How To Check Wifi Password On Android

Your Android smartphone may have been connected to many networks over the years. Your phone will save these automatically, yet there can be times something goes wrong, and you need the saved password for saved networks, such as if you had a new Android phone.

It could also be, you need to know how to find a WiFi password on Android for a friend. However, it isn’t as easy to find saved WiFi passwords after you enter a WiFi password as you may imagine.

In our guide, you can learn the different ways how to view saved Wi-Fi passwords. One thing you will find is that before Google released Android 10, it was more of a challenge to find any saved Wi-Fi password on Android. (Find the Best Kodi Build for Android)

Luckily, we have options for all ages of phones to find a connected Wi-Fi password on Android.

WiFi password on Android

How to See Wi-Fi Password on Android 10

Since the introduction of Android 10, it’s now easier to view and share credentials for a WiFi network. It is possible to create a QR code so other users can scan this to gain access to WiFi without having to download a third-party app.

The inbuilt network details in settings show your saved wifi passwords for easy entering onto a phone if you can’t scan the code.

Step 1: Open Settings
Step 2: Inside settings, Network Internet, is what you have to select
Step 3: Tap the WiFi networks section
Step 4: Hit the gear wheel icon next to the WiFi network you’re connected to.
Step 5: Tap on the Share button with the tiny QR code logo.
Step 6: Finally, enter your PIN, pattern, password or fingerprint.

On the next window, you’ll see a QR code specific to the WiFi network you selected. Scanning this code with another smartphone connects the phone to your network.

Share WiFi Password on Older Than Android 10?

Users on Android 9 and older can’t use the feature to share Wi-Fi passwords. Luckily, there is a workaround to get to the saved Wi-Fi passwords on any given Wi-Fi network.

  1. You do have to head to the ‘Network Connections’ in ‘Settings’ and access the QR Code as above.
  2. However, the objective here is to extract the password string from the QR Code. What you have to do is to grab a screenshot of the QR Code containing the WiFi password for the network you want to connect to and save it.
  3. Head to ZXING Decoder’s official website. You will find this website specializes in decoding text strings from QR Codes.
  4. There is no login, so add your image and hit ‘Submit.’

The WiFi name and password will pop up on the next screen.

View the Password on Android 9 and Older

When you want to show a WiFi password, Android 9 and older isn’t as straightforward. It can be done in a few minutes.

You will require root access on your phone to find WiFi passwords running Android 9, Android 8.0, and older for some methods. (Learn How to Install Kodi on Android Box)

Use Solid Explorer File Manager

You will find this requires your phone to be rooted.

Step 1: Head to the Google Play Store to Download and install Solid Explorer File Manager
Step 2: Open Solid Explorer.
Step 3: Tap on the hamburger icon in the top left.
Step 4: From the slide-in menu, tap on Root beneath the Storages section. Solid Explorer prompts you to enable root access.
Step 5: Tap “Grant”
Step 6: Select the “Data” folder
Step 7: Tap the “Misc” folder
Step 8: Select the WiFi folder
Step 9: Locate the file – wpa_supplicant.conf and tap on it
Step 10: Open the file with Solid Explorer’s own SE Text Editor.
Step 11: Navigate to the Network block, which is the line of text “network={”
Step 12: Locate the line beginning with “psk=.”
Your password for your WiFi network will be listed after the “=” mark.

WiFi Password Using QR Code

How to Find WiFi Password on Android Using ADB

It would help if you also had a rooted Android device and a for this method to work.

  1. Enable USB debugging on your Android device.
  2. Setup ADB on your PC using Google Platform tools for Windows.
  3. On your PC Right-click inside the extracted folder created from the platform-tools zip file. Choose the terminal window (command prompt) from the menu.
  4. Connect your phone to the PC
  5. Enter this command to check the ads tool has recognized your device on PC: $ ADB devices.
  6. Enter this command to locate the device’s WiFi configuration file: $ adb shell $ su # cat /data/misc/wifi/wpa_supplicant.conf
  7. Copy the configuration file to your PC by entering the command below: # cp pull/data/misc/wifi/wpa_supplicant.conf /sdcard/ # exit $ exit $ adb pull /sdcard/wpa_supplicant.conf ~/Downloads/
  8. Head to your “Downloads folder” on your PC and open the “wpa_supplicant.conf file.”
  9. Search for the Network block. The line beginning with “network={. “
  10. Search for the line starting with “psk=”.

The password for the WiFi network will be displayed after the “=” mark.

Finding a Connected Wi-Fi Password on Android Without Root

No matter which old Android version you have, you can’t use the traditional file explorer no matter if your phone is without root or not. One of the most popular non-rooted devices is ES File Explorer.

  1. Make sure you download and install ES File Explorer
  2. Open the app and move up a folder to the root folder. You’ll see a directory called “Data.”
  3. Navigate to the data/misc/wifi folder, and you’ll come to the file called wpa_supplicant.conf.
  4. Tap the file to open it using ES File Explorer’s built-in editor
  5. Inside this file, you should be able to locate the network SSID and their associated passwords easily.

Don’t edit the file, or you could have Wi-Fi connection issues. Method 1 and method 2 used a rooted device, yet these can leave you open to all manner of issues. Depending on the network and internet you are connected to, if you can see the password, hackers on open networks can. (Read Bellator Live Stream)

Most users of Android devices often connect via a coffee shop etc. Doing so leaves you open to hackers who can do all manner of harm, especially if you install options to find a Wi-Fi network’s password using apps that install malware.

One of the best ways to protect your password and hide you as you browse the internet on these open networks is to use a VPN service.

A VPN will hide your online activity on any open Wi-Fi networks, so your Android Device could be right next to a hacker, yet he won’t be able to spot your device as it will look as if you are on another device in a different country.

You have all the best ways how to find WiFi passwords Android phones have hidden away, and you have the best way to hide online with a VPN for Android or Windows.

How To Check Wifi Password On Android