Find your Wi-Fi network password with a simple command

(This applies to Windows 7, Windows 8x and Windows 10)

Everyone should be using a WiFi password for their home network. And most of us do. And most of us let Windows remember that password for us, so we don’t have to type it in whenever we boot up and connect. But sometimes, for instance when setting up another computer, a tablet, or a smartphone, you may need to know the network password. And if you don’t remember what it was, you’ll be fumbling around trying to get those other devices connected.

Thankfully, it is really easy to find your network password. All you need to do is enter in a simple command and in just a minute or two you’ll know what your network password is.

Here’s how you do it:

Step one: Open a command prompt with administrator privileges:

On Windows 7, type CMD in the Start menu search, press Enter, – right-click CMD when it appears at the top and choose “Run as administrator”.

On Windows 8, press Windows Key + S, type CMD press enter, right-click when it appears and then choose “Run as administrator”.

On Windows 10, click Start, Run, type CMD in taskbar search, right-click on it, choose “Run as administrator” and press Enter.

Step two: Enter the following command, at the prompt, substituting your Wi-Fi network name for “SENECA” (network names are not case sensitive in Windows):

netsh wlan show profile name=SENECA key=clear

Above: My network password showing in plain text. No! You can’t see it! I blacked it out.

If you don’t know the name of your network, you can find it in the Network & Sharing Center. You can find Network & Sharing Center in the Control Panel, we tells ya!