How to show local Wi-Fi passwords

If you have ever forgotten a Wi-Fi password or you wanted to get network access in an electronics shop, I have a solution for you!

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What you need:

• Windows [tooltip tip=”Operating System”]OS[/tooltip]
• A computer who is currently connected to the desired Wi-Fi network or has been in the past
• Administrator rights on that computer
• The network name you want to connect to (ex. ‘WLAN-6C5AC’)

Steps:

1. You need to run the command line with administrator rights
   1. Open the start menu and type in ‘cmd’. Wait till ‘cmd.exe’ appears.
   2. Right-click and ‘Run as administrator’
2. Once ready, type in ‘netsh wlan show profiles‘ to show every wireless network the computer has ever connected to.
3. Check if the chosen network is present in the list. If it is not, the computer has never been connected to it.
4. Type in ‘netsh wlan show profiles WLAN-6C5AC key=clear‘. Of course you need to input your desired Wi-Fi name.
5. The last line shows the password in clear text, if a password was set.

Now you can copy the password and try to connect to the network. If the password does not work, it was likely changed after the computer was last connected.