Android Q supports ‘Wi-Fi Easy Connect’ for NFC, Bluetooth, QR credential sharing

Ben Schoon | Jun 10 2019 - 7:27 am PT

If you’ve ever had to connect to a network with a crazy long password, you’ve probably thought there has to be a better way. The Wi-Fi Alliance has been working on a new, secure way to better hand over network credentials with “Wi-Fi Easy Connect,” and it’s supported by Android Q.

Pointed out first by XDA-Developers, Google’s documentation for Android Q details this added support for Wi-Fi Easy Connect. We’ve already seen the benefit of this added support in beta versions, specifically with the QR code sharing.

QR codes are just one point of network sharing that Wi-Fi Easy Connect in Android Q will support. Google’s documentation explains that developers can use Bluetooth LE and NFC too for having the device securely retrieve credentials. This new technology also supports WPA2 and WPA3 networks.

Android Q enables you to use Easy Connect to provision Wi-Fi credentials to a peer device, as a replacement of WPS which has been deprecated. Apps can integrate Easy Connect into their setup and provisioning flow by using the ACTION_PROCESS_WIFI_EASY_CONNECT_URI intent. This intent requires a URI. The calling app can retrieve the URI through various methods, including scanning a QR code from a sticker or display, or through scanning Bluetooth LE or NFC advertisements.

This new feature acts as a replacement for WPS, the insecure method of connecting directly to a network which Google dropped support for back in Android Pie.