How to Find Your Network Password on Windows 10

To find your Wi-Fi network password on Windows 10, open Control Panel > Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center, select your Wi-Fi name next to Connections, select Wireless Properties, open the Security tab, and check Show characters. The password appears in the Network security key box. That route only works for the Wi-Fi network you’re connected to right now; for any other saved network, use the netsh command in Method 2.

Applies to: Windows 10 (all editions, version 22H2). “Network password” can mean four different things, so if Windows is asking you for a password while you open a shared folder or sign in, check the table below first. Windows 10 reached end of support on October 14, 2025; PCs enrolled in Extended Security Updates get security fixes through October 12, 2027.

Which “network password” do you need?

People use the same phrase for several passwords. Pick the row that matches your situation, then jump to that section.

What you’re trying to do	The password you need	Where to find it
Connect a phone, TV, or second laptop to your home Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi password (Windows calls it the network security key)	Method 1 or Method 2 on a PC that already connects
Change Wi-Fi settings or the Wi-Fi password itself	Router admin password	The router’s label or admin page
Open a shared folder or printer on another PC, and Windows shows “Enter network credentials”	A user name and password for an account on the other computer	Network credentials
Sign in to Windows itself	Your Windows (local or Microsoft account) password or PIN	Your account password

Before you start

• The PC must have joined the network before. Windows saves a Wi-Fi password in a network profile the first time you connect. It can’t show a password for a network it has never joined, or for one you told it to forget.
• Expect to need administrator rights. On a standard account, Windows may ask for an administrator’s password, or the Show characters box may stay unavailable. School and work PCs often block this on purpose.
• Know the network name. The network name (also called the SSID) is the name you pick from the Wi-Fi list, for example Alex-Home. You’ll need it exactly as spelled for the command in Method 2.
• Check who can see your screen. Both methods show the password in plain text.

Method 1: Show the password for the network you’re connected to

Use this when the PC is on the Wi-Fi network right now and you’d rather click than type commands.

1. Open Network and Sharing Center. Select the Start button, type control panel, and open Control Panel. Select Network and Internet, then Network and Sharing Center. (Another route: right-click the network icon near the clock, select Open Network & Internet settings, and on the Status page select Network and Sharing Center.)
2. Select your Wi-Fi connection. Under View your active networks, find Connections: on the right. Next to it is a blue link that starts with Wi-Fi and shows the network name in parentheses. Select it. The Wi-Fi Status window opens with details such as signal quality and speed.

3. Open the wireless properties. In the Wi-Fi Status window, select Wireless Properties. A window named after your network opens with two tabs, Connection and Security.
4. Go to the Security tab. You’ll see Security type (for example WPA2-Personal), Encryption type, and a Network security key box filled with dots.
5. Check Show characters. Select the Show characters check box under the key. If Windows asks, approve with an administrator password. The dots change to the Wi-Fi password.

6. Close without changing anything. Copy or write down the password, then select Cancel so you don’t accidentally save an edited key.

If you don’t see a Wi-Fi link next to Connections, the PC is probably on a wired (Ethernet) connection or not connected at all. Ethernet connections have no Wi-Fi password to show, so use Method 2 instead.

Windows 11 handles this differently: Microsoft’s Connect to a Wi-Fi network in Windows page documents a Show button next to Wi-Fi network password in Settings > Network & internet. If you’re on a Windows 11 PC, follow the steps to find the Wi-Fi password on Windows 11 instead.

Method 2: Show any saved Wi-Fi password with Command Prompt

This works for every network the PC has saved, even if you’re not connected to it or are on Ethernet. Microsoft’s netsh wlan command reference covers the show profiles command and the key=clear option.

1. Open Command Prompt as administrator. Select Start, type cmd, right-click Command Prompt, and select Run as administrator. Select Yes if User Account Control asks. Windows PowerShell accepts the same commands.
2. List the saved networks. Type the following and press Enter:

   netsh wlan show profiles

   Under User profiles, each All User Profile line shows one saved network name.
3. Show the password for one network. Type this command, replacing Alex-Home with the name exactly as it appears in the list, and keep the quotation marks (they matter when the name contains spaces):

   netsh wlan show profile name="Alex-Home" key=clear

4. Read Key Content. Scroll to the Security settings section. The Key Content line shows the Wi-Fi password.

If Key Content is missing, the window probably isn’t running as administrator, or the network is open (no password). If Windows says the profile isn’t found, check the spelling against the list from step 2. The site has a longer walkthrough on how to find stored passwords on Windows 10 with CMD, and a shorter one on how to see the Wi-Fi password on Windows 10 if you only need the quick version.

Which method should you use?

• Method 1 if you’re connected to the network and prefer menus.
• Method 2 if the network isn’t the current one, you’re on Ethernet, or you want the passwords for several networks.
• The router (next section) if neither method finds a saved profile.

If no PC has the password saved: check the router

When no computer remembers the network, the password lives on the router.

