PowerShell WiFi

WiFi Quick Reference

Scan-Before-Connect Gotcha

netsh wlan connect name="SSID" will fail with "network not available" if the adapter hasn’t scanned since boot or since moving locations. Always disconnect first — the adapter scans automatically when disconnected:

netsh wlan disconnect interface="Wi-Fi"
Start-Sleep -Seconds 3
netsh wlan connect name="CHLA-Remote" interface="Wi-Fi"

Current connection

netsh wlan show interfaces | Select-String -Pattern "State|SSID|Signal|Authentication|Channel"

Saved profiles

netsh wlan show profiles
netsh wlan show profile name="CHLA_Staff"
netsh wlan show profile name="test-wifi" key=clear

Connect reliably

netsh wlan disconnect interface="Wi-Fi"
Start-Sleep -Seconds 3
netsh wlan connect name="CHLA-Remote" interface="Wi-Fi"

Signal strength

$sig = (netsh wlan show interfaces) -match '^\s+Signal' -replace '^\s+Signal\s+:\s+',''
Write-Host "Signal: $sig"

Export all profiles (backup)

netsh wlan export profile folder="$env:TEMP" key=clear

Extract all saved passwords

(netsh wlan show profiles) -match "All User Profile" -replace ".*:\s+", "" | ForEach-Object {
    $name = $_
    $pass = (netsh wlan show profile name="$name" key=clear) -match "Key Content" -replace ".*:\s+", ""
    [PSCustomObject]@{
        Profile  = $name
        Password = if($pass){$pass}else{"(enterprise/none)"}
    }
} | Format-Table -AutoSize

WiFi Management

WiFi Management (netsh wlan Replacement)

Get WiFi adapter

Get-NetAdapter | Where-Object { $_.InterfaceDescription -match 'Wi-Fi|Wireless' }

See available WiFi networks (what you can connect to NOW)

netsh wlan show networks

Available networks with signal strength and security

netsh wlan show networks mode=bssid

Parse available networks into objects

$networks = @()
$current = @{}
netsh wlan show networks mode=bssid | ForEach-Object {
    if ($_ -match "^SSID \d+ : (.*)") {
        if ($current.SSID) { $networks += [PSCustomObject]$current }
        $current = @{SSID = $matches[1]}
    }
    if ($_ -match "Signal\s+: (\d+)%") { $current.Signal = $matches[1] }
    if ($_ -match "Authentication\s+: (.*)") { $current.Auth = $matches[1].Trim() }
    if ($_ -match "BSSID \d+\s+: (.*)") { $current.BSSID = $matches[1].Trim() }
    if ($_ -match "Channel\s+: (\d+)") { $current.Channel = $matches[1] }
}
if ($current.SSID) { $networks += [PSCustomObject]$current }
$networks | Sort-Object Signal -Descending | Format-Table SSID, Signal, Auth, Channel, BSSID

Force rescan for networks

# Disable/enable adapter to force rescan
$adapter = Get-NetAdapter | Where-Object { $_.InterfaceDescription -match 'Wi-Fi|Wireless' }
Disable-NetAdapter -Name $adapter.Name -Confirm:$false
Start-Sleep -Seconds 2
Enable-NetAdapter -Name $adapter.Name -Confirm:$false
Start-Sleep -Seconds 5
netsh wlan show networks

List saved WiFi profiles (networks you HAVE connected to)

netsh wlan show profiles

List just profile names

(netsh wlan show profiles) -match "All User Profile" -replace ".*:\s+", ""

List saved WiFi profiles (PowerShell parsing)

Get-ChildItem "$env:ProgramData\Microsoft\Wlansvc\Profiles\Interfaces" -Recurse -Filter "*.xml" |
    ForEach-Object {
        [xml]$profile = Get-Content $_.FullName
        [PSCustomObject]@{
            Name = $profile.WLANProfile.name
            SSID = $profile.WLANProfile.SSIDConfig.SSID.name
            Auth = $profile.WLANProfile.MSM.security.authEncryption.authentication
        }
    }

Scan for available networks

netsh wlan show networks mode=bssid

Connect to saved WiFi profile

netsh wlan connect name="MyNetwork"

netsh wlan connect does NOT trigger a network scan. If the adapter hasn’t scanned since boot or since moving locations, you get: "The network specified by profile is not available to connect." Disconnect first — the adapter scans automatically when disconnected.

