How to find a saved Wi-Fi password and share it

If you have a computer or phone already connected to your Wi-Fi, the password is saved there and you can read it again:

• Windows 11: Settings > Network & internet > Wi-Fi > Manage known networks, choose the network and select Show next to the password.
• iPhone: Settings > Wi-Fi, tap the Info button next to the network and then the Password field.
• Mac: Passwords app > Wi-Fi.
• Android: Settings > Network & internet > Internet, tap the network and Share to get a QR code.

If no device is connected, the default password is usually on the modem's label.

Before you start

• It only works with networks you have already joined. The device shows the passwords it has saved, not those of other networks.
• You will be asked who you are. To show the password you need the passcode, fingerprint or face (on iPhone and Android) or the computer's password.
• Check the modem's label: under or behind the device there are usually the network name and the default password. If it doesn't work, someone has probably changed it.

On Windows 11

1. Open Settings.

2. Select Network & internet > Wi-Fi > Manage known networks.

3. Select the network you want.

4. Next to Wi-Fi network password, select Show.

   

Microsoft explains that from here you can use the password on another device, by typing it or by scanning the network's QR code, if the device supports it.

On Windows 10

1. Open Settings > Network & Internet > Status and open Network and Sharing Center.
2. Next to Connections, select the name of your Wi-Fi network.
3. In Wi-Fi Status, select Wireless Properties.
4. Open the Security tab and select the Show characters check box.

The password appears in the Network security key box. On Windows 10 this works for the network you are connected to at that moment.

On iPhone

From iOS 16 onward you can see and copy Wi-Fi passwords.

The network you are connected to now

1. Open Settings and tap Wi-Fi.

2. Find the network in use and tap the Info button next to its name.

3. Tap the Password field.

   

4. Unlock with your passcode, Face ID or Touch ID: the password appears.

Networks you used in the past

1. Open Settings and tap Wi-Fi.
2. Tap Edit at the top right and unlock with your passcode, Face ID or Touch ID.
3. Tap the Info button next to the network.
4. Tap the Password field.

With the Passwords app (from iOS 18)

1. Open the Passwords app.

2. Tap Wi-Fi.

   

3. Tap the network.

4. Tap the Password field. To copy it, tap Copy Password.

On a Mac

The Passwords app is available from macOS Sequoia onward.

1. Open the Passwords app.
2. Click Wi-Fi in the sidebar. At the top you find the network you are using, below it the ones saved in the past.
3. Select the network.
4. Hold the pointer over the series of dots next to Password: the password appears. Clicking the dots copies it.

On Android

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap Network & internet > Internet.
3. Tap your Wi-Fi network and then Share.
4. The phone shows a QR code: the other person scans it with their phone's camera and connects.

Google notes that some steps apply only to Android 12 and up. The item names are the ones in Google's guide: on some phones they may be slightly different.

Share your Wi-Fi without reading out the password

Between iPhone, iPad and Mac

If you and your guest both have Apple devices, the password goes across by itself:

1. Make sure both devices have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on, Personal Hotspot off, and that each of you has the other's Apple Account email or phone number saved in Contacts.

2. Keep the devices close together. Yours must be unlocked and connected to the Wi-Fi.

3. The guest taps the name of your network in their Wi-Fi settings.

4. A prompt appears on your device: tap Share Password and then Done (on a Mac, click Share Password).

   

With a QR code

• iPhone: in the Passwords app > Wi-Fi, open the network and tap Show Network QR Code.
• Mac: in the Passwords app > Wi-Fi, open the network and click Show Network QR Code.
• Android: the Share button described above.

The guest scans the code with the camera and connects. Windows PCs with a camera can read the code too, from the Camera app, in barcode mode.

If it still doesn't work

• The password you read doesn't work on another device. Check uppercase, lowercase and look-alike characters (the letter O and zero, lowercase l and uppercase I). Copying it or using the QR code avoids typing mistakes.
• On iPhone, sharing doesn't appear. Apple recommends restarting both devices; if it still doesn't work, have the password typed in by hand.
• No device is connected and the label doesn't help. You can set a new password from the router: the guides on how to log in to your router and how to change your Wi-Fi password explain how. Remember that you will then have to reconnect every device at home.
• The device connects but the internet doesn't work. The password is not the problem: see the guide on Wi-Fi connected but no internet.
• Want to keep all your passwords in one place, not just the Wi-Fi one? There is a guide on how to see saved passwords on Google, iPhone and Mac.
• If you can't log in to the router, or the network is run by a company or a building manager, ask whoever installed it or a technician: resetting the modem blindly can leave the house without internet.