“Hey, can I have your Wifi password?”
“Yea sure, it’s… umm…”
Sound familiar?
“Yea sure, it’s… umm…”
Sound familiar?
Well, if you are like me and often invite your friends over, you know that the very first thing they’ll ask isn’t where the bathroom is, but for the Wifi password. Sometimes, you just have so many passwords to remember that there is simply no more space in your mind for your Wifi password. Usually, the password can be found on your Wifi router, but that often requires digging into that dusty hidden corner to find the device.
So, if you need to find out a password for an account, an app, a website, or even your WiFi network, here's what you should do: Open the Keychain Access utility (you can do this by pressing Command. However, if your laptop falls into The Wrong Hands, you’re inviting trouble. And identity theft.) To specify which type of login screen you see — if you see one at all — head to System Preferences, click Users & Groups and then click the Login Options button. (If the pane is locked, click the Lock icon and supply your admin password.).
Well, guess what? Today, I am going to show you two ways to find the Wifi password on your Mac without crawling under your desk to look for the router.
Note: this guide is for Mac users. If you are on a PC, see how to view saved Wi-Fi password on Windows 10. Some screenshots below are blurred for the purpose of privacy.
Method 1: Keychain Access on Mac
Keychain Access is a macOS app that stores all your passwords so that you don’t have to remember them. If you know your Mac’s administrator password, then you can view your Wifi password, which is automatically stored in Keychain.
Step 1: Launch Keychain.
First, open the Keychain app. You can launch it through SpotlightSearch.
Step 2: Go to Passwords.
Click on System, and then click on Passwords under Categories.
Locate the name of the network you want to access and open it.
Step 3: Click Show Password.
Step 4: Authenticate.
You’ll be prompted for authentication. Simply fill in your Username and Password.
If you’re not sure what your Username is, you can locate it by clicking on the Apple icon on the top-left of your screen.
Step 5: View and Show Password.
Your password can be viewed in the box beside the “Show Password” button.
Method 2: Terminal on Mac
Terminal is a built-in app on your Mac that allows you to control your Mac using command prompts. This method is for those of you who prefer a direct solution and know the exact name of the Wifi network in question.
Step 1: Launch Terminal.
First, launch Terminal using Spotlight Search.
Step 2: Type Command.
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Key in the following command:
security find-generic-password -ga WIFI NAME | grep “password:”
Replace the WIFI NAME section with the exact name of the network you want the password for.
Step 3: Authenticate.
Once you have entered the command correctly, you will be prompted to key in your Username and Password.
As mentioned before, if you are not sure what your Username is, simply click on the Apple icon on the top-left corner of your screen.
Step 4: Password is shown.
After you have authenticated, your password will be shown just below the command you have previously entered.
Now, you no longer have to take that long walk to the router.
Hint: Use a Password Manager
If you find yourself forgetting your Wifi password all the time, and even the above two methods are a hassle, here’s a recommendation:
Use a third-party Mac password manager!
Third-party password management apps remember your passwords for you so that you don’t have to. It’s like Keychain, but some password applications offer additional features you won’t find in Keychain. One such app is 1Password (review).
With 1Password, you literally just need one master password. All other passwords are stored within it.
1Password has multiple features that are very useful including Sidebar, 1Password mini, Vaults, and more. Descriptions for each of these features are shown in the images below.
That’s all! I hope you’ve found this article helpful.
Now you no longer have to crawl to that dusty corner where your Internet router is located every time your friends come over. Simply locate the password manually on your Mac computer or outsource it and get third-party software to do it for you.
If you've followed the steps to connect your Mac to a Wi-Fi network, but the connection to your network or the Internet isn't reliable, the steps in this article might help.
Check for Wi-Fi recommendations
When your Mac tries to connect to a Wi-Fi network, it checks for issues that affect its ability to create a fast, stable, and secure connection. If an issue is detected, the Wi-Fi status menu in the menu bar shows a new item: Wi-Fi Recommendations. Choose it to see recommended solutions.
