Find a Saved Wi-Fi Password in Windows 11 or 10

Need the Wi-Fi password for a phone or another PC? If a Windows 11 computer has saved the network, open Settings > Network & internet > Wi-Fi > Manage known networks, select it, then choose Show beside the Wi-Fi password. In Windows 10, the built-in Settings route shows the key for the network currently connected to the PC.

This guide reflects Windows 10 and Windows 11 settings available by 27 August 2024. Microsoft documented the Windows 11 saved-network password control in its 26 September 2023 configuration update , so it was available before this guide's date.

Know what the revealed key is

A Wi-Fi password (also called a network security key) is what a device uses to join a wireless network. It is different from your Windows sign-in password and your router's administrator password.

These steps apply to networks that use a shared passphrase. A managed work or school network may not offer one for you to reveal. If Settings shows no password, ask the network administrator how that network is set up.

When Windows reveals the key, it appears as readable text on screen. Only show it on a device you trust, share it only with someone you intend to let onto the network, and hide it again when you are finished.

Windows 11: show a saved network's password

This route works for a network profile saved on that Windows 11 PC, even when the PC is not currently connected to it.

Press Windows + I to open Settings.
Select Network & internet > Wi-Fi > Manage known networks.
Choose the saved network whose name matches the one you need.
Select Show next to Wi-Fi network password. Read or copy the key, then hide it when you are done.

If the network is not listed, Windows may not have a saved profile for it in this account. Check the network name and the Windows account you are using. If the setting is missing on an otherwise updated Windows 11 PC, install available Windows updates and check again.

Windows 10: show the active network's key

Windows 10's Network and Sharing Center route starts with a PC that is connected to the network. It reveals that connection's key; it is not the same saved-network list available in Windows 11.

Open Settings > Network & Internet > Status > Network and Sharing Center.
Under Connections, select the active Wi-Fi network name.
In the Wi-Fi Status window, select Wireless Properties.
Open the Security tab and check Show characters. The key appears in Network security key.

Microsoft's Windows Wi-Fi instructions show this route, which was also documented in the Microsoft Support Community in 2018 . If you need a different, inactive network's password on Windows 10, this status window will not display it. Use a Windows 11 PC that has saved that network, or ask the person who manages the network for its current key.

If another device rejects the password

Windows displays the value saved in its network profile; it does not check whether the router still uses that key. If the network owner changed the password after this PC last connected, the stored value may be out of date. Confirm the current key with the person who manages the network before changing saved settings.