

On a Mac, click the Wi-Fi icon in the top tool bar. Choose the Wi-Fi network you want to log into and a password screen will appear.

4. Unlock the iPhone, iPad, or Mac that’s already connected to the Wi-Fi network. You’ll see a screen appear offering to share the Wi-Fi password with your contact.

If you don’t see that screen, move the devices closer together.

Tap “Share Password” to connect the other device to your Wi-Fi network.

5. When the other device has been successfully logged into your Wi-Fi network, you’ll see this screen:

Tap “Done” to clear the window. The password to log into the network will appear as dots on the other device on the password screen.

Note that your password will be shared to log into the network but the password will not appear on the other device. There is, however, a way for someone to figure out your password using an Apple service called Keychain, so only use Share Your Wi-Fi with trusted friends.

Your Thoughts

Have you ever struggled to log into a Wi-Fi network? Do you like the idea of sharing your Wi-Fi network easily? When would you use Share Your Wi-Fi?

Share your thoughts in the Comments section below!