WiFi commonly used as a wireless local area network in home and small office networks to link computers, tablets, smartphones, wireless printers, etc. and it can also be connected to a wireless router to connect them to the Internet, it is also used in wireless access points in public places like coffee shops, hotels, libraries and airports to provide the public Internet access.
Now a common problem arises among WiFi users- forgetting the password to access the WiFi network. Nowadays Google provides services for storing your common account passwords. But there are some passwords that Google doesn’t have the right to remember, among which WiFi passwords count.
In the event of forgetting/losing the WiFi password, it is difficult for a beginner or someone who doesn’t know many techie things. So this post is written to share some simple ways to find your saved WiFi passwords from your Windows 10 system.
3 Simple Methods to Find WiFi passwords from Your Windows 10 System
Method 1: View Connected WiFi Password From Windows 10 Network Settings
This method of using Network and Internet settings on Windows 10 to find WiFi passwords is the easiest of the 3 methods discussed in this post. To use this method you just need to follow the given steps.
Step 1- Right-click on the WiFi icon that is seen in the bottom corner of Taskbar and then selects the Open Network and Internet settings option.
Step 2– Left-click on the Change adapter options.
Step 3- You will find the WiFi connection on this window. Right-click on this connection and select the Status option.
Step 4- Find the Wireless Properties button on the button and click on it.
Step 5- Go to the Security tab found in this Properties dialog box.
Step 6- In this Security tab tick the box “Show characters” and You can see your WiFi password that was previously shown as dots.
Method 2: Retrieve Saved WiFi Passwords Using Command Prompt(CMD)
Using command prompts can also retrieve the WiFi passwords that are saved in your Windows system. Follow the given steps to learn this method.
Step 1- Search Command Prompt on the Windows Start Menu.
Step 2- Right-click on the CMD and select Run as Administrator.
Step 3- after opening the CMD you have to input the command netsh WLAN show profile and hit the Enter button.
Step 4- Upon execution of the command, CMD will display all WiFi networks that you have been connected to.
Step 5- Find the WiFi name from the list you want to retrieve the password and then type the command netsh WLAN show profile WiFi name key= clear. (Replace the underlined Wifi name with the name of your network).
Step 5- You will find the password under Security Settings > Key content.
Method 3: Find Password From Router Settings
Another way to find the WiFi password is through the settings of your WiFi modem/router. To do this you need to find the WiFi router/modem’s IP address. It is printed on the backside of your WiFi device. Open any web browser and type in the IP address of your WiFi device and hit Enter. To log in to the Settings page, you need to know the admin and password of your WiFi device. You can use the default admin and password that comes with the WiFi device if you haven’t changed it. Go to the Wireless Security tab under the Wireless section and there you will find the WiFi name along with its password.
Conclusion-
Finding WiFi passwords through these 3 methods is very easy. Using the 1st method of Network and Internet settings is the simplest one as it is done with only a few clicks. For beginners, finding the WiFi passwords through the Command Prompt is relatively difficult. The common problem that arises through this method is that users have typed in the wrong WiFi SSID(WiFi name).
The method of finding a password through the settings page of your WiFi router/modem only works if you have access to it. That is you have to know the IP address, Admin, and password of the WiFi router/modem.