{"id":476345,"date":"2022-07-21T16:00:40","date_gmt":"2022-07-21T13:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/how-long-can-you-make-your-wi-fi-password\/"},"modified":"2022-07-21T16:00:40","modified_gmt":"2022-07-21T13:00:40","slug":"how-long-can-you-make-your-wi-fi-password","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-long-can-you-make-your-wi-fi-password\/","title":{"rendered":"#How Long Can You Make Your Wi-Fi Password?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a26265687ce0\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a26265687ce0\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-long-can-you-make-your-wi-fi-password\/#%E2%80%9CHow_Long_Can_You_Make_Your_Wi-Fi_Password%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;How Long Can You Make Your Wi-Fi Password?&#8221;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-long-can-you-make-your-wi-fi-password\/#WEP_The_First_Wi-Fi_Security_Protocol\" >WEP: The First Wi-Fi Security Protocol<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-long-can-you-make-your-wi-fi-password\/#WPA_and_Beyond_Double_the_Password_Length\" >WPA and Beyond: Double the Password Length<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CHow_Long_Can_You_Make_Your_Wi-Fi_Password%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;How Long Can You Make Your Wi-Fi Password?&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"type:primaryImage wp-image-818222 size-full\" data-pagespeed-no-defer=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/WiFiPass3.jpg?width=1198&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"A modern Linksys mesh router.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" data-credittext=\"Linksys\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"type:primaryImage imagecredit\">Linksys<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Wi-Fi network names can be longer than you might think. But what about passwords? Here\u2019s the maximum length for Wi-Fi passwords based on your network\u2019s security protocol.<\/p>\n<p>People tend to groan at very long passwords\u2014who enjoys pecking them out using a TV remote or the tiny touchpad on a network printer, after all? But passwords are important: the longer and more complex, the better.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s a look at the history of Wi-Fi password length from the beginning of the Wi-Fi standard, and how the maximum length has changed as the security protocols have evolved.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re not interested in the history of early Wi-Fi security protocols and passwords, feel free to jump to the last section for a discussion of modern Wi-Fi password requirements.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"WEP_The_First_Wi-Fi_Security_Protocol\"><\/span>WEP: The First Wi-Fi Security Protocol<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<figure style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-818207 size-full\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/WiFiPass2.jpg?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"An early model Linksys router.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" data-credittext=\"Linksys\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Early 802.11b routers were revolutionary but not very secure. <span class=\"imagecredit\">Linksys<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Wi-Fi passwords have been around since the first commercial implementation of Wi-Fi in the late 1990s. The first Wi-Fi security protocol was called Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP). The earliest commercial access points used WEP until better protocols around the mid-2000s superseded it.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re talking about WEP here as a historical curiosity and to thoroughly answer the question at hand. It\u2019s a very old protocol that has been compromised for years, and you should use modern Wi-Fi security protocols instead.<\/p>\n<p>Compared to the way we use Wi-Fi passwords today, the way WEP functioned seems pretty archaic and overly fussy. WEP used a hexadecimal key system\u2014most consumer routers included a key generator in the firmware for user convenience.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-818083 size-full\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/WiFiPass1.jpg?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Example of an old Linksys Wi-Fi router interface, showcasing WEP keys.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" data-credittext=\"Linksys\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Be glad you don\u2019t have to deal with this mess anymore. <span class=\"imagecredit\">Linksys<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Your password or passphrase was used to generate the key was dependent on the level of encryption the version of WEP used. WEP encryption strength ranged from 64-bit in the earliest implementations to 256-bit in the later versions\u2014although 128-bit was the most common.<\/p>\n<p>The shortest password was 5 ASCII characters for 64-bit WEP and would yield a 10-character hexadecimal string. An input like <code>John9<\/code> would generate a key like <span id=\"wep0\" class=\"selected\">\u00a0<code>ZH2J3M5N6P<\/code>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The longest possible password was 29 characters when using 256-bit WEP. An input like <code>WEPsATerribleSecurityProtocol<\/code> would yield a much longer key like \u00a0<code><span id=\"wep0\" class=\"selected\">XFYH2J3K5N6P7R9SATCVDWEYGZH2J4M5N6Q8R9SBUCVDXFYGZJ3K4M6P7Q<\/span><\/code>.<\/p>\n<p>Not only was WEP insecure, but using it was inconvenient. Let\u2019s move on to the present day.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"WPA_and_Beyond_Double_the_Password_Length\"><\/span>WPA and Beyond: Double the Password Length<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<figure style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-818221 size-full\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/MeshRouterPlacement2.jpg?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"An Eero Wi-Fi mesh node sitting on a bookshelf.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" data-credittext=\"Eero\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Modern routers support longer passwords and much better security protocols. <span class=\"imagecredit\">Eero<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) was introduced in 2003 to fix the serious security issues with the WEP security protocol. WPA was, in turn, just an inter<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a>ry while WPA2 was rolled out in 2004.<\/p>\n<p>Much further down the road, in 2018, the Wi-Fi Alliance announced an even better version of WPA, WPA3\u2014we strongly recommend you switch to WPA3 if your router and the devices in your home support it.<\/p>\n<p>If your router doesn\u2019t support WPA3, there\u2019s no time like the present to upgrade. Not only will you get better security, but you\u2019ll also get better speeds and an overall improved experience.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re lumping the entire WPA family of security protocols together in this section\u2014despite the significant security improvements between them over the years\u2014because the password parameters have stayed the same throughout all the iterations.<\/p>\n<p>The enforced minimum length of a WPA password is eight characters, and the maximum length is 63 characters.<\/p>\n<p>Regardless of what you fill your 8-63 character spread with, the characters must be ASCII printable characters which includes <code>A-Z<\/code> , <code> a-z<\/code> , <code>0-9<\/code> , as well as the standard symbols found on a QWERTY-style keyboard like <code>$<\/code> , <code>!<\/code> , and so on\u2014no emoji allowed.<\/p>\n<p>Even though you can stick to a short password, you shouldn\u2019t. Between a weak 8-character password like <code>NoWEP4Me<\/code> and a very strong maximum length 63-character password like <code>WEPsATerribleSecurityProtocolSoUseWPA3WithRandomSymbols&amp;^2*!5$%<\/code> , we recommend you err on the lengthier side.<\/p>\n<p>Putting aside potential security vulnerabilities and looking at it only from a raw computing standpoint, the former example would take under an hour to brute force crack, and the latter would take trillions of years. No need to use a 63-character password, but do aim for at least 12-16 characters with plenty of variation and symbols or consider a passphrase.<\/p>\n<p>Believe it or not, from a computational processing standpoint, a plain English passphrase you can easily remember like <code>I Love Deep Dish Pizza!<\/code> is harder to brute force than something much more difficult to remember like <code>Pizza2!44@$%!3%2<\/code> .<\/p>\n<p>While you\u2019re thinking about passwords, now is a great time to brush up on what makes for a strong password. And, while you\u2019re at it, consider using a password manager. If you don\u2019t have to remember the password, whether or not it\u2019s memorable is irrelevant!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n setTimeout(function(){\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s) } (window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n   fbq('init', '335401813750447');\n   fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  },3000);\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. 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But what about passwords? Here\u2019s the maximum length for Wi-Fi passwords based on your network\u2019s security protocol. People tend to groan at very long passwords\u2014who enjoys pecking them out using a TV remote or the tiny&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":476346,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/WiFiPass3.jpg?height=200p&trim=2,2,2,2","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-476345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=476345"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476345\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/476346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=476345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=476345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=476345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}