Connect reliably — disconnect first to force scan

netsh wlan disconnect interface="Wi-Fi"
Start-Sleep -Seconds 3
netsh wlan connect name="CHLA-Remote" interface="Wi-Fi"

Connect to WiFi on specific interface

netsh wlan connect name="MyNetwork" interface="Wi-Fi"

Disconnect from WiFi

netsh wlan disconnect interface="Wi-Fi"

Export WiFi profile with password (Admin)

netsh wlan export profile name="MyNetwork" folder="$env:TEMP" key=clear

Import WiFi profile

netsh wlan add profile filename="$env:TEMP\Wi-Fi-MyNetwork.xml"

Delete WiFi profile

netsh wlan delete profile name="MyNetwork"

Create WPA2-PSK WiFi profile programmatically

$profileXml = @"
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<WLANProfile xmlns="http://www.microsoft.com/networking/WLAN/profile/v1">
    <name>NewNetwork</name>
    <SSIDConfig>
        <SSID>
            <name>NewNetwork</name>
        </SSID>
    </SSIDConfig>
    <connectionType>ESS</connectionType>
    <connectionMode>auto</connectionMode>
    <MSM>
        <security>
            <authEncryption>
                <authentication>WPA2PSK</authentication>
                <encryption>AES</encryption>
                <useOneX>false</useOneX>
            </authEncryption>
            <sharedKey>
                <keyType>passPhrase</keyType>
                <protected>false</protected>
                <keyMaterial>YourPasswordHere</keyMaterial>
            </sharedKey>
        </security>
    </MSM>
</WLANProfile>
"@
$profileXml | Out-File "$env:TEMP\wifi-profile.xml"
netsh wlan add profile filename="$env:TEMP\wifi-profile.xml"

Show current WiFi connection

netsh wlan show interfaces

Get WiFi status (PowerShell)

Get-NetAdapter -Name "Wi-Fi" | Select-Object Name, Status, LinkSpeed
Get-NetConnectionProfile -InterfaceAlias "Wi-Fi" | Select-Object Name, NetworkCategory, IPv4Connectivity

Set network category (Private/Public/Domain)

Set-NetConnectionProfile -InterfaceAlias "Wi-Fi" -NetworkCategory Private

Get WiFi signal strength

$sig = (netsh wlan show interfaces) -match '^\s+Signal' -replace '^\s+Signal\s+:\s+',''
Write-Host "Signal: $sig"

Monitor WiFi signal continuously

while ($true) {
    $sig = ((netsh wlan show interfaces) -match '^\s+Signal') -replace '.*:\s+',''
    $ssid = ((netsh wlan show interfaces) -match '^\s+SSID') -replace '.*:\s+',''
    Write-Host "$(Get-Date -Format 'HH:mm:ss') - SSID: $ssid - Signal: $sig"
    Start-Sleep -Seconds 5
}

View saved profile with password (Admin)

netsh wlan show profile name="MyNetwork" key=clear

Extract just the password from profile

$profile = "MyNetwork"
(netsh wlan show profile name="$profile" key=clear) -match "Key Content" -replace ".*:\s+", ""

View ALL saved profiles with passwords (Admin)

(netsh wlan show profiles) -match "All User Profile" -replace ".*:\s+", "" | ForEach-Object {
    $name = $_
    $pass = (netsh wlan show profile name="$name" key=clear) -match "Key Content" -replace ".*:\s+", ""
    [PSCustomObject]@{
        Profile  = $name
        Password = if($pass){$pass}else{"(none/enterprise)"}
    }
} | Format-Table -AutoSize

