How to find wifi passwords for old networks that you’ve connected to: A step-by-step guide

There are many instances when you connect with a WiFi network in a public place like a coffee shop or a private setting like your friend’s place or a friend’s mobile hotspot. You saved the password in the connected device but forget the password later. Hence, can’t connect your other devices to that network. That’s a hassle for sure.

The good thing about such situations is that devices save the WiFi passwords for all networks they were ever connected to for safekeeping. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how you can find the passwords to all of the Wi-Fi networks you’ve ever connected to on MacOS and Windows.

How to find the WiFi password on Windows

a) See the password of a WiFi network you are currently connected to

Go to the Start button and open Control Panel > Network and Internet> Network and Sharing Center (Windows 11)  or Settings> Network & Internet> Status>Network and Sharing Center (Windows 10)
Once done, click on the name of the said WiFi network name, infront of Connections
On the WiFi Status page, select Wireless Properties> security tab
Tick mark the box infront of the ‘Show characters’ option to display your Wi-Fi network password

b) See the passwords for all saved WiFi connections

Right click on the Windows icon in the left bottom corner of the desktop
Select Windows Terminal (Admin)
Run the command “netsh wlan show profile” and hit enter
Now select the network you want to check the password for and send the command “netsh wlan show profile “(Wi-Fi network name)” key=clear” and press Enter

You will then see the password of the said WiFi network. You can simply replace the name of the network to check passwords for other saved networks as well.

How to find WiFi password in macOS

On macOS, the Wifi passwords are saved in Apple’s keychains that is found in the Keychain Access app. To check the password, follow these steps

Select “System” under the System Keychains in the sidebar
Click on “Passwords” at the top of the window
Choose the required Wifi network and double click on it
Now check the box next to “Show password” and your password when asked

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