Wi-Fi recommendations are available in macOS Sierra or later.
Analyze your wireless environment
Your Mac can use Wireless Diagnostics to perform additional analysis.
- Quit any apps that are open, and connect to your Wi-Fi network, if possible.
- Press and hold Option (Alt) ⌥ key, then choose Open Wireless Diagnostics from the Wi-Fi status menu .
- Enter your administrator name and password when prompted.
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Wireless Diagnostics begins analyzing your wireless environment:
If the issue is intermittent, you can choose to monitor your Wi-Fi connection:
When you're ready to see recommendations, continue to the summary. Wireless Diagnostics asks for optional information about your base station or other router, so that it can include that in the report it saves to your Mac.
Click the info button next to each item in the summary to see details about that item. Wi-Fi best practices are tips that apply to most Wi-Fi networks.
Back up or make note of your network or router settings before changing them based on these recommendations—in case you need to use those settings again.
Monitor your Wi-Fi connection
Your Mac can monitor your Wi-Fi connection for intermittent issues, such as dropped connections. Follow the steps to analyze your wireless environment, but choose ”Monitor my Wi-Fi connection” when prompted.
During monitoring, a window shows that monitoring is in progress. Monitoring continues as long as this window is open and you're on the same Wi-Fi network, even when your Mac is asleep.
If Wireless Diagnostics finds an issue, it stops monitoring and shows a brief description of the issue. You can then resume monitoring or continue to the summary for details and recommendations.
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Create a diagnostics report
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Wireless Diagnostics automatically saves a diagnostics report before it displays its summary. You can create the same report at any time: press and hold the Option key, then choose Create Diagnostics Report from the Wi-Fi status menu . It can take your Mac several minutes to create the report.
- macOS Sierra and later saves the report to the /var/tmp folder of your startup drive, then opens that folder for you.
To open the folder manually, choose Go > Go to Folder from the Finder menu bar, then enter /var/tmp. - OS X El Capitan or earlier saves the report to your desktop.
The report is a compressed file with a name that begins “WirelessDiagnostics.” It contains many files that describe your wireless environment in detail. A network specialist can examine them for further analysis.
Use other diagnostics utilities
Wireless Diagnostics includes additional utilities for network specialists. Open them from the Window menu in the Wireless Diagnostics menu bar:
- Info gathers key details about your current network connections.
- Logs enables background logging for Wi-Fi and other system components. The result is saved to a .log file in the diagnostics report location on your Mac. Logging continues even when you quit the app or restart your Mac, so remember to disable logging when you're done.
- Scan finds Wi-Fi routers in your environment and gathers key details about them.
- Performance uses live graphs to show the performance of your Wi-Fi connection:
- Rate shows the transmit rate over time in megabits per second.
- Quality shows the signal-to-noise ratio over time. When the quality is too low, your device disconnects from the Wi-Fi router. Factors that affect quality include the distance between your device and the router, and objects such as walls that impede the signal from your router. Learn more.
- Signal shows both signal (RSSI) and noise measurements over time. You want RSSI to be high and noise to be low, so the bigger the gap between RSSI and noise, the better.
- Sniffer captures traffic on your Wi-Fi connection, which can be useful when diagnosing a reproducible issue. Select a channel and width, then click Start to begin capturing traffic on that channel. When you click Stop, a .wcap file is saved to the diagnostics report location on your Mac.
Learn more
Additional recommendations for best Wi-Fi performance:
- Keep your router up to date. For AirPort Time Capsule, AirPort Extreme, or AirPort Express Base Station, check for the latest firmware using AirPort Utility. For non-Apple routers, check the manufacturer's website.
- Set up your router using Apple's recommended settings, and make sure that all Wi–Fi routers on the same network use similar settings. If you're using a dual-band Wi-Fi router, make sure that both bands use the same network name.
- Learn about potential sources of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth interference.
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Learn about other ways to connect to the Internet.