How to find wifi password

Find your Wi-Fi network password in Windows

If you forgot your Wi-Fi network password, you can find it if you have another Windows PC already connected to your Wi-Fi network. After you find your password, you can use it on another PC or device to connect to your Wi-Fi network.

On a Windows PC that’s connected to your Wi-Fi network, do one of the following, depending on which version of Windows is running on your PC:

On Windows 11, select the Start button, type control panel, then select Control Panel > Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center.

On Windows 10, select the Start button, then select Settings > Network & Internet > Status > Network and Sharing Center.

On Windows 8.1 or 7, search for Network and, then select Network and Sharing Center from the list of results.
To learn how to find out which version of Windows you have, see Which Windows operating system am I running?

In Network and Sharing Center, next to Connections, select your Wi-Fi network name.

In Wi-Fi Status, select Wireless Properties.

In Wireless Network Properties, select the Security tab, then select the Show characters check box.
Your Wi-Fi network password is displayed in the Network security key box.

On another Windows PC or other device, connect to Wi-Fi as you normally would, and enter your Wi-Fi password when prompted. For more info about connecting to Wi-Fi, see Connect to a Wi-Fi network in Windows.

Find your Wi-Fi network password in Windows

If you forgot your Wi-Fi network password, you can find it if you have another Windows PC already connected to your Wi-Fi network. After you find your password, you can use it on another PC or device to connect to your Wi-Fi network.

On a Windows PC that’s connected to your Wi-Fi network, do one of the following, depending on which version of Windows is running on your PC:

On Windows 11, select the Start button, type control panel, then select Control Panel > Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center.

On Windows 10, select the Start button, then select Settings > Network & Internet > Status > Network and Sharing Center.

On Windows 8.1 or 7, search for Network and, then select Network and Sharing Center from the list of results.
To learn how to find out which version of Windows you have, see Which Windows operating system am I running?

In Network and Sharing Center, next to Connections, select your Wi-Fi network name.

In Wi-Fi Status, select Wireless Properties.

In Wireless Network Properties, select the Security tab, then select the Show characters check box.
Your Wi-Fi network password is displayed in the Network security key box.

On another Windows PC or other device, connect to Wi-Fi as you normally would, and enter your Wi-Fi password when prompted. For more info about connecting to Wi-Fi, see Connect to a Wi-Fi network in Windows.

Find your Wi-Fi network password in Windows

If you forgot your Wi-Fi network password, you can find it if you have another Windows PC already connected to your Wi-Fi network. After you find your password, you can use it on another PC or device to connect to your Wi-Fi network.

On a Windows PC that’s connected to your Wi-Fi network, do one of the following, depending on which version of Windows is running on your PC:

On Windows 11, select the Start button, type control panel, then select Control Panel > Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center.

On Windows 10, select the Start button, then select Settings > Network & Internet > Status > Network and Sharing Center.

On Windows 8.1 or 7, search for Network and, then select Network and Sharing Center from the list of results.
To learn how to find out which version of Windows you have, see Which Windows operating system am I running?

In Network and Sharing Center, next to Connections, select your Wi-Fi network name.

In Wi-Fi Status, select Wireless Properties.

In Wireless Network Properties, select the Security tab, then select the Show characters check box.
Your Wi-Fi network password is displayed in the Network security key box.

On another Windows PC or other device, connect to Wi-Fi as you normally would, and enter your Wi-Fi password when prompted. For more info about connecting to Wi-Fi, see Connect to a Wi-Fi network in Windows.

How to Find Your Wi-Fi Password

Technology has been growing everyday and the best thing which technology has given us has to be the internet through which we connect with the rest of the world. Wi-Fi has become largely popular due to the ease of access and every home or official space has at least one source through which wireless connection becomes possible. Since the many users have access to this connection, the owners tend to protect their personal Wi-Fi connection with the help of a password. As a human we do tend to forget this complex combination of numbers, letters and special characters. This article will highlight the ways through which you can get to know how to find Wi-Fi password when you forget one.

Option 1: Find Wi-Fi Password on iPhone/iPad

Finding the Wi-Fi password on your iPhone/iPad is a slightly tedious process but doing this on an iOS device is much more secure when compared to the Android device as Apple employs a lot of security restrictions on all its devices. If you want to get the Wi-Fi password through your iPhone/iPad in a simple and quick way, the best solution would be to use the software PassFab iOS Password Manager which acts as a powerful Wi-Fi password recovery tool. It is very popular among several users across the world and is highly recommended in such a scenario. Follow the steps below to know how you can recover your Wi-Fi password with the help of this tool.

