adb doesn't show nexus 5 device

Question

Android Studio 0.3.6
Fedora 18 3.11.7-100.fc18.x86_64
Nexus 5 Kitkat

Hello,

I have been using my Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 running Android 4.1.2 everything works fine with adb.

However, I have just bought a new Nexus 5 device, and when I do the following command adb devices it doesn't show my Nexus 5.

Under Android SDK Manager | Extras | Google USB Driver | status "Not compatiable with Linux"

Because I am running Fedora 18 if I need drivers what drivers for the USB do I need?

Because the Samsung works fine and I can deploy and run my apps, I think my setup is correct. So I am wondering if there is something wrong with my Nexus 5.

I have tried the following:

adb kill-server
adb start-server

Setting the Nexus 5 Camera PTP and media device MTP didn't work.

Many thanks for any suggestions,

Answer 1

Madx's answer is a strong hint. Now I can make MTP work for my Ubuntu 20 and Nexus 5X (Android 8) device. MTP is an easy solution in Windows for smartphone users. However, to me and many Ubuntu/Linux users, current Ubuntu/Linux MTP tools "LOOK" messy and unstable for Android devices, e.g. No folder is shown for android phone in Nautilus.

Delving deeper I find it might be a security enhancement done by GOOGLE in the Android device/phone side. Direct internal data access remains a privilege for the developers. And one needs to set/reset MTP as a developer for Android device in order to make Ubuntu MTP tools work. There is nothing wrong with Ubuntu/Linux MTP tools.

The steps for MTP data access are an extension to Madx's answer:

1. (For Android device) Enable from Developers Options the Debug USB Mode.

2. Unplug the device from the computer.

3.1) Go to Settings → Storage, in the ActionBar, click the option menu and choose USB computer connection.

3.2) If you didn't find the 3.1) option then go to Settings → Developers Options → Select USB Configuration.

4.1) Select MTP connection.

4.2) Select Camera (PTP) connection.

4.3) Select MTP connection again. (This refreshs GOOGLE MTP protocol stack, I guess)

5. Plug the device and you should have a popup on the device allowing you to accept the computer's incoming connection, or something like that.

6. If it doesn't work try to toggle the Debug USB Mode in the Developers Options

And now file folders are shown up for N5X device in Nautilus.

Are these too much? There might be a bug in Android MTP implementation, and 4.2) & 4.3) are steps to WAKE Up Android MTP stack:-)

As a kind reminder, Windows and FTP are the last resorts for MTP.

Answer 2

For those trying to connect their android phone in adb with no luck and have tried every USB configuration (MTP, PTP, RNDIS). It is worthing noting that in my case with my Nexus 5X on Windows 7 I successfully connected the phone to adb only by choosing the Charging USB Configuration. With any other configuration (MTP, PTP, ...) it doesn't work.

USB Driver: Google USB Driver v11

ADB Version: Android Debug Bridge version 1.0.39

Answer 3

Follow these steps,

• Enable Developer options in your device. To enable the developer mode, Settings->About phone, tap Build number option 7 times continuously
• Go to Settings-> Developer options and Turn on USB debugging
• Make sure you reconnected the device via USB and grant permission on the dialog that appears.
• From the above steps it didn't work try this step, Go to Settings->Security and turn on Unknown Sources

Answer 4

This simple steps worked for me, I debug on my Nexus 5 and 5X devices on Windows 8.1.

The steps to follow are these:

1) Enable from Developers Options the Debug USB Mode

2) Unplug the device from the computer

3.1) Go to Settings → Storage, in the ActionBar, click the option menu and choose USB computer connection.

3.2) If you didn't find the 3.1) option then go to Settings → Developers Options → Select USB Configuration.

4) Select Camera (PTP) connection.

5) Plug the device and you should have a popup on the device allowing you to accept the computer's incoming connection, or something like that.

6) If it doesn't work try to toggle the Debug USB Mode in the Developers Options Finally, you should see it now in the DDMS and voilà.

Answer 5

I had a similar problem with my Nexus 4(Android version 4.4.2), it wasn't listed in adb devices.

Make sure USB debugging is enabled from device, and do the following on your PC:

1. Update Android SDK (Google USB Driver)

2. From PC Control Panel, System -> Device manager -> Right click Nexus 4 -> Update driver.

3. Set android-sdk-folder\extras\google\usb_driver as path to search, include subfolders checked.

If windows tells you that the driver is up to date, just uninstall the driver (right click on nexu4 -> uninstall driver) and start from step 2 again.

