How to Show Wi-Fi Password Being Typed in Mac OS When Joining Networks. This is the same on virtually every version of Mac OS and Mac OS X ever made: Pull down the Wi-Fi menu and choose to join a network as usual from the Mac. Access each computer's AirPort settings and change the password accordingly. Step 1 Click the Apple icon on your Mac's desktop and click 'System Preferences' to open a new window.
Just about everybody who has a laptop has probably connected to several different wireless networks over the course of time. I tend to travel a lot and take my laptop with me everywhere I go, so I literally have over a hundred wireless networks stored on my Mac. This is great because I can easily connect to those wireless networks whenever I’m in range again, even if it’s 6 months later. However, there are times when I need to know the password for the Wifi network, usually because I have to connect another device like my iPhone or iPad to the network. There is no way I ever remember that password any Wifi network other than my own, so I have to get it from somewhere else. If your computer is already connected to the network, it makes perfect sense to just find the key from there. Luckily, it’s very easy to do this in OS X.
All passwords, certificates and other security information is stored in the Keychain program. This is where all your saved passwords for websites, connections to network devices, etc are stored. Find Stored WiFi Password using Keychain First, open Keychain by either searching for it in Spotlight or going to Applications – Utilities. When Keychain Access opens, you’ll see the list of login items by default selected in the left hand column. This list includes application passwords, Internet passwords, network passwords and web form passwords.
![Mac Mac](http://www.whatsmypass.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/mac-network-airport-show-password.png)
To find the passwords for wireless networks, you have to click on System in the top left-hand menu. These should all be categorized as AirPort network password. Now to view the actual password, go ahead and double-click on the wireless network of your choice.
You’ll get a pop up window that’ll list the name of the network and some other details. At the bottom, you’ll see the Show password check box. Go ahead and check that.
Before you get to see the password, you’ll have to type in your OS X password at which point another dialog will pop up saying OS X wants to make changes. Type an administrator’s name and password to allow this. You’ll have to type in your username and password for OS X again. I’m not sure why it required twice, but that’s how it’s working on Mavericks at this point.
![Passwords Passwords](http://blogmines.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Show-WiFi-Password.png)
Once you do this, you’ll finally get the saved Wifi password!
Image: Jesus Vigo Coffee shops, malls, hotels, and now even cars are being made with built-in wireless hotspot features. Wi-Fi access is everywhere! And while it's been made relatively easy enough to connect to access points for consumers, sysadmins face a different challenge when having to manage wireless settings, especially on mobile devices.
For those leveraging mobile device management (MDM) platforms to push settings, this is a non-issue, but if the cost of these suites remains prohibitive or connectivity is spotty, the following Terminal commands can be used to manage Wi-Fi settings in OS X. They can even be incorporated into a script and deployed to remote end users. Before moving forward with the various -based commands, please note that as of OS X 10.8, the AirPort Terminal command, which is what drives some of the changes made to Apple's AirPort wireless connections, has been hidden within the OS and must be referenced directly each time the command is run. To side-step this, run the command below first, which will create a to the AirPort command itself so that it may be referenced each time without having to enter a long string of commands each time. Create a symlink to the AirPort command in Terminal ln -s /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Apple80211.framework/ Versions/Current/Resources/airport /Usr/bin/airport. Network connections list networksetup -listallhardwareports.
Enable or Disable Wi-Fi networksetup -setairportpower en0 on (or off). Secure Wi-Fi Settings airport prefs RequireAdminIBSS=YES RequireAdminPowerToggle=YES RequireAdminNetworkChange=YES Arguments. RequireAdminPowerToggle=yes (or no) Restricts power on/off of Wi-Fi to admins. RequireAdminNetworkChange=yes (or no) Restricts network changes to admins. View available Wi-Fi networks airport -s. Join Wi-Fi network networksetup -setairportnetwork en0 SSIDOFWIRELESSNETWORK WIRELESSNETWORKPASSPHRASE. Create a Wi-Fi network profile networksetup -addpreferredwirelessnetworkatindex en0 SSIDOFNETWORK INDEXNUMBER SECURITYOFWIRELESSNETWORK WIRELESSNETWORKPASSPHRASE Variables SSIDOFNETWORK SSID of the network you wish to join/create a profile of.
INDEXNUMBER Numerical value to assigns a position in the list of preferred wireless networks. A value of '0' adds to the network to the top of the list. SECURITYOFWIRELESSNETWORK Wireless network security type (ex.) WPA2. WIRELESSNETWORKPASSPHRASE Password or passphrase used to authenticate the password-protected network. Delete a Wi-Fi network profile networksetup -removepreferredwirelessnetwork en0 SSIDOFNETWORK.
Remove all stored Wi-Fi network profiles networksetup -removeallpreferredwirelessnetworks en0 Though managing wireless network settings may seem trivial to some, in densely packed office buildings with dozens of Wi-Fi networks broadcasting their signals, data security is a big concern. Configuring wireless endpoints so that they're properly secured against eavesdropping from unauthorized networks is just one way in which network administrators work with system administrators to ensure that secured wireless access is granted through trusted networks and managed accordingly. How do you manage Wi-Fi for Macs in your organization? Share your experience in the discussion thread below. Also see. Related Topics.