Step 1: Download, install and launch PassFab iOS Password Manager on your laptop or PC and then connect your iPhone/iPad to it with the help of a USB lightning cable when prompted.

Step 2: Once your device is detected, click on «Start Scan» to start the password recovery process.

Step 3: You can then preview the password you are trying to find once the scanning process is finished.

Step 4: Click on «Export» to export the recovered password to other applications.

Here is a video tutorial about how to find out your Wi-Fi password:

This way with just a few simple steps you can easily recover your Wi-Fi password on your iPhone/iPad.

Option 2: Find Wi-Fi Password on Android Device

Android devices are much more popular than the iOS devices and hence there are more number of Android users. Even though recovering the password on your Android is not very easy, you can still follow this guide to simplify the whole process to a large extent. The saved password file is generally stored in the root directory and due to this you will have to root your Android device to access this file. There are many other options using which you can still recover the Wi-Fi password on your Android device without rooting it. One of the options is by using an ES File Explorer which acts as a Wi-Fi password finder. You can use this to recover the forgotten Wi-Fi password by following the steps below.

Step 1: From Google Play download «ES File Explorer» on your Android device by tapping on «Install».

Step 2: You will have to give the permission to ES File Explorer to access all the information which it needs by clicking on «Allow» whenever prompted.

Step 3: Go to the Root Directory and then navigate through the options to tap on «System».

Step 4: From there, tap on «Data», then «Misc» and then on «Wi-Fi».

Step 5: Tap on «wep_supplicant.conf» or «WPA_supplicant.conf» to open it through the text editor and from there you can check the Wi-Fi password.

This is a simple way of getting the Wi-Fi password on your Android device with the help of ES File Explorer».

Option 3: Find Wi-Fi Password on Windows 10/8/7

You can get the forgotten Wi-Fi password on your Windows 10/8/7 only if you have connected to the Wi-Fi network through your Windows laptop/PC at least once. If not, you would not be able to recover the forgotten password this way and you can explore other ways listed in this article. Even if you had not connected the Windows laptop/PC to the wireless connection after changing the password, you cannot recover the password through this method. If you satisfy all the conditions mentioned and are wondering how do I find my Wi-Fi password?, then you can follow the steps below to recover the Wi-Fi password on your Windows laptop/PC.

Way 3.1 Find Windows Wi-Fi Password Using Wifi Key

The first option you can use is the PassFab Wifi Key. This is a wonderful and easy-to-use program that is built in 2019. You can just figure out your lost wireless password in one second. Just download and install it, then it will show all your network name and password very quickly.

Way 3.2 Find Windows Wi-Fi Password Using Adapter Settings

Except for third-party tool, you are able to find back your password using Windows built-in settings. Be patient because it will take some time.

Step 1: Open the «Network and Sharing Center» and from the options given on the left, click on «Change adapter settings». This will display a list of all the network devices which have been connected at least once with your Windows laptop/PC.

Step 2: Right click on the network device for which you need to find out the Wi-Fi password and then go ahead to click on «Status» from the drop down menu which appears.

Step 3: From the given option, click on «Properties» and then on «Security Tab».

Step 4: You can see that in front of «Network security key» the password will be displayed in the form of dots. Click on the empty box which is placed ahead of «Show Characters» to show the Wi-Fi password.

This is how you can get the forgotten Wi-Fi password on your Windows PC/laptop.

Option 4: Find Wi-Fi Password on Mac System

Getting the Wi-Fi password on a Windows system is fairly simple. Same is the case with Mac systems as well. All the Mac systems have an inbuilt feature of storing all the password in Keychain. This even stores the other important security information as well. If you are wondering how to find my Wi-Fi password on a Mac system, you can follow the steps below.

Step 1: Go to «Keychain Access» either by typing it on search bar in «Spotlight» or by accessing «Utilities from «Applications».

Step 2: Once you click on «Keychain Access» all the login items will be displayed in a list.

Step 3: Go to «AirPort network password» by clicking on «System» from the left pane of the window.

Step 4: Browse through the list and find the wireless network for which you need to find the password.

Step 5: Once you select the required wireless network, all the information related to it will be displayed on a pop up window.

