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What’s My Wi-Fi Security Type? (and Why It Matters)

Your Wi-Fi security type is the protocol, such as WPA2 or WPA3, that encrypts your connection and controls who can join your network. Every device lets you check it in a few taps.

Key Points

  • Your Wi-Fi security type is the encryption protocol (WEP, WPA, WPA2, or WPA3) shown in your device’s Wi-Fi settings.
  • WEP and WPA are outdated and easy to crack, while WPA2 is today’s baseline and WPA3 adds even stronger protection.
  • Windows, macOS, iPhone, and Android each show your security type in a slightly different Wi-Fi settings menu.
  • You can change your security type in your router’s admin panel, though older devices may need updating too.
  • Home networks use “Personal” mode with one shared password; businesses use “Enterprise” mode with 802.1X and RADIUS.

If you’ve typed “what security type is my Wi-Fi” into a search bar, you probably got a warning message, a new router, or an IT policy telling you to check. It’s a fair question. The wrong security type leaves your network open to anyone nearby with basic hacking tools, while the right one keeps your traffic encrypted and your access controlled.

This guide covers what a Wi-Fi security type actually is, how to check it on every major device, what to do if your phone flags “weak security,” and how organizations move beyond a single shared password entirely.

What Is a Wi-Fi Security Type?

A Wi-Fi security type is the protocol that encrypts traffic between your devices and your router. That decides how a device proves it is allowed to join the network in the first place. You’ll usually see it listed as a short label, such as “WPA2-Personal (AES)” or “WPA3-Personal (SAE),” inside your router’s settings or your device’s Wi-Fi menu.

The security type is not the same thing as your Wi-Fi password. The password is the credential; the security type is the method used to check that credential and scramble your data once you’re connected.

A strong password on an outdated protocol still leaves your traffic exposed. The weakness lives in the encryption method itself, not the password strength.

The Wi-Fi Security Protocols Explained

Four protocols show up in router settings today, and only two of them are still considered safe to use.

Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP)

Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) was the original encryption method built into the 802.11 wireless standard. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) formally deprecated WEP-40 and WEP-104 in 2004 with the 802.11i amendment, after researchers showed the encryption could be broken in minutes. If your router still offers WEP as an option, treat any network running it as unprotected, regardless of how long the password is.

Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA)

Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) arrived as a stopgap while the industry finished the stronger 802.11i standard. It used Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP), an improvement over WEP’s flawed key handling, but TKIP has its own known weaknesses and is no longer considered secure on its own.

WPA2

WPA2 implements the mandatory elements of the IEEE 802.11i standard and made AES-CCMP encryption mandatory. It became a requirement for every Wi-Fi Certified product starting in 2006. WPA2 is still the most widely deployed Wi-Fi security type, and WPA2 with AES encryption remains an acceptable baseline for most home and small business networks.

WPA3

WPA3 is the current generation and is now mandatory for new Wi-Fi Certified devices. The mandate took effect for newly certified devices starting in July 2020. WPA3 replaces the older pre-shared key exchange with Simultaneous Authentication of Equals (SAE), a handshake that resists offline dictionary attacks and adds forward secrecy, so a captured password from one session can’t be used to decrypt earlier traffic.

How to Check Your Wi-Fi Security Type

The exact menu wording changes by device, but every platform surfaces the same underlying information.

Windows 10 and 11

On Windows, you can find your security type through the Settings menu in a few steps:

  1. Open Settings, then go to Network & internet, then Wi-Fi.
  2. Select your connected network and click Properties.
  3. Find the “Security type” field, which shows your protocol directly.

If you’d rather use a command, open Command Prompt and run netsh wlan show interfaces, which lists the authentication method and cipher for your active connection.

macOS

On a Mac, the quickest route is through the menu bar:

  1. Hold the Option key and click the Wi-Fi icon in the menu bar.
  2. Read your network’s security protocol from the dropdown, which also shows signal strength and channel.

Alternatively, open System Settings, select Wi-Fi, and click the Details button next to your connected network.

iPhone (iOS)

On an iPhone, the security type lives on the network detail screen:

  1. Open Settings, then tap Wi-Fi.
  2. Tap the info icon next to your connected network name.
  3. Find the security type at the top of that detail screen.

This screen is also where iOS displays a “Weak Security” note if your network needs attention, covered below.

Android

On Android, the steps are similar, though the exact wording varies by manufacturer:

  1. Open Settings, then Network & internet (some devices, like Samsung, use “Connections”).
  2. Tap Wi-Fi, then tap your connected network name.
  3. Find the security field alongside the signal and IP details.

Samsung, Pixel, and other Android devices word this screen slightly differently, but the security type is always visible somewhere on it.

Why Your Phone Might Say ‘Weak Security’

If your iPhone or iPad shows a “Weak Security” warning, it means your router is running WPA or WPA2 with TKIP encryption or WEP instead of the newer AES cipher.

A “Weak Security” warning doesn’t mean your network has already been breached. It means the cipher your router negotiated with your phone has known cracking techniques, and Apple is flagging it so you’ll fix it before it becomes a problem.

