5 ms·

I just did this the other day using the newest version (6.4.4) of LibreOffice Writer. It has a QR Code generator built in. As mentioned by someone else it uses

by graton 6y ago

I just did this the other day using the newest version (6.4.4) of LibreOffice Writer. It has a QR Code generator built in. As mentioned by someone else it uses the form of: WIFI:T:WPA;S:{ssid};P:{password};; Wikipedia has information on this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_code#Joining_a_Wi%E2%80%91Fi_network https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_code#Joining_a_Wi%E2%80%91F... Section of the Wikipedia article: Joining a Wi‑Fi network By specifying the SSID, encryption type, password/passphrase, and if the SSID is hidden or not, mobile device users can quickly scan and join networks without having to manually enter the data. Note that this technique is valid for specifying only static SSID passwords (i.e. PSK); dynamic user credentials (i.e. Enterprise/802.1x) cannot be encoded in this manner. The format of the encoded string is: WIFI:S:<SSID>;T:<WPA|WEP|>;P:<password>;H:<true|false|>; Order of fields does not matter. Special characters """ (quotation mark), ";" (semicolon), "," (comma), ":" (colon) and "\" (backslash) should be escaped with a backslash ("\") as in MECARD encoding. For example, if an SSID were "foo;bar\baz", with quotation marks part of the literal SSID name itself, this would be encoded as: WIFI:S:\"foo\;bar\\baz\";; As of January 2018, iPhones have this feature built into the camera app under iOS 11.x. Android users may have the feature built into one of the device's stock apps (e.g. Samsung Galaxy S8/S8+/Note8 users can launch the stock browser, tap the browser's 3-dot menu, then choose "Scan QR code") or can install one of several available free apps such as "Barcode Scanner" or "QR Droid" to perform the QR Wi-Fi join.

ShamelessC 6y ago
Typical Samsung, putting the feature inside their stock browser (which I've disabled) instead of the camera where it makes sense.
- Stratoscope 6y ago
  On my Note 8 this feature works directly in the stock camera app. I didn't know about this, but I just tested it on the linked site and it works.
  - ShamelessC 6y ago
    That's strange. I just tried it on my Note 9. It recognizes the QR code but just displays the unformatted WiFi string. Doesn't attempt to connect at all.
    - Stratoscope 6y ago
      Very odd! I tested a friend's Note 9 and it works there too. Both phones are on T-Mobile with their latest Android update. The Note 9 is Android 10, One UI 2.0, build QP1A.190711.020.N960USQS3DTB2. The Note 8 is Android 9, One UI 1.0, build PPR1.180610.011.N950USQU7DTC1.
    - anaisbetts 6y ago
      The QR code that it initially displays is invalid, type any text into the SSID/pass fields and it will work
      - ShamelessC 6y ago
        This was likely the issue. I was testing it on the Netgear Orbi which seems to have a malformed string in their we codes.
- superhuzza 6y ago
  I have an S8, the camera reads QR codes fine. It looks like you may have to enable a setting the first time you read a QR code, after that it will do automatically and ask if you want to follow the link. https://www.samsung.com/au/support/mobile-devices/samsung-qr-code-scanner/ https://www.samsung.com/au/support/mobile-devices/samsung-qr...
- HenryBemis 6y ago
  I don't want the camera to "think", I want it just to take photos. Otherwise someone can spread small stickers with QR commands/URLs and your phone is trying to connect to www.sex-pills-malware.com/download-nasty-file.html XKCD's bobby tables comes to mind. Sanitize your inputs. If you point & click and you immediately process what your camera sees, there is great risk in that. I want a photo to be a photo. If I want to scan a QR code for the purpose of scanning a QR code, I use some special app (and Ι block it's Wifi/3G connectivity to enusre the QR app will not leak what Ι just photographed). Edit: I follow the Steve Gibson school of thought. I want the "thing" to do the "thing", and nothing but the "thing". Camera should do camera-ing (adjust camera-related-attributes). QR app should do QR-app-things (show me in clear text the QR code and ask me what do I want to do with it)(register WiFi, visit a website, etc).
  - alias_neo 6y ago
    Without trying to be funny, perhaps you should use a camera then and not a phone, to take photos? You're already in the realm of your device doing many more things than "the thing". As for scanning automatically, no camera app based scanner I have witnessed performs any action in response to finding a QR without user input. Of course this could still happen accidently or by the QRs content finding some vulnerability. At the end of the day, I think QR scanning in the camera is the obvious solution to non-hacker-news-browsing-people, and to make it go mainstream it needs to be accessible. In spite of the above, I still agree with you, and use a barcode scanner from f-droid myself.
  - lozf 6y ago
    IME the screen just shows a link icon when it detects a qr code, when the user taps the icon, the URL is displayed, and then the user taps again to browse to it / download / accept settings etc.
- lozf 6y ago
  Even my Mum's old Moto G4 has this feature in the Camera. I've been using a shell alias to call `qrencode` with the appropriate details for a few years now.
BiteCode_dev 6y ago
Also, android will display such QR code if you go to your wifi settings so you can connect other devices easily.
- londons_explore 6y ago
  What android version? It was my understanding that the android security model doesn't allow this - specifically the settings permission let's you connect to a new network, but not to get the password back for an already saved network.
  - wazzaps 6y ago
    My Pocophone F1 has a button to generate a QR code from a network in the settings app, I guess they added a special permission for it.
  - BiteCode_dev 6y ago
    Whatever is currently on the OnePlus 6 does it.
  - dudus 6y ago
    At last my Pixel 3a have that option. On the network settings you can click "share" and it will give you a qr code as well as show the password in cleartext in the screen. It does require you to enter your password or scan your digital to go there.
  - anaisbetts 6y ago
    You're right but the UI that they're referring to is in a system app
  - alias_neo 6y ago
    I've seen it since 9, I don't recall seeing it in 8, but it's also hard to tell where I've seen it due to manufacturer customisation. I think it came in roughly 9 though.
  - BrandoElFollito 6y ago

