PlayInfoBox

Home /Network /How to Find and Share Your Saved Wi-Fi Password on Windows

How to Find and Share Your Saved Wi-Fi Password on Windows

If a device is already connected to a Wi-Fi network, Windows has the password stored — here is how to reveal it without needing the router’s admin page at all.

  1. Open Wi-Fi settings from the taskbar or Settings app

    Click the network icon in the taskbar, or go to Settings > Network & Internet > Wi-Fi, and select the network you’re currently connected to.

  2. Open the network’s properties / status details

    Look for a link such as “Network and Sharing Center,” “Hardware properties,” or “related settings,” depending on your Windows version — this opens a details view for the specific connection.

  3. Open the Wireless Properties and go to the Security tab

    From the adapter or connection status window, open “Wireless Properties,” then select the “Security” tab, where the network’s security key field is located.

  4. Check “Show characters” to reveal the password

    The password field displays as dots by default. Checking the “Show characters” box next to it reveals the actual saved password in plain text.

  5. Share it directly or generate a QR code instead

    Read the revealed password aloud or write it down for a guest, or use Windows’ built-in Wi-Fi QR sharing option, if available, so a phone can join by scanning instead of typing a long password.

Why this only works on a device that’s already connected

Windows can only reveal a password it has itself saved after a successful connection — it has no way to show the password for a network the device has never joined. If you need to share access to a network your own device has never connected to, you’ll need the password from wherever it was originally set (the router’s label, admin page, or whoever configured it).

This is a legitimate way to retrieve a password you’re authorized to use, not a security bypass

This method doesn’t “hack” anything — it simply displays a password Windows already stored locally on a device that successfully authenticated to the network, similar to a browser revealing a saved website password. It requires access to the device itself, so it isn’t a way to see the password for a network you haven’t already joined.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this method work the same way on every version of Windows?

The core steps — Wireless Properties, then the Security tab, then “Show characters” — have stayed consistent across recent Windows versions, though the exact menu names and the path to get there (Settings versus Control Panel) have shifted slightly between versions.

Can I see the Wi-Fi password for a network I’m not currently connected to?

Only if your device connected to it successfully at some point in the past — Windows keeps saved passwords for previously-joined networks too, accessible the same way, as long as you haven’t manually “forgotten” that network since.