Forgot Your WiFi Password? Here Are 3 Ways How to Get it Back!

Article by George Norman (Cybersecurity Editor)

on 28 Oct 2015

Connecting to a WiFi network is an effortless task. Select the WiFi network you want to connect to, enter the password, and you're in! Your computer will save the password and from then on, you won’t have to enter it again.

While this is very convenient, it means you will most likely forget the WiFi password.

Luckily for you, forgetting the WiFi password is not a big problem. It is a nuisance, I'll give you that, but it's not a big problem. There are several things you can do to uncover the wireless network password. They’re listed below, from easiest to hardest.

1. From the 'Network and Sharing Center'

To access the Network and Sharing Center, you must right click the network icon from the system tray, down in the lower right hand corner, where the clock is.

The Network and Sharing Center that is built into the Windows operating system lets you set up a new connection or network, troubleshoot problems, change adapter and advanced sharing settings, and view active networks. It also lets you view your WiFi password if you're connected to a WiFi network.

Here’s what you have to do to view it, depending on what Windows edition you have.

View WiFi Passwords on Windows 10

First up, right click the network icon and select Open Network and Sharing Center.

The WiFi network you’re connected to will be listed as an active network; click the link next to Connections.



A WiFi Status window will show up. Click on Wireless Properties.



A Wireless Network Properties window will show up. Check the box next to Show characters to view the WiFi password.



And now, lets move on to older versions of Windows.

View WiFi Passwords on Windows 8.1
  • Right click the network icon and select Open Networks and Sharing Center.
  • Click Change adapter settings from the upper left hand corner.
  • Right click the WiFi adapter and select Status from the right click context menu.
  • The WiFi Status window will show up. Click Wireless Properties and then check the box next to Show characters.

View WiFi Passwords on Windows 8 and Windows 7
  • Click the network icon from the system tray.
  • Right click the WiFi network and select View connection properties.
  • Check the box next to Show characters to see the password.

2. Use specialized software that reveals WiFi passwords

There are many software applications that have been created with a simple goal in mind: to reveal WiFi passwords. If you forgot your password, the tools listed below will help you recover it:
  • SterJo Wireless Passwords – presents the passwords for all the wireless networks you connected to.
  • WirelessKeyView – recovers all wireless network security keys/passwords stored in your computer.
  • WiFi Password Revealer – saved WiFi passwords will be uncovered and presented on this application’s interface.
All the software applications listed above are offered for the great price of free.


3. Use the command prompt

First things first. I have to mention that this method is reserved for advanced and expert users who are familiar with the command prompt. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s proceed.

The first thing you have to do is open the command prompt in admin mode.

Then you have to enter the following command:
netsh wlan show profile name="Labnol" key=clear



Replace Labnol with your WiFi network’s name (wireless SSID). Keep the quotation marks if your network’s name contains a blank. If it doesn’t contain a blank, the quotation marks are not necessary.

Add findstr Key to the command presented above if you want to see just the password and no other information. The whole command will look like this:
netsh wlan show profile name="Labnol" key=clear | findstr Key

This works with the WiFi network you're currently connected to. If you want to see the password for a WiFi network you connected to in the past, you just need to use that network's name in the command.

To view a list of WiFI networks you connected to in the past, use this command:
netsh wlan show profiles


Bonus method – Access your router

If you have access to the router, you can log into the router’s configuration page. From there you’ll be able to see and change the password for your WiFi network.

You can connect to the router by using a web browser. All you have to do is enter the router's IP address into the browser's address bar. Most times, that address is 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1.

If you forgot the router’s username and password, the only thing that you can do is to reset the router. Do so and you’ll be able to log in with the default username and password. And obviously, resetting the router means you’ll have to reconfigure the network.

Perhaps this would be a good time to point out that you won’t forget any password if you use a password manager. Here are 10 great ones (they’re all free).



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