Written by
Anna Yuan
How to Find Wi-Fi Password on Mac? (Step-by-Step)
Summary: This post is about how to find your Wi-Fi password on Mac with Keychain Access utility or macOS Terminal. It also talks about how to share a Wi-Fi password on Mac.
Do you often encounter these situations? When you invite friends to visit your home, the very first thing they do as they step into your house is to ask you for the Wi-Fi password. Or your new electronic devices need to enter a Wi-Fi password to start the network.
Sometimes you may forget your Wi-Fi password or not be sure of it because you just have so many passwords to remember. Fortunately, Apple makes it easy and quick to find your saved passwords on your Mac, of course including the Wi-Fi password.
This post will address how to find the Wi-Fi password on Mac step by step: through Keychain Access and Terminal on Mac. Keep reading the following part to help you quickly find a Wi-Fi password.
Quick Navigation:
- 1. How to see Wi-Fi password on Mac with Keychain Access
- 2. How to find your Wi-Fi password on Mac with Terminal utility
- 3. Bonus part: How to share a Wi-Fi password on Mac
- 4. Conclusion about how to find Wi-Fi password on Mac
How to see Wi-Fi password on Mac with Keychain Access
Before going to find your passport on Mac with Keychain Access, check your default password of Wi-Fi first. If your Wi-Fi network was set up by your cable company technician, typically, the technician will leave the default network name and password as it is written behind the router.
So you can look for the router and turn it over. Then you should see a label on the back typed right on your network router as Wi-Fi password/PIN next to the default SSID name of your router. But this requires that you have physical access to the router and the network name and password were not changed.
If you don't want to close to the dusty corner where the router is located, it's still easy to find your network's Wi-Fi password with the Keychain Access utility if your Mac has been connected to the network once.
Normally, Keychain Access saves your Wi-Fi password automatically. You can view your Wi-Fi password as long as you know your Mac's administrator password.
Here's how to find a Wi-Fi password on Mac:
- Open Launchpad > the Other folder > Keychain Access, or launch it through Spotlight Search by pressing Command + Spacebar keys.
- Click on System, and then click on Passwords under Categories. And double-click the name of the network you want to access.
- Select Show password. You're required for authentication to continue. Input your Username and Password.
- View your Wi-Fi password in the box beside the “Show Password” button.
And if you find your password is too difficult to remember and want to change it. Just delete the Wi-Fi password shown in the password box and type in a new one, then click Save Changes. Keychain will then automatically sync as long as you've turned on iCloud Keychain, and your new Wi-Fi password will get changed across all your macOS and iOS devices.
Note: If you are not sure what your Mac Username is, simply click on the Apple icon on the top-left corner of your screen. The last column will show it. But if you forget your Mac password for the administrative privilege, you need to retrieve your admin passcode first and then find your Wi-Fi password on Mac with Keychain Access.
How to find your Wi-Fi password on Mac with Terminal utility
In addition, if you failed to rediscover the saved Wi-Fi password on Mac with Keychain Access app, there's still another solution on how to find a Wi-Fi password on mac without Keychain.
Try to use the Mac Terminal utility to find a Wi-Fi password on Mac, which is also the superior way and requires the basic familiarity with the command-line interface.
- Open Launchpad > the Other folder > Terminal, or launch it through Spotlight Search by pressing Command +Spacebar keys.
- Input the following command and replace the Wi-Fi NAME section with the true name of the network you want the password for. Then hit Enter key.security find-generic-password -ga Wi-Fi NAME | grep "password:"
- You will be prompted to key in your Username and Password. After you input your Username and Password correctly, your Wi-Fi password will be shown just below the command you have previously entered.
Bonus part: How to share a Wi-Fi password on Mac
If you are looking up the password to provide it to your friend for a Wi-Fi connection, there is another method to enable your friend's Apple device to connect your Wi-Fi. Both macOS Monterey and macOS Big Sur include a feature to share the password with a nearby and trusted Apple device, without needing to remember it or enter the password.
To share a Wi-Fi password on Mac, do the following:
- Make sure your Mac is unlocked, connected to the Wi-Fi network, and signed in to your Apple ID.
- Make sure your friend's Apple ID is in your Contacts app.
- Move your friend's Apple device close to your Mac.
- On your friend's device, select the Wi-Fi network.
- On your Mac, wait a moment for the Wi-Fi Password notification to display, then click
Share.
Conclusion about how to find Wi-Fi password on Mac
With the above-mentioned options, you will not be needed to dash to the dusty corner to access your router. You can easily use one of the methods to find your Wi-Fi password on Mac very soon.
And to avoid forgetting the Wi-Fi password again or any other passwords, you'd better write down your passwords in a notebook or use a password manager app to get rid of the inconvenience of forgetting any passwords.
