Pudong Airport Wi-Fi: How Foreigners Log In

Pudong airport Wi-Fi login

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

Before immigration, a self-service information point in the arrival corridor has guidance on connecting to the Wi-Fi, the Shanghai government says.

The airport lists four ways to log in.

Passport Login (no Chinese number needed)

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

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

The airport says this works on Apple, Huawei, Samsung, Xiaomi, OPPO, VIVO and other popular phones. Official page: WiFi, Pudong 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.

Going Awesome Places, a travel blog, says in an article dated July 2026 that the SMS method only works if your SIM can connect to a mobile network in China when you land. Its writers had trouble because they hadn’t turned on international roaming.

WeChat

If you already use WeChat, the airport’s mini program can connect you:

1. In WeChat, open the Shanghai Airports (上海机场) mini program and choose Pudong Airport (浦东机场).
2. Search for Airport WiFi (机场WiFi) and open it.
3. Tap Go to connect (去连接).

The airport says this may not work on some phones. If it doesn’t, use one of the other methods.

Pudong airport Wi-Fi kiosks

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

1. Place your passport on the kiosk’s scanner and tap the screen to get a code. The airport’s Chinese page says to lay it flat, photo side down.
2. Join #AirportPVG-Free-WiFi.
3. Open your browser and enter the kiosk’s code on the login page.

Going Awesome Places describes its writers’ own kiosk visit. The article is dated July 2026, but its reader comments go back to February 2018, so the visit may be older. It says the kiosk printed a slip with a username and password, and the arrivals kiosk could be switched to English. At a departures kiosk, the writers’ passports only scanned when placed at the top left corner of the scanner.

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

Terminal	Area	Kiosks
T1	International arrivals	Gate 19; customs health declaration counter; near border inspection counter 1; international arrivals inquiry counters
T1	International departures	Gates 18 and 20; international departures inquiry counters
T1	Domestic departures	Gate 8
S1 satellite hall	International arrivals	Transit fingerprint area, next to border inspection and the customs health declaration machine
S1 satellite hall	International departures	Gates G118, G120 and G551
S1 satellite hall	International to domestic	Customs waiting area
T2	International arrivals	Arrivals exit; Gates 71 and 77; near border inspection counter 1; international arrivals inquiry counter
T2	International departures	Next to the display screen at the security exit; Gate D75; between Gates D71 and D73; Gates D227 to D232; international departures inquiry counter
T2	Domestic departures	Gate C58
S2 satellite hall	Domestic arrivals	Near the domestic arrivals elevator
S2 satellite hall	International departures	Gate G169

The airport’s Chinese page lists slightly different spots in international arrivals. Both pages were checked on Oct 13, 2026.

Shanghai airport Wi-Fi: Pudong and Hongqiao

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

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

The Hongqiao details are from the airport’s Wi-Fi pages. Its Chinese page names a separate network for Passport Login in Terminal 1, Airport-PassportWiFi-HQ. Steps and kiosk locations are in our Hongqiao airport Wi-Fi guide.

What doesn’t work on Pudong 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 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

Pudong sells SIM cards in arrivals. The Shanghai government says the international arrivals baggage claim area has a service zone for SIM cards, portable Wi-Fi rental and currency exchange. At the International Services Shanghai one-stop service center in the public arrivals area, you can use your passport to apply for a 7-day, 15-day or 30-day China Telecom SIM card.

The airport’s WiFi Rental & SIM Cards page lists SIM card and portable Wi-Fi shops in both terminals. Several are open 24 hours.

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 #AirportPVG-Free-WiFi 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.