5 Ways to View Saved WiFi Passwords on Android [Guide]

Once you have entered the WiFi password on your Android device then you are not allowed to view it again, but here we have shared with you five tried and tested methods to view saved WiFi passwords on Android.

  • An in-depth guide on how to find saved WiFi passwords on Android devices.
  • We have shared five working methods along with a guide to help find and view Wi-Fi passwords for saved WiFi networks.
  • Some methods require rooted Android device and other works without root. We have discussed all the methods and you can follow whichever you find convenient and easy.

Have you tried looking for saved WiFi passwords in the Wi-Fi settings on your Android? But there is no way to view this information.

For devices running an older version of Android, the only way to view passwords is after rooting the device. However, luckily, in the recent versions of Android OS i.e. Android 10 and above, the saved WiFi password can be accessed directly from the Wi-Fi settings page.

In this guide, we have outlined three ways to see saved WiFi passwords on Android phones and tablets.

1. View Saved WiFi Passwords on Android 10 and above

Smartphone or tablet running Android 10 OS or above does not require the installation of any apps or added configuration to view saved WiFi passwords.

Before we proceed to the steps, we will recommend you perform a simple check whether your device is running the latest Android. If it does not, then this is a good time to check for updates and see if there is any latest version of Android available for your device.

Anyways, lets jump to the steps:

  1. Open Settings and find Wi-Fi settings on your device. Although the exact naming for some devices might be different, they all more or less follow a similar pattern. So simply go to Settings -> Network and internet -> Wi-Fi settings.
    5 Ways to View Saved WiFi Passwords on Android [Guide]5 Ways to View Saved WiFi Passwords on Android [Guide]
  2. Inside the Wi-Fi settings, scroll down and look for the Saved networks option, which stores the Wi-Fi network information of all the saved networks.
    5 Ways to View Saved WiFi Passwords on Android [Guide]5 Ways to View Saved WiFi Passwords on Android [Guide]
  3. Tap on any saved network for which you want to see the password.
  4. Tap the Share option, which will prompt you to enter your PIN or password or maybe ask you to scan your fingerprint. Once verified, a QR code and the Network SSID and Password will be displayed on the screen.
    5 Ways to View Saved WiFi Passwords on Android [Guide]
  5. Now you have two options, you can either scan the QR code with another device using the QR code scanner app or simply copy the password, which is listed just below the QR code.

2. View Saved WiFi Password on Android 9 and below

For devices running Android 9 or older OS, things get a bit complicated as there is no direct way to view network information because all of these details are stored in the root directory, and by default, Android doesn’t give its access to users.

On Android 9 or older versions of Android operating systems, rooting may be mandatory to find saved WiFi passwords.

To bypass this restriction, we will use a root method to view hidden Wi-Fi passwords. The first step is to root your phone, which will let you gain access to the system files.

There are many ways to root Android OS and one method doesn’t apply to all Android devices so we will always recommend you do some research for your model of Android before jumping onto the steps to root your phone.

Anyways, here we assume you already have a rooted Android device. So the next step is to view the saved Wi-Fi password. This can be achieved in many ways, but two feasible methods are:

Method 1 – Using an App from the Play Store

5 Ways to View Saved WiFi Passwords on Android [Guide]

This method is one of the easiest out there, but only if you have a rooted Android device. Here you simply have to download and use any reputable app from the Play store that can help you gain access to Wi-Fi network details.

One of the many apps out there is the “Wi-Fi Password Show,” which is a free and easy-to-use app to view saved WiFi passwords on Android.

Once you have downloaded and installed it on your device, all you really have to do is provide the app with root permissions, so it can access the relevant directory.

Within seconds, the app will show you the password for any saved WiFi network and you can then use those details to easily connect another device to the same network.

Method 2 – Using File Explorer with Root Access

The second way is to use a file explorer or file manager to manually access the system directory on your Android and find files that contain details about the WiFi network.

But first, you need to allow root access to the file explore so that it can let you access the system directory, which is usually just a toggle button (root explorer) in the app settings.

5 Ways to View Saved WiFi Passwords on Android [Guide]

Once you have done that, follow these steps:

  1. Open file explorer and navigate your way to the following path: data > misc > wifi (for some devices, it could be system > etc > wifi).
  2. Look for a file named conf. This file contains the network names along with their password. Everything is written in plain text.
  3. We are looking for the following text:
network={ ssid=“WiFi Network Name” psk=“password” key_mgmt=WPA-PSK priority= }
5 Ways to View Saved WiFi Passwords on Android [Guide]

In the above text, the SSID field contains the name of your WiFi network and the PSK field is where you will find the password.

3. Alternative Method to Find Saved WiFi Passwords on Android

In case your Android device cannot be rooted, here we have an alternative method that works for most Android OS. But this will be a bit complex and requires you to have some basic knowledge about ADB and Android.

This method requires you to have a computer, a compatible USB cable, a driver for your Android device, and ADB tools.

  1. Download ADB tools on your computer and extract the files to your desktop.
  2. Enable Developer Options on your device. For that, you need to go to Settings -> About Phone and scroll down to “Build number.” Tap seven times on it to enable developer options.
  3. Go back to Settings, tap on Developer Options, and find and enable USB debugging.
  4. Connect your Android device to your computer using supplied USB cable. For ADB to work properly, it is important to check that you have updated USB drivers.
  5. Go to the ADB folder extracted on the desktop, open the command window, and type the command:
adb pull /data/misc/wifi/wpa_supplicant.conf

The contents of the file should have been copied and placed in the ADB folder in a new file. Open it to view network names and passwords.