Resetting Your Airport Utility Password: A Step-By-Step Guide

how to recover airport utility password

If you've forgotten your Airport Utility password, there are several ways to recover it. One way is to perform a soft reset, which will disable all base station passwords for up to five minutes, allowing you to access the base station and change your passwords. Alternatively, you can use the AirPort Utility program to view all the passwords associated with a base station. You can also try using the Keychain Access application to view the passwords stored on your keychain. Finally, if you're using an iOS device, you can tap on the appropriate AirPort base station and then tap on Edit to access your wireless security and base station passwords.

shunhotel

Using the AirPort Utility from an iOS device

If you have AirPort Utility for the iPhone or iPad set up on your iOS device, and you enabled the option to "remember" passwords, it should not take you long to find the old passwords in the iOS version of AirPort Utility.

If you are still unable to locate the old passwords, you can try performing a "soft" reset. This will temporarily disable all of the base station's passwords for up to five minutes, giving you time to access the base station with the AirPort Utility to change any of the passwords.

If the soft reset method does not work, the passwords were not stored correctly. You will need to perform a Soft Reset for the AirPort using AirPort Utility for the Mac.

If you don't want to change your passwords, you can try to retrieve the existing ones. To do this, go to the Applications:Utilities folder and launch Keychain Access. Make sure "login" is selected from the Keychains list on the left and "All Items" is selected from the Category list on the left side of the window. Double-click on your base station from the main list. It will be of "Kind" 'AirPort Disk password' and will have the name you assigned the device during setup. Select the "Attributes" tab from the Info window that opens and then click the "Show password" checkbox. You will be asked to log in using the 'login' keychain password, which is likely the password for the administrator account on your Mac.

You can also enter the following command in the Terminal app to retrieve the wireless security password from the Keychain:

> security find-generic-password -ga ""

Where "network-name" is the Network Name (SSID) of your AirPort's wireless network. The password will be listed after the "Password:" key.

shunhotel

Retrieving the wireless security password from the Keychain

If you've forgotten your AirPort's wireless security password, there are a few ways to retrieve or reset it.

Using the Keychain

Firstly, you can use the Keychain to retrieve the wireless security password. In the top-left-side window, under 'Keychains', select 'login'. In the bottom-left-side window, under 'Category', select 'Passwords'. In the right-side window, under the 'Name' column, look for your Wi-Fi network's Network Name (or BSSID). Double-click on your network name listing. If required, enter your Mac's administrator account password. Your Wi-Fi network's wireless security password should now be displayed.

Alternatively, you can enter the following command in the Terminal app to retrieve the wireless security password from the Keychain:

Security find-generic-password -ga ""

Where network-name would be the Network Name (aka SSID) of your AirPort's wireless network. The password would be listed after the "Password:" key. For example, if your AirPort's wireless network name is "mywirelessnetwork", the command would be:

Security find-generic-password -ga "mywirelessnetwork"

Using AirPort Utility

Another way to retrieve your password is by using the AirPort Utility. Run the AirPort Utility and select the AirPort base station, then select 'Edit'. From the AirPort Utility's menu bar, select 'Base Station > Show Passwords'. Both the Wi-Fi security and base station password should now be displayed.

Performing a Reset

If you don't want to change your password, but simply want to retrieve it, you can perform a "soft" reset. This type of reset will temporarily disable all of the base station's passwords for up to five minutes, giving you time to access the base station and change the passwords.

shunhotel

Resetting your AirPort Extreme

A soft reset will reset the base station password and disable security for up to 5 minutes, allowing you to join the network and make changes. If no changes are made within 5 minutes, the base station will revert to its former settings. To perform a soft reset, make sure your base station is connected to power. Then, press and hold the reset button, which is located next to the ports, for about 5 seconds, until the status light on the base station flashes amber rapidly. Release the button and wait about a minute for the base station to finish restarting.

If you are using an AirPort Graphite or AirPort Snow (Dual Ethernet) base station, you will need to connect your computer directly to the base station using an Ethernet cable. During the soft reset, the middle LED will blink once every second. The base station password will be set to "public" and the IP address will be reset. You can connect to the reset base station using the following manual network settings on your computer: From the Wi-Fi status menu, choose the network created by the base station. Unless you have been given an IP address by your Internet Service Provider or system administrator, do not change the IP address.

A hard reset will reset the base station to an unconfigured state but will retain the last saved configuration and any profiles, allowing you to restore your base station from previous settings. To perform a hard reset, or a factory default reset, unplug the base station from power. Then, press and hold the reset button with a pen or straightened paperclip for about 5 seconds, until you see the three status lights glow. Release the button and the base station will factory default reset.

