Short answer: use a device that’s already connected. On Windows, it’s under Settings, Network & internet, Properties. On an iPhone or iPad, tap the network in Settings, Wi-Fi and reveal the Password field. On a Mac, it’s in the Passwords app. Android phones can share the network as a QR code. If nothing is connected, check the label on the router, or log in to the router to see it.

On a Windows PC

Microsoft’s steps work on any Windows 10 or 11 PC that has connected to the network:

  1. Open Settings, then Network & internet, then Properties.
  2. Next to Wi-Fi network password, select Show.

For a network the PC has used before but isn’t on now, go to Manage known networks, select the network and choose Show in the same way.

On an iPhone or iPad

On iOS 16, iPadOS 16.1 or later:

  1. Open Settings and tap Wi-Fi.
  2. Tap the info button next to your network.
  3. Tap the Password field and unlock with your passcode, Face ID or Touch ID.

The same works for networks you’ve joined before, and newer versions also list Wi-Fi passwords in Apple’s Passwords app.

On a Mac

Open the Passwords app and click Wi-Fi in the sidebar. Select the network, then hold the pointer over the dots next to Password to show it.

On an Android phone

Google’s steps don’t reveal the password as text; they share the network as a QR code. Open Settings, tap Network & internet, then Internet, tap your network and choose Share. Another phone can scan the code to join. Menus vary between phone makers, so the names may differ slightly on yours.

If no device is connected

Check the router’s label. Routers and provider gateways print their default network name, password and login details on a label, usually underneath. That only helps if the password was never changed.

Look in the router’s settings. The current password is in the router’s Wi-Fi settings. On ASUS routers, for example, it’s under the network or wireless settings in the admin page or app. How to log in to your router shows how to get there; you need the router’s admin password, which is different from the Wi-Fi password.

As a last resort, reset. If you can’t log in either, a factory reset puts the router back to the password on its label, but it also erases every other setting; read how to reset your router first.

If you have the right password but a device still won’t join, see can’t connect to Wi-Fi.