How to See WiFi Passwords on Android

In this guide we’ll show you how to see the WiFi password for every network you connect your Android device to and explain why you might want to find it. Did you know your Android device saves the WiFi password for every network? Whether that’s the WiFi at home, work, Starbucks, your friend’s house or a mobile hotspot device.

There are many reasons you might want to find a WiFi network password. Whether that’s because you lost or forgot the password, or because you don’t want to dig out the router and find the info on the bottom.

Read: How to Use Your Galaxy S8 as a WiFi Hotspot

Another reason is to share the password with friends, family members, or to sign into the network with a different device. If you don’t have the password there’s a way to find the stored information on your Android device. As long as your phone has root access (like Jailbreak for Android) you can see the WiFi password for any network you’ve used.

There are a few different ways to find the WiFi password that’s stored on your Android phone or tablet. As long as you have root access, it’s easy to find with a File Explorer or apps from the Google Play store. Basically, the Android operating system hides this information for most users. If the phone is rooted, you can access these files with ease and see passwords in plain text. Don’t forget to write it down and put it somewhere safe this time.

First, we’ll show you how to find it with a file explorer, then share instructions for an app that does it for you.

How to Find WiFi Passwords on Android

As long as you have root access, open a File Explorer app with root privileges. We recommend ES File Explorer or File Explorer Root. Make sure you grant it access, then proceed to the steps below. Essentially we’re navigating to data/misc/wifi and looking for wpa_supplicant.conf (or wep_supplicant.conf) if the network uses WEP instead of WPA.

• Download ES File Explorer or similar app
• Open the app and go to Local or System Folder
• Go to Device Folder and select Data

• Find and open the folder named Misc
• Next, scroll down and click on WiFi

• Open the folder labeled wpa_supplicant.conf

From here, your phone will show a list of text that details every WiFi network you’ve ever connected to. These text files show the WiFi name, password and security type, and yes, the WiFi password access key. It’s easier to read the wpa_supplicant.conf file with a text editor, so open it in plain text.

Now, simply scroll through all the saved WiFi networks until you find the one you’re looking for, or search for the SSID (network name) of your WiFi. Scroll through the info until you find SSID and PSK, we want the latter of the two.

To the right of PSK will be the password for the WiFi network. That’s it. We’re all done, and now you can share the password with friends or family, write it down, and put it somewhere safe. This works great for hotel WiFi and things of that nature.

Find Android WiFi Password With An App

If fumbling through file explorers and opening weird text files isn’t something you’re comfortable with, we have one more option. Go to the Google Play Store and download the WiFi Key Recovery app. This app works just like the instructions above, and you’ll need root access, but it does all the hard work for you.

• Open WiFi Key Recovery
• Grant Root “Superuser” Access
• Now scroll through and find the PSK for any WiFi network (password)

This app makes the entire process extremely simple. Once it gets root access it instantly opens the list of networks for you. If you’ve connected to a lot of different WiFi internet points while owning your device, the list might be quite long. Use the search bar to find the name of the WiFi network you’re looking for to speed things up.

Other Details & One Last Tip

In closing, it’s worth noting that depending on what smartphone or tablet you own, this process might be even easier. Big flagship phones from Samsung, LG, Motorola and other big names hide files like the wpa.supplicant.conf we mentioned above. However, some phones don’t, and you’ll be able to use a file explorer to find your WiFi password without having root.

Last but not least, if you have guests or visitors over and you don’t have access to the WiFi password, there’s another way to get them connected. Find your wireless router and press the WPS Push button on the router, then activate WPS Push in settings > connections > WiFi on any Android device. This securely connects them to your WiFi without the password. Good luck, and enjoy.