There is a quite popular phrase on social networks that says home is where the WiFi connects itself. If you use your phone to connect to the internet for free in many places, you may not remember the WiFi password for each place although you have it saved on your phone. Do you know that you can see the saved passwords on your Android without root?
To begin with, it is important that you know what it means to root Android. It is nothing more than becoming a superuser and having control of everything that happens on your android phone, such as installing the latest version of Android, among many other benefits.
However, to view saved WiFi passwords on your Android phone, you will no longer have to root your phone if only you use a phone running on Android 10 or higher.
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How to View Saved WiFi Passwords on Android Without Root
If your phone is running on Android 10 or higher, you will be able to view the password of the WiFi to which your device is connected without root. Here’s how to do it:
- Go to your Phone’s Settings;
- Select “Network & Internet” and then “WiFi”;
- On the Wi-Fi settings page, open the list of available networks;
- Select the “Saved networks” option, from there you will see a list of all Wi-Fi networks that your phone remembers;
- Select the WiFi network whose password you want to know;
- Now click the “Share” option;
- The WiFi password is displayed as plain text under the QR code or you can decide to scan the QR code to reveal the password.
Using Google Lens
- Go to Settings> Connections> Wi-Fi;
- Select the “Saved Networks” option;
- Select the network;
- Click the Share button;
- Screenshot the QR code that appears;
- Scan the QR code using Google lens;
- The saved password will be shown.
Recover all the WiFi passwords saved on your device with a system backup
Do you want more options to recover the WiFi passwords saved on your phone? Well, here we show you another method that can be very useful. For this, you have to create a backup on Android.
This way of recovering passwords requires you to be meticulous though it is simple. Let’s get started!
- Open File Manager on your device;
- In “All files” look for the “Backup” option. Delete it;
- Create a new backup of your phone;
- When it’s 100% done, open a RAR file reader;
- You will see the “Backup” option, which is the backup you created;
- Go to the folder called “Settings” and follow this path: “Wificonfig.tar” > “Data” > “Wificonfig” > “wpa_supplicant.conf”;
- Save (copy) this last option, the one called wpa_supplicant.conf;
- Open a reader — like ES File Explorer — and paste the above.
And that’s it! In the text, you can see all the wireless network passwords that your phone has saved.
Where are the Wi-Fi passwords stored on a phone?
You know that the keys to these networks are stored somewhere on your device, but where? If you have an Android device, you can find the passwords for the Wi-Fi networks you’ve connected it to in a file called wpa_supplicant.conf. To see the password specifically, you have to follow the path: Data > Misc > WiFi.
Why doesn’t my phone remember WiFi passwords?
This can be due to several factors, but the most common cause is a system error. As we mentioned, WiFi passwords are stored in a file called wpa_supplicant.conf. If this file or another file called DHCP — is damaged, your device won’t store the wireless network password. To fix it, you have two options. The first is that you reset your phone and the second option is that you delete the DHCP file and modify the wpa_supplicant.conf. For the latter, your phone has to be rooted.
Are there apps to view saved WiFi passwords on Android?
Yes, there are different applications for this purpose, but to use them you need to have a rooted device. If this is your case, try one of these options: View Wi-Fi password, WiFi password viewer or Show Wi-Fi password. You can download them for free on the Google Play Store. Keep in mind that these are not apps to steal WiFi or unlock it. What they do is show you the passwords of the wireless networks to which you have previously connected your device.
For Android 9 and lower (root required)
If you’re using a phone with Android 9 pie or lower version of Android, there is no other method to view saved Wi-Fi passwords than to root your phone.
I hope you find this article helpful. Leave a comment below. Thank you.
