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Log Into Your Friend's Wi-Fi Network with a QR Code, Thanks Android Q [CNET]

Spoilers: You'll need a Pixel to run either Beta version of Q. So, I can't test it unless someone out there has an awesome hardware emulator.

Article

For those people who have "guests" at their home, instead of fiddling with nonsense, tell them to scan a QR code.

You might also have to explain what that is and how it works, but with Lens, it looks far easier.

You can read about how to generate the code at the article. I'm here to talk about actually scanning it.





For too long, the way to scan a QR code was such;


  1. Download a third-party app.
  2. Point and shoot.
  3. Uninstall because you only needed to do it once.
  4. Repeat steps 1 through 3 every 2 months.

Was it never integrated into stock Android phones? If it was, please tell me. Because this? This is a lot easier than the steps above;

What's easier, however, is that the Camera app can scan QR codes once you turn on Lens.

When smartphones were just becoming A) cheap enough for mass-market and B) The expensive ones were being bought, QR codes really were everywhere and somehow nowhere at the same time.

At Wireless Advocates (Selling cell phones, hotspots, and mobile devices), I explained how to use it. Point and shoot, and a URL would open in your stock browser.

"I have to use a different app?"
"Yep."
"Why not the camera?"
"Sir, I didn't develop the thing, I wonder that myself."

(Didn't say it exactly like that. More like "Good question.")

Then, they were gone, rare, like decent job opportunities not in major metropolitan areas. 

Back to the article; Because not every phone that wants to attach to your network will be a Google Pixel, you can scan a QR code with other phones running Android. I don't seem to have a Lens option in my camera settings, but if you do, that's how you point and scan it for network access.



EMPLOYERS: This is me keeping abreast of new technologies.
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