How to Share Your Wi-Fi Password: Step-by-Step Guide

Key Points

• On Windows, you can find the Wi-Fi password in the Settings menu under Network Security.
• Android users can share their Wi-Fi password via QR code or using the Nearby share function on Android 12 or newer versions.
• Generate a QR code with your Wi-Fi information to easily share the password offline.

Someone always requires your Wi-Fi password at the most inconvenient time, so when you try to share it as quickly as possible, it becomes a lot of work. If you’re wondering how to share a Wi-Fi password no matter what device you’re using, you’re in the right place.

In this post, we’ll show you how to share Wi-Fi passwords from various devices and operating systems, but also a cool idea on how to share the Wi-Fi password without ever having to read out the characters and symbols, so keep on reading!

How to Share Wi-Fi Password on Windows

If you have a Windows computer or a laptop that wirelessly connects to your Wi-Fi network, here’s what you need to do if you’d like to be a good host and share your Wi-Fi password with your guests.

It takes a bit of work and a couple of steps to get there, however, here’s what you need to do to find exactly where your Wi-Fi password is. Remember that this will work only if you are connected to your internet via Wi-Fi, but not an ethernet connection.

Click the Start button (or the Windows icon in the bottom left corner) and access Settings by clicking the gear icon.

In the Settings menu that pops up, click on the Network and Sharing Center. Find a line where it says Connections: Wi-Fi and your network name.

In the new pop-up menu, click on Wireless Properties, head to the Security tab, and then click on Show Characters under the password box. The star characters are your password, so when you click on the Show Characters button, your Wi-Fi password will be visible. This is located right under the Network Security tab.

That’s the password you should share with your guests, and once they type it in, they’ll be able to connect to your Wi-Fi network.

How to Share Wi-Fi Password on macOS

If you would like to share your Wi-Fi from a macOS device such as a MacBook laptop or a Mac, here’s what you should do.

First, you need to connect to your Wi-Fi network (if you aren’t already). From there, you should remember the name of your Wi-Fi network. Then, open the spotlight search bar and type in “Keychain Access.”

In the Keychain Access window, use the top right search bar to search for your Wi-Fi name. You’ll find two matches to your Wi-Fi name. You should double-click on the bottom match which says Local Files under the Keychain.

In the new pop-up menu, you’ll see the Show Password box you should tick. When you tick the box, you will have to type in your macOS password. When you confirm the action by typing in your macOS password, the Wi-Fi password will show up in the bar next to it.

Share the password with your guests and once they type it into their device, they’ll be able to access your Wi-Fi network. This is the easiest way to find and share your Wi-Fi password without having to reach under the router to find it.

Also, there’s an automatic way to share your Wi-Fi password with other macOS users as long as you are logged into your Apple ID and have the user in your contacts. The automatic Wi-Fi password-sharing window will pop up when the user is close to you and your Wi-Fi network.

How to Share Wi-Fi Password on iOS

Apple users who use an iPhone or iPad have one of the easiest ways to share Wi-Fi passwords on iOS devices. While it wasn’t always like this, it’s one of the most-requested features by users, so Apple decided to integrate it into the update.

To share your Wi-Fi password, first make sure to connect your iOS device to your Wi-Fi network. After that, open Settings on your iOS device by clicking the gear icon on the home screen. In the menu, click on the Wi-Fi setting and this will open up a new menu.

In that menu, you’ll see the Wi-Fi network you’re connected to with a check right next to the name, which represents a connection. Click on the information button (the “i” icon), which will open more information about the network you’re connected to.

There, you’ll see a Password field. Click on it, type in your passcode, or verify the action using Face ID, and the password will reveal itself. There’ll also be a copy button that you can click on to copy the password so you can paste it and send it to your friend, or you can simply read out the password.

There’s also an option to automatically share your Wi-Fi password from iOS to iOS users, as long as you’re logged into your Apple ID and have them under your contacts. When they’re close to you, your Wi-Fi, and are not logged into any Wi-Fi network, an automatic Wi-Fi sharing pop-up will show on both screens. This will allow your guests to automatically connect with a shared password from your iOS device.

How to Share Wi-Fi Password on Android

Android users also have a pretty easy way to share their Wi-Fi password with their guests and here’s what you should do.

First and foremost, connect to your Wi-Fi network and head to Settings. In the Settings menu, click on the Wi-Fi Network and then Wi-Fi. In there, you’ll see the name of your Wi-Fi network. When you see it, you have to click on the gear icon next to it which will pop up more information about the network. 

In there, you’ll see a Share button which will help you share your Wi-Fi password via QR code. If you run an Android 12 or newer version, you will have a function called Nearby share which can directly share the Wi-Fi password with other Android 12 or newer users.

Bonus Idea: How to Share Your Wi-Fi Password Offline

Creating a simple Wi-Fi password you can remember and easily share with your guests might make your network prone to nearby hackers. Sharing your Wi-Fi password is the easiest to do through your smartphone.

But if your phone isn’t near you and you would like to share your Wi-Fi password offline whenever your guests come in, here’s a pretty cool idea. You can generate a QR Code with your Wi-Fi information so whenever an user scans the QR code, they’ll easily join your Wi-Fi network. 

This way, your guests won’t have to type in the password, you won’t have to worry about sharing it through a device, and you definitely won’t have to worry about looking up the password.

We highly recommend printing a couple of QR codes and leaving them in your living room or at the door so your guests can connect easily and then share the QR code around. This way, you can have multiple guests connected to your Wi-Fi network without having to do a single thing after you’ve generated and printed the QR code. You can do this easily with online QR code generators such as the QR Code Generator.

Wrapping Up

Offering your Wi-Fi password to your guests even before they ask for it will make you a great host. Looking up the password underneath the router is a thing of the past. With these steps, you can look up a Wi-Fi password on any device you have.

However, the bonus step we’ve mentioned is one of the best ways to do it. It might only take you a couple of minutes, yet you won’t ever have to worry about finding your Wi-Fi password before you share it with others. Instead, it’ll help your friends and family connect in seconds without having to find or read out the password and without having to type in the password!

Summary Table

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