Ways to find out the password for your Wi-Fi if you have forgotten the network key. Let's find the password on a computer running Windows XP, 7, 8, 10. On an Android and IOS mobile phone. In the Wi-Fi router settings and what to do if nothing helps. So, what should you do to find out the password for your own Wi-Fi network:
How to find out the password of a connected Wi-Fi
- view the password in the admin panel of the WiFi router
- View the saved password on your computer
- View the saved password on your mobile device (Android, IOS)
- If the code has not been changed, on the router sticker or operating instructions
- Use a special program like WirelessKeyView
Below are instructions for these methods of finding a security key:
We look at the password for the Wi-Fi network in the router settings
- We log into the admin panel of the router through a special IP address. The router's IP address or login domain is indicated on the sticker on the back of the Wi-Fi router and in the instructions for use; the standard addresses of popular routers are 192.168.0.1 and 192.168.1.1. You can connect to the router either over the air or via a local network via a network cable.
- To enter the router settings, we use the login-password pair, specifically - admin | admin. If the password has not been changed.
- We go to the wireless connections section, the security key is indicated in the field of the same name: key, key, network security key, next to the “security type” field.
- The password is changed in the same field.
How to find out the key to a Wi-Fi network on a Tp-Link router
- First step: go to the settings of the Tp-Link router at: , or, if the router is TP-Link, to the local addresses of the router: , .
- Second step: enter the settings using your username and password. If the password has not been changed, look at the sticker on the back of the router. Often the login password is admin.
- Third step: Go to the “Wireless” menu
- Fourth step: the password is specified in the “Wireless Password” field
How to find out the password on an Asus router
The steps are identical to the TP-Link router. Address - 192.168.1.1. After authorization, the wireless network password is available on the main page of the router settings, field: “WPA-PSK key”.
Finding out the WiFi password on a D-Link router
We look at the WiFi password on ZyXEL
Also go to the router settings, after authorization, go to the “Wi-Fi network” menu item, find the “Network key” field.
Tenda
After entering the settings page, go to the menu item “Wireless settings - Wireless Security”, the password is displayed in the “Key” field.
Linksys
After entering the settings, look for the “Wireless Network” menu item. Go to the “Wireless Network Security” tab, the Wi-Fi key is indicated in the “Passphrase” field.
What to do if you forgot the login password to your router settings
If the access code was saved in the browser, try looking through “settings - privacy - saved logins - display passwords”. If this does not help, reset the router's rights. The topic of reset has been discussed in detail in other articles on the site. Remember, Internet settings will also be set by default. Write down the settings and restore them after logging in with the default username and password.
How to find out the password for your Wi-Fi on your computer
The first method is suitable if the computer is connected to the router via a network card via a cable or wireless connection, let's consider another method. To do this, the computer must be connected to Wi-Fi at least once and the option to save the password has been activated. Further, the steps differ between manufacturers' operating systems and Windows editions.
Find out your Wi-Fi password in Windows
Looking up a forgotten Wi-Fi password on a computer with Windows 7, 8, 10
And so, a computer running Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10 is connected to a wireless network at least once by the time you view the password. If the computer did not connect, then return to the previous point and find out the access key through a router or other device already connected to the wireless network. Perform the following steps one by one:
- Go to Network and Sharing Center
- Select wireless network management
- In the list of wireless networks to which the computer was connected, find the network for which you remember the password. Right-click on it and go to the properties menu.
- Go to the “Security” tab, activate the checkbox next to the “Display entered characters” item, and in the “Network security key” field we find our Wi-Fi password.
Popular problems with this password search method
There is no “Manage wireless networks” item
Often the problem is that the computer has not been configured for a Wi-Fi connection. Even if Wi-Fi equipment is installed, the setup may have been done using special software rather than through Windows.
After checking the “Display entered characters” checkbox, the password is not displayed
The reason is the same. Having these problems, it is better to view the password through the router settings.
How to find Wi-Fi password in Windows XP
Finding a password is a little different from Windows 7, 8 or 10. If you have problems, use specialized programs.
