How to Find Your WiFi Password
There are few things more irritating than losing or forgetting your WiFi password – and it always seems to happen at the worst possible time. Knowing your WiFi password can help you connect a new device to your home network or limit access for security reasons, among other things.
So, what do you do when you can’t find your password? We put together this guide to answer your question and get you back online so you can keep working, playing games, and watching your favorite shows.
The best ways to find your saved WiFi password
Windows PCs, Macbooks, iPhones and iPads, and Android devices all have their own way of locating and viewing saved WiFi passwords. Here’s how to find yours.
Find WiFi password on Windows
The Windows operating system allows you to easily see your WiFi password as long as you’re currently connected to the network. This is perfect if you want to connect a new device to your home network that already includes a Windows PC.
To find the wireless password, follow these steps:
- Open the Start Menu.
- Search for “Network status” in the search bar.
- Select Change Adapter Options.
- Right click on your PC's WiFi adapter from the options in the list.
- Select Status and Wireless Properties.
- Click on the tab marked Security.
- Click the Show Characters box, which will display your network security key.
Suppose you don’t have access to a device currently connected to the WiFi network. In that case, you can find the password by using the Command Prompt in Windows. Here’s how:
- Search for “Command Prompt” in the Start Menu.
- Right click on it to “Run as Administrator.”
- Copy the command "netsh wlan show profile" to identify all of your saved WiFi connections.
- You can now select the wireless network you want to connect to with the command "netsh wlan show profile HomeNetwork key=clear" (simply replace “HomeNetwork” with the name of your home WiFi network).
To use this process, the WiFi network must be saved on your Windows PC.
Find WiFi password on MacOS
MacOS makes finding your WiFi password incredibly convenient thanks to the Keychain Access app. You can access this tool by using your administrator password. Or, if your computer includes Touch ID, you can use your fingerprint to launch Keychain Access.
To find Keychain Access, you can launch it through Spotlight Search. You can find Spotlight Search in the top right corner of your screen by clicking on the magnifying glass icon. Once you click on the magnifying glass, type in “Keychain Access.”
You should now have access to all of the different passwords saved to your Macbook. To find your WiFi password, use the following steps:
- Click on System under the Keychain options.
- Scroll down to Category and select Passwords.
- Locate the name of the WiFi network you want to access.
- Check the box for Show Password.
- Authenticate your access to the Keychain Access app by using your administrator password or Touch ID.
You can also use the built-in Terminal app on MacOS to find your WiFi password. This is similar to Command Prompt on Windows, and you can also open this app through Spotlight Search.
- Type “Terminal” into Spotlight Search.
- Open Terminal and type in “security find-generic-password -ga WIFI NETWORK NAME | grep “password:” (replace WIFI NETWORK NAME with your own WiFi network name).
- Authenticate your access by typing your username and password into the Terminal app to reveal the WiFi password.
Find WiFi password on iOS
The process of finding saved WiFi passwords on an iPhone or iPad is not as straightforward as finding them on Windows or MacOS. However, you can make it easier for yourself if you can use Keychain Access on MacOS. Simply sync your MacOS keychain in iCloud so that it works on your iPhone by doing the following:
- Go to Settings.
- Click on your name.
- Select iCloud.
- Click on Keychain.
- Slide to turn on iCloud Keychain.
- Type in your passcode or Apple ID password.
This will allow you to access your MacOS saved passwords directly on your iPhone – including the one for your WiFi network. Just remember that to use the iCloud Keychain, you need a MacOS device with Keychain Access that you have synced with your iCloud account.
Is your iPhone or iPad already connected to a wireless network and you want to connect a new device? If so, you’re in luck, because you can automatically share a WiFi password with another Apple device with the Share WiFi feature.
Share WiFi automatically detects another Apple device in the WiFi network’s range and allows the connected device to share the credentials via an automated prompt. This is perfect for when you visit a friend's house and want to connect your iPhone or iPad.
Find WiFi password on Android
Android devices, such as the Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel smartphone lines, include a native way to find a WiFi password. Simply follow these steps:
- Open Settings.
- Click on Network & Internet.
- Select WiFi.
- Tap on Saved Networks.
- Locate and select the Share button under the QR code.
This method will show the WiFi password on your Android device for that particular network. Note that this tip only works for devices using the Android 10 operating system or higher.
Summary
When you know how to find your WiFi password, you never have to worry about the headaches associated with losing it – or the time spent trying to track it down. Simply follow the steps in this guide to reconnect your Windows PC, MacOS device, or phone or laptop running iOS or Android and keep doing the things you love.
About the Author: Daniel Horowitz is a contributing writer for HP Tech Takes. Daniel is a New York-based author and has written for publications such as USA Today, Digital Trends, Unwinnable Magazine, and many other media outlets.
