I think we've all been in the situation where we need to connect a new phone or PC
to our Wi-Fi network and we forgot the password. Sometimes it's because you're using an ISP
provided router that has a complicated default security key and you lost the piece of paper it
was on. While other times we just can't remember the custom password we set ourselves. So is there
a way to look it up? Let's start with what's probably the easiest way. Using an Android device
that's already connected to the same network. Android 10 and newer actually make it quite
straightforward. Open up your Wi-Fi settings and tap on the network you're currently connected to
or a previous one that's already saved. Then you should see an option that says share. Go ahead
and tap that and you'll see a QR code that another device can scan to connect. But you'll also get
the password you need in plain text right below it. It's just that easy. But what if you're more of
an iPhone household? Well iOS has lagged behind Android in this department. Imagine that. But
Apple is finally adding a feature to view saved Wi-Fi passwords to iPhones and iPads and followed
this year when iOS 16 comes out. You'll need to have an iPhone 8 or newer or an iPad with at least
an A9 CPU in order to do this though. Open up your Wi-Fi settings and tap the network you want
similar to what you do on Android. Then you'll see a field that says password. So as you'd expect
tap on it, authenticate yourself with either your biometrics or your unlock code
and the Wi-Fi password will pop right up. But what if your mobile device is too old to
use these methods or you just you don't have it on you? We'll tell you what to do in that case
right after we thank our buddy Joel Crane for collaborating with us on this episode. You can
also look up a lost Wi-Fi password on a Windows PC that's already connected to the network you want.
Fire up the old school control panel and go to network and sharing center. You'll be able to
click on the name of the network and from there select wireless properties then the security tab
and finally check the box that says show characters. If you're logged in with administrator privileges
the password will pop right up. There's also a way to view passwords from previous networks you
connected to and it's only a tiny bit more complicated. Open up a command prompt or power
shell window as administrator and then enter this command. Just replace the X's with the
name of the network you want. You'll then see a field called key content. The password will be
listed right there. If you've got macOS the process is actually a little simpler. All you
have to do is search for a built-in app called Keychain Access. From there you can search for
any saved wireless network you want then click on the show password box and then it'll spill its
secrets for you. But all of these methods require that you have a device previously connected to
the network. What if you're like really in a bind and you don't have all of that? Well assuming
it's your own network you might be able to brute force the password if you've left WPS on. WPS
stands for Wi-Fi protected setup and it's that feature that allows you to connect your devices
by just pushing a button on your router. Unfortunately WPS is also a huge security risk
which is why we recommend disabling it in the router settings in most circumstances. But if
your router happens to have it enabled anyway which many of them unfortunately do by default
you might be able to take advantage of that weakness to hack the WPS feature by using free
software tools that you can find online. If you succeed you'll probably have your password
in a matter of hours but for the love of god do not do this on any network that isn't your own.
Not only is it extremely not nice but it's also illegal in many places and if you get caught
yeah don't say we didn't warn you. Thanks for watching guys like dislike check out some of our
other videos comment with video suggestions down below and don't forget to subscribe and follow.