- Open the control panel of your computer
- Go to “wireless network settings”
- Go to next page
- Select "Add a new computer"
- Click on “self-install network”
- "Print network settings"
- In the file that opens for printing, the Wi-Fi network password will be in the “Network key (WEP\WPA - key)” field.
Programs for viewing Wi-Fi password on Windows
This was worth starting with. Free program for displaying wireless network passwords on Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10 WirelessKeyView. The principle of operation is simple, the program receives data from old connections and displays them in a clear window. You will also find the network key there. Similar programs are WiFi Password Decryptor, WiFi Password Revealer.
Viewing the security key via the Windows command line
The favorite method of IT people, although they probably run Linux. To view the password you will need access to the command line and frequent Ctrl+C - Ctrl+V -)
- Open the Windows Command Prompt in your favorite way: through the Start menu - “Windows PowerShell (Admin)” or by pressing “Win + R”.
- Write the command “cmd”
- In the running shell, enter the command: “netsh wlan show profiles”
- In the displayed profiles, select the desired one, if Wi-Fi is active, then there will be a postscript - “working”
- Enter the command “netsh wlan show profiles name=”your_profile” key=clear” (instead of “your_profile” we indicate the name of the wireless network)
- We see the network key on the screen. The key is the Wi-Fi password.
How to find out the WiFi password via an Android phone or tablet
The method is suitable for phones and tablets running Android OS. To obtain rights, two conditions are required:
- your Android mobile device has at least once connected to a network that requires a Wi-Fi password.
- device with root access rights.
Make sure both conditions are met and use the get password option:
- Use a file manager that opens Android OS system files. The standard ES File Explorer will do, go to the root directory, from there “/data/misc/wifi”. The folder contains the wpa_supplicant.conf file. Open the file with a text editor. The value opposite the psk field is the password for the wireless network.
- Download a special application to view the password on Android devices, such as WiFi Key Recovery. Launch the application, view the Wi-Fi password.
How to find out the password without connecting to a computer or router
If the password has not been changed, find the router sticker. The wireless network key is listed there. If the router was installed by your provider, ask them for the key or find the password in the contract.
How to find out the password for someone else's Wi-Fi?
By brute force or illegal software. It's better to ask the owner.
Without constant access to high-speed Internet in the modern world, it is very important to be connected to the Internet through your computer or phone at home or at work. But if in the room where you are there is a router and Wi-Fi, but you cannot connect because you do not know the password and cannot ask anyone. There are several ways to find out the password for your Wi-Fi if you have forgotten it or cannot connect for other reasons. In this article we will look at the main ways to solve this problem in this situation.
So, we will tell you how to remember your Internet password on Windows, starting from 7 and higher, as well as how to view the password for all networks that were saved on the device.
We will also tell you what to do in a situation where one device (phone, tablet, computer) has the Internet, but you need to connect another device to it, and the password is lost or forgotten. And we’ll tell you how to find out your password if you have a router at hand.
Router password
This method of how to view the Wi-Fi password may be useful to you if you remember for sure that you did not change the standard password as soon as you bought and connected the router. Also, the standard password from the router is often left for the Internet, which is connected to a rented apartment. This is done so that each subsequent renter can easily connect to the Internet and the owner does not have to explain to him what the password is.
Therefore, if you moved into a new apartment and the owner did not tell you the Internet PIN, then first try to look up the password on the router. It's worth noting that not all routers have a password written on it - this works mainly with newer models.
Typically, the PIN code by which you can connect to the router consists of 8 digits. They are printed on the back of the router on a sticker, which also contains information about the service, as well as the serial number. Look carefully, the sticker should have the word PIN, followed by numbers.
Code saved on PC
If you have a laptop at hand on which the password is saved and the laptop connects to the Internet without any problems and does it automatically, then you may have long forgotten the password that was on this network. But there comes a time when you need to connect another device to the Internet - a purchased phone or the device of a friend or guest who came to you and wants to use the wireless network. Then not knowing the network password can become a real problem. But you can view the code from your laptop. This is done differently in different versions of Windows, so we provide detailed instructions for each option.