After that, open a cmd and type adb kill-server and then a adb devices, now it will include your device.

https://developer.android.com/studio/run/oem-usb.html

Answer 6

Something nobody has mentioned yet:

Some cables do NOT support data. I was sitting here wondering why my Nexus 5 was refusing to show up on OSX. It turned out I was using a cable that didn't support data.

I swapped to a different cable which did support it, and suddenly I was able to use USB debugging.

Answer 7

I have suffered the same issue and was able to solve it by simply changing on my Android device (Nexus 5X) in Developer options > Select USB Configuration to RNDIS (USB Ethernet)

Answer 8

Solution for Windows 7 and Nexus 5 (should be applicable for any Nexus device):

I figured out that my system was installing the Nexus 5 default driver for windows automatically the moment I was connecting my Nexus 5 to my system through USB. So uninstalling the default driver was in vain and it gets installed automatically anyways.Moreover if you uninstall the default driver, you won't be able to locate Nexus 5 under Devices in Computer Management. So here is what i did and worked for me!

1. Computer-->right Click-->Manage-->Device Manager-->Portable Device-->Nexus 5-->Update Driver Software
2. Choose 'Browse my computer for driver software' 1.Make sure to give this location: %APPDATA%\Local\Android\sdk\extras\google\usb_driver
3. Click Next and you are done.

Answer 9

After doing all steps like enable debug, ... I had to put a sim card and reboot the phone

Answer 10

Answer by Rick and MadX is the right way to do the steps (Thumbs Up for the answer)

In my case I am using Akcess USB Type C Data Sync Cable For Nexus 5x, 5P - White As Nexus 5x do not supply type C to usb cable I purchased it from some vendor.

Having the same issue. What I am doing stupidly is:- I am connecting the cable in wrong way. After I reconnect it from upside down its working for me.

I might think that some of the Cables do not support debuggable. But its in my case.

This(Image) is my case the Type C should be as USB side symbol. A stupid solution, but work for me

Answer 11

ADB and driver versions matter. The newer the device, the lower the chances of an older version ADB to work correctly.

Apps using their own ADB copy need to be updated or at least have their ADB updated manually.

When installing Helium / Carbon for instance, it uses an old / incomplete ADB. Newer devices might not link to the ADB server for this very reason.

What I'm writing here should work for any future devices on Windows and possibly *nix OSes.

First the systems must be prepared. on Android:

• activate developer mode, either from an app (like Helium, when prompted) or by accessing the about phone section, taping build number until the developer mode unlocks
• in developer settings enable USB debugging
• in security settings allow unknown sources
• (when connected with USB cable) set USB connectivity to PTP mode (camera device, if so labeled)

in Windows:

• uninstall older USB driver (with file removal) if there is one, but only when the device is connected and in developer mode, otherwise that particular device won't be listed
• install latest USB driver after the device has been plugged in and developer mode is active, the device will be listed as unknown or other in Device Manager; the drivers can be downloaded separately from Google Android support site, these are the same as vendor drivers, with only fewer ID's in inf file making the driver not being recognized for all Android devices
• if the driver does not recognise the device, no problem, install it generically: Manual Install > Show All Devices > Have Disk > pick inf location of the Android USB driver and from the list select Android ADB Interface; there's not need to edit the inf by adding hardware ids, the end result is the same
• each of the modes, PTP and MTP will have their own driver entry, so if the device asks for MTP, the same driver installation procedure must be followed, again

Once these steps are/were previously done correctly, adb must be tested. If Android SDK was installed previously, open a command prompt where adb.exe is and test the listing of the device.

adb start-server IMPORTANT NOTE: This command will prompt the device to allow the communication between the computer it's been linked to on the first run. The prompt will also list an RSA key specific to the PC in question. Without this prompt on start-server, ADB will NOT work! Nor will any application relying on ADB.

adb devices Must list the device(s). If the list is empty, and most likely the RSA prompt did not occur, then no communication will work. If the list is empty the current ADB (and SDK) must be updated or installed fresh (in the case of apps bringing in their own ADB runtime, like Helium / Carbon).

