Hongqiao Airport Wi-Fi: How Foreigners Log In

Hongqiao airport Wi-Fi login

To log in to Hongqiao airport Wi-Fi, join Airport-FreeWiFi-HQ, open your browser and complete the login page that appears. Without a Chinese phone number, use Passport Login or a number from a Wi-Fi kiosk. The airport says the network covers the public passenger areas of both terminals.

The airport lists three ways to log in: Passport Login, a kiosk number and an SMS code.

Passport Login (no Chinese number needed)

The Shanghai government says the passport option is for inbound travelers who don’t have a Chinese SIM card. The airport’s steps:

1. In your phone’s Wi-Fi settings, join Airport-FreeWiFi-HQ.
2. Open your browser. On the login page, choose Passport Login.
3. Take a photo of your passport when prompted. Once it’s verified, you’re online.

In Terminal 1, the airport’s Chinese page gives a separate network for this method, Airport-PassportWiFi-HQ. Its English page gives Airport-FreeWiFi-HQ for both terminals. If one doesn’t work in Terminal 1, try the other.

The airport says Passport Login works on Apple, Huawei, Samsung, Xiaomi, OPPO, VIVO and other popular phones. Its Chinese page adds that some phones may run into problems, and to use another method if yours does. Official page: WiFi, Hongqiao Airport.

SMS code

The login page can also text a code to your phone. Enter your number, tap Get Verification Code, then enter the code. The airport doesn’t say whether foreign numbers work.

Shanghai Hongqiao airport Wi-Fi kiosks

Shanghai Hongqiao airport’s Wi-Fi kiosks scan your passport and give you a number for the login page. The airport’s steps:

1. Place your passport on the kiosk’s scanner and tap the screen to get a number.
2. Join Airport-FreeWiFi-HQ.
3. Open your browser and enter the number on the login page.

The airport’s English Wi-Fi page lists these kiosk locations:

Terminal	Area	Kiosk
T1	International arrivals hall	Next to the customs self-service machines, in the restricted area
T1	International arrivals pick-up hall	Next to the inquiry desk
T1	International departures hall	Opposite the inquiry desk
T1	International departures waiting hall	Opposite gate T10
T1	Domestic arrivals hall	Opposite the inquiry desk
T1	Domestic departures hall	Next to the Xiamen Airlines self check-in area
T2	Departures floor	Opposite the central inquiry counter
T2	Arrivals hall	Next to the meeting point opposite Gate 2

The airport lists its international arrivals and departures halls under Terminal 1. Its Entry Service page has a map of the Terminal 1 arrivals area that marks the kiosks.

Shanghai airport Wi-Fi: Hongqiao and Pudong

Hongqiao and Pudong, Shanghai’s airports, both have free Wi-Fi with a passport login.

Airport	Network	Login without a Chinese number
Hongqiao	Airport-FreeWiFi-HQ	Passport Login on the login page, or a kiosk number
Pudong	#AirportPVG-Free-WiFi	Passport Login on the login page, or a kiosk number

The Pudong details are from the airport’s Pudong Wi-Fi page. Steps and kiosk locations are in our Pudong airport Wi-Fi guide.

What doesn’t work on Hongqiao airport Wi-Fi

Google, WhatsApp and other blocked apps don’t work on the airport Wi-Fi without a VPN. The airport Wi-Fi is a Chinese network, so the usual blocks apply. Airalo says Google (including Gmail and Maps), Instagram, Facebook, X, YouTube and WhatsApp are generally inaccessible on local networks in China.

A roaming eSIM doesn’t help while your phone is on the Wi-Fi. Airalo says its eSIM gives full access to blocked sites “as long as you are using your eSIM data (and not the hotel Wi-Fi)”. The same goes for airport Wi-Fi: turn Wi-Fi off to use the eSIM’s data.

More on whether WhatsApp works in China and on choosing between an eSIM and a VPN for China.

Other ways to get online when you land

If the airport Wi-Fi isn’t enough, use a roaming eSIM, a Chinese SIM card or a VPN.

A roaming eSIM

A roaming eSIM gives you mobile data without the airport login. Airalo says its eSIM data is routed through secure gateways outside mainland China, which is why blocked sites work on it. Each provider’s routing is in our China eSIM comparison.

A Chinese SIM card at the airport

Hongqiao has a SIM card counter in Terminal 1. The airport says counter 101, in the One-Stop Comprehensive Service Center in the international arrivals hall, sells domestic and overseas SIM cards. Its English page gives the hours as 07:30 to 19:00, and its Chinese page as 07:30 to 21:00. Official page: WiFi Rental & SIM Cards, Hongqiao Airport.

A Chinese SIM uses a local network, so the same apps stay blocked on it.

A VPN

If you use a VPN, finish the Wi-Fi login with the VPN off, then connect it. NordVPN’s help center calls the login page on public Wi-Fi at hotels, airports and cafes a captive portal. It says auto-connect stops that page from loading, and a kill switch blocks all non-VPN traffic, so the page never appears.

1. Turn off your VPN’s auto-connect and kill switch, and disconnect the VPN.
2. Join Airport-FreeWiFi-HQ and complete the login.
3. If the login page doesn’t appear, open a plain http address such as http://example.com. NordVPN suggests this to bring the page up.
4. Connect the VPN, then turn the kill switch and auto-connect back on.

Provider-specific fixes are in our guide to using a VPN on hotel Wi-Fi in China.