diff --git a/esphome/components/wifi/wifi_component.h b/esphome/components/wifi/wifi_component.h
index ac28a1bc81..53ff0d9cad 100644
--- a/esphome/components/wifi/wifi_component.h
+++ b/esphome/components/wifi/wifi_component.h
@@ -502,6 +502,8 @@ class WiFiComponent : public Component {
   }
 
   network::IPAddresses wifi_sta_ip_addresses();
+  // Remove before 2026.9.0
+  ESPDEPRECATED("Use wifi_ssid_to() instead. Removed in 2026.9.0", "2026.3.0")
   std::string wifi_ssid();
   /// Write SSID to buffer without heap allocation.
   /// Returns pointer to buffer, or empty string if not connected.