A query you might have had for quite a few times at your home. You might have forgotten or out of mind the Wi-Fi password because folks usually do not bother too much about it as the Wi-Fi is already saved on our mobile, Mac, or PC. To find it, either you can go through the usual route to get back from the router settings, but I’ve even a perfect offer.
One can also watch saved Wi-Fi passwords on Mac. There’re a couple of techniques to find the Wi-Fi passwords on iCloud Keychain, Mac, and the macOS terminal. The former is functioning and usable only when you know the exact Wi-Fi name.
In this article, we’re going to talk about both ways of finding saved Wi-Fi passwords on Mac. They are not as straightforward as you think. Let’s get begins by following the steps below.
View Saved Wi-Fi Passwords from Keychain
What exactly is Keychain? Mac Keychain is a helpful tool that comes built within the macOS. Its saving all the local password with the network name and functions like a go-to password manager that works online and offline. Moreover, the Keychain has iCloud support, which synchronizes the saved log-in data from the Safari browser across Apple devices.
Keychain also lets you add secure notes, certified, and other sensitive info. Now let’s see how to extract saved Wi-Fi passwords from it. Go through the instructions below.
Step 1: Firstly, open Spotlight Search using the search menu in the top right corner or even use the Command + Space keyboard shortcut.
Step 2: Now type Keychain Access in it and press the return button. Otherwise, you can go to Launchpad > Another folder > Keychain Access to open the application.
Step 3: Select the systems from the keychain App menu from the left sidebar.
Step 4: After that, move to the bottom menu bar and select passwords from the category section.
Step 5: On the right side, you’ll see all the saved Wi-Fi system settings.
Step 6: Now double-click on the Wi-Fi name to open the dialog box.
Step 7: Select the Show Password option at the bottom, and it will ask you to authenticate the device either by using the fingerprint or password.
Step 8: As you’re accessing system info, it will ask you to verify yourself with username and password.
Step 9: If you do not confirm your username, then move to the top left corner and click on the little Apple logo.
Step 10: Here, you’ll see your username in the App menu. Use it and add a password in Keychain. The system will display the current password.
You can also click on the little key icon, and it will open the password assist menu. One can use the suggested password and press save changes. It will keep the password of the Wi-Fi network. Furthermore, if other admin controls the Wi-Fi network, you will not be able to modify passwords.
Use MacOS Terminal
The Terminal is a builtin app that lets you control Mac using the command prompts. The below-mentioned technique is better suitable for those who do not want to go through multiple steps above and wants a direct solution. There’s only one catch here. You must need to know the exact name of the Wi-Fi network to highlight the password in Terminal.
Step 1: Open Terminal by using the Spotlight Search (Command + Space keyboard shortcut) or either by going into Launchpad > Other > Terminal.
Step 2: Type the following mention command
security find-generic-password -ga WIFI NAME | grep “password:”
Now replace the WIFI NAME with the exact name of your network you want the password for.
Step 3: Press the return button, and it will ask you to authenticate using the username and password.
Step 4: Add the information and press, ok. It will display you the Wi-Fi Password for the mentioned network.
Closing Thoughts:
You can avoid the scenario mentioned above if you invest in a decent password manager. You can save the log-in info of every Wi-Fi network in a password manager and can retrieve the info with single authentication when required.
As for the Apple ecosystem, I would suggest going with iCloud Keychain, a reliable product for the Apple Fans, and it is expected to get a significant overhaul in the iOS 14 update. For its alternatives, I would recommend you to use Enpass, LastPass, 1Password, or Dashlane. They all are cross-platform solutions, which means you can access them on every platform, such as Android and Windows.
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Get Wi-Fi Passwords on Mac
As you can see from the instructions above, it’s simple to get a saved Wi-Fi password on Mac. For casual users, I would advise going with Keychain. Moreover, Power users can go with a Terminal way to find things.
