WiLens v0.2.0 — Connect, Share, Check

WiLens grows from a QR scanner into a small Wi-Fi companion: join a network, share one, and find out why the internet isn't working.

New

• Share a network. Type a network's name, security type, and password to get a Wi-Fi QR code that guests can scan with a phone camera. Save it as a PNG or copy it to the clipboard. The password is never printed on the image, and nothing is stored or sent anywhere.
• Check connection. One click tests the network link, router, DNS, and internet in order and explains the result in plain language. It spots hotel and café sign-in pages and offers to open them, and Copy report gives a summary with no passwords or network names. The check runs only when you click it and contacts only your router and the same address your OS uses to detect sign-in pages.
• Scan without a camera. Scan a QR code from an image file, drop it on the window, or paste it (or its WIFI: text) with Cmd/Ctrl+V.
• Windows (beta). A Windows installer (WiLens-setup.exe) that joins through a per-user Wi-Fi profile with no administrator prompt. It joins WPA3-only networks on Windows 10 version 2004 and later: WiLens reads the network's security from a Wi-Fi scan and saves a WPA3 profile when needed. If the scan can't tell (for example without Location access), it tries WPA3 first for T:SAE codes and WPA2 first otherwise.
• WPA3 QR codes (T:SAE, T:WPA3) show "WPA3" in the network details.
• After a failed join, a Check connection button runs the check straight away.

Security

From a full security audit of the app:

• macOS only joins a network whose security matches the QR code, so a nearby same-name network with weaker security (an "evil twin") is refused.
• Without Location access, macOS only joins open networks through the networksetup fallback, so passwords never appear on a command line and a saved network's password can't be replaced.
• Windows never overwrites or deletes a Wi-Fi profile you saved yourself, and refuses network names that netsh would treat as wildcards.
• Hidden or direction-changing characters in network names are shown, so a QR code can't disguise which network you're joining.
• Stricter content security policy, SHA-pinned CI actions, read-only CI tokens by default, and SHA-256 checksums published with each download.

Fixes

• The app bundle is ad-hoc signed, so macOS no longer reports it as damaged.
• Joins over the fallback now say when they couldn't be confirmed, instead of always reporting success.
• Network names with leading or trailing spaces join correctly on Windows.
• On Windows, camera errors name the setting to turn on, and a missing or busy camera gets its own message. A join that can't be confirmed points to the Location setting Windows 11 24H2 and later need.

Install

macOS — download WiLens.dmg:

1. Open it and drag WiLens into Applications.
2. Launch WiLens. When macOS says it can't verify the developer, click Done.
3. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll down, click Open Anyway next to WiLens, and confirm.

Windows — download WiLens-setup.exe:

1. Run it. When SmartScreen appears, choose More info → Run anyway.
2. Allow the camera: Settings → Privacy & security → Camera → Let desktop apps access your camera.
3. Optional: turn on Location → Let desktop apps access your location so WiLens can confirm joins (Windows 11 24H2+).

Each download has a .sha256 checksum next to it.

Requirements

• macOS on Apple Silicon (M-series)
• Windows 10/11 x64 (WPA3-only networks need Windows 10 version 2004 or later)

Known limitations

• The app is not yet notarized, so macOS asks you to confirm the first launch (System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway).
• Joining a secured network on macOS needs Location access, so WiLens can check the network's security.
• Enterprise (802.1X / EAP) networks are not supported.
• The Windows installer is not signed yet, so SmartScreen asks first (More info → Run anyway).

WiLens v0.1.2 — Faster, clearer Wi-Fi joins

This release makes joining faster and clearer, especially when something goes wrong.

What's new

• ⚡ Fails fast on a wrong password — a rejected join now reports an error within seconds instead of retrying for 30–45s and then running the fallback with the same password.
• 👀 Live progress while joining — the status shows each step ("Looking for…", "Connecting (attempt 2 of 3)…", "Trying the system fallback…") and the Join button shows a spinner.
• 🚀 Quicker joins — scans once and reuses the result, returns instantly if you're already on that network, and skips the scan when Location access is denied.
• ✅ No false "Joined" — the networksetup fallback now detects failures it used to report as success, and gives up after 30s instead of hanging.

Fixes

• Passwords and network names starting with - now work.
• Double-clicking Start camera no longer opens a second camera session.
• "Not a Wi-Fi QR code" messages stay visible instead of disappearing on the next frame.
• QR codes with WPA2, WPA3 or SAE security types are now accepted.
• Dependency and security updates.

Install

1. Download WiLens.dmg below.
2. Open it and drag WiLens into Applications.
3. First launch: right-click WiLens → Open to bypass Gatekeeper.

Requirements

• macOS on Apple Silicon (M-series)

Known limitations

• The app is unsigned / un-notarized, so macOS shows an "unidentified developer" warning — the right-click → Open step clears it.
• WPA/WPA2/WPA3 personal, WEP and open networks are supported; enterprise (EAP) networks are not.

WiLens v0.1.1 — Join without an admin password

This release replaces the per-join admin password prompt with a quiet join via Apple's CoreWLAN.

What's new

• 🔓 No admin prompt — WiLens now joins Wi-Fi as the logged-in user via CoreWLAN, so the macOS administrator
  password dialog no longer appears on every join.
• 🔁 Reliable one-click join — the app now verifies the connection actually came up and retries automatically, fixing
  the "had to click Join twice" issue.
• 🛟 Automatic fallback — if the quiet join can't connect (e.g. Location denied), it falls back to the previous networksetup method.

Permissions

• Camera — to scan the QR code.
• Location — macOS requires Location access before any app can scan for Wi-Fi networks. WiLens uses it only to find and join your network; it never collects, stores, or shares your location.

Install

1. Download WiLens.dmg below.
2. Open it and drag WiLens into Applications.
3. First launch: right-click WiLens → Open to bypass Gatekeeper.

Requirements

• macOS on Apple Silicon (M-series)

Known limitations

• The app is unsigned / un-notarized, so macOS shows an "unidentified developer" warning — the right-click → Open step clears it.
• Supports the standard Wi-Fi QR format: WIFI:T:WPA;S:MyWifi;P:mypassword;;

WiLens v0.1.0

WiLens is a small macOS utility that scans a Wi-Fi QR code and joins the network — no typing long passwords, no fiddling in System Settings.

Features

• 📷 Live camera QR scanning in a single desktop window
• 🔍 Previews the network (SSID, security type, password state) before joining
• 🛜 Joins the network for you via macOS networking tools
• 📋 "Copy password" fallback if you'd rather connect manually
• 🔒 Local-first — nothing leaves your Mac, no cloud, no tracking

Install

1. Download WiLens_0.1.0_aarch64.dmg below.
2. Open it and drag WiLens into your Applications folder.
3. On first launch, right-click WiLens → Open to get past Gatekeeper.

Requirements

• macOS on Apple Silicon (M-series)
• Camera permission (prompted on first scan)

Known limitations

• The app is unsigned / un-notarized, so macOS shows an "unidentified developer" warning — the right-click → Open step above clears it.
• Joining Wi-Fi may trigger a macOS administrator or keychain approval prompt; that dialog is owned by macOS, not WiLens.
• Supports the standard Wi-Fi QR format: WIFI:T:WPA;S:MyWifi;P:mypassword;;