In the case of applications that do bring their own ADB, if the version is old, and these apps insist in using it instead of the SDK one, these files need to be replaced with the latest ones from Android SDK. Plain and simple copy & paste.

As for Android SDK, the only required packages to be installed are SDK Tools and Platform-tools. There, ADB.exe will need some support libraries, on Windows these files are AdbWinApi.dll and AdbWinUsbApi.dll. After all is done, the SDK can be uninstalled from SDK Manager while being able to retain the ADB tool if this is the only runtime used, depending on the case in question.

Answer 12

Here is simple solution for Windows 7 and Nexus 5 on Android 5.

1. Download the Nexus 5 Drivers from http://androidhost.org/jelry
2. Extract the zip contents and place all files in a single folder on your desktop.
3. Connect your device to your computer.
4. Launch the Device Manager on your PC.
5. Now you should see the Nexus 5 listed in the hardware list.
6. Right-click the ‘Nexus 5′ line and then click on Update Driver Software.
7. Next, click the ‘browse my computer’ option.
8. In the new window click on ‘Browse…’ button.
9. Go to folder unzipped at step 2. Select the folder where you extract the USB Drivers. Click Next. – make sure to tick the subfolder box too.
10. Now, the Windows installer will search for Nexus 5 drivers, click Install when asked for permission.
11. Wait for the process to complete and then check the Device Manager list to confirm that the installation was successful.

Original: http://www.android.gs/download-and-install-google-nexus-5-usb-drivers-adb-fastboot/

Note: do not forget to enable USB debugging on your device :)

Answer 13

I had the same problem, USB debugging enabled, device showing up in windows but I never got the question about RSA fingerprint when I connected my Nexus (6) device, nor did it show up in the Android Device Manager.

BUT In the windows device manager I did have an entry saying it was an android device and Composite ADB interface etc. Still didn't work. When I tried the previous tips about manually updating the drivers, Windows 8.1 just responded that "Windows has determined that the driver software for your device is up to date" this was not true. Looking at the driver details I saw that the driver was published by "ClockworkMod". I realized this must be because I had installed the Helium app sometime last year. So I uninstalled that, still had the same problem. Checked again, this time it was indeed google drivers, but version 7 published in 2012 (and not version 11 published 2014). I uninstalled these AS WELL and then tried the trick of reinstalling the driver from the SDK located in: %localappdata%\Android\sdk\extras\google\usb_driver

Now when I replugged my device it finally works and can be debugged with Android Studio. Indeed a driver problem.

Answer 14

Go here and download and unzip to an easy location:

http://developer.android.com/sdk/win-usb.html#top Download and install

Answer 15

Oh boy, I spent 3 hours for this simple thing and tried combination of above instructions.If it doesnt work for you, just try several combinations of above instructions and it will. I am on windows 7 and nexus 5. Issue I had was when I try to install driver from the google usb folder, windows 7 fails to install. Here are my steps:

-first uninstall all nexus drivers on windows 7. connect with USB cable, go to device manager and uninstall the driver; unplug the cable and repeat until no drivers are found and nexus shows up under "other devices" in device manager. I also configured nexus device as camera (PTP)

-follow @Dharani Kumar instructions. They make appropriate configuration changes for nexus device

-follow @Harshit Rathi instructions. They will ensure eclipse can show the device when windows detects the device

-unplug and replug the USB cable after a minute. Now you should see a pop up on nexus device. click it so that windows 7 will allow installing the driver from your local system. if you dont see this, restart your device or pc

-follow @Rick's instructions.you can download USB driver as listed by @jimbob

If you still have a problem, re read this entire thread and go from there (I spent hours on other web sites; those bits and pieces didnt help)

Answer 16

In my case:

• The phone was connected as a media device.
• Clicked on that message and got a menu. "USB computer connection"
• In that menu chose to connect it as a camera (for devices that do not support MTP)

And then it worked.

Answer 17

Try executing :

sudo ./adb kill-server

sudo ./adb start-server

sudo ./adb devices

Answer 18

For those who are still frustrated, if you are using the experimental ART runtime, try switching back to dalvik (in developer options on device)

Answer 19

If anyone is trying to connect Nexus 5 to a formatted Windows XP then follow these steps:

1. Download and install media transfer protocol porting kit: MTP porting kit
2. Download and install WMFDistributable-11 for XP: WMFDist-11 XP
3. Download and