For a really long time, Android lacked the ability to show passwords of saved WiFi networks on phones actually. This meant that if you guys ever forgot the credentials to log into your WiFi whenever setting up a new device. You’d be forced to reset your modem or consult your network provider in order to reconfigure the network. In this article, we are going to talk about How Do I Find WiFi Password on Android. Let’s begin!
This changed recently when Google released Android 10 and brought a much-anticipated feature. That was missing on the mobile OS – viewing WiFi passwords. But, prior to Android 10, there were still some neat tricks in order to view saved WiFi passwords, some of which required root access for the device that you’re using.
How Do I Find WiFi Password on Android
On Android 10, it’s easier than ever to see and share the credentials of your WiFi network. You can also generate a QR code to permit users to scan and gain access to your WiFi. Without even needing to download a third-party app. The inbuilt setting also shows your password for easily entering it on a phone on that you cannot scan the code.
- First of all, open Settings.
- Choose Network and Internet.
- Click on the WiFi section.
- Tap the cogwheel icon adjacent to the WiFi network you are connected to.
- Click on the Share button along with a tiny QR code logo.
- Enter your PIN, pattern, password, or fingerprint as well.
The next window will then show you a QR code particular to the WiFi network that you selected. Scanning this code via another smartphone will connect that device to the network as well.
In the previous section, we learned the method of sharing WiFi passwords via QR Codes on Android 10. Sadly, users who are on Android 9 or below, won’t be able to use the feature in order to connect to the WiFi network as well. Fortunately, there’s also a pretty good workaround for that, as well.
You’d still have to go to ‘Network Connections’ in ‘Settings’ and also access the QR Code — the method we discussed in the previous section.
Now, our next objective is basically to extract the password string from the QR Code. To do that, first, you’ll have to take a screenshot of the QR Code — that contains your WiFi password — and then save it in your gallery. Now, head to ZXING Decoder’s official page. The website specializes in extracting text strings from QR Codes and should be able to decode your screenshot along with ease.
No login required; just add your image and tap on ‘Submit.’ The WiFi name and password would be shown on the next screen as well.
How to view WiFi password on Android 9 or older
But, finding WiFi passwords on older Android phones won’t be as easy as it would be on Android 10. You guys can still do that within minutes. You will just need root access to be able to find and also share the WiFi password on Android 9 Pie, Android 8.0 Oreo, and much older devices.
Via Solid Explorer File Manager (requires Root)
Note: This method needs your device to be rooted.
- Download and install Solid Explorer File Manager from Google Play.
- Open Solid Explorer.
- Tap the hamburger icon at the top left.
- From the slide-in menu, tap on Root under the Storages section.
Solid Explorer will prompt you to permit root access.
- Click on Grant.
- Choose the folder named data.
- Tap on the misc folder as well.
- Choose the folder named wifi.
- Now locate the file – wpa_supplicant.conf and click on it.
- When asked, open the file using Solid Explorer’s own SE Text Editor as well.
- Now under this block, find a line that starts with “psk=“.
Well, the password for the WiFi network will be mentioned after the equal “=” mark as well.
Via Termux (requires Root)
Similar to the method mentioned above, this method also needs root access to your Android in order to work. Here’s how you can find WiFi passwords on Android 9 and older devices with root.
- First, download and install Termux from Google Play.
- Termux is a famous terminal emulator on Android along with a rating of 4.4 (out of 5) and up to 5 million downloads.
- Then open Termux.
- Whenever the application loads up, then enter the following command:
$ pkg install termux-tools
- In this step, you will give Termux root privileges via typing the command down below:
$ su
- Click tap on Grant.
- Enter this command in order to locate the device’s WiFi configuration file:
# cat /data/misc/wifi/wpa_supplicant.conf
- Now,just navigate to the Network block (a line with the code “network={“).
- Then under this block, find a line starting along with “psk=”.
Well, the password for the WiFi network will be mentioned after the equal “=” mark.
Via ADB (requires Root)
This method needs your device to root actually. You guys can root your Android device from our complete guides for various Android devices.
- Turn on the USB debugging on your Android device.
- Setup ADB on your PC along with Google Platform tools for Mac and Windows.
- On Windows: Right-tap on inside the folder extracted folder that is created from the platform-tools zip file. Select the terminal window as an option from the menu.
- On Mac: After unzipping the zip file, just open Terminal on your Mac and then drag the platform-tools folder inside this window.
- Connect your Android device to the PC along with the USB cable it came with.
- Enter the following command in order to check whether the ads tool has recognized your device on PC.
$ adb devices
- Enter the following command in order to locate the device’s WiFi configuration file:
$ adb shell $ su # cat /data/misc/wifi/wpa_supplicant.conf
- Just copy this configuration file onto your PC through entering the command below:
# cp /data/misc/wifi/wpa_supplicant.conf /sdcard/ # exit $ exit $ adb pull /sdcard/wpa_supplicant.conf ~/Downloads/
- Now just navigate to the Downloads folder on your PC and then open the wpa_supplicant.conf file.
- Find the Network block (a line with the code “network={“).
- Now under this block, find a line starting with “psk=”.
The password for the WiFi network will also be mentioned after the equal “=” mark.
Conclusion
Alright, That was all Folks! I hope you guys like this article and also find it helpful to you. Give us your feedback on it. Also if you guys have further queries and issues related to this article. Then let us know in the comments section below. We will get back to you shortly.
Have a Great Day!