Step 6: Click on the «Show password» checkbox and you will be prompted to enter OS X Administer login details after which you will get to know the forgotten Wi-Fi password.

This is how you can find the forgotten Wi-Fi password on a Mac system with the help of Keychain.

Option 5: Find Wi-Fi Password on Router’s Web Interface

If you have the access to the router’s web interface, then you can easily find and recover the Wi-Fi password from even there. You can follow the detailed steps below and know how to find your Wi-Fi password on router’s web interface.

Step 1: Go to your specific router’s web interface and sign in using the username and password which is generally given on the back of every router.

Step 2: Browse through the options and then click on «Wi-Fi» or similar looking option.

Step 3: The current Wi-Fi password will be displayed on the screen and you have the option of changing this password if you wish to do so.

This is a simple way of finding your Wi-Fi password by accessing the router’s web interface.

Conclusion

Internet and Wi-Fi form an integral part of our daily life and forgetting the password for this and not being able to access the internet would put a stop to all our work and leads to a very annoying and unwanted situation. If, in case, that happens you can easily follow the different methods to recover the forgotten password and gain access to the internet again through the wireless connection. The best way to find the Wi-Fi password is through PassFab iOS Password Manager which is the most recommended Wi-Fi pasword finder to get out of such a situation.

How to Find Your Wi-Fi Password

Chris Hoffman is Editor-in-Chief of How-To Geek. He’s written about technology for over a decade and was a PCWorld columnist for two years. Chris has written for The New York Times and Reader’s Digest, been interviewed as a technology expert on TV stations like Miami’s NBC 6, and had his work covered by news outlets like the BBC. Since 2011, Chris has written over 2,000 articles that have been read more than one billion times—and that’s just here at How-To Geek. Read more.

Melanie Pinola is a veteran productivity and technology journalist. Her work has also appeared in The New York Times, Wirecutter, Lifehacker, Engadget, Laptop Magazine, Popular Mechanics, IDG’s ITworld, and on Zapier’s blog. Read more.

What’s the password to your Wi-Fi network, anyway? Whether you’ve changed the default password or not, it’s simple to find your Wi-Fi password. You can also look up any Wi-Fi network password if you’ve previously connected to that network from a Windows PC or Mac.

This is essential for hooking up new devices to a network. Whether you’ve misplaced your home network’s password or you’re visiting someone and don’t want to ask them for the password a second time, here’s how you can find it.

First: Check Your Router’s Default Password

If your router is still using the default username and password, it should be easy to find. Modern Wi-Fi routers–and the combined router/modem units offered by many Internet service providers–come with a default Wi-Fi network name and password. Each router has its own default password, which is often random.

To find the default password, find your Wi-Fi router and examine it. You should see a sticker somewhere on it that contains both the “SSID”–the wireless network name–and the password. If you haven’t changed the default password yet, you can use that password to connect to the router.

If you don’t see a default password printed on the router itself, try looking at the documentation that came with the router for more information.

What if you don’t have the manual or the password isn’t on the router sticker? As we mentioned in our guide to resetting your router’s password, you might be able to find the password by using common username and password combinations (e.g., “admin” for the username and “admin” for the password) or consulting RouterPasswords.com, a database of popular routers’ default logins.

Once you’ve connected to your router using the default password, make sure you change it and store the password in your password manager so your router is secure.

How to Find the Current Wi-Fi Network’s Password on Windows

If you’ve connected to a Wi-Fi network from a Windows laptop or desktop PC, Windows will remember that Wi-Fi network’s password. You can look up the Wi-Fi password on any Windows computer that’s currently connected to–or has previously connected to–that Wi-Fi network.

To look up the password for the Wi-Fi network you’re currently connected to on Windows, we’ll head to the Network and Sharing Center in the Control Panel. The quickest way to do this: Right-click on the Wireless Network icon in the taskbar and click “Open Network and Sharing Center.”

Note: Recent Windows 10 updates have changed this. Click the “Open Network & Internet Settings” option that appears in the context menu instead. When the Settings window appears, scroll down and click “Network and Sharing Center.” You can also just head to Control Panel > Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center.

Click the name of the current Wi-Fi connection.

Click the “Wireless Properties” button in the Wi-Fi Status window that appears.

Click the “Security” tab and activate the “Show characters” checkbox to view the hidden password.