After performing either type of reset, you can open AirPort Utility to change the password or reconfigure the base station as needed. AirPort Utility can be found in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder on a Mac, and in Start > All Programs > AirPort on a computer using Windows. If AirPort Utility isn't installed on your computer, you can download it from Apple's website.

shunhotel

Using the AirPort Utility on a Mac

If you've forgotten your AirPort Utility password, there are a few ways to recover it. Firstly, it's important to note that there are three password types that can be used with an AirPort Extreme base station, AirPort Express base station, or a Time Capsule. The steps to recovering your password may differ depending on which type of password you need to retrieve.

Open the AirPort Utility application on your Mac. You can find it in Applications > Utilities. Once open, select the AirPort Base Station or Time Capsule that you're trying to access. If you don't have physical access to the base station, you can perform a "soft" reset. This will temporarily disable all passwords for up to five minutes, giving you time to access the base station and change the passwords.

If you want to retrieve the existing password without performing a reset, follow these steps:

Select the AirPort Base Station and click "Edit". From the AirPort Utility menu bar, select "Base Station" and then "Show Passwords". You should now be able to see both the Wi-Fi security and base station passwords. Alternatively, you can use the Terminal app to retrieve the wireless security password from the Keychain. Enter the following command: "security find-generic-password -ga "," where "network-name" is the SSID of your AirPort's wireless network.

Please note that the airport's base station password is different from the Wi-fi network's password. The base station password is meant to access the airport's wireless settings via AirPort Utility.

shunhotel

Using the AirPort Utility on a Windows computer

If you're using a Windows computer, you can download and install Airport Utility for Windows to administer your Airport router from your PC. Here's how:

Download and Install Airport Utility for Windows:

  • Visit the Airport Utility download page and click "Download Airport Utility for Windows."
  • Select "I accept the terms in the license agreement" and click Next.
  • Select Install.
  • When prompted by the User Account Control window, select Yes.

Using Airport Utility for Windows:

Once Airport Utility is installed, you can use it to configure and manage your Airport router. Here are some common tasks:

  • Selecting a Base Station: Open Airport Utility in Start > All Programs > Airport. Select the AirPort Base Station or Time Capsule you want to set up and click Manual Setup. Enter the password if necessary.
  • Restoring Default Settings: From the Base Station menu, select "Restore Default Settings." Click Continue to confirm that you want to erase the device and restore default settings. This will not affect files on AirPort disks.
  • Factory Reset: If your AirPort Base Station is inaccessible from Airport Utility, you can perform a factory reset. Unplug the Base Station from power, then press and hold the reset button while plugging it back in. Hold the button until the light (LED) flashes rapidly.
  • Viewing Passwords: If you've forgotten your wireless security or base station password, you can view them using Airport Utility. Run the utility, select your AirPort base station, and then select Edit. From the menu bar, select Base Station > Show Passwords. Both passwords will be displayed.
  • Retrieving Passwords from Keychain: If you're using a Mac, you can retrieve the wireless security password from the Keychain. Open the Keychain app and select "login" under Keychains in the top-left window. In the bottom-left window, select "Passwords" under Category. Look for your Wi-Fi network's Network Name (or BSSID) in the right-side window, and the password will be listed.

Frequently asked questions

Start by opening the AirPort Utility program, which lives within /Applications/Utilities. Once you launch AirPort Utility, you’ll see a list of your devices at the bottom. Click on one to select it, and if your Mac already knows the base station password and allows you to access its info, great! If it doesn’t, you’ll have to look through Keychain Access for that info.

Locate Keychain Access and then open it by double-clicking on it. This application lets you view the passwords (keys) stored on your keychain. Type in the name of your wireless network and click on the name of your wireless network from the list of found items. It’ll be on the “login” keychain. Go to the File menu and select Get Info. In the lower-left corner of the Get Info window, check the box named “Show Password.”

Open AirPort Utility and select the AirPort base station, then select Edit. From the AirPort Utility's menu bar, select Base Station > Show Passwords. The wireless security and base station password should now be displayed.

Unplug the AirPort Base Station from its power source. Press and hold the reset button with a pen or pencil, then plug the AirPort Base Station back in while continuing to hold the button until you see the light (LED) flash rapidly.

Written by
Reviewed by

Explore related products

Share this post
Print
Did this article help you?

Leave a comment