Windows 10 and Windows 8
In order to understand how to find out the Wi-Fi password, you need to be connected to it. Then do the following:
Now you know your password and can use it to connect other devices to the Internet.
On Windows 7
In order to view the password that is saved on a computer connected to Windows 7, you need to do the following:
If the wireless network is not connected
The methods of how to view the wi fi password that we described above assume that you have a connection to the network from which you need a password, but if there is no connection, then you can view the password through the command line.
If the password is not on the computer
Even if the password is not saved on your PC, but you can directly connect your computer to the router, there is a way to view the password.
This can happen if your computer crashes or you simply reinstalled Windows and now you don’t remember the password for your network to which your computer was previously connected. But you have physical access to the router.
In order to find out the password in this case, you need to connect the router to the computer via a cord. This is done through the LAN connector of the router, which must be connected to the computer’s network card. Once you are connected, you need to go to the router settings. You can log in using a standard password and login - it should be written on the back of your router.
If you were able to go into the router settings, then you need to find the wireless network settings. They are usually located in Wi-Fi settings and are called Wireless. It is in these settings that you can see the password for the network that this router distributes.
However, there is a drawback to this method. Since during the initial settings of the router, the password or login that is used to enter the settings via a computer can be changed. Sometimes the provider's technical support does this; ordinary users, when setting up a router, very rarely change anything in the factory settings.
Then, if you do not know the new login or password, you will not be able to go into the settings and view the code from the network. In this case, a reset is necessary. You can read about how to do this below.
Saved code on Android
In order to view the network password that you have saved on your phone or tablet that runs on the Android system, you need to have root access to the device.
If you have such access, then you need to go to the data/misc/wifi folder. This can be done through ES Explorer, Root Explorer, or another file manager installed on your phone. In the folder you need to find the text file wpa_supplicant.conf. This file will record all data about the networks you connected to. Your password will be the psk parameter.
You can also download a program from the application store that will show passwords from networks that are saved on your phone. A similar program is Wifi Password (ROOT), but there are many analogues in the application store, you can choose what suits you best in this case.
Password reset
If you have tried all the methods that we described in the article above, and cannot figure out how to find out the Wi-Fi password because none of the listed methods work, then you will have to reset the password and set a new one. This will help, for example, in the case when you cannot access the router settings because someone changed the password for them. However, this only works if you have physical access to the router. That is, in order to reset the Internet password and set a new one, you need to be the owner of the router and the network itself.
It is worth immediately warning that this method has a significant disadvantage. Find out in advance whether your provider uses special settings to connect to the network. If he uses it, then you will have to call the wizard again and set up your Internet. Or do it yourself at the direction of a specialist from the provider’s call center.
In order to reset the password, you need to look at the back side of the router, on which there are buttons that you can control the router, as well as ports for entering wires from the Internet. You need to find the reset button - in most cases there will be a Reset label next to it.
This button can be pressed using a thin paper clip or a needle and held for about 10 seconds. If this method does not work, then you need to hold down the button, turn off the router for about half a minute, all this time you need to hold the button down. After this, while holding the reset button, you need to turn on the router and hold the reset button for about half a minute.
After this, all settings that were on the router should be reset. And the password for the router will now be the one written on the back panel of the router.
After resetting the settings, you need to reconnect the router to the network so that everything works. You can call a technician from your provider or see how to connect the router in the instructions for it. But the last method only works if your provider does not use special settings.
conclusions
As you can see, there are many ways to find out the password for your wifi, but they all work in different cases. Remember that, as a last resort, you can always reset the settings, but then you will have to reinstall them so that the router can distribute your Internet.
If you know other ways to view a password, you can write them in the comments so that other users can easily solve their problem.
The question “What should I do if I suddenly forgot my Wi-Fi password?” in popularity is not inferior to the eternal Russian questions “Who is to blame?” and “What should I do?” Modern people are so accustomed to the Internet, which allows them to find out everything in the world in a matter of seconds, that they have become much less likely to rely on their own memory. And indeed, why remember the number Pi to the eighth decimal place, if its exact value can be found out by entering the corresponding search query in an Internet browser?