How to Find Passwords for Wi-Fi Networks You’ve Connected to Previously

Windows also stores the Wi-Fi password of networks you’ve connected to previously. In Windows 7 and earlier, you can find these from the Network and Sharing Center, but in Windows 8 and Windows 10, you’ll need to use the command prompt.

Find Passwords for Other Wi-Fi Networks in Windows 7 and Earlier

To get started, click the “Manage wireless networks” link in the left menu of the Network and Sharing Center.

You’ll see a list of the previous networks you’ve connected to. Double-click a network name to open the network’s properties.

In the network properties window, go to the Security tab and check the box next to “Show characters” to see the Wi-Fi password in the “Network security key” field.

Find Passwords for Other Wi-Fi Networks in Windows 8 and 10

In Windows 10 and 8.1, you’ll have to use the command prompt to find a previous network’s password. Right-click the Start button and select “Command Prompt” to quickly open it.

Then type in the following command:

You’ll get a list of the Wi-Fi networks you’ve accessed before.

To find the password for one of the profiles, type in the following, replacing profilename with the name of the profile:

Look for the “Key Content” line to find the Wi-Fi password for that Wi-Fi network.

How to Find the Password for Current or Previous Wi-Fi Networks on a Mac

If you have a Mac that’s currently connected to the Wi-Fi network or previously connected to it, you can also look up the password on that Mac.

To find the Wi-Fi password on your Mac, press Command+Space to open the Spotlight search dialog, type “Keychain Access” without the quotes, and press Enter to launch the Keychain Access app.

Locate the name of your Wi-Fi network in the list, click it, and then click the “info” button–it looks like an “i”–at the bottom of the window.

Click the “Show Password” checkbox in the window that appears. You’ll have to enter your username and password to gain access to the password. You’ll need an administrator account for this. Assuming your Mac account is an administrator account, just type your account’s username and password.

After you do, your Mac will show you the Wi-Fi network’s password.

How to Find a Wi-Fi Network’s Password on a Rooted Android Device

It’s not as easy to reveal the password for a Wi-Fi network on Android or iOS, but it is possible. Your Android device would need to be rooted, however.

First, download an alternative root-enabled file explorer, such as ES File Explorer. Launch the app and tap the menu button in the upper left-hand corner. Scroll down and slide the “Root Explorer” switch to “On”.

Grant it superuser access when prompted.

Then, in the left menu, go to Local > Device.

From there, browse to data/misc/wifi and open the wpa_supplicant.conf file in the file explorer’s text/HTML viewer.

Scroll down or search for the SSID to find the password for it, next to the term “psk”.

How to Find a Wi-Fi Network’s Password on a Jailbroken iPhone or iPad

The only way to reveal a Wi-Fi network’s password in iOS is to jailbreak your device first.

Open up the Cydia store and search for the WiFi Passwords tweak. Tap the Install button to install it. It’s compatible with iOS 6, 7, 8, and 9.

Once installed, open the app and you’ll be provided with a list of every Wi-Fi network you’ve connected to, along with their passwords. You can search for the network you’re looking for or scroll down to it.

How to Find a Wi-Fi Network’s Password from the Router’s Web Interface

If you have access to the router’s web interface, you can also attempt to look it up there. This assumes that the router is either using its default username and password so you can log in, or that you know the current username and password for the router.

Go to your router’s web interface and sign in with the current username and password your router requires. Look through the router’s interface for a “Wi-Fi” or similarly labeled section. You’ll see the current Wi-Fi password displayed on this screen, and you can also choose to change it to anything you want from here.

If All Else Fails: Reset Your Router to Its Default Wi-Fi Password

Can’t find your Wi-Fi network’s password and don’t have access to your router’s web interface — or just don’t want to bother? Don’t worry. You can reset your router and force it to use the default Wi-Fi passphrase printed on the router once again.

Look for a small “reset” button on the router. It’s often a pinhole button you’ll have to press with a bent paperclip or a similarly small object. Press the button down for ten seconds or so and your router’s settings will be completely erased and reset to their defaults. The Wi-Fi network name and password will be restored to the default ones on the router.

Not sure what your router’s Wi-Fi network name — or SSID — is? Just look at the Wi-Fi settings on any device connected to the Wi-Fi network and you’ll see the network name. If no devices are connected yet, you should see this information printed on the router itself or in the router’s documentation.