Apple Simplifies iOS 11 Wi-Fi Sharing By Auto Sending Passwords To Nearby Friends

For starters, you’ll need to have at least one device with iOS 11 installed that is already connected to the wireless network. As long as your friend is also running iOS 11, he or she can go the Wi-Fi option in the Settings app on their device and tap on the name of your wireless network.

When the password prompt appears, they would simply move their device close your “trusted” iPhone or iPad, after which a pop-up will display asking if you want to share your password. Hit the “Send Password” button, the password field will populate, and your friend will now have instant access to your network now and forever (or at least until you decide to change the password again).

(Image Courtesy: 9to5Mac)

So, you won’t have to worry about peering behind an entertainment center or shuffling through some papers in a kitchen drawer to fish out your Wi-Fi password. And the fact that both the “trusted” and newcomer iOS devices have to be in close proximity to each other means that you shouldn’t have to worry about receiving countless prompts from your neighbors trying to tap into your sweet Google Fiber connection.

We should note, however, that Apple isn’t the only tech company that is making it easier to logon to Wi-Fi networks. At Google I/O, it was revealed that the Google Assistant will be beefed up with machine learning capabilities that would allow your Android smartphone’s camera to scan an image of Wi-Fi SSID and Network Key on a router and have the fields auto-populate.

Apple’s iOS 11 is currently available in beta form for developers, and will be available as a public preview later this month. The final release of the mobile operating system will likely arrive in September with the launch of the iPhone 8.