How to Find the Lost Wi-Fi Password?

We take it for granted that when we enter the vicinity of our regular Wi-Fi networks — the library, school, cafes, and work — we’ll seamlessly connect. But what if you get a new phone, tablet, or computer and don’t have the password written down for a Wi-Fi network?

Don’t worry if your laptop or PC has previously joined to that Wi-Fi network. The network name and password are retained in memory the first time you connect to a network on a Mac or Windows machine. It’s rather simple to extract and record the password for other devices by going into your computer’s settings.

Learn how to find the passwords to all of the Wi-Fi networks you’ve ever joined to on MacOS and Windows by continuing reading.

How to find Wi-Fi passwords with MacOS

On a Mac, the password management system Keychain Access saves every password you’ve input and saved. This contains Wi-Fi network passwords.

To begin, open the Keychain Access app using the search option and perform the following steps:

Click on System under System Keychains in the sidebar.
Next, click on Passwords at the top of the window.
Find the Wi-Fi network you want the password for and double-click on it.
Finally, check the box next to Show password and enter your password when prompted.

Find all your stored Wi-Fi passwords in the Keychain Access app on MacOS.

The password you used to log in to that Wi-Fi network will appear in the blank password field. You can then pick the password by double-clicking on the password field and copying it to your clipboard if necessary.

How to find Wi-Fi passwords with Windows

On Windows, finding the password to the Wi-Fi network to which you’re presently connected is simple, but retrieving all stored Wi-Fi passwords takes a little more effort, so we’ll go over both techniques below.

To determine the password for the Wi-Fi network to which you’re presently connected on Windows, follow these steps:

Click the Start button and then go to Control Panel > Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center (Windows 11) or Settings > Network & Internet > Status > Network and Sharing Center (Windows 10).
Next to Connections, click your Wi-Fi network name highlighted in blue.
In the Wi-Fi Status page that opens, click Wireless Properties and then on the Security tab.
Finally, check the box next to Show characters to display your Wi-Fi network password above it.

Find Wifi Password in Windows — You can easily find the password for the Wi-Fi network you’re currently connected to on Windows.

This isn’t the only way to figure out your Wi-Fi network passwords, either. The method above only allows you to read the password for the Wi-Fi network to which you’re now connected, but there is a way to access the passwords for all Wi-Fi networks you’ve ever connected to on your Windows computer.

To find all of your Wi-Fi network passwords on Windows, follow these steps:

Right-click on the Windows icon in the taskbar on your desktop.
Click Windows Terminal (Admin).
Type in netsh wlan show profile and hit Enter on your keyboard to view every Wi-Fi network you’ve connected to.
Once you find the Wi-Fi network you want the password for, type in netsh wlan show profile “(Wi-Fi network name)” key=clear (for example, netsh wlan show profile “Netgear667” key=clear), and then hit the Enter key.

Profile, connectivity, security, and cost settings will appear. Under Security settings, next to Key Content, the Wi-Fi network password will show. You can also use the Command Prompt tool to type in the instructions given above to find your Wi-Fi passwords if you don’t have access to Windows Terminal.

Check out the top password managers to use and nine principles to follow when generating a password if you want to learn more about passwords on your computer or smartphone.