The fastest way to see your WiFi password on Mac

Open Keychain Access on your Mac, search for your network name, and the password appears in plain text. Keychain Access is built into every Mac — you do not need to read anything. The whole process takes under a minute if you remember your login password.

Your Mac stores every WiFi password you have ever connected to in Keychain, Apple's password manager. When you connected to the network originally, macOS asked if you wanted to save the password. If you said yes, it went into Keychain. Finding it again means opening that vault and looking up the network by name.

Key Takeaways

  • Keychain Access, built into macOS, holds every WiFi password your Mac has ever saved, and you can view them in plain text by searching for the network name.
  • You must know your Mac login password to open Keychain and see stored WiFi passwords — the system will not show them to anyone else using the computer.
  • If you cannot find the password in Keychain, the network was never saved to your Mac, or it was saved under a different name than what you are searching for.
  • Resetting a forgotten WiFi password requires access to your router's admin panel, not your Mac — your Mac only stores what you told it to remember.

Step-by-step: finding your password in Keychain Access

Press Command + Space to open Spotlight search. Type "Keychain Access" and press Enter. The Keychain Access window opens.

In the top-left corner, make sure "Passwords" is selected in the Category list on the left side. Then look for a search box in the top-right corner of the window. Type the name of your WiFi network — the one that appears in your WiFi menu — and press Enter.

When your network appears in the list, double-click it. A small window pops up showing the network details. At the bottom, check the box next to "Show password". Your Mac will ask you to enter your login password. Type it and click "Allow". The WiFi password now appears in plain text in that same box.

What to do if your password does not appear in Keychain

If you search for your network name and nothing comes up, your Mac never saved that password. This happens if you chose "Do not save" when you first connected, or if you are looking for a network someone else's device connected to.

Check that you are typing the network name exactly as it appears in your WiFi menu. Network names are case-sensitive, and spaces or special characters matter. If you see the network in your WiFi list but cannot find it in Keychain, try searching for just the first few letters.

If the network still does not appear, you will need to reset the password on your router itself. This requires logging into your router's admin panel, not your Mac. You can usually do this by opening a web browser, typing your router's IP address (often 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1), and logging in with the admin username and password printed on the router.

Why your Mac stores WiFi passwords and how to manage them

macOS stores WiFi passwords so you do not have to type them every time you reconnect to a network. When you join a new network and save the password, it goes into Keychain encrypted. Your Mac uses your login password as the key to unlock Keychain, which is why you have to enter it to see stored passwords.

If you want to remove a saved password so your Mac forgets the network, open Keychain Access, find the network name, right-click it, and select "Delete". The next time you try to connect, your Mac will ask for the password again. This is useful if you are selling your Mac or if you want to stop automatically connecting to a network.

You can also view all your saved passwords at once by clicking "Passwords" in the Category list and scrolling through. Every network your Mac has ever connected to appears here, along with the username (usually your network name) and the password in hidden form until you click "Show password" for each one.

Viewing passwords for networks you do not own

If you are trying to find the password for a network someone else set up — a guest network, a work network, or a neighbor's WiFi — Keychain will only show it if your Mac saved it when you connected. You cannot see passwords for networks your Mac has never joined.

If you need the password for a network you do not own and your Mac did not save it, you will need to ask the person who set up the router. They can log into their router's admin panel and either reset the password or create a new guest network with a password you choose.

Troubleshooting: when Keychain Access will not open or show passwords

If Keychain Access opens but looks empty, or if it asks for a password and rejects yours, your Keychain may be locked. Close Keychain Access completely. Open it again and try searching for your network. If it still will not work, restart your Mac and try once more.

If you see a message saying "Access Denied" when you try to view a password, another user account on your Mac may have saved that network password, and you do not have permission to see it. Ask whoever set up that account to show you the password, or create your own WiFi connection and save the password under your own account.

If you forgot your Mac login password entirely, you cannot open Keychain to see stored WiFi passwords. You will need to reset your Mac login password through System Settings or use Apple's account recovery process before you can access Keychain.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I see WiFi passwords saved on someone else's Mac?

No. Keychain is locked behind that person's login password. You would need their Mac login password to open Keychain and view any stored passwords. This is a security feature to prevent unauthorized access to saved passwords.

What if I see a WiFi network in my list but it is not in Keychain?

Your Mac is seeing the network broadcast, but it has never connected to it or never saved the password. You can connect to it now by selecting it from the WiFi menu and entering the password when prompted. If you check "Remember this network", your Mac will save it to Keychain for next time.

Does finding a password in Keychain mean I can connect to that network again?

Yes. Your Mac will automatically reconnect to any network whose password is saved in Keychain when you are in range. You can also manually select the network from your WiFi menu and your Mac will use the saved password without asking you to type it.

Can I change a WiFi password from my Mac?

No. Changing a WiFi password requires access to your router's admin panel, not your Mac. Your Mac only stores the password — it cannot change it. Log into your router through a web browser to change the password, then update the saved password in Keychain on each device.

What happens to Keychain passwords if I sell my Mac?

All passwords in Keychain are tied to your user account. If you erase your Mac and set it up fresh, the new owner will not see your old passwords. Before selling, erase your Mac completely using Erase Mac in System Settings to remove all user accounts and data.