Get detailed info for all profiles

(netsh wlan show profiles) -match "All User Profile" -replace ".*:\s+", "" | ForEach-Object {
    $name = $_
    $details = netsh wlan show profile name="$name"
    $connMode = ($details -match "Connection mode") -replace ".*:\s+", ""
    $auth = ($details -match "Authentication") -replace ".*:\s+", "" | Select-Object -First 1
    $cipher = ($details -match "Cipher") -replace ".*:\s+", "" | Select-Object -First 1
    [PSCustomObject]@{
        Profile    = $name
        AutoConnect = $connMode
        Auth       = $auth
        Cipher     = $cipher
    }
} | Format-Table -AutoSize

Remove/forget WiFi network

netsh wlan delete profile name="NetworkToForget"

Remove all saved WiFi profiles (careful!)

netsh wlan delete profile name=* i=*

Remove profiles matching pattern

(netsh wlan show profiles) -match "All User Profile" -replace ".*:\s+", "" |
    Where-Object { $_ -match "Guest|Public|Free" } |
    ForEach-Object {
        Write-Host "Removing: $_"
        netsh wlan delete profile name="$_"
    }

WiFi connection history (Event Log)

Get-WinEvent -LogName "Microsoft-Windows-WLAN-AutoConfig/Operational" -MaxEvents 50 |
    Where-Object { $_.Id -eq 8001 -or $_.Id -eq 8003 } |  # 8001=connected, 8003=disconnected
    Select-Object TimeCreated,
        @{N='Event';E={if($_.Id -eq 8001){"Connected"}else{"Disconnected"}}},
        @{N='Details';E={$_.Message.Split("`n")[0]}}

WiFi adapter statistics

$wifi = Get-NetAdapter | Where-Object { $_.InterfaceDescription -match 'Wi-Fi|Wireless' }
Get-NetAdapterStatistics -Name $wifi.Name | Select-Object @{N='Adapter';E={$wifi.Name}},
    @{N='ReceivedMB';E={[math]::Round($_.ReceivedBytes/1MB,2)}},
    @{N='SentMB';E={[math]::Round($_.SentBytes/1MB,2)}},
    ReceivedUnicastPackets, SentUnicastPackets,
    ReceivedDiscards, OutboundDiscards

WiFi connection quality metrics

$iface = netsh wlan show interfaces
$props = @{}
$iface | ForEach-Object {
    if ($_ -match "^\s+(.+?)\s+:\s+(.+)") { $props[$matches[1].Trim()] = $matches[2].Trim() }
}
[PSCustomObject]@{
    SSID         = $props['SSID']
    BSSID        = $props['BSSID']
    Signal       = $props['Signal']
    TxRate       = $props['Transmit rate (Mbps)']
    RxRate       = $props['Receive rate (Mbps)']
    RadioType    = $props['Radio type']
    Channel      = $props['Channel']
    Auth         = $props['Authentication']
}

Compare available vs saved networks

$saved = (netsh wlan show profiles) -match "All User Profile" -replace ".*:\s+", ""
$available = @()
netsh wlan show networks | ForEach-Object {
    if ($_ -match "^SSID \d+ : (.+)") { $available += $matches[1] }
}

Write-Host "=== Available networks with saved profile ===" -ForegroundColor Green
$available | Where-Object { $_ -in $saved } | ForEach-Object { Write-Host "  $_" }

Write-Host "`n=== Available networks (no saved profile) ===" -ForegroundColor Yellow
$available | Where-Object { $_ -notin $saved -and $_ -ne "" } | ForEach-Object { Write-Host "  $_" }

Write-Host "`n=== Saved profiles (not in range) ===" -ForegroundColor Cyan
$saved | Where-Object { $_ -notin $available } | ForEach-Object { Write-Host "  $_" }