Things are more complicated with the login information for your social media accounts. The same is true for the Wi-Fi password. If you forgot the password for your wireless network, the omniscient Google will not help you with anything. Of course, you can always reset your router, but then you will have to configure it from scratch. It’s better to use one of the ways to find out the Wi-Fi password outlined below.
In the properties of wireless networks
Luckily for you, Windows stores the password for the networks you connect to. Therefore, you can find out the forgotten Wi-Fi password using standard OS tools as follows:
Using WirelessKeyView
The “Display entered characters” checkbox may be inactive. In this case, the free WirelessKeyView program (Windows only) will help you, which scans the registry for saved passwords to wireless networks:
If you are a home computer user running Windows XP, use the password from the Key (Hex) column. It is noticeably longer than the ASCII key, but will fit your network.
View the password in the router settings
To access your router settings, type the device's IP address into the address bar of your browser. Typically this is 192.168.1.1, but the IP address can have a different meaning. If this address does not work, you can find out the router’s IP:
- finding it in the instructions for the router;
- Having inspected the body of the device for the presence of a sticker with the IP indicated on it (sometimes the login and password are also written on the stickers);
- by looking in the properties of the wireless connection.
You can go to the properties of the wireless connection in this way: first go to the “Network and Sharing Center”, then left-click on the “Change adapter settings” line, right-click on the connection, select the “Status” line, click on the “Information” button " The router's IP address appears next to a line called "IPv4 Default Gateway."
Having found out the IP address of the router, enter it into the address bar of your Internet browser, after which the login window for the router settings will open, where you need to enter a login with a password. Router manufacturers, as a rule, use the same login and password – admin. Sometimes, instead of a password, you need to enter the words password or pass, or leave this field completely empty. Information about standard passwords and logins for devices of different brands can be found on the Internet.
If you changed the factory login and password and “safely” forgot them, you will have to reset the router’s settings using the tiny Reset button on its case. After which the device will have to be configured from scratch.
By going to your browser settings, you need to find the corresponding menu section. For example, if you are using a Huawei HG530 router, then click on the Basic category and select the Wireless Lan subcategory. You can see the Wi-Fi password next to the Pre-Shared Key line. However, keep in mind: in routers of other brands, the menu may look completely different.
Using your phone
If you have a smartphone running Android connected to Wi-Fi, you can use it to find out the Wi-Fi password. It should just be noted right away that this method will only help owners of rooted devices. You can get root rights by installing rooted firmware on your smartphone, but it is much faster and easier to download and install the SuperSU program, which, by the way, is on Google Play.
Using WiFi Key Recovery program
If you are afraid of accidentally deleting something wrong, download the WiFi Key Recovery program from Google Play. It also requires root rights, but it displays information about the wireless connection on the screen without unnecessary steps.
A typical situation: a user connects one device, for example, a laptop, to a Wi-Fi network, and after some time tries to connect another one, for example, a mobile phone. In this case, the password was conveniently forgotten and not written down. What should I do?
In today's article we will tell you in detail how to find out the password for your Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi) on a computer with different versions of Windows. We’ll also talk about special programs for viewing saved Wi-Fi passwords, and we’ll tell you how to view the password on a router and Android mobile phones and tablets.
How to find out the password for your Wi-Fi on your computer
To view the password for your connected Wi-Fi, the condition must be met that the password was saved on the computer at least once. If not, then you should look at the Wi-Fi password on the router.
Find out the password for your Wi-Fi network in Windows 7, 8, 10
In order to find out the password for your Wi-Fi network on a computer or laptop running Windows 7, 8, 10, do the following:
- Open Network and Sharing Center. The easiest way to do this is by clicking the “Start” menu and typing the name of the menu in the search. Also, you can right-click on the network connection icon in the lower right corner or find this menu in the Control Panel.
- The window that opens shows basic data about the active Wi-Fi network. Click on the active wireless connection as in the screenshot below.
- In the window that opens, open “Wireless Network Properties”.
- Go to the “Security” tab and check the “Display entered characters” checkbox. In the field next to you you will see the password for your Wi-Fi.
