Wi-FiTutorial

Forgot Your Wi-Fi Password? Find It on Any Device

TG By The TechFix Guide Editorial Team  ·  Updated  ·  How we check our guides
A person holding a smartphone next to a white Wi-Fi router on a bookshelf in warm evening light

A guest asks for the Wi-Fi password, your new TV wants it, your laptop forgot it after an update — and nobody remembers what the internet provider wrote on that card two moves ago. The good news: if any device in your home has connected to that network before, the password is almost certainly still stored on it, and modern systems let you reveal it in seconds without installing anything. Here is how to dig it out on every major device, plus what to do when nothing works.

On Windows 10 and 11

Method 1: Settings (current network)

  1. Open Settings → Network & internet → Wi-Fi.
  2. Click your connected network's name → scroll to View more properties and note the Network security type page, or take the classic route: Control Panel → Network and Sharing Center → click your Wi-Fi name next to "Connections".
  3. Click Wireless Properties → Security tab → tick Show characters.

The password appears in plain text. Windows will ask for admin permission first — that is normal.

Method 2: Command line (any saved network)

The Settings route only shows the network you are connected to. For saved networks the laptop is not currently using, open Terminal and run:

netsh wlan show profiles

That lists every remembered network. Then run, replacing NetworkName with the one you want:

netsh wlan show profile name="NetworkName" key=clear

Look for the line Key Content — that is the password. This works even for networks you connected to months ago.

On Mac

macOS stores Wi-Fi passwords in Keychain:

  1. Open Keychain Access (press Command + Space and type it) — on recent macOS versions look under Passwords in System Settings instead.
  2. Search for your network's name.
  3. Double-click the entry, tick Show password, and enter your Mac's login password.

The password appears immediately. This works for any network the Mac has saved, not just the current one.

On iPhone

Since iOS 16, the trick takes seconds:

  1. Open Settings → Wi-Fi.
  2. Tap the i button next to your connected network.
  3. Tap the Password field and unlock with Face ID — the password shows, with a Copy option right there.

For older saved networks, check Settings → Passwords → search the network name, since iPhones also store Wi-Fi credentials in the same vault as website passwords. You can also share the network directly: hold the network name in Settings and choose Share Password to zap it to a nearby Apple device — no typing at all.

On Android

Steps vary slightly by brand, but the pattern is consistent:

  1. Open Settings → Network & internet (or Connections on Samsung).
  2. Tap your connected Wi-Fi network → tap Share.

Android shows a QR code, and on most phones the password itself appears in plain text right below it. Anyone can join by scanning the QR code with their camera — handy for guests even if you do not want to read out the password. Samsung phones may ask you to verify with your screen lock first.

From the Router Itself

If no device remembers the network, go to the source:

  • Check the sticker. Most routers print the default network name and password on the bottom or back. This works if the password was never changed.
  • Log in to the admin page. Type the address on the sticker (commonly 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1) into a browser, sign in with the router's admin password (also often on the sticker, and different from the Wi-Fi password), and look under Wireless settings — the current password is displayed or can be changed there.

If Nothing Works: Reset the Wi-Fi Password

When every avenue is exhausted, the fallback is changing the password, not recovering it. On the router's admin page, find the Wireless or Wi-Fi section, set a new password, and save. Every device in the house will need to reconnect once — a five-minute job for a typical household. On routers you cannot log into at all (unknown admin password), hold the small reset pinhole for about 10 seconds to restore factory settings, then set everything up fresh using the sticker defaults.

Never Lose It Again

  • Save the password in a password manager the moment you find it — searchable, backed up, and shareable with family.
  • Write it on tape inside a kitchen cabinet — low-tech but reliable, and the router sticker method fails the moment anyone changes the default.
  • Consider a memorable passphrase instead of random characters: long and easy to say out loud to guests beats short and complex.
  • For guests, a QR code taped to the fridge (both iPhone and Android cameras join networks from QR codes) means nobody ever has to spell out a password again.

Quick Checklist

  • Windows: Wireless Properties → Show characters, or netsh with key=clear
  • Mac: Keychain Access → show password
  • iPhone: Settings → Wi-Fi → i → Password
  • Android: network settings → Share → QR/password
  • Router: sticker defaults or admin page
  • Nothing worked: change the password on the router

One of these five routes works in practically every situation — the password was almost always sitting on a device you already own. Grab it, hand it to your guest, and drop it into your password manager so the next "what's the Wi-Fi?" takes ten seconds instead of an evening.