WiFi Profile XML Management

WiFi XML Profile Management

Location of WiFi profile XML files

# Profiles stored here (Admin access required)
$profilePath = "$env:ProgramData\Microsoft\Wlansvc\Profiles\Interfaces"
Get-ChildItem $profilePath -Recurse -Filter "*.xml" | Select-Object FullName, LastWriteTime

Export single profile to XML

netsh wlan export profile name="MyNetwork" folder="$env:TEMP" key=clear
Get-Content "$env:TEMP\Wi-Fi-MyNetwork.xml"

Export ALL profiles to folder

$exportPath = "$env:TEMP\wifi-profiles"
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $exportPath -Force | Out-Null
netsh wlan export profile folder="$exportPath" key=clear
Get-ChildItem $exportPath -Filter "*.xml" | Select-Object Name, Length

Parse XML profile structure

$xmlFile = "$env:TEMP\Wi-Fi-MyNetwork.xml"
[xml]$profile = Get-Content $xmlFile

Write-Host "Name: $($profile.WLANProfile.name)"
Write-Host "SSID: $($profile.WLANProfile.SSIDConfig.SSID.name)"
Write-Host "Connection Type: $($profile.WLANProfile.connectionType)"
Write-Host "Connection Mode: $($profile.WLANProfile.connectionMode)"
Write-Host "Authentication: $($profile.WLANProfile.MSM.security.authEncryption.authentication)"
Write-Host "Encryption: $($profile.WLANProfile.MSM.security.authEncryption.encryption)"
Write-Host "UseOneX: $($profile.WLANProfile.MSM.security.authEncryption.useOneX)"

View password from XML (if exported with key=clear)

[xml]$profile = Get-Content "$env:TEMP\Wi-Fi-MyNetwork.xml"
$keyMaterial = $profile.WLANProfile.MSM.security.sharedKey.keyMaterial
if ($keyMaterial) {
    Write-Host "Password: $keyMaterial"
} else {
    Write-Host "No PSK (likely enterprise 802.1X profile)"
}

Parse all exported profiles into table

$exportPath = "$env:TEMP\wifi-profiles"
Get-ChildItem $exportPath -Filter "*.xml" | ForEach-Object {
    [xml]$profile = Get-Content $_.FullName
    $sec = $profile.WLANProfile.MSM.security
    [PSCustomObject]@{
        Name       = $profile.WLANProfile.name
        SSID       = $profile.WLANProfile.SSIDConfig.SSID.name
        Auth       = $sec.authEncryption.authentication
        Cipher     = $sec.authEncryption.encryption
        UseOneX    = $sec.authEncryption.useOneX
        AutoConnect = $profile.WLANProfile.connectionMode
        Password   = if($sec.sharedKey.keyMaterial){$sec.sharedKey.keyMaterial}else{"N/A"}
    }
} | Format-Table -AutoSize

Import WiFi profile from XML

netsh wlan add profile filename="$env:TEMP\Wi-Fi-MyNetwork.xml"

Import profile for all users

netsh wlan add profile filename="$env:TEMP\Wi-Fi-MyNetwork.xml" user=all

Import all profiles from folder

$importPath = "$env:TEMP\wifi-profiles"
Get-ChildItem $importPath -Filter "*.xml" | ForEach-Object {
    Write-Host "Importing: $($_.Name)"
    netsh wlan add profile filename="$($_.FullName)" user=all
}

Modify profile XML (change auto-connect)

$xmlFile = "$env:TEMP\Wi-Fi-MyNetwork.xml"
[xml]$profile = Get-Content $xmlFile

# Change from manual to auto-connect
$profile.WLANProfile.connectionMode = "auto"  # or "manual"

$profile.Save($xmlFile)
Write-Host "Modified. Re-import with: netsh wlan add profile filename=`"$xmlFile`""

Modify profile XML (change network to hidden SSID)

[xml]$profile = Get-Content "$env:TEMP\Wi-Fi-MyNetwork.xml"

