How to Find and Change Your Wi-Fi Password on Windows 10

Once you’ve set up your wireless router and connected all your devices, you probably don’t worry about your Wi-Fi password much. But what happens when you need to get a new device online or make a Wi-Fi password change?

We’ll help you figure it out. Next time you wonder what your Wi-Fi password is, follow these methods to dig it up.

How to Find Your Wi-Fi Password Using the Command Prompt

The Windows Command Prompt makes it easy to run all sorts of tasks. In our case, you can use it to run a script that allows you to check what your Wi-Fi password is at any time.

You’ll need to create a simple batch file that will let you know your Wi-Fi password. This might sound complicated, but don’t worry. Even if you’re new to the command line, the whole procedure takes just a few minutes, and you won’t break anything by doing this.

To proceed, you will need to know the SSID of your network, which is your Wi-Fi connection’s name. To confirm this, click the network icon in your System Tray and confirm the network name you’re connected to. You can also go to Settings > Network & Internet > Status to find it.

Creating the Batch File

To create a batch file that finds your Wi-Fi password, first search for Notepad on the Start Menu. Once you have it open, paste the following text into Notepad. Replace YOUR_SSID with the name of your network that you found a moment ago, making sure it’s in quotes.
<prenetsh wlan show profile name="YOUR_SSID" key=clear
pause

Now, select File > Save As. At the bottom of the window, you’ll see a Save as type dropdown field. Change this from Text Documents to All Files.

In the File name field, you can call it whatever you want—perhaps Find-Wi-Fi-Password or something. Just make sure the file ends with .bat. Choose a convenient location for the script, then click Save.

Now, when connected to your wireless network, double-click this file. Doing so will fire up a Command Prompt window that shows some information about your network. You’ll find your password next to Key Content.

Note that this method does not let you change your Wi-Fi password. We’ll see how to do that shortly.

How to Find Your Wi-Fi Password via Windows Settings

If you don’t want to create a batch file, you can navigate through some Windows menus to find your Wi-Fi password. The downside is that it requires many clicks each time you want to do it.

To start, head to Settings > Network & Internet > Status. On this page, scroll down and choose Network and Sharing Center. You can also access this through the Control Panel if you prefer—just search for it via the Start menu.

In the Network and Sharing Center window, you should see a link with your current network name next to Connections. Select this to open a new dialog with info about your Wi-Fi network.

Select the Wireless Properties button for yet another new window. Here, switch to the Security tab. You’ll see a field labeled Network security key.

Click the Show characters checkbox to reveal your Wi-Fi password. You may be prompted for administrator credentials to do this.

Note that you can change the text in the Network security key field, but doing so will not change your Wi-Fi password. Instead, changing this field adjusts the password that Window uses to connect to your network.

Assuming that your connection is working properly, you should only change this text if you’ve mistyped or changed your Wi-Fi password. If you make changes to this field, you won’t be able to connect to Wi-Fi until you fix it.

How to Change Your Wi-Fi Password on Any Computer or Laptop

Both of the above methods are great for figuring out your Wi-Fi password, but they don’t let you change it. If you want to change your Wi-Fi password, you’ll need to actually log into your router and make the adjustment there.

There are several good reasons for changing your Wi-Fi password. Perhaps you’ve used a weak password in the past and want to make it something stronger. Maybe someone you no longer trust has the password and you don’t want them to access your network. Whatever the case, it only takes a few moments to set it to something different.

To log into your router, you’ll need to know its IP address. The easiest way to do this is by right-clicking the Start button and choosing Command Prompt or Windows PowerShell. Type the ipconfig command, and you’ll see a list of information. Your router’s IP address is listed next to Default Gateway.

Enter this IP address into your browser, then you’ll need to log in. This is a different password than the one you use to connect to your network. If you haven’t changed it, it’s probably something generic like password or admin.

A quick Google search for your router’s model number will help you figure out the default password. Because of this, you should change the password immediately in order to make your wireless network more secure.

Once inside, the exact instructions will depend on your router model. Generally, you can look for a section like Wireless or WLAN, which should have the option to change your network password, among other features. Speaking of which, why not choose a new funny Wi-Fi name to give your neighbors a laugh?

Note that once you change your Wi-Fi password, you’ll need to enter the new password again on all your devices to reconnect them.

Changing Your Wi-Fi Password, Made Easy

Now you know how to find and change your Wi-Fi password on Windows. It’s not difficult to reveal your password if you forgot it, and changing it is just as simple. Of course, this method won’t work unless you’re already connected to the network with the correct password.

Remember that you should keep your Wi-Fi password stored somewhere safe. If you have trouble remembering passwords, we recommend using a password manager. Find out what password manager is best for you.

Image credit: Shutter_M/Shutterstock

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