If for some reason, when you select the “display entered characters” checkbox, the password is not displayed, then try looking at the Wi-Fi password on the router. This is written about in this article just below.
Find out the password for your Wi-Fi network in Windows XP
On the Windows XP operating system, viewing the password of a saved Wi-Fi network is somewhat more difficult than on more modern operating systems, but it is nevertheless possible.
Open the menu " Start" in the lower left corner of the computer and go to " Control Panel«.
Go to the Wireless Network Wizard menu in Control Panel.
In the Wireless Network Wizard window that opens, click “Next”.
In the next window, select “Add new computers or network devices” and click “Next”.
Select a network installation method. To do this, click “Install a network manually” and click “Next”.
In the final window of the Windows XP Wireless Network Setup Wizard, click “Print network settings.”
As a result of this, you will open a text document with various Wi-Fi connection settings, including a password. The password line will be called “Network key (WEP/WPA key)”.
Programs for viewing saved Wi-Fi passwords
Let's look at two programs for viewing passwords of saved Wi-Fi networks on a computer.
WiFi Password Decryptor is a free program for recovering passwords of saved Wi-Fi networks. The program decrypts all types of Wi-Fi passwords for WEP, WPA, WPA2 networks, and also generates all the information into a convenient report in HTML/XML/TEXT/CSV format.
You can download the WiFi Password Decryptor program on the official website of its developer.
After downloading the .zip archive, unpack the contents and run the installation file Setup_WiFiPasswordDecryptor.exe. After that, just launch the program and click on the name of the Wi-Fi network you are interested in to view the password.
A video of WiFi Password Decryptor working is shown below:
WirelessKeyView is a small free utility that displays a list of all Wi-Fi networks ever saved on a computer. The program has an English-language interface, but if necessary, a localization .ini file is published on the developer’s website.
In the screenshot above you can see that the password for the ALESKA Wi-Fi network corresponds to the value 180700.
Video on how to find out the password of your Wi-Fi network via the command line:
How to find out the password for your Wi-Fi on a router
If it is not possible to view the password for your Wi-Fi on your computer, for example, if the data on the computer’s saved networks has been deleted, you can view and, if desired, change the password on the router.
If the computer is not connected to a Wi-Fi network, then you need to connect the computer to the router using a twisted pair patch cord.
After that, type the address 192.168.1.1 into the browser line and click OK. This is one of the most popular IP addresses for logging into a router. If the address is valid, then you will be asked to log in by entering your username and password. Very often the default router password is admin/admin.
If the address 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.1.0 does not work, then you need to find the correct address.
The IP address of the router is often indicated on the back of the device.
You can see the router's IP address in the network connection properties. To do this, open the “Network and Sharing Center” and click on the current connection.
In the window that opens, click “Details”.
We are interested in the “default gateway” line. This value is the router address.
Now that we have successfully found out the router’s address and logged into it, all that remains is to look at the set password for the Wi-Fi network.
Looking at the Wi-Fi password on a TP-Link router
The instructions are written using the TP-LINK TL-WR841N router as an example, but are suitable for any TP-Link routers.
To view the password for the Wi-Fi network, go to the “Wireless” - “Wireless Security” tab in the left menu.
The Wi-Fi password is indicated in the “PSK Password:” line.
We look at the Wi-Fi password on the ASUS router
On ASUS routers, it is very easy to see the password for the Wi-Fi network. After logging in, you are taken to the network status page.
The Wi-Fi password is listed in the right column in the “WPA-PSK Key” line.
Finding out the Wi-Fi password on a D-Link router
Our country traditionally loves routers made by D-Link. Let's look at an example based on the popular D-Link DIR-300 router.
In order to view or change the Wi-Fi password on a D-Link router, go to the “Wi-Fi” - “Security Settings” tab in the vertical menu, as shown in the screenshot below.
In the “PSK encryption key” field, you can see the password for the current Wi-Fi network and, if desired, change it to another one.
See the Wi-Fi password on the ZyXEL router
To view the password on ZyXEL routers, go to the “Wi-Fi Network” tab in the lower horizontal menu.
