Have you ever connected to a WiFi network on your Windows 11 device but later forgot the password? Whether you need to share the password with a friend or reconnect another device, Windows 11 makes it easy to retrieve saved WiFi passwords. In this guide, I will cover various ways to retrieve WiFi password on Windows 11, including using the Network Settings, Command Prompt, and PowerShell.
When setting up a wireless network, you create a password to ensure its security. Modern routers such as NETGEAR, TP-Link, ASUS offer a feature called Smart Connect, which combines your 5GHz and 2.4GHz Wi-Fi bands into a single network, providing both bands with a unified network name (SSID).
In Windows 11, you can access passwords for both active and saved WiFi networks. An active network refers to the current WiFi network your device is connected to, while a saved network refers to WiFi networks your device connected to and stored in the past. The methods outlined in this guide are effective for recovering passwords of both active and saved Wi-Fi networks.
If you’ve forgotten your Wi-Fi password, you can retrieve it using another Windows PC that’s already connected to the network. Once you’ve located the password, you can use it to connect other devices or PCs to your Wi-Fi network. So let’s get started.
Find the WiFi password using Network Settings
This method allows you to retrieve the WiFi password on Windows 11 for the network you’re currently connected to.
Sign in to the Windows 11 PC and launch the Settings app. You may press the Win + I keys to open the Settings app. Now select Network & Internet, scroll down, and click on Advanced Network Settings. Under the “Related settings” section, click on “More network adapter options.”
Right-click the wireless adapter and select the Status option.
Under the “Connection” section, select Wireless Properties.
In the Wireless Network Properties window switch to the Security tab. Check the box next to Show characters to reveal your WiFi password.
You can copy the password or save it somewhere for future reference. The same wireless network password can now be used to connect other devices to the WiFi network.
Find WiFi Password using PowerShell
If you’re comfortable with PowerShell, you can also use it to find the wireless network password on Windows 11.
On Windows 11, click Start and search for PowerShell. Right-click the result, and select the Run as an Administrator option. In the PowerShell window, enter the command “netsh wlan show profiles” to display a list of all wireless profiles on a Windows device.
Replace the WiFi profile name in the below command and press Enter to display the password for the specified network.
netsh wlan show profile name=WiFi_Profile_name key=clear
View WiFi Password using Command Prompt
The Command Prompt is the ideal tool for retrieving the password of a Wi-Fi network you are currently connected to or have connected to in the past. Press Win + S, type “Command Prompt,” and select Run as administrator. Enter the following command to see all the WiFi networks your device has connected to:
netsh wlan show profilesTo find the password for a specific network, type the following command, replacing NETWORK_NAME with the name of the WiFi network:
netsh wlan show profile name="NETWORK_NAME" key=clearLook for the line Key Content under the Security settings section. The value next to it is your WiFi password.
Find WiFi password from the router’s Wireless settings
If you can access your router’s settings, retrieving the Wi-Fi password is much easier. Open the browser, and in the address bar enter your router’s IP address (for ex., 192.168.0.1). Log in with your router’s username and password. Next, navigate to wireless settings and look for the network name (SSID), and retrieve the password from here.
If you’ve never changed your Wi-Fi password and need the default one, here’s a simple tip: Check the sticker on the back or bottom of your router. It typically displays the default Wi-Fi network name (SSID) and password. If the password hasn’t been updated, the default one should still work.
PowerShell Script to Find Wi-Fi Passwords on Windows 11
The below PowerShell script retrieves the passwords for all saved WiFi profiles by utilizing the netsh wlan command and processes the output to extract the relevant information.
To run the below script, open PowerShell as an administrator. Copy the script above and paste it into the PowerShell window. Press Enter to execute the script. It will display a list of saved WiFi networks and their passwords.
# A handy PowerShell script to retrieve all the WiFi passwords
# By Prajwal Desai
function Get-WiFiPasswords {
# Get all saved WiFi profiles
$profiles = netsh wlan show profiles | Select-String "All User Profile" | ForEach-Object {
($_ -split ":")[1].Trim()
}
# In this section, we'll loop through each profile and retrieve its password. I am using netsh wlan show profile to retrieve each profile.
foreach ($profile in $profiles) {
$details = netsh wlan show profile name="$profile" key=clear | Select-String "Key Content"
if ($details) {
$password = ($details -split ":")[1].Trim()
Write-Output "WiFi Network: $profile"
Write-Output "Password: $password"
Write-Output "---------------------------"
} else {
Write-Output "WiFi Network: $profile"
Write-Output "Password: Not Passwords Found"
Write-Output "---------------------------"
}
}
}The image below shows the result of running the above script. As my device is connected to a single wireless network, the Wi-Fi name and password have been successfully retrieved.
Conclusion
Finding your Wi-Fi password in Windows 11 is straightforward, whether you’re using the network settings, Command Prompt, or PowerShell. With these methods, you can easily retrieve passwords for current or previously connected networks. Always remember to keep your passwords secure and share them only with trusted individuals.
That’s all for this guide. If you have any questions or need further clarification, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section. I’ll be happy to assist you!
