How to find your Wi-Fi password

• You need at least one device already connected to the network, or physical access to the router.
• On most platforms you'll need an admin password or device PIN to reveal a saved Wi-Fi password, this is a security measure, not a bug.
• Once you've reconnected, run our Network Test to confirm the connection is actually working properly, not just connected.

1. Right-click the Wi-Fi icon in the taskbar and choose "Network & internet settings".
2. Click "Advanced network settings" > "More network adapter options", or go to Settings > Network & internet > Advanced network settings.
3. Alternatively, open Control Panel > Network and Sharing Center > click your Wi-Fi network name > Wireless Properties > Security tab.
4. Check the box "Show characters" to reveal the password in plain text.

If Control Panel feels dated, you can also open Command Prompt as administrator and run netsh wlan show profile "NETWORK-NAME" key=clear, then look for "Key Content" in the output.

1. Open Spotlight (Cmd+Space) and search for "Keychain Access".
2. In the search bar of Keychain Access, type your Wi-Fi network's name.
3. Double-click the matching entry, then tick "Show password".
4. Enter your Mac's login password when prompted, this confirms it's really you.

1. Open Settings > Network & internet > Internet (or Wi-Fi).
2. Tap the gear icon next to the network you're connected to.
3. Tap "Share", which generates a QR code and, on many Android versions, shows the password as text underneath it.
4. Some manufacturers hide the plain-text password behind a fingerprint or PIN prompt first, this is expected.

iPhone doesn't show saved Wi-Fi passwords directly in Settings, but there are two reliable ways to get one:

If no device is connected at all, go to the source.

1. Check the sticker on the router itself, most have a default network name and password printed on the bottom or back.
2. If it's been changed from the default, connect a computer to the router with an Ethernet cable and open its admin page, usually at 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1 in a browser.
3. Log in with the router's admin credentials (also often on the sticker, separate from the Wi-Fi password) and look under Wireless or Wi-Fi settings.
4. Use our Public IP & Location tool if you're unsure which network you're even on before digging into router settings.

• As a last resort, you can reset the router to factory defaults using the small reset button, usually held for 10 seconds. This restores the default password printed on the sticker but also wipes any custom settings.
• After a factory reset, change the password to something new and update it on all your devices at once.
• If your ISP manages the router, their app or account portal often shows the current Wi-Fi credentials without needing physical access.

People often reach for the router reset button first, and it is almost always the worst option. A factory reset wipes the network name, the password, port forwarding rules, guest network settings, parental controls and any custom DNS configuration, then forces you to reconnect every device in the house. Since any device already connected is storing the password locally, recovery is nearly always possible without touching the router at all.

Operating systems protect stored passwords behind an administrator prompt rather than hiding them entirely, because the intention is to stop a passing stranger reading credentials off an unlocked screen, not to stop the owner. If you can authenticate as the machine's owner, you can see the password. That is the principle behind every method in this guide.

Pick the approach that matches what you have access to, rather than working through every option.

• A connected Windows PC and administrator rights: use the network properties dialog or the command line, this is the fastest route and shows plain text immediately.
• A connected Mac: Keychain Access, which also covers passwords synced from an iPhone through iCloud Keychain.
• A connected Android phone: the share option, which produces a QR code and often the password beneath it.
• Only an iPhone connected: use the password sharing prompt to bring a new device online, or read it through a Mac sharing the same iCloud Keychain.
• Nothing connected at all: the router sticker first, then the router admin page over an Ethernet cable.

If a QR code is all you can get, that is usually enough. Point the new device's camera at it and most modern phones will offer to join the network directly, no typing required.

Router admin pages present several credentials that people routinely confuse. The Wi-Fi password, sometimes labelled the network key, pre-shared key or WPA key, is what devices use to join. The admin password protects the router settings page itself. On many routers both are printed on the sticker but they are different strings, and typing one where the other belongs produces a confusing failure.

• SSID is simply the network name you see in the list of available networks.
• WPA2 or WPA3 is the security standard, newer is better, and mixed mode keeps older devices working.
• Some routers run separate 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks with different names but usually the same password.
• A guest network has its own password entirely and often blocks access to printers and shared drives.

If you do end up changing the password, choose something you will not have to recover again. Length beats complexity for Wi-Fi keys, since they are typed rarely and stored permanently. Three or four unrelated words joined together is both stronger and far easier to read aloud to a guest than a random string of symbols.

1. Use at least sixteen characters, and avoid the street address or family names that a neighbour could guess.
2. Store it in a password manager under the network name, so future recovery takes seconds.
3. Write it on a card kept near the router for guests rather than sharing your main credentials verbally.
4. Enable WPA3 if every device supports it, and keep WPA2 as a fallback if older equipment needs it.
5. Change the router admin password too, the default is published online for every common model.

After changing anything, reconnect one device and confirm the connection genuinely works rather than just showing connected. A speed and latency check catches the case where the network joined successfully but the internet connection behind it is down for an unrelated reason.

The reason this problem repeats is that nobody writes the password down anywhere durable. Five minutes of record keeping now removes the whole task permanently, and it also makes the network easier to hand over if someone else ever needs to manage it.

• Store the network name, wireless key, router admin address and admin password together in a password manager entry.
• Photograph the router sticker and keep the image in the same entry, defaults are useful after any reset.
• Note the router model and firmware version, which speeds up any future support conversation considerably.
• Keep a printed card near the router with the guest network details only, so visitors never need your main key.
• Repeat the record after any password change, an out of date note is worse than none at all.

Once the record exists, verify it. Join a device that was not previously connected using only the written details, then confirm the connection genuinely reaches the internet rather than simply showing connected. A quick speed and latency check settles that in seconds and proves the note is accurate.

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