How to show the Wi-Fi password on Android
Since Android won’t let you see saved Wi-Fi passwords, you may find yourself feeling stuck if you forget your network password and don’t have it written down or on the back of your router. Don’t worry: with root access to your device, you can use an app to see the passwords or access the unencrypted conf- file that contains the Wi-Fi codes. We’ll take you through how get your phone to show the Wi-Fi password step-by-step.
Step 1: Root your phone
The file with the Wi-Fi access code is located in an area of the file system that is only accessible on a rooted Android device. Rooting is for more advanced Android users, and there are some disadvantages to be aware of. To find out if rooting is right for you, check out this article. If you decide you’re ready to root, you can find out how in the following article:
Step 2: There are two ways to see your Wi-Fi password
Once you’ve rooted your device, you have two options. You can download an app to view your Wi-Fi password, or you can go digging in the root directory. Using an app is the quicker, more straight-forward option, but advanced users may enjoy finding the plain text passwords manually using a file manager that is capable of displaying root content..
Use an app to see the Wi-Fi password
There are apps can display your stored wireless passwords available on the Play Store, but keep in mind that these still need root privileges to function. Wifi Password Show is a free app that does exactly what you’d expect it to. The Play Store rating is only 3.5, but most of the bad reviews are because people don’t understand that it requires root. It has no ads and works with Android Pie. What more could you ask for?
Find the Wi-Fi passwords in the root directory manually
Find a file manager that displays root content. For this example, we used Amaze. The preinstalled CyanogenMod file explorer we tried couldn’t open the conf- file as a text file and was thus unsuitable.
First, you must authorize the file explorer to open the root directory. The option is at the bottom of the app settings. Next, go into the directory tree following the path: data > misc > wifi. In this folder, find the file named wpa_supplicant.conf. This file contains all the networks in the plain text. The Wi-Fi passwords are also displayed here.
Have you rooted your phone to find your lost network passwords before? Let us know in the comments below. Also, check out how to use your smartphone as a Wi-Fi hotspot or how to get free Wi-Fi anywhere!