# Add nonBroadcast element for hidden networks
$ssidConfig = $profile.WLANProfile.SSIDConfig
$nonBroadcast = $profile.CreateElement("nonBroadcast", $profile.DocumentElement.NamespaceURI)
$nonBroadcast.InnerText = "true"
$ssidConfig.AppendChild($nonBroadcast) | Out-Null

$profile.Save("$env:TEMP\Wi-Fi-MyNetwork-Hidden.xml")

Create new WPA2-PSK profile from scratch

function New-WifiProfile {
    param(
        [string]$SSID,
        [string]$Password,
        [string]$OutputPath = "$env:TEMP"
    )

$xml = @"
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<WLANProfile xmlns="http://www.microsoft.com/networking/WLAN/profile/v1">
    <name>$SSID</name>
    <SSIDConfig>
        <SSID>
            <hex>$([System.BitConverter]::ToString([System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8.GetBytes($SSID)) -replace '-','')</hex>
            <name>$SSID</name>
        </SSID>
    </SSIDConfig>
    <connectionType>ESS</connectionType>
    <connectionMode>auto</connectionMode>
    <MSM>
        <security>
            <authEncryption>
                <authentication>WPA2PSK</authentication>
                <encryption>AES</encryption>
                <useOneX>false</useOneX>
            </authEncryption>
            <sharedKey>
                <keyType>passPhrase</keyType>
                <protected>false</protected>
                <keyMaterial>$Password</keyMaterial>
            </sharedKey>
        </security>
    </MSM>
</WLANProfile>
"@

    $outFile = Join-Path $OutputPath "Wi-Fi-$SSID.xml"
    $xml | Out-File $outFile -Encoding UTF8
    Write-Host "Created: $outFile"
    return $outFile
}

# Usage
$file = New-WifiProfile -SSID "HomeNetwork" -Password "MySecretPass123"
netsh wlan add profile filename="$file"

Create WPA3 profile

$wpa3Profile = @"
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<WLANProfile xmlns="http://www.microsoft.com/networking/WLAN/profile/v1">
    <name>WPA3Network</name>
    <SSIDConfig>
        <SSID><name>WPA3Network</name></SSID>
    </SSIDConfig>
    <connectionType>ESS</connectionType>
    <connectionMode>auto</connectionMode>
    <MSM>
        <security>
            <authEncryption>
                <authentication>WPA3SAE</authentication>
                <encryption>AES</encryption>
                <useOneX>false</useOneX>
            </authEncryption>
            <sharedKey>
                <keyType>passPhrase</keyType>
                <protected>false</protected>
                <keyMaterial>YourWPA3Password</keyMaterial>
            </sharedKey>
        </security>
    </MSM>
</WLANProfile>
"@
$wpa3Profile | Out-File "$env:TEMP\wpa3-profile.xml" -Encoding UTF8
netsh wlan add profile filename="$env:TEMP\wpa3-profile.xml"

Backup all profiles with metadata

$backupPath = "$env:USERPROFILE\wifi-backup-$(Get-Date -Format 'yyyyMMdd')"
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $backupPath -Force | Out-Null

# Export profiles
netsh wlan export profile folder="$backupPath" key=clear

# Create metadata file
$profiles = (netsh wlan show profiles) -match "All User Profile" -replace ".*:\s+", ""
$metadata = $profiles | ForEach-Object {
    [PSCustomObject]@{
        Name = $_
        ExportDate = Get-Date -Format 'yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss'
        ComputerName = $env:COMPUTERNAME
    }
}
$metadata | Export-Csv "$backupPath\metadata.csv" -NoTypeInformation
Write-Host "Backed up $($profiles.Count) profiles to: $backupPath"

Restore profiles from backup

$backupPath = "$env:USERPROFILE\wifi-backup-20260303"
Get-ChildItem $backupPath -Filter "*.xml" | ForEach-Object {
    Write-Host "Restoring: $($_.BaseName)"
    netsh wlan add profile filename="$($_.FullName)" user=all
}