It’s not unusual for users to forget their WiFi passwords. This is because once you have connected the devices to the network, your mission is accomplished. Little effort is made to remember the password.
Your device usually reconnects automatically the next time you are in range unless the password is changed. This stands true, especially in your home network where you hardly change your password, and with time, it escapes your memory.
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In the event you acquire a new device and want to connect it to the WiFi, you have to log in to your wireless router and check the password or alternatively, reset the password altogether and later connect your new device to the WIFI network.
Now, this can be tedious and time-consuming. To save you the struggle of having to reset your WIFI password every time you need to connect a new gadget to your network, we will demonstrate a few handy ways that you can use to seamlessly find your WiFi password on Windows 10. Let’s explore.
Method 1: Find WiFi Password on Windows 10 using the Network Settings
This method requires that you use the network settings to reveal the Windows Password. Follow the steps below:
On the bottom right section of the Windows taskbar, hover and Right-click on the Wi-Fi icon.
On the pull-up menu that appears, click on ‘Open Network and Internet Settings’.
This will open a Status settings Window. Under the ‘Change your network settings’ .section, click on ‘Change Adapter Options’.
This will populate a list of available network adapters in your Windows 10 system. Right-click on your WIFI network adapter and select the ‘status’ option.
On the ‘Wi-Fi status’ pop-up window, click on the ‘Wireless Properties’ button.
Next, Click on the ‘Security’ tab. Next. uncheck the ‘Show characters’ checkbox option to display the encrypted Wi-Fi password located in the ‘Network Security Key’ text field.
Method 2: Using the Command Prompt (CMD)
For the command line geeks, the command prompt tool, commonly known as cmd is a perfect tool for performing systems administration tasks. One of these involves the listing of the last 5 WIFI networks that the PC has been connected to and revealing the password of the WIFI network currently connected to. These tasks can be accomplished in a few commands. But first, let’s launch the command prompt.
Type ‘Command prompt’ in the Cortana search bar.
Navigate to the command prompt option, right-click and select ‘Run as Administrator’ In the pop-up dialogue select the ‘Yes’ to proceed as the Administrator.
To list Wi-Fi networks that you’ve previously been connected to run the command:
netsh wlan show profiles
Just below the ‘User Profiles’ section, a list of all WiFi networks recently connected to in chronological order will be displayed.
To display the password of the Wi-Fi network currently connected to issue the command:
wlan show profile "Wi-Fi name" key=clear
Be sure to replace the “Wi-Fi name” with the SSID of your Wireless network. In my case, the SSID or the WIFI network is called Tecno Camon CX
netsh wlan show profile "Tecno Camon CX" key=clear
Next, scroll and Locate the ‘Key Content’ section under ‘Security Settings’.
The unencrypted password will be displayed in plain text characters.
Method 3: Recover all Wi-Fi passwords using WirelessKeyView
So far, the two methods discussed earlier will help you recover a forgotten Wi-Fi password for the network you are currently connected to. So how would I recover all passwords of other Wi-Fi networks that I have recently connected to? you might ask.
The answer to this question lies in a third-party tool called WireLessKeyView. This is a simple yet handy tool that helps you recover all passwords of Wi-FI networks that you have recently connected to. It’s a simple tool that requires no installation whatsoever.
All you need is to download the zipped file corresponding to your processor’s architecture (32-bit or 64-bit), extract it and run the executable file to display a list of other Wi-Fi networks’ SSIDs and their corresponding passwords in ASCII or plain-text format.
Caveat: Before running the executable file, disable Windows Defender. This is because it detects the executable file as malware and prevents you from proceeding.
Step 1: Extract the compressed WirelessKeyView file
Once you’ve downloaded the zipped file, proceed and extract it.
Step 2: Run the executable file inside the wirelesskeyview folder
Navigate to the decompressed folder and double-click on the executable file to run WirelessKeyView utility.
Step 3: Enjoy the results!
A list of recently connected to Wi-Fi networks and their corresponding passwords in ASCII format will be displayed. Savor the fruits of your labor!
And that’s how you can find Wi-Fi password on Windows 10! As you’ve seen it pretty simple and straightforward and saves you lots of time and agony. Give it a shot and uncover your forgotten passwords!
Hey, this is Margaret, a Windows Systems Administrator who’s in love with everything about tech.
In every case, your machine must have connected to a WiFi at least once before, right?
Yes, that’s true Richard. Your machine must have at one time connected to the Wi-Fi network for the password to be stored.