Sometimes, people tend to forget their passwords, especially their Wi-Fi passwords. They would want to get the password back, especially on the macOS. When it comes to Wi-Fi, getting your forgotten password is easy. Below I would be giving you steps on how to find WIFI passwords on MacOS.
WIFI Passwords on MacOS
Thankfully, locating your WIFI password on Mac for the previously connected network is not that complicated. In this article, I would be giving you two methods available on How To Find WIFI Passwords on MacOS. The first of which includes going through the keychain access app, which is an even easier option. Make sure that you have not forgotten the password of your Mac administrator, because you would need it for this step.
The second option that has to do with a little digging in your terminal app, is a bit more advanced but also still straightforward. You would be required to know the exact name of the WIFI network to use this option. Let’s begin.
How to Find WiFi Passwords in Keychain Access
In real life, the keychain aids us in keeping a lot of keys in a handy bunch so that we can find one or all easily whenever we need them. Apple’s keychain access app does the same thing for your online passwords.
When you visit a website that is password-protected, you most likely would be presented with an option to remember or save a password after it has been entered by you. if you choose to save it, the password would be saved in your keychain, and your Mac would subsequently autofill those passwords whenever necessary. You stand a chance to find the password that you are looking for on your keychain. Here is how to do it.
- Launch the spotlight search by clicking on the Magnifying glass located at the top-right menu bar. You can choose to use the Command + Space Bar mac Shortcut.
- Type on the keychain Access into the new search bar, and then press Enter/Return
- In the sidebar, select System from the top menu and passwords in the category menu.
- You should then see a list of networks that you have been previously connected to. Look for the name of the network that you want to access and then double-click to launch it.
- Next, you would see a pop-up window with attributes of the selected Network. Check the show password box, and if necessary, enter your Mac’s admin username and password to reveal the password.
- Your Wi-fi password would appear in the box right next to show the password.
How to find Wi-Fi Passwords through the Terminal
Another way for you to locate Passwords on Mac is via the terminal. The terminal is a baked-in app on your Mac that allows you to operate your machine via command prompts.
Once again, be sure to know the exact WiFi name. use the WiFi settings to be sure. Also, make sure that you are undaunted in the face of code because you ae about to encounter some. Well, below I would be giving you the steps on how to go about this.
- Launch the Terminal. You can do this by simply pressing the Command + Space Bar, typing terminal, and pressing Enter/Return.
- Once you are in the terminal, type in the command outlined below, replacing “Wifi name” with the exact name of your network:
security find-generic-password -ga “WiFi name” | grep “password:”
- Enter your username and password found in the administrator login window that pops up.
- The WiFi password you seek should appear below the above command.
If the steps below do not help you locate the password that you are searching for, you would have to check it using your router for the password.
