Your computer is connected to WiFi network and you forget the WiFi password that you had earlier used to connect to this particular WiFi network. Whether you've misplaced your home network's password or you're visiting someone house and don't want to ask them for the password. Maybe you forget the password or maybe the network administrator entered it directly without revealing the actual password to you. You would now like to connect a second device like your mobile phone, laptop, Tablet to the same WiFi network but how do you find out the WiFi Security Key.
You can either send a password request to the WiFi admin or you can retrieve the saved password with some easy steps given below.
Modern WiFi routers offered by many Internet Service Providers comes with a default WiFi network name and password. To find default password, just examine your WiFi router and see a sticker somewhere on it that contain both the Network Name (SSID) and Wireless Security Key (Password).
Also See : How to Create a WiFi Hotspot in Windows 10
To look up a WiFi network password on Windows, open the Control Panel and Click "View network status and tasks" under Network and Internet. Click the name of the current Wi-Fi connection to the right of “Connections”.
Click the “Wireless Properties” button in the Wi-Fi Status window that appears.
Click the “Security” tab and activate the “Show characters” checkbox to view the hidden password.
You can also use Command Prompt to retrieve your WiFi network Password. Open the command prompt in administrator mode. Type “cmd” in the Run box, right-click the command prompt icon and choose Run as Administrator. Now enter the following command and hit enter to see the WiFi password.
netsh wlan show profile name=digital adda key=clear
Remember to replace digital adda with the name of your Network name or Wireless SSID. The password will show up under the Security Setting section > key content.
If you would only like to see the password and not the other information, use the findstr command:
netsh wlan show profile name=digital adda key=clear | findstr Key
Also See : How to access Your Router if You forget the Password
Both Windows and Mac allows you to view the current network WiFi password, however mobile devices like Android smartphones and Apple's iPhone and iPads don't allow you to view your Current WiFi network password.
To find the Wi-Fi password on your Mac, press Command+Space to open the Spotlight search dialog, type “Keychain Access” without the quotes, and press Enter to launch the Keychain Access app.
Locate the name of your Wi-Fi network in the list, click it, and then click the “info” button — it looks like an “i” — at the bottom of the window.
Click the “Show Password” checkbox in the window that appears. You’ll have to enter your username and password to gain access to the password. You’ll need an administrator account for this.Click the “Show Password” checkbox in the window that appears. You’ll have to enter your username and password to gain access to the password. You’ll need an administrator account for this.
You can also use Terminal to retrieve WiFi network password. Open Spotlight (Cmd+Space) and type terminal to open the Terminal window. At the command line, enter the following command (replace baatkar with your WiFi name), then enter your Mac username and password to access the OS X keychain and the Wi-FI network password would be displayed on the screen in plain text.
security find-generic-password -wa baatkar
Open the terminal and enter the followind command (replace baatkar with your WiFi network name). The value of the field psk is your WiFi password.
sudo cat /etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/baatkar | grep psk=
If you don’t know the network name, use the following command.
sudo grep psk= /etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/*
If you are using this technique to retrieve the WiFi password on a Windows computer but getting an error that says – “The Wireless AutoConfig Service (wlansvc) is not running” – here’s a simple fix:
Click the Windows Start button and type “services.msc” in the Run box to access Windows Services. Here go to the WLAN Autoconfig service and make sure that the status is Running. Else right-click the WLAN AutoConfig service, select Properties and go to Dependencies. Check all the dependencies to make sure they are all running.
If you don't find your WiFi network password and don't have access to your router's web interface, You can reset your router and force it to use the default WiFi password printed on the router once again.
Look for a small “reset” button on the router. It’s often a pinhole button you’ll have to press with a bent paperclip or a similarly small object. Press the button down for ten seconds or so and your router’s settings will be completely erased and reset to their defaults. The Wi-Fi network name and password will be restored to the default ones on the router.
You can either send a password request to the WiFi admin or you can retrieve the saved password with some easy steps given below.
Find the Default Password Printed on the Router
Modern WiFi routers offered by many Internet Service Providers comes with a default WiFi network name and password. To find default password, just examine your WiFi router and see a sticker somewhere on it that contain both the Network Name (SSID) and Wireless Security Key (Password).
Also See : How to Create a WiFi Hotspot in Windows 10
Find the WiFi Password on Windows
To look up a WiFi network password on Windows, open the Control Panel and Click "View network status and tasks" under Network and Internet. Click the name of the current Wi-Fi connection to the right of “Connections”.
Click the “Wireless Properties” button in the Wi-Fi Status window that appears.
Click the “Security” tab and activate the “Show characters” checkbox to view the hidden password.
You can also use Command Prompt to retrieve your WiFi network Password. Open the command prompt in administrator mode. Type “cmd” in the Run box, right-click the command prompt icon and choose Run as Administrator. Now enter the following command and hit enter to see the WiFi password.
netsh wlan show profile name=digital adda key=clear
Remember to replace digital adda with the name of your Network name or Wireless SSID. The password will show up under the Security Setting section > key content.
If you would only like to see the password and not the other information, use the findstr command:
netsh wlan show profile name=digital adda key=clear | findstr Key
Also See : How to access Your Router if You forget the Password
Find the Password on a Mac
Both Windows and Mac allows you to view the current network WiFi password, however mobile devices like Android smartphones and Apple's iPhone and iPads don't allow you to view your Current WiFi network password.
To find the Wi-Fi password on your Mac, press Command+Space to open the Spotlight search dialog, type “Keychain Access” without the quotes, and press Enter to launch the Keychain Access app.
Locate the name of your Wi-Fi network in the list, click it, and then click the “info” button — it looks like an “i” — at the bottom of the window.
Click the “Show Password” checkbox in the window that appears. You’ll have to enter your username and password to gain access to the password. You’ll need an administrator account for this.Click the “Show Password” checkbox in the window that appears. You’ll have to enter your username and password to gain access to the password. You’ll need an administrator account for this.
You can also use Terminal to retrieve WiFi network password. Open Spotlight (Cmd+Space) and type terminal to open the Terminal window. At the command line, enter the following command (replace baatkar with your WiFi name), then enter your Mac username and password to access the OS X keychain and the Wi-FI network password would be displayed on the screen in plain text.
security find-generic-password -wa baatkar
Find the WiFi Password on Linux
Open the terminal and enter the followind command (replace baatkar with your WiFi network name). The value of the field psk is your WiFi password.
sudo cat /etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/baatkar | grep psk=
If you don’t know the network name, use the following command.
sudo grep psk= /etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/*
Start WLAN AutoConfig
If you are using this technique to retrieve the WiFi password on a Windows computer but getting an error that says – “The Wireless AutoConfig Service (wlansvc) is not running” – here’s a simple fix:
Click the Windows Start button and type “services.msc” in the Run box to access Windows Services. Here go to the WLAN Autoconfig service and make sure that the status is Running. Else right-click the WLAN AutoConfig service, select Properties and go to Dependencies. Check all the dependencies to make sure they are all running.
Reset Your Router to its Default WiFi Password
If you don't find your WiFi network password and don't have access to your router's web interface, You can reset your router and force it to use the default WiFi password printed on the router once again.
Look for a small “reset” button on the router. It’s often a pinhole button you’ll have to press with a bent paperclip or a similarly small object. Press the button down for ten seconds or so and your router’s settings will be completely erased and reset to their defaults. The Wi-Fi network name and password will be restored to the default ones on the router.