Almost single account you have these days has a password. This makes remembering passwords difficult, however password managers allow you to avoid having to remember multiple passwords. But when you connect to your Wi-Fi, this doesn’t function.
If you’re at a loss for your Wi-Fi password, you might want to look behind the back of your router. You’ll usually find it there, but don’t worry if it’s not. All of the passwords to the Wi-Fi networks you have ever connected to are stored somewhere on your computer.
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The Wi-Fi password is saved in your settings for as long as your Mac or Windows machine has previously connected to that network. All of the passwords are available, saved, and prepared to be given with anybody wishing to connect to Wi-Fi, albeit it could take some research on your part.
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Using MacOS and Windows, follow these steps to retrieve the passwords for every Wi-Fi network you have ever connected to. Learn how to maximize Windows 11 or explore 17 crucial settings for personalizing your MacBook.
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How to locate Wi-Fi passwords in MacOS
Keychain Access, the MacOS password management system, contains all of the passwords you have typed and saved on a Mac. Passwords for Wi-Fi networks are included in it.
To begin, launch the Keychain Access app using the search function, then take the following actions:
1. Select System from the sidebar’s System Keychains section.
2. At the top of the window, select Passwords.
3. Double-click the Wi-Fi network for which you wish to retrieve the password.
4. Lastly, click the box next to “Show password” and, when prompted, enter your password.
On the MacBook, the Keychain Access software appears.
On MacOS, use the Keychain Access software to locate all of your saved Wi-Fi passwords.
Nelson Aguilar/CNET screenshot
The password you used to access that Wi-Fi network will then be displayed in the password field. Double-clicking in the password field allows you to choose the password and, if necessary, copy it to your clipboard.
How to locate Windows Wi-Fi credentials
On Windows, it’s easy to find the password for the Wi-Fi network you’re currently connected to, but it takes some effort to retrieve all of your stored Wi-Fi passwords, so we’ll go over both approaches below.
To determine the password for the Windows Wi-Fi network you are presently connected to:
1. After clicking the Start button, select Network and Sharing Center under Control Panel > Network and Internet (Windows 11) or Network and Sharing Center under Settings > Network & Internet > Status (Windows 10).
2. Click the blue-highlighted name of your Wi-Fi network next to Connections.
3. Select the Security tab after selecting Wireless Properties on the resulting Wi-Fi Status screen.
4. Lastly, to see your Wi-Fi network password above it, select the option next to Show characters.
On a Windows laptop, the network sharing center
On Windows, you may quickly get the password for the Wi-Fi network you are presently using.
Nelson Aguilar/CNET screenshot
There are other methods to discover your Wi-Fi network passwords, though. There is a technique to retrieve the passwords of every Wi-Fi network you have ever connected to on your Windows computer, but the aforementioned approach only lets you see the password for the network you are now connected to.
To locate all of your Windows Wi-Fi network passwords:
1. On your desktop, right-click the Windows symbol in the taskbar.
2. Select “Admin” from the Windows Terminal.
3. To examine all of the Wi-Fi networks you have connected to, type netsh wlan show profile into your keyboard and press Enter.
4. Type “(Wi-Fi network name)” into netsh wlan display profile after locating the Wi-Fi network you wish to access. After entering key=clear (for instance, netsh wlan display profile “Netgear667” key=clear), press Enter.
The computer’s Windows Terminal
All of your Wi-Fi network passwords can be found using Windows Terminal.
Nelson Aguilar/CNET screenshot
The profile, cost, security, and connectivity settings will show up. The Wi-Fi network password will show up next to Key Content in the Security settings. The instructions mentioned above can also be entered using the Command Prompt tool in addition to Windows Terminal to retrieve your Wi-Fi credentials.
Check out the top password managers and the nine guidelines for creating a password if you’d want to learn more about passwords on both your computer and smartphone.