How to Know the Password of the WiFi Network of My Router to Connect to It

We are going to see the different ways to find out the current password of our WiFi network, from the simplest to the most complex, to try to solve this problem that has arisen by not remembering the password of our wireless network.

Look at the sticker underneath the router

When we install a router for the first time, especially if it is from an Internet provider or ISP, it usually stays with its factory settings. Those data that we need to access the router or our Wi-Fi password come on a sticker that comes underneath . Here we have an example of a Movistar router:

From this sticker we can obtain the following information:

1. The name or SSID of our Wi-Fi network along with its password. In this case we have the password for both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Wi-Fi networks.
2. The IP of the router together with its default password, which we can use to enter the configuration of a router using an Internet browser,

Next, we enter the Wi-Fi key and test if it works. If we have two frequency bands (2.4GHz and 5Ghz), as in this case, we must pay more attention. In the device that we want to connect we have to select the name of the correct WiFi network and its password. Here you have to be careful and do not mix one with the other, normally the password is exactly the same for both frequency bands, in order to make it easier for users to connect to the wireless network.

In case it does not work we would have to go to the next method, this means that, at some point, we have changed the Wi-Fi password. In this article, for greater security, we recommend changing the Wi-Fi password provided by the operators.

Enter the router configuration and see the Wi-Fi key

On the sticker in the previous section, as already mentioned, we have the router’s IP and its password. Anyway, finding out the IP of the router is simple, we explain it in case you have changed it or it does not look good on the sticker. To do this, we are going to follow these steps:

• We go to the Windows Start Menu.
• We write Execute and then we press enter.
• There we type CMD and we hit enter again.
• Then a command prompt window will open in which we can put commands.
• Now it’s time to write ipconfig / all and press enter.

These are the results and the IP of our router is the one in a red box and is called the Default Gateway .

Now we are going to enter the router configuration:

1. We open our browser.
2. In the address bar we write our router IP and hit enter.
3. Next, a screen will appear asking us to enter our password.
4. We put the one that comes on the sticker, or if we have changed it, the one that we have applied.

Next, what we have to do is go to the Wi-Fi section to find my Wi-Fi password. This would be an example with a FRITZ! Box router in which we already have our password. In this case, the password can be seen in the Wi-Fi , Security and Encryption section.

On many occasions we will find my Wi-Fi password in the “security” section where we choose the type of encryption. Another very typical place where we can see the Wi-Fi key, is usually where we can set our “Network name / SSID” or manage its channels.

One point to keep in mind is that routers usually have a password for the 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network and another for the 5GHz one. Therefore, in those cases both should be noted. However, there is some case like the FRITZ! Box above that uses the same password for both networks. This is a detail that you have to pay attention to, checking if the password is used individually for each band or all of them use the same one.

With this we would have everything fixed, except that we had already changed the router password and we did not remember. However, for that there is also a solution as we will see below.

See my Wi-Fi password from Windows settings

Another option would be to see the passwords of the Wi-Fi networks that we have used in Windows. While you can fix the problem, we would still not have access to the router and we could not, for example, change my Wi-Fi password or open ports. For that we have no choice but the factory reset that we mentioned in the previous section. Now, to find out the Wi-Fi key, we go to ” Start Menu , Control Panel ” we go to ” Network and Internet ” and click on ” Center of networks and shared resources “. There we will see the network to which we are connected and we click on it.

Next, we have to click on the button « Wireless properties «. We click on the ” Security ” tab and there we see the key for that specific Wi-Fi network. Finally, we activate the ” Show characters ” box and we will be able to see my Wi-Fi password.

Do a factory reset to the router

When doing the factory reset , the router will leave us as it came the first day. In other words, you will leave it with the data you have on the sticker that comes under the router. Some considerations that you should take into account before doing a factory reset are:

• If our router has not provided us with our Internet provider, we will need the connection data.
• We will have to reopen the ports if we need any. Like, for example, to use a P2P program.
• We have to change the Wi-Fi password for security, it is the one that suits us best. The other option would be to temporarily put the one that comes on the sticker.

On the back where we have the Ethernet ports, we usually have a button to reset it and leave it as it came from the factory.

This button is usually referred to as RESET . In addition, this button so that it is not accidentally touched and the configuration is lost, it is usually housed inside. Regarding the process of doing a factory reset to the router, it would be like this:

1. We introduce into the hole where the reset button is, the tip of a pen or a needle.
2. We must press and hold the button for about 10-12 seconds until we see that the router reboots.
3. We release the RESET button, and wait for it to start normally.

With this we would already have all the data as it comes on the router sticker, and we could enter the password for my Wi-Fi.