Installing ADB (USB)

In order to install the Android Debug Bridge (ADB) and connect your device to a computer, you need to perform three steps:

Note

ADB is an Android project tool available for free on the Android SDK. We suggest the official version.

 

Installing ADB

  1. Access the Android SDK Platform Tools
  2. Scroll to the Downloads section and select the version that matches your operating system.
  3. On the new page, read the terms and conditions, then check the box to agree.
  4. Click Download Android SDK Platform Tool for [Your Device].
  1. Extract the contents of the downloaded ZIP file to a convenient, easy-to-access folder.
  2. Hold Shift and right-click inside the folder, then select Open Command Prompt here (or Open PowerShell window here, depending on your system).

Enabling Developer Mode

To enable developer mode, follow the steps in this tutorial.

Connecting a Device

  1. Scroll down to the Debugging section in Developer options, then enable USB debugging.
  1. When a confirmation dialog appears, tap OK to confirm.
  1. Connect your Android device to your PC using a USB cable. If a USB connection isn’t possible, you can try connecting via Wi-Fi instead.
  2. On your device, a USB debugging authorization dialog will appear. Check Always allow from this computer, then tap OK.

Attention

Not all devices will display the dialog box; some may connect automatically.

 
  1. Your device is now ready to use with ADB.
  2. On your Windows PC, open Command Prompt and type adb devices or open PowerShell and type .\adb.exe devices. If everything is set up correctly, your connected device should appear in the list of attached devices.

Troubleshooting

If your device does not appear on the list, try the following:
• Disconnect and reconnect the USB cable.
• Disable and then re-enable USB debugging on your device.