5 Ways to View Saved Wi-Fi Passwords in Windows

Memorizing Wi-Fi passwords can be difficult. Often you have to search for technicians and system administrators to gain access to a network that you have previously connected to. Luckily, Windows gives you several options for viewing saved Wi-Fi passwords on your PC.

If you drew a space when prompted for a password to access a Wi-Fi connection in Windows, these methods should help.

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1. Use the Control Panel

One way to view saved Wi-Fi passwords on your PC is to use the Control Panel. This method only works for active Wi-Fi networks.

1. Hurry up Win + R to open the Run application.
2. go in control in the text field and press go in. The Control Panel window opens.

3. Click on the “Network and Internet” option.

4. In the pane on the right of your screen, click on “Network and Sharing Center”.

5. From the View your active network menu, click Wi-Fi on your active connection.

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6. In the new window, click on “Wireless Properties”.

7. Open the Security tab. Check the “Show Characters” box under “Network Security Key” to view your WiFi password.

2. With command prompt

Command Prompt is a powerful tool for handling various tasks in Windows. If you want to see the password for a specific network, you can use Command Prompt to find it. Here’s how:

1. Hurry up Win + R to open the Run application.
2. go in cmd in the text field and press go in to open the command prompt.

3. Enter the following command in the command prompt:

4. Make a note of the name of the wireless network you are interested in (in this case it is Kim) and enter the following command:

netsh wlan show profile name=Wi-Fi name key=clear

Note: Replace “Wi-Fi name” in the command with the name of the Wi-Fi network you want to access (in this example, it’s Kim).

5. You will receive a list of information and settings for the WiFi network in question.

6. In the output, look for “Key Content” under “Security Settings” to get the password.

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3. Try PowerShell

Windows PowerShell is an enhanced version of the command prompt. This task-based command line interface is basically a scripting language used to simplify administrative tasks.

You can use PowerShell to view a list of all Wi-Fi passwords stored on your PC. Here’s how:

1. Tap the magnifying mirror icon next to the Windows button in the taskbar.
2. In the search box, type Windows PowerShell.

3. Click “Run as administrator” to start PowerShell. In the User Account Control window, click Yes to continue when prompted.

4. Copy and paste the following command into Windows PowerShell.

(netsh wlan show profiles) | Select-String "\:(.+)$" | %{$name=$_.Matches.Groups[1].Value.Trim(); $_} | %{(netsh wlan show profile name="$name" key=clear)}  | Select-String "Key Content\W+\:(.+)$" | %{$pass=$_.Matches.Groups[1].Value.Trim(); $_} | %{[PSCustomObject]@{ PROFILE_NAME=$name;PASSWORD=$pass }} | Format-Table -AutoSize

5. blow go in to run the command. You will get a list of Wi-Fi profiles and their passwords.

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4. Use Wi-Fi Password Revealer

You can also use third-party software to access saved Wi-Fi passwords on your Windows PC. One such tool is Magical JellyBean Wi-Fi Password Revealer. Here’s how:

1. Go to the Magical Jelly Wi-Fi Password Revealer website.
2. Click the Download button to download the software. Once the download is complete, run the file to install Wi-Fi Password Revealer.

3. Launch Wi-Fi Password Revealer. All Wi-Fi profiles and passwords will be displayed.
4. You can copy the required password to the clipboard directly from the software by clicking and pressing on it CTRL + vs.

5. Use WirelessKeyView

Another third-party software for viewing saved passwords is WirelessKeyView. The difference with Wi-Fi Password Revealer is that WirelessKeyView is a portable application. That means you don’t need to install the app to use it, so it’s very popular with system administrators.

To use WirelessKeyView:

1. Go to the NirSoft website, navigate to the bottom of the page and download WirelessKeyView.

Note: The password of the zip file is Wkey4567#as indicated on the download page.

2. Unzip the file and double click on the Wirelesskeyview.exe file to run the application. At this point you must enter the password.

3. The WirelessKeyView app will launch and display all saved Wi-Fi passwords on your PC.

Although Windows Security may detect WirelessKeyView as malware, it is completely safe. Whitelist the app to run uninterrupted.

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Alternative: Check the router

Another option is to verify that the password used is the default password that comes with the router. You can usually find the password listed on the actual router. The default password should appear after “WLAN password”, “WPA passphrase”, “Wireless Security Key”, “Default Password” or a combination of these words. If that fails, you have another option – check the admin panel of the Wi-Fi router.

Note: You need permission from the owner of the router. Also, the method uses the router’s default password, so it might not work if the owner changed it.

1. Click on Win + R to open Run.
2. Type cmd in the input field and press go in.

3. go in ipconfig in cmd to find your router’s default gateway IP address.

4. Look for the IP address of the router under “Wi-Fi Wireless LAN Adapter”. Common IP addresses are 192.168.1.1, 192.168.2.1 and 192.168.0.1.

5. Open your browser (any browser will do) and enter the IP address in the address bar. You will be redirected to the router login page.

6. Sign in by entering the default username and password. The default router passwords can be found at www.routerpasswords.com.

There you will find the WiFi password in the WiFi settings of the router. The process varies depending on the router model. Consult the router’s user manual if you have trouble.

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Photo credit: Pixabay | All screenshots by Richard Kanyoro.

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