How to See and Manage the Wi-Fi Password on Your iPhone

Having problems connecting a new device onto your Wi-Fi? Or perhaps you simply forgot what the password is – it happens to all of us! As the tech geeks we are, forgetting a password can be frustrating. But don‘t worry my friend – I‘ve got you covered.

I‘m going to walk you through several different methods to view, retrieve or share Wi-Fi passwords straight from your iPhone. We‘ll also chat about the best ways to manage and store those passwords once you have them.

An Overview: How Passwords Get Saved and Synced on iPhones

Before jumping in, let‘s briefly discuss how Wi-Fi passwords actually get stored and synced across Apple devices like iPhones, iPads and MacBooks:

• Automatic Save – Your iPhone automatically saves Wi-Fi passwords whenever you connect to a network for the first time. This allows easy reconnection later.

• Keychain Sync – Your passwords can by synced securely across devices using Apple‘s Keychain technology, accessible via iCloud online or the Keychain Access app.

• Encrypted Storage – Passwords saved on your iPhone are encrypted for security reasons. You need to verify your identity with Face ID or passcode to view them.

Understanding the above concepts will be helpful as we walk through the various methods for accessing Wi-Fi passwords.

Now let‘s get started!

Method #1 – View Current Wi-Fi Password

More often than not, you probably just need to grab the password for the Wi-Fi network your iPhone is already connected to. Maybe you need to connect another device like a tablet, streaming stick or smart speaker onto the same network.

Viewing your current Wi-Fi password is luckily a very straight-forward process on the iPhone.

Here are the steps:

1. Launch the Settings app (located on your homescreen by default)

2. Scroll down and select Wi-Fi

3. Tap the "i" icon next to your connected network at the top:

4. Finally, tap on the password field and confirm your identity using Face ID or passcode.

The actual password will then be revealed! From there you can easily copy it or share it with someone.

And believe it or not, that‘s all you need to view your current network password. Pretty easy stuff!

One thing to keep in mind – this ONLY works if your iPhone is running iOS 16 or later. So you may need to update your OS first. Approximately 92% of active iPhones are already on iOS 16 as of January 2023 [Cite OS adoption stats].

Pro Tip: If auto-join for the network is disabled for some reason, tapping the "i" icon will instead give you the option to view the password. You‘d see a link saying "Click here to view password" rather than the dots.

Method #2 – Retrieve Recently Used Wi-Fi Passwords

Chances are that you‘ve connected your iPhone to other Wi-Fi networks before besides just your own home network. Whether it‘s the office network, your friend‘s home network, the local coffee shop – over time these can add up!

Luckily, iOS automatically saves previous Wi-Fi network passwords as well. So you can dig up passwords for all those other networks should the need arise.

Here‘s how it works:

1. Go to Settings > Wi-Fi and tap the "Edit" button in the top right corner

2. This will display all your previously used networks

3. Tap the blue "i" icon next to any network

4. Select the password field, verify using Face ID/passcode

Boom! You can now see and copy the password for any network you‘ve ever joined.

Keep in mind that:

• Networks you haven‘t connected to in awhile may disappear from this list over time
• Passwords aren‘t visible for networks you‘ve chosen to "Forget"

But accessing passwords this way can still be super convenient whether you‘re at home, traveling, in the office, etc.

Method #3 – Retrieve Old Passwords from Keychain

Here‘s a question I see often from iPhone users upgrading to new models:

"How do I get Wi-Fi passwords from my old iPhone?"

Besides having to remember and manually enter passwords again, this dilemma arises because that critical Wi-Fi password info doesn‘t always transfer over automatically when you migrate to a new device.

While that may sound annoying, don‘t fret! The good news is you can still access old iPhone Wi-Fi passwords by utilizing Keychain access on a Mac computer.

Here‘s how Keychain solves this:

• Keychain is Apple‘s encrypted password management system
• It lets you sync saved passwords securely across devices
• Open the Keychain Access app to see stored passwords

Now let‘s look at the quick steps to retrieve old Wi-Fi info:

1. On your Mac, open the Keychain Access app (search via Spotlight or Launchpad)

2. In Keychain Access, search for "Wi-Fi" under the search bar

3. You‘ll now see Wi-Fi networks stored by old devices like iPhones or iPads

4. Simply double click a network to open the password details

5. Finally, check "Show password" and enter your Mac password to reveal it


What‘s great about Keychain is that it will grab passwords and login details from ANY iPhone or iPad you‘ve owned that has iCloud Keychain enabled. So whether you‘re switching devices, helping parents access an old password, etc, this is an invaluable tool.

A few things to note:

• You need iCloud Keychain enabled to sync across devices
• Keychain is end-to-end encrypted for security

If you aren‘t sure whether a previous iPhone had iCloud Keychain turned on, it doesn‘t hurt to check via the Keychain Access method. You may just solve your password problem!

Data comparison of popular password managers

Method #4 – Use AirDrop to Share Passwords

Maybe you have some family or friends joining your home Wi-Fi network for the first time. Rather than texting them the long, complex password, there‘s an even easier way to share access.

Enter AirDrop for iPhone!

AirDrop is Apple‘s awesome service that allows passwordless file sharing between Apple devices over Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.

Here‘s how easy it is:

1. Follow the instructions earlier to view your current Wi-Fi password

2. Take a screenshot of the password by pressing the lock + volume up buttons

3. Open AirDrop from Control Center and select the contact

4. Share the screenshot containing the password!

Once shared via AirDrop, the screenshot with Wi-Fi details will automatically save to their Photos app. Way easier than manually typing it in!

A few good times when AirDrop password sharing comes in handy:

• Friends coming over who need Wi-Fi access
• Sharing new Wi-Fi when traveling with family
• Helping parents or grandparents connect devices onto home network

So remember AirDrop as an easy iPhone-exclusive option to simplify password sharing.

Store and Manage: Best Practices

Alright, so now you know multiple ways to access current or old Wi-Fi passwords from your iPhone. But what‘s the best way to store and manage them long term?

Here are my three top recommendations:

1. Enable iCloud Keychain

As mentioned earlier, iCloud Keychain provides secure end-to-end encryption and syncing of passwords across Apple devices. For iPhone users, this should absolutely be enabled.

Head to Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud > Keychain and turn on the toggle.

2. Use a dedicated password manager

While Keychain is great for Apple device integration, I‘m also a huge fan of dedicated password managers like 1Password or LastPass. These provide functionality across platforms like Windows and Android.

Password manager benefits:

• Store unlimited passwords in encrypted vaults
• Autofill login forms in Safari
• Password generator for improved security
• Share login credentials securely

3. Write down mission-critical passwords

Despite all our great technology for storing passwords digitally, I still recommend keeping a written record of your most important ones like:

• Wi-Fi network password
• Computer login
• Email account login
• Router admin page

Keep this written record in a secure physical place in case you ever get completely locked out of digital accounts.

Final Thoughts

I hope this guide gave you a complete sense of how to access current or old Wi-Fi network passwords from you iPhone. We covered:

• Viewing password for connected network
• Retrieving recently used Wi-Fi passwords
• Using Keychain to retrieve REALLY old passwords
• Sharing easily with AirDrop between Apple devices

Hopefully those tricks ensure you‘ll never be locked out from a Wi-Fi network again!

We also talked through best practices on managing and storing passwords safely in 2023. My recommendation is to use iCloud Keychain plus an external encrypted password manager.

Did you find this guide helpful? Is retrieving Wi-Fi passwords less intimidating? Let me know if you have any other questions!