• Look at the router’s label. Many routers, including most internet provider units, print the default Wi-Fi name and password on a sticker on the bottom or back. Look for words like Wireless key, WPA key, or Wi-Fi password. This only helps if nobody has changed the password since setup.
• Sign in to the router’s admin page. From a device already on the network, open Command Prompt and type ipconfig. Note the Default Gateway address (often something like 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1), type it into a web browser, and sign in with the router’s admin password. That admin password is separate from the Wi-Fi password; it’s usually on the same label or in the router maker’s manual. In the wireless or Wi-Fi settings, the Wi-Fi password may be labeled Password, Pre-Shared Key, or WPA2/WPA3 key, depending on the brand.
• Last resort: factory reset. Resetting the router restores the printed default passwords, but it also wipes your custom network name, password, and other settings, so every device must reconnect. Follow the router maker’s instructions.

“Enter network credentials”: the password for another PC

If Windows shows a box titled Enter network credentials when you open a shared folder, a mapped drive, or another computer under Network in File Explorer, it isn’t asking for the Wi-Fi password. It wants the user name and password of an account on the computer that’s sharing the files.

1. Use an account from the other PC. Enter the user name and password someone uses to sign in to that computer. For a Microsoft account, that’s usually the account’s email address and its password. If a local account doesn’t work, try the form COMPUTERNAME\username, for example PRIYA-PC\Priya.
2. Find the other PC’s name if you need it. On the sharing computer, open Command Prompt and type hostname.
3. Check what’s already saved. Windows keeps credentials you chose to remember in Credential Manager. As Microsoft’s Credential Manager page describes, type credential manager in the taskbar search box, open Credential Manager, and select Windows Credentials. Each entry lists the computer or server name and the saved user name. Removing a wrong entry makes Windows ask again the next time you connect.

Credential Manager is useful for seeing which account was saved, but don’t count on it to reveal the password of a saved Windows credential; if nobody knows it, the owner of the other PC has to tell you or reset it. The step-by-step guide to find network credentials in Windows 10 covers this prompt, sharing settings, and saved entries in more detail.

Your Windows account password

If the password you’re missing is the one you use to sign in to Windows, no menu will display it.

• Microsoft account: if you sign in with an email address, reset the password online by following Microsoft’s steps to reset a forgotten Microsoft account password, then sign in to the PC with the new password.
• Local account: ask another administrator on the PC to reset it, or use one of the recovery options in the guide to reset an administrator password in Windows 10.

Troubleshooting

Show characters is grayed out or does nothing

You’re most likely on a standard account. Sign in as an administrator, or use Method 2 from a Command Prompt opened with Run as administrator. On a work or school PC, the organization may block both, so ask the IT team.

The password shown doesn’t work on the other device

• Wi-Fi passwords are case-sensitive. Check uppercase versus lowercase letters, and look-alike characters such as O and 0 or l and I.
• If someone changed the password on the router, Windows still shows the old one until it reconnects with the new password. In that case, forget the network on Windows 10, reconnect with the current password from the router, and then repeat these steps.
• Make sure the other device is joining the same network name. Some routers broadcast separate 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz names, and a guest network may have its own password.

Your network isn’t in the netsh list

The profile was deleted, or the PC connected through a different account or method that didn’t save it. Get the password from the router or from whoever manages it.

Network and Sharing Center shows no Connections link

The PC isn’t connected to any network. Connect first (select the network icon, choose your network, and select Connect), or skip to Method 2.

Confirm it worked, and keep the password safe

The quickest proof is to type the password on the new device and watch it connect. On a phone or TV, the network should show as connected without a “wrong password” or “authentication failed” message.

Viewing the password doesn’t change it, so there’s nothing to undo. A few habits help afterward:

• Store it in a password manager or somewhere private rather than on a sticky note on the router.
• If you shared it with a visitor and would rather they not keep access, change the Wi-Fi password in the router’s settings. Every device then has to reconnect with the new one.
• For visitors, a guest network (if your router has one) keeps them off the network your PCs share files on.

Frequently asked questions

Is the network security key the same as the Wi-Fi password?

Yes. On a home network that uses WPA2-Personal or WPA3-Personal, the “network security key” Windows shows on the Security tab is the password you type to join the Wi-Fi. Routers and labels may call it the wireless key, WPA key, or passphrase.

Can I find the password for a Wi-Fi network I have never joined?

No. Windows only stores passwords for networks it has connected to. For a neighbor’s network, a café, or a hotel, you have to ask whoever runs it.

Can I see the passwords for all saved networks at once?

Not with one built-in command. netsh wlan show profiles lists every saved network, and you then run the key=clear command once per network name.

Will these steps work on Windows 7 or 8.1?

Method 1 follows the same Network and Sharing Center path (Wireless Properties > Security > Show characters) on Windows 8.1 and Windows 7, though the adapter is named Wireless Network Connection on Windows 7. Those versions no longer receive security updates.

Does finding the Wi-Fi password require internet access?

No. The password is read from the network profile saved on the PC, so neither method needs the internet. Resetting a Microsoft account password does need a connection, and you can do it from any device with a browser.

Start with Method 1 if you’re connected, Method 2 if you’re not, and the router label if no PC has the network saved. If Windows is asking for credentials to reach another computer, the account owner on that PC is the person who can help.