In Windows, the stored WiFi keys on your machine depend entirely on you, but the operating system tends to create copies for convenience—retyping the password every time gets tedious fast—and for faster reconnection. Yet accessing those saved passwords isn't a straightforward process. Today we'll explore two methods to view these stored keys, without downloading any additional software.
Windows Saves WiFi Keys, But Doesn't Hand Them Over Easily
The first reason that comes to mind is security. After all, nobody wants to end up with a stolen WiFi network, but restricting the user is quite common in Windows. Fortunately, there are two official routes to see the saved WiFi passwords, allowing us to avoid downloading extra software, which in these cases is often flagged as malicious by antivirus programs (the WirelessKeyView from Nirsoft suffers from that problem).
Options to View Saved WiFi Passwords in Windows
Method 1: Via Network and Sharing Center
- Go to Control Panel and enter Network and Sharing Center
- Click on Change adapter settings
- Right-click on the WiFi connection and select Status
- Choose Wireless Properties
- Click on the Security tab and finally check the Show characters box
- The saved WiFi password for the active network should be displayed
Method 2: Via Command Prompt
- Open the Command Prompt with elevated privileges
- Run the command "netsh wlan show profiles" to see the stored networks
- Continue with the command netsh wlan show profile name="networkname" key=clear
- Scroll to the Security settings section
- The field "Key Content" should show the stored WiFi password
Bonus Track: WirelessKeyView (for the rebels)
- Download a copy of WirelessKeyView from the Nirsoft page
- Use the password from the official site to unzip the zip file
- This is necessary because of the false positives the program generates
- Unzip the zip file to a temporary folder
- Run WirelessKeyView with elevated privileges
- The keys will appear under the Key (Ascii) column
