Xi'an Airport Wi-Fi: How Foreigners Log In

Xi’an airport free Wi-Fi login

To use the free Wi-Fi at Xi’an airport, join Xian Airport Free, then log in with a text code or with WeChat. The airport’s Wi-Fi guide (西安咸阳国际机场上网指南) lists these two methods: SMS verification (短信验证) and WeChat verification (微信验证).

1. In your phone’s Wi-Fi settings, join Xian Airport Free. That is how the airport’s guide writes the name. Trip.com’s July 2026 guide writes XianAirportFree, so join whichever version you see.
2. Wait for the login page to open. If it doesn’t, open a plain http address such as http://example.com in your browser. NordVPN’s help center suggests this to bring up a Wi-Fi login page.
3. Log in with a text code or WeChat, as below.

The airport says Wi-Fi covers all the halls of Terminal 5 (T5航站楼大厅内均可连接无线网络). All international flights have used T5 since it opened on February 20, 2025, according to China for Travelers’ August 2026 guide. Time limits and speeds are not confirmed.

The guide’s screenshots date from 2016, but the airport still listed it on its website in February 2026. Official pages, in Chinese (archived copies): Xi’an airport Wi-Fi guide (February 2026) and Wi-Fi in T5 (June 2026).

Text code

The airport’s guide gives these steps: enter your phone number, tap 获取上网验证码 (get a Wi-Fi code), then enter the code from the text message and connect. It says the text code works with mainland Chinese numbers only (仅限国内手机号码). Travel China Guide’s May 2026 guide and East China Trip’s January 2026 guide also say you need a Chinese number. On a laptop, the airport’s guide lists only the text code.

Trip.com’s July 2026 guide says the login page offers verification by passport or mobile phone number. The airport’s guide doesn’t list a passport login, so whether one exists is not confirmed.

WeChat

The airport’s guide also lists a WeChat login:

1. On the login page, tap 微信连Wi-Fi (connect with WeChat). WeChat opens.
2. Tap 立即连接 (connect now), then follow the airport’s WeChat account, 西安机场96788服务平台 (Xi’an Airport 96788 service platform), to finish.

Whether this login still works, and whether it accepts a WeChat account registered to a foreign number, is not confirmed.

If no code reaches your number

If you can’t log in, ask at an information desk. Remitly’s October 2025 guide says travelers with an international number can get help there. The airport lists an information counter in T5 at the front of check-in area F, on level 3 (international departures). The airport’s passenger service hotline is +86 29 96788.

Arriving passengers can also stop at the inbound service platform on the first floor of T5, along the main arrival corridor. The Xi’an government said in June 2026 that it offers entry assistance, travel information and currency exchange, and that its hours cover all scheduled international and regional flights.

The guide’s login page also shows a self-service machine login (自助机验证上网) marked “coming soon” (即将开通). Whether the airport has Wi-Fi kiosks now is not confirmed.

What doesn’t work on Xi’an 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. East China Trip’s guide also says a VPN is required for Google, Line and other restricted apps.

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 internet at Xi’an airport

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. China for Travelers advises sorting out your connection before you land. Each provider’s routing is in our China eSIM comparison.

A Chinese SIM card at the airport

Whether you can buy a SIM card in T5 is not confirmed. In June 2024, a report on China Telecom’s Xi’an branch said foreign visitors could get a SIM card activated with a passport in 3 to 5 minutes at the airport’s payment service center for overseas guests. That was before international flights moved to T5 in February 2025.

China for Travelers’ August 2026 guide says there is no SIM-card desk in the arrivals hall, and that travelers report no counter for buying or registering a Chinese number. It suggests a carrier shop in the city instead. 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 Xian Airport Free 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.