How to retrieve SSID when not in range

January 2, 2013 12:29 PM

I need to retrieve the SSID of a wifi network that is not in range from either an iPhone or an old hard drive.

I need to configure a new device to connect to this network when the person I give it to returns there. I previously connected to this network from an iPhone 4 that is running iOS 5, but I can't figure out how I can retrieve it without being in range of the network. I'm willing to jailbreak it if I absolutely have to.

I also have a hard drive that was the OS drive for a Windows 7 laptop that has also connected to this network. I don't have the machine itself, but can hook the drive up to my new machine and browse the content if the SSID is stored somewhere on there.

posted by IanMorr to computers & internet (5 answers total)

Windows likely stores that in the registry someplace - here's a thread covering it for Windows8, which might put you on the right track. If you are using a live Linux CD to mount the old HD, it looks like you can use this widget to peruse the registry.
posted by jquinby at 12:37 PM on January 2

And here is a similar method for finding old SSIDs in WindowsXP.
posted by procrastination at 1:06 PM on January 2

You can get the files here but they're obfuscated.

If you can log in to the Windows instance you can export it to a readable file with this command:

netsh wlan export profile name="profilename" key=clear
posted by odinsdream at 1:33 PM on January 2

If you jailbreak your iPhone, from Cydia you can download WiFiPass (you'll need to add the BigBoss repository). This app displays all of the SSIDs and passwords for the networks you have previously connected to on your device.
posted by Nerro at 2:11 AM on January 3

Jailbreaking and WiFiPass worked great. Thanks. Couldn't figure out how to get it off the hard drive.
posted by IanMorr at 1:40 PM on January 12