Retrieve Wi-Fi Password from Windows:,…
Desktops are about to become obsolete. Portable and mobile devices like Smartphones, iPads, Tablets and Tablet cum PC like Surface Pros are being bought in huge numbers.
How to Find Saved Wi-Fi Passwords in Windows 10 & Android
To make these devices really thin, light and portable, manufacturers often skip the thicker ports like Ethernet. Which brings us to using Wi-Fi. You will find Wi-Fi connection in most of the public places like Coffee shops, Railway stations, Pubs, Hotels and other places, either free or paid.
Having so many Wi-Fi connections on your device can be troublesome at times because you have to remember different passwords for different networks. This is where you would want to know the password of a particular Wi-Fi network when you want to connect to it.
Finding a password for network connection is quite easy on an iPhone by using KeyChain, but if you are boasting a Windows 10 tablet like Surface Pro or Windows 10 Smartphone, things can get tricky and tedious.
This article will help you find stored Wi-Fi passwords from Windows 10 and a bonus to find one on an Android device as well.
Retrieving network password method will work for Windows 10 as well as the older versions of Windows, until Windows 7.
NOTE: YOU NEED TO BE CONNECTED THE NETWORK YOU WANT YOUR PASSWORD TO RETRIEVE.
Step 1: Spot the Wi-Fi icon on the System Tray, right click on it and open “Network and Sharing”.
Step 2: This window will show you all the networks you are connected to under “Active Network Section”. Click on connections.
Step 3: Tap the “Wireless Properties” in Wi-Fi Status and Wireless Network Property of the network that you are connected to. Now this page will give you an overview of your connection name and type of connection. You will also find a Security Tab. Click on this tab.
Step 4: Spot the Network Security Key option which will have Wi-Fi password. Click on Show Characters to make the password visible.
That is it. You just found the Wi-Fi password of your connection. You can repeat the steps for all the networks that you wish to use.
Also note that do not change any properties, characters, keys or security protocols here or else you will end up messing up the connection and face problems connecting the network next time you want to connect.
Retrieve Wi-Fi password from an Android device
If you are one of the 60% Android users of the world, this is going to be very useful to you. If you are not a stock Android user, you may not have the benefit of using traditional file explorer that other wise comes pre-installed on device. Grab yourself a copy of ES File Explorer in order to find out the Wi-Fi password of public network you are connected to earlier.
This method will work on any Android device, be it a smartphone or a tablet.
- Open ES File Explorer.
- Navigate to the data/misc/wifi folder in C: on your device.
- Open the file called wpa_supplicant.conf and you will see a list of saved Wi-Fi networks complete with their passwords.
- Tap on the file to open it up and make sure you use ES File Explorer’s built-in text/HTML viewer for the task.
- You will be able to see the network SSID in the file and their passwords next to it.
- Now search for the SSID (network name) and note down the password next to it and close the file.
Again note that you do not edit any of these files. If you make any changes, you might end up having connectivity issues with that Wi-Fi. Be very much AWARE that there are many apps on Android Play Store that will claim to reveal hidden Wi-Fi passwords of public network, while very few of these may work, most of them are malicious and not worth the trouble.
Therefore, this manual method is the best and easiest way to find Wi-Fi passwords of any network you are most commonly connected to.