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I need to find the password for a Wi-Fi network that I am already connected to. I'm using a MacBook Pro that's running OS X Lion. Any guidance is appreciated.

Zach Gates
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Vishnu
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4 Answers4

391

If the password is stored, you can find it using the program Keychain Access.

If you open /Applications/Utilities/Keychain Access, it will show you a list of stored entries. If you click the Kind column header, it will sort by kind, go to the section where AirPort network passwords are stored. On Yosemite, you may have to select "Local Items" rather than "login" under Keychains in the upper left.

Double-click the name of the network you are using (if you don't know the name of the network, you can find it in the WiFi menulet (the concentric quarter circles toward the right side of your menu bar).

picture of Keychain Access

Check the Show password box, enter your system password, and click the Allow button.

That should show you the password for the wireless network you are on, if it is stored on your computer. If no such entry appears, it means the password is not stored on your computer.

Note that you can also use this technique to find saved passwords for websites or other passwords that you computer has stored but you have forgotten.

LarsH
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Daniel
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    On Yosemite click in the "Local Items" Keychains section :) – Fernando Montoya Nov 22 '14 at 17:26
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    @montogeek: Your comment is important... without that, Airport network passwords didn't show up for me at all. I edited the answer to include your tip: 'On Yosemite, you may have to select "Local Items" rather than "login" under Keychains in the upper left.' The edit is in an approval queue now. – LarsH Jun 22 '15 at 14:56
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    On my computer, some wifi passwords are under the System tab and others are under the login tab. – Navin Dec 08 '15 at 19:52
  • Clicking on 'Show Password', checks and then unchecks the box without any popup asking for System Password. Hence, password can't be seen. – coding_idiot Feb 09 '16 at 08:59
  • Note that if your stored password come from a different device (for example an iPhone), it is stored under the iCloud section on the left panel. – Cosmos Gu May 16 '16 at 01:57
  • on Mac OSX Sierra, I had to click on the Local Items. Then Click on the Wifi network SSID and then enable the checkbox "Show password". Worked perfectly. – mythicalcoder Oct 26 '16 at 15:32
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    If you search for airport it displays all the wifis. Thanks! – Ferran Maylinch Sep 29 '17 at 12:21
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Spotlight → Keychain Access → type Wi-Fi name →
select key → enter password to see Wi-Fi password

1. Open Keychain Access (search with Spotlight). Ensure that you're in "login" in the "keychains" options in the left nav. 2. Search Wi-Fi name (in the search box at the top right). 3. Double-click the symbol next to the name of the Wi-Fi link. You must enter your user password to see the Wi-Fi password.

Mithical
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gentmatt
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  • At least on Mojave you must now check the "Show password:" box after double-clicking the item to be asked to enter your credentials to see the WiFi password! – cody.codes Oct 06 '18 at 16:13
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This is a new feature introduced on macOS Ventura.

From the Apple Support article If you need help with your Wi‑Fi password :

  1. Choose Apple menu  > System Settings.
  2. Click Network in the sidebar, then click Wi-Fi on the right.
  3. Scroll down and click Advanced to open the list of known networks.
  4. Click the More button (ellipsis ...) next to the network name, then choose Copy Password.
  5. Paste the password somewhere else to see it.

(Emphasis mine)

Screenshot of the described settings

Additional info: This can also be done on iPhone with iOS 16 or later and iPad with iPadOS 16.1 or later. See Find your saved Wi-Fi passwords on iPhone or iPad for guidance on this.

Thinkr
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5

For those looking for a Terminal solution, I was able to rig one up using the security command:

security find-generic-password -a "$1" -g | tail -0

I also wrote code that can get your current WiFi network and provide the password for it as well. You can find that in a gist here.

NOTE: You will still need to provide your user/pass to access the password. This is part of the security mechanism Apple implemented into using Keychain and cannot be easily overcome.

cody.codes
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    Worth pointing for any new person, the $1 is an argument where you can also provide a string value. So let's say you want to fetch your wifi password & wifi's name is FooBar then your command would look like: security find-generic-password -a "FooBar" -g | tail -0 – MiKr13 Oct 05 '21 at 14:37