by graton 6y ago

ShamelessC 6y ago

Typical Samsung, putting the feature inside their stock browser (which I've disabled) instead of the camera where it makes sense.

Stratoscope 6y ago
On my Note 8 this feature works directly in the stock camera app. I didn't know about this, but I just tested it on the linked site and it works.
- ShamelessC 6y ago
  That's strange. I just tried it on my Note 9. It recognizes the QR code but just displays the unformatted WiFi string. Doesn't attempt to connect at all.
  - Stratoscope 6y ago
    Very odd! I tested a friend's Note 9 and it works there too. Both phones are on T-Mobile with their latest Android update. The Note 9 is Android 10, One UI 2.0, build QP1A.190711.020.N960USQS3DTB2. The Note 8 is Android 9, One UI 1.0, build PPR1.180610.011.N950USQU7DTC1.
  - anaisbetts 6y ago
    The QR code that it initially displays is invalid, type any text into the SSID/pass fields and it will work
    - ShamelessC 6y ago
      This was likely the issue. I was testing it on the Netgear Orbi which seems to have a malformed string in their we codes.
superhuzza 6y ago
I have an S8, the camera reads QR codes fine. It looks like you may have to enable a setting the first time you read a QR code, after that it will do automatically and ask if you want to follow the link. https://www.samsung.com/au/support/mobile-devices/samsung-qr-code-scanner/ https://www.samsung.com/au/support/mobile-devices/samsung-qr...
HenryBemis 6y ago
I don't want the camera to "think", I want it just to take photos. Otherwise someone can spread small stickers with QR commands/URLs and your phone is trying to connect to www.sex-pills-malware.com/download-nasty-file.html XKCD's bobby tables comes to mind. Sanitize your inputs. If you point & click and you immediately process what your camera sees, there is great risk in that. I want a photo to be a photo. If I want to scan a QR code for the purpose of scanning a QR code, I use some special app (and Ι block it's Wifi/3G connectivity to enusre the QR app will not leak what Ι just photographed). Edit: I follow the Steve Gibson school of thought. I want the "thing" to do the "thing", and nothing but the "thing". Camera should do camera-ing (adjust camera-related-attributes). QR app should do QR-app-things (show me in clear text the QR code and ask me what do I want to do with it)(register WiFi, visit a website, etc).
- alias_neo 6y ago
  Without trying to be funny, perhaps you should use a camera then and not a phone, to take photos? You're already in the realm of your device doing many more things than "the thing". As for scanning automatically, no camera app based scanner I have witnessed performs any action in response to finding a QR without user input. Of course this could still happen accidently or by the QRs content finding some vulnerability. At the end of the day, I think QR scanning in the camera is the obvious solution to non-hacker-news-browsing-people, and to make it go mainstream it needs to be accessible. In spite of the above, I still agree with you, and use a barcode scanner from f-droid myself.
- lozf 6y ago
  IME the screen just shows a link icon when it detects a qr code, when the user taps the icon, the URL is displayed, and then the user taps again to browse to it / download / accept settings etc.
lozf 6y ago
Even my Mum's old Moto G4 has this feature in the Camera. I've been using a shell alias to call `qrencode` with the appropriate details for a few years now.

BiteCode_dev 6y ago

Also, android will display such QR code if you go to your wifi settings so you can connect other devices easily.

londons_explore 6y ago
What android version? It was my understanding that the android security model doesn't allow this - specifically the settings permission let's you connect to a new network, but not to get the password back for an already saved network.
- wazzaps 6y ago
  My Pocophone F1 has a button to generate a QR code from a network in the settings app, I guess they added a special permission for it.
- BiteCode_dev 6y ago
  Whatever is currently on the OnePlus 6 does it.
- dudus 6y ago
  At last my Pixel 3a have that option. On the network settings you can click "share" and it will give you a qr code as well as show the password in cleartext in the screen. It does require you to enter your password or scan your digital to go there.
- anaisbetts 6y ago
  You're right but the UI that they're referring to is in a system app
- alias_neo 6y ago
  I've seen it since 9, I don't recall seeing it in 8, but it's also hard to tell where I've seen it due to manufacturer customisation. I think it came in roughly 9 though.
- BrandoElFollito 6y ago