How to Find a Wi-Fi Password on Android

This article explains how to check Wi-Fi passwords on an Android device. The information below should apply no matter who made your Android (Samsung, Google, Huawei, Xiaomi, etc.).

Find WI-Fi Passwords on Android Using Solid Explorer

The Solid Explorer app is one of the best Android file browsers. Use it to retrieve your Wi-Fi password.

1. Open the Google Play Store app and search for Solid Explorer.

2. Tap Solid Explorer File Manager, then tap Install.

   

3. Open Solid Explorer. The home screen lists your major directories, which are the media folders that you access on a regular basis.

4. Tap the stacked lines in the upper-left corner of the screen to open the menu.

5. In the Storages section, tap Root.

6. In the root filesystem, tap data.

   

7. Tap Grant to give Solid Explorer root permissions.

8. Tap misc.

9. Tap wifi.

   

10. Tap wpa_supplicant.conf, then choose a text editor such as SE Text Editor from Solid Explorer.

    The wpa_supplicant.conf file contains the Wi-Fi configuration information. Do not change this file.

11. Look under the network block and find the entry for psk. That's the password.

    

    If you connect to multiple Wi-Fi networks with the device, you'll find a network block for each one. Check the ssid entry in each block for the network name.

12. Store the password in a secure place so that you can use it later.

Can You Show Wi-Fi Passwords on Android?

When you enter a Wi-Fi password, the device remembers it indefinitely; however, for security reasons, it will never share the password willingly. There are ways to display a Wi-Fi password on Android if you have a rooted device. It's also possible to access all your password-protected Android folders with a command-line tool called ADB.

How to See WI-Fi Passwords on Android Using a Terminal Emulator

If you don't want to install a new file manager, use a terminal emulator on the Android device to access the file that contains the Wi-Fi password.

There are several terminal emulators, but Termux is a clear stand-out. It's more than a terminal emulator, as it brings command-line utilities, such as SSH, to Android so that you can use a mobile device like a Linux distribution.

To view Wi-Fi passwords with Termux:

1. Search for Termux in the Google Play Store and install the app.

   

2. Open Termux.

3. Enter the following text in the command line:

   $ pkg install termux-tools
   

4. To add root (superuser) permissions, enter the command:

   $ su
   

5. When prompted, grant superuser permissions to Termux.

6. Enter the following text on the command line:

   # cat /data/misc/wifi/wpa_supplicant.conf
   

7. Look under the network block to find an entry for psk.

   

   If you connect to multiple Wi-Fi networks with the device, you'll find a network block for each one. Check the ssid entry in each block for the network name.

8. Store the password in a secure place.

How to Show WI-Fi Passwords on Android Using ADB

If you prefer to do everything from a computer, the Android Debug Bridge (ADB) is just the tool to do that. Use the ADB to pull the Wi-Fi configuration directly from a phone and view it on a computer.

1. Install the ADB on your computer. This works best from Linux, but you can use Windows or Mac.

   Linux

   Open a terminal and run the following command:

   $ sudo apt install android-tools-adb android-tools-fastboot
   

   Windows

   On Windows, download the latest platform-tools from Google. After unzipping the compressed file, open the folder and right-click inside of it. Select the option to open a terminal window.

   macOS

   Download the latest Google platform tools for Mac. After unzipping the compressed file, open the Mac Terminal app and run this command:

   $ cd /path/to/android/tools
   

2. Connect the Android device to the computer with a USB cable. To copy the configuration file from Android, switch the connection on the device from charging to MTP for file transfer.

3. On the computer, enter the following into a terminal window:

   $ adb devices
   

4. A notification appears on the device asking you to enable USB debugging. Allow it, then run the command above to see the Android device's serial number.

   

5. Run the following commands from the terminal:

   $ adb shell
   $ su
   # cat /data/misc/wifi/wpa_supplicant.conf
   

   To copy the configuration, run:

   # cp /data/misc/wifi/wpa_supplicant.conf /sdcard/
   # exit
   $ exit
   $ adb pull /sdcard/wpa_supplicant.conf ~/Downloads/
   

   Then, open the file on the computer and access everything.

6. Look for the network blocks in the file. Locate your network by the ssid. The password is listed under psk.

   

7. To exit the shell, enter:

   # exit
   $ exit
   

8. Disconnect the Android device.