You’re staring at a press release or a blog post, fingers hovering over the keyboard, wondering if that little hyphen belongs there. It’s a tiny detail. Most people don’t care. But if you’re writing for a publication that follows the Associated Press Stylebook, that tiny dash is the difference between looking like a pro and looking like an amateur who doesn't know their tech.
AP style for Wi-Fi is one of those rules that seems to change just often enough to keep editors on their toes. Honestly, the English language is a mess when it comes to technology terms. We went from "e-mail" to "email" and "World Wide Web" to "the internet" (lowercase, thank goodness). But Wi-Fi? That one has stayed stubborn.
Let's get the big rule out of the way immediately. According to the AP Stylebook, it is always Wi-Fi.
Capital W. Hyphen. Capital F. No exceptions. No "wifi." No "WiFi." And definitely no "Wifi."
The History of a Trademarked Headache
Why is it so specific? It’s not just a random whim of the AP editors. It’s actually because Wi-Fi is a trademarked term. Back in 1999, a group of companies formed the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (now known as the Wi-Fi Alliance). They needed a name that was catchier than "IEEE 802.11b Direct Sequence."
They hired a branding firm called Interbrand. You’ve heard of their other work, like Prozac and Compaq. They came up with Wi-Fi because it sounded like "hi-fi." It doesn't actually stand for "Wireless Fidelity," despite what your middle school IT teacher told you. That was just a marketing slogan they used for a brief period to help people categorize the tech in their brains.
The AP Stylebook respects trademarks. That's why we capitalize Coke, Xerox, and Kleenex. Since the Wi-Fi Alliance owns the term, AP insists on the hyphenated, double-capitalized version.
If you're writing a technical manual for a networking company, you might see "WiFi" without the hyphen. Engineers love to simplify things. But if you’re writing for a newspaper, a magazine, or a high-end corporate blog, you stick to the AP style for Wi-Fi because that's the gold standard for clarity and legal accuracy.
It’s annoying. I know. Typing that hyphen every time feels like a speed bump in your sentence. But accuracy matters.
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Common Mistakes That Kill Your Credibility
Most writers mess this up in three specific ways.
First, there’s the "wifi" crowd. This is common in casual texting or Reddit threads. It looks lazy in a professional context. Second, you have the "WiFi" group. This is the most common error in tech circles. People think it looks "techier" or more like a modern app name. AP disagrees.
Then there’s the lowercase "wi-fi." While this follows the pattern of "email," it hasn't been officially adopted by the AP yet. They are notoriously slow to move on these things. Remember, it took them until 2016 to stop capitalizing "Internet." We might be waiting another decade before the hyphen in Wi-Fi disappears.
If you’re worried about SEO, you might think you need to use the "wrong" versions because that’s what people type into Google. Don't fall for that. Google's algorithms are smart enough to know that "Wi-Fi," "wifi," and "WiFi" are all the same thing. You don't have to sacrifice your style guide for the sake of an algorithm.
What About Other Wireless Terms?
While we're talking about AP style for Wi-Fi, it's worth looking at the stuff that usually surrounds it.
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- hotspot: This is one word, lowercase. You don't need a hyphen. You don't need a capital S.
- bluetooth: Capitalize it. It’s a trademark. Named after a 10th-century Scandinavian king, believe it or not.
- lifi: If you're writing about light-based wireless, AP hasn't fully codified this yet, but the consensus is following the Wi-Fi pattern: Li-Fi.
- 5G/6G: No hyphen. Just the number and the capital G.
Why Consistency Trumps Everything
Look, if you decide you hate the hyphen and you want to use "WiFi," your house won't burn down. But the hallmark of a good writer isn't just knowing the rules; it's being consistent with them.
If you use "Wi-Fi" in the first paragraph and "wifi" in the third, you look like you didn't proofread. It signals to your reader that you’re not paying attention to the details. And if you aren't paying attention to the spelling, why should they trust your facts?
I’ve spent years editing tech copy. I can tell you that the most respected outlets—The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post—all stick to the hyphenated version. They do it because it’s the standard.
Does it ever change?
Style guides are living documents. The AP Stylebook gets updated every year. They listen to linguists, they track how the public uses words, and eventually, they pivot.
But for now, the Wi-Fi Alliance is very protective of their brand. As long as they are active and the trademark is enforced, AP is likely to keep that hyphen right where it is. It's a bit like "iPad" or "iPhone." We don't write "I-pad" because the brand dictates the spelling. In the case of Wi-Fi, the brand dictates the hyphen.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Draft
Stop guessing. Start checking. If you're a professional writer or an aspiring one, you need to bake these habits into your workflow.
Set up AutoCorrect. This is the ultimate "cheat code." Go into your Word or Google Docs settings. Set it so that every time you type "wifi" or "WiFi," it automatically changes to "Wi-Fi." This saves you from having to think about it and ensures 100% consistency across a 2,000-word piece.
Search and Replace. Before you hit publish, hit
Ctrl+F. Search for all variations of the word. Make sure they all match the AP standard. It takes ten seconds and saves you from a snarky comment from an editor.Check the context. Are you quoting someone? If a source wrote "wifi" in an email, you generally keep their spelling if it’s a direct quote, though some editors prefer to "clean it up" for readability. If you’re writing the prose yourself, stick to the hyphen.
Mind the "hotspot." People often pair these words together. Remember: Wi-Fi hotspot is the correct AP construction. Two words, one hyphen, one capital.
The goal isn't just to follow a rule for the sake of a rule. It's about clarity. It's about showing your audience that you understand the professional standards of the industry. It might feel pedantic, but in the world of content and journalism, the small things are the big things.
Stick to Wi-Fi. Your editor will thank you, and your copy will look significantly more polished. Keep that hyphen. It's doing a lot of heavy lifting for your professional reputation.