On the “Access Point” tab in the “Network Key” field, you can view and, if desired, change the Wi-Fi network password.
Looking at the Wi-Fi password on a Linksys Cisco router
On the LinkSys router, go to the Wireless section in the horizontal menu and then click on Wireless Security.
The password for the Wi-Fi network is indicated in the WPA Shared Key line.
Find out the password for your Wi-Fi network on an Android mobile phone
There are two ways to view the password for a saved Wi-Fi network on an Android phone.
We look at the password through the properties of the access point
Go to settings and connect to the Wi-Fi network for which you want to find out the password.
In the access point settings menu that opens, you can click on the “show characters” icon next to the password field. This way you will see the password saved in your phone.
Unfortunately, if after “password” is empty, it means you have never used your phone at home as an access point, which means the password for the Wi-Fi network was not automatically entered as the password for the access point in this field.
We look at the Wi-Fi password in the Android system files
Mobile phones and tablets running the Android operating system store data about saved Wi-Fi networks and passwords in service files. Without root access, these files cannot be accessed, but if you already have root access, then everything is very simple.
The necessary data is stored in a file wpa_supplicant.conf, which is located in the service folder /data/misc/wifi/.
Download and install from Google Play any file manager with superuser rights, for example, RootBrowser.
Launch the program and go to the data folder.
Go to the misc folder.
Open the WiFi folder and the wpa_supplicant.conf file in it.
In the file that opens, the Wi-Fi password will be located in the “psk=password” line.
Video on how to view Wi-Fi password on Android
Nowadays, almost all active Internet users have a Wi-Fi router at home. This is convenient when there are several devices in the house, such as a TV, smartphone, laptop and tablet, that need to be connected to the Internet.
This is where a Wi-Fi router comes to our rescue. But any Wi-Fi needs to be protected with a password to prevent illegal connections.
This same password is entered for one device when connecting 1 time and is never requested again. After this, the password is safely forgotten and when connecting a new or reconnecting an old device, entering it becomes impossible.
In this article we will talk about how you can do it through a laptop or a computer that is already connected to it.
View Wi-Fi password via another computer
If you have any other computer or laptop that is already connected to Wi-Fi (via Wi-Fi, not via wire), the password for which you need to find out, then perform the following steps (The method works on any version of Windows - XP, 7, 8.1, 10).
Find the connection icon in the lower right corner.
Network connection icon
Right-click on it and select “Network and Sharing Center” (For Windows XP - “Network Connections”).
Go to Network and Sharing Center
In the window that opens, left-click once on the active wireless connection icon.
Selecting an active wireless connection
A status window will open in which you need to select “Wireless Network Properties”.
View properties of an active wireless connection
View your Wi-Fi password on your computer
After this, the password for your Wi-Fi point will be displayed in the “Network security key” line.
How to find out the password for a Wi-Fi router through a computer connected to it with a wire?
Now we will consider a situation where you need to find out the password for a router, having a computer connected to it via a cable.
The first place to start is to find out the gateway address in the network configuration. This address will be the address of our router, which you need to go to to find out the password.
As in the previous case, find the network connection icon at the bottom right and right-click on it. Next, select “Network and Sharing Center” from the drop-down menu.
Sign in to the Network and Sharing Center
Select an active local network connection by single-clicking the left mouse button in the window that opens.
Selecting an active wired connection
In the connection status window that opens, click the “Details” button.
View Wired LAN Connection Details
View the gateway. which is the router address
Open any browser and enter the IP address numbers from the line above. In our case it is 192.168.0.1.
Entering the router address to enter its settings
Entering the login and password for the Wi-Fi router
This way you will go into the settings of your Wi-Fi router. Now, depending on the router model, you need to find something similar to “Wireless mode”, Wi-FI, Wireless or Wlan.
Main menu of TP-Link router settings
In our case, we have a TP-Link router with a Russified interface. On it and on almost all TP-Link routers, you can view the Wi-Fi password and change it there in the “Wireless Mode” -> “Wireless Protection” menu.
View and change Wi-Fi password on a TP-Link router
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