Wifi connections and passwords

How to Find Wi-Fi Password in Windows 11

Saikat has been a technology writer for 12+ years. His writing has appeared at MakeUseOf, OnlineTechTips, GoSkills, and many others.

In This Article

What to Know

• Go to Control Panel >Network and Internet >Network and Sharing Center >your Wi-Fi network name.
• Select Wireless Properties >Security >Show characters. Look next to Network security key.
• To find passwords from previous wireless connections, use the Command Prompt.

This article will show you how to find the Wi-Fi password on Windows 11.

Where Are Wi-Fi Passwords Stored in Windows?

A Windows PC saves the passwords of all Wi-Fi networks it connects to. These include the active Wi-Fi network and any past networks. A couple of methods make it easy to retrieve the network passwords if you forget them.

The active Wi-Fi password is stored in the Wireless Network Properties in the Control Panel. You can access Wireless Network Properties located in the Control Panel in three ways:

• From the Control Panel
• From the Settings app.
• From the Run Command box.

How Do I View Wi-Fi Passwords in Windows 11?

You can find Wi-Fi adapter settings in the Control Panel. The adapter stores the password for the active connection.

Type Control Panel and select the top result.

Select Network and Internet >Network and Sharing Center.

Tip:

For easier visibility and less confusion, change the view of the Control Panel applets from View by: Category to View by: Large icons.

In the 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.

How to Open Wireless Properties From Settings

You can also access Wireless network properties from the Settings app, which has gradually ported many features from the legacy Control Panel. It’s also easier to find than opening the Control Panel in Windows 11.

1. Select Start >Settings. Alternatively, use keyboard shortcut Windows key + i.

Select Network & internet from the left sidebar.

Scroll to the bottom of the screen and select Advanced network settings.

Under Related settings, select More Network adapter options.

Note:

You can also open the Network Connections window in the Control Panel by entering ncpa.cpl in the Run dialog box.

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.

How Do I View All Wi-Fi Passwords in Windows 11?

You can find the current Wi-Fi password and the passwords from previous wireless connections used by your PC.

1. Search for Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator.

To find all Wi-Fi connections used by Windows, type netsh wlan show profiles at the command prompt. Press Enter.

Note the specific Wi-Fi connection name for which you need the password.

Enter netsh wlan show profile name=WifiConnectionName key=clear at the command prompt. Substitute «WifiConnectionName» with the network name (without quote). Press Enter.

Note down the value next to Key Content. That’s the specific Wi-Fi network’s password.

To share your Wi-Fi connection, go to Settings > Network & internet > Mobile hotspot and turn on the switch for Mobile hotspot. On the other device, enter the provided network name and password to access the shared internet.

If you can’t connect to Wi-Fi on Windows 11, reboot your PC, verify that Wi-Fi is turned on, and move closer to the router. If you have a firewall, VPN, or metered connection set up, disable it and try to connect again.

To change your Wi-Fi password in Windows 11, log into your router as an administrator. Find the Wi-Fi Password Settings, type a new password, then save the changes.

To reset your network settings in Windows 11, go to Start > Settings > Network and Internet > Advanced network settings > Network reset. It’s also possible to forget individual W-Fi networks.

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How to View Saved WiFi Passwords on Windows 7, 8, & 10

Are you still using the WiFi password that is written on the back of the router your ISP gave you? If so, it’s probably some really long combination of letters, numbers and symbols that you can never remember.

Most people try to write the password down somewhere or simply check on the router every time they need to give it to someone else. Luckily, if you already have a computer connected to your WiFi network, you can easily view the password there.

I’ve already written about how to view WiFi passwords on a Mac and in this article, I’m going to talk about doing the same thing in Windows. Note that the procedure is the same for Windows 7, 8 or 10. Also, be sure to check out the YouTube video we made below, in case you don’t want to read so much text.

View WiFi Password in Windows

In order to view the WiFi password on your Windows machine, you need to make sure you are already connected to the WiFi network or have previously connected to the WiFi network. If so, then go ahead and right-click on the WiFi icon in the system tray and choose Open Network and Sharing Center.

Now go ahead and click on Change Adapter Settings in the left-hand menu. Also, be sure to read my previous post if you want to learn more about the Network and Sharing Center.

Find the icon for Wi-Fi, right-click on it and choose Status.

This will bring up the WiFi Status dialog where you can see some basic information about your wireless network connection.

Click on the Wireless Properties button and then click on the Security tab.

Here you will see a text field called Network security key. Go ahead and check the Show characters box and you’ll now be able to see the WiFi security password. Note that this is just the WiFi password of the currently connected WiFi network. What if you want to see the WiFi passwords for WiFi networks that your computer previously connected to?

Luckily, that’s pretty easy too in Windows 7. In Windows 8 and 10, you have to use the command prompt, which is pretty annoying. Anyway, in Windows 7, open the Network and Sharing Center and then click on Manage Wireless Networks.

You will now see a nice list of all the wireless networks that computer has ever connected to. Just double-click on the one you are interested in.

Then just click on the Security tab and check the Show characters box again to see the password.

In Windows 8 and 10, you have to open a command prompt by going to Start and typing in CMD. When the command prompt opens, type in the following command:

You’ll find all the wireless profiles listed under User Profiles. The name of the WiFi network is on the right. In my case, I only have one WiFi network listed. Now to see the password for a profile, type in the following command:

netsh wlan show profile name=profilename key=clear

Go ahead and replace profilename with the actual name of the WiFi network listed from the previous command. In my case, the WiFi network is named VFTJM. You do not need to use quotes anywhere in the commands.

When you run the second command, you’ll get a lot of output, but you are only interested in finding the line that starts with Key Content. To the right will be the WiFi password. I’m not sure why Microsoft removed the convenience of seeing all your previously connected WiFi networks in Windows 8 and 10, but thankfully there is still a way to get all of the information. If you have any questions, feel free to comment. Enjoy!

Founder of Online Tech Tips and managing editor. He began blogging in 2007 and quit his job in 2010 to blog full-time. He has over 15 years of industry experience in IT and holds several technical certifications. Read Aseem’s Full Bio

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