Suppose you have added multiple wifi networks in Windows 11 or in Windows 10, and you will format or reset your PC. In that case, it may be recommended to backup the wifi networks and associated wifi settings.
Backing up the added wifi networks in Windows, including the settings, helps you import the settings quickly.
Backing up eliminates the need to apply complicated settings and remember complicated wifi passwords. This ultimately saves time. You don’t have to add all the wifi networks again and reconnect to them. All wifi networks and their settings are immediately available after importing the wifi backup.
How to back-up WiFi Networks and WiFi Settings
To back up the wifi settings, you can use the Command Prompt.
Click on the Start button and search for “Command Prompt”. Then, right-click on it and click “Run as Administrator”.
Show all wifi profiles
To get started, we will first query all the wifi profiles. If any wifi profiles are available, then we can export them. Export, in this case, is another word for backup.
You can do this by entering the following command in the Command Prompt.
netsh wlan show profiles
In the column “User profiles” you will see all saved wifi profiles. You can export these wifi profiles. If you export, then you will make a backup of them.
These wifi profiles are the data for the network in question and contain all the information needed to connect to it.
After exporting, you need to secure the data yourself, for example, on an external hard disk or network location.
Back-up wifi profiles
Before we start exporting the wifi data, create a folder in a location of your choice to export the wifi data to. This can be a folder on the C drive, for example, c:\wifi-backup\.
Then enter the following command to create a wifi backup of all the added wifi networks and settings on your PC.
netsh wlan export profile key=clear folder=c:\wifi-backup\
You have now backed up all the wifi networks on your PC with settings and associated passwords. This wifi backup file is saved as an XML file in the location you set.
Restore the wifi profiles
Now, to restore the wifi profiles we backed up on another PC or on the same PC, enter the following command.
netsh wlan add profile filename="c:\wifi-backup\Wi-Fi-AE.xml" user=all
Make sure that “filename” refers to the XML file containing the wifi profiles backup, and user is set to “all”. This means that the wifi profiles will be restored for all Windows users on the PC.
This way, you are backing up all Wi-Fi networks and their settings. You then put this wifi backup file(s) in a safe location. After that, you can restore the wifi networks and settings.
I hope this has helped you. Thanks for reading!
Also read: How to Automatically Connect to the Best Wifi access point
