Oliver Haslam·

Find WiFi Network Password On Windows Or Mac OS X, Here’s How

We all connect to so many different WiFi networks that it’s easy to get them mixed up. You no doubt have at least one WiFi network at home, then there’s the one at work, and probably one or two at your favorite coffee places, plus any others we missed for the list. WiFi is the lifeblood of computing, and we often take it for granted.

If you’re anything like us, you connect to so many different networks that it’s easy to forget which password belongs to which, and that problem is only amplified if you use more than one machine, or have perhaps a tablet and smartphone to connect as well. All these connections mean it’s surprisingly easy to forget the password to your networks, and while that might not be a problem the majority of the time, if you want to connect a new device then you’re going to need that password. Thankfully, if you’ve got a machine handy that’s already connected, finding the password out is as easy as entering one command.

WiFi

Depending on whether you’re using a Mac or a Windows PC, you’ll need to enter one of two commands. Here’s what you’ll need to do.

Mac OS X:

  1. Open a new Terminal window via either the Applications folder or Spotlight Search.
  2. Copy and paste this command, replacing the ‘SSID’ text with the name of your network: security find-generic-password -ga SSID | grep password
  3. You may be prompted to enter an administrator account’s username and password, but after that you’ll be shown the password for whichever WiFi network you’re using.

Windows:

  1. Run Command Prompt.
  2. Copy and paste this command, replacing the ‘SSID’ text with the name of your network: netsh wlan show profile name=SSID key=clear
  3. You’ll now be shown your WiFi network’s password.

It’s worth noting that you’ll need to enter you network’s name exactly as it is presented – it’s case sensitive – else you’re not going to get very far. Make sure any zeroes aren’t the letter Os as well because that’s a very easy mistake to make!

Wifi.jpg

And that’s how you find the password of the WiFi network you’re currently logged into.

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