The fix is the same either way: log into your router and switch the wireless security setting to WPA2 with AES, or WPA3 if your router and devices support it.

How to Change Your Wi-Fi Security Type

Checking your security type only tells you where you stand. Changing it happens in your router’s admin panel, not in your phone or laptop’s Wi-Fi settings.

  1. Find your router’s admin address: Check the sticker on the router itself or open your internet service provider’s (ISP’s) companion app for the local address and admin login. This is a separate login from your Wi-Fi password.
  2. Log into the admin panel: Enter the admin address into a browser and sign in with the router’s admin credentials.
  3. Locate the wireless security settings: Look for a section labeled “Wireless Security,” “Wi-Fi Security,” or similar. The exact label varies by manufacturer.
  4. Select the strongest supported protocol: Choose WPA3-Personal if your router and all your devices support it, or a WPA2/WPA3 transitional mode if you have a mix of newer and older devices. WPA2 with AES is the acceptable fallback.
  5. Save and reconnect your devices: Apply the change and reboot the router if prompted. Older devices without WPA3 support may drop off the network, so test each one and roll back to WPA2 if something won’t reconnect.

Changing the protocol is usually a five-minute task, but it’s worth checking connected smart home and Internet of Things (IoT) devices first, since some older ones only support WEP or WPA2 and can’t be upgraded through a settings change alone.

Personal vs. Enterprise Wi-Fi Security

Every Wi-Fi security protocol above comes in two modes: personal and enterprise. And the mode matters as much as the protocol version.

Personal Mode: Pre-Shared Keys

Personal mode, often labeled WPA2-Personal or WPA3-Personal, protects the network with a single pre-shared key (PSK) that every device uses to connect. This works fine for a home network, but it doesn’t scale well for a business. Everyone shares the same key, so there’s no way to see who is actually connected, and revoking access after an employee leaves means changing the password and reconfiguring every remaining device.

Enterprise Mode: 802.1X and RADIUS

Enterprise mode replaces the shared password with 802.1X, the IEEE standard for port-based network access control, paired with a Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service (RADIUS) server that authenticates each user or device individually.

The 802.1X exchange runs in three roles: supplicant (device), authenticator (access point), authentication server (RADIUS) that make the decision.

Diagram of 802.1X authentication: a client (supplicant) authenticates to a switch or access point over EAPOL, which relays the exchange to a RADIUS server over RADIUS, with EAP carried inside both, before network access is granted.

[Alt text: Diagram of 802.1X authentication: a client (supplicant) authenticates to a switch or access point over EAPOL, which relays the exchange to a RADIUS server over RADIUS, with EAP carried inside both, before network access is granted.]

Organizations weighing which authentication method fits their network can compare the options in more detail in this guide to Wi-Fi authentication types and see how the underlying 802.1X authentication methods differ from each other.

Which Wi-Fi Security Protocol Should You Use?

For most home networks, WPA3-Personal is the best choice if your router and devices support it, with WPA2-Personal (AES) as a solid fallback. WEP and plain WPA should not appear anywhere on your network.

For a business, school, or any organization managing more than a handful of users, the protocol version matters less than the mode. Enterprise authentication with 802.1X and a RADIUS server closes the gaps a shared password can’t.

Here’s a quick comparison table featuring each Wi-Fi security protocol:

Protocol Encryption Security Level Status Today
WEP RC4 stream cipher Broken, crackable in minutes Deprecated since 2004; avoid entirely
WPA TKIP Weak, known vulnerabilities Legacy; upgrade if this is your only option
WPA2 AES-CCMP (mandatory) Strong, industry baseline Widely deployed; acceptable minimum
WPA3 AES-CCMP with SAE handshake Strongest available Mandatory on new devices; use where supported

Move to Enterprise-Grade Wi-Fi Authentication With JoinNow Cloud RADIUS

A shared password works until it doesn’t. Once a business has more than a few employees, contractors, or guest devices, a single WPA2-Personal or WPA3-Personal key becomes a liability: it gets shared, written down, and rarely changed even after someone leaves.

JoinNow Cloud RADIUS is a managed cloud RADIUS service built to make that transition straightforward. It supports WPA2-Enterprise and WPA3-Enterprise authentication with 802.1X, so every user and device gets its own credential instead of one password for the whole building, without requiring you to stand up and maintain on-premises RADIUS servers.

If you’re ready to move your organization from personal Wi-Fi to real per-user authentication, see how Cloud RADIUS works and what it takes to get an enterprise network running.

 

Vivek Raj

Vivek Raj has over 8 years of experience in cybersecurity, enterprise SaaS, and technical product marketing, with deep expertise in PKI, RADIUS, 802.1X, and Zero Trust security frameworks. At SecureW2, he works closely with Content, Product, and Marketing teams to translate complex security challenges into practical guidance for customers and IT leaders. Vivek specializes in making advanced identity and network security concepts clear, actionable, and business-focused. He also holds the IBM AI Product Manager Professional Certificate. Besides writing, you can find him watching (or even playing) soccer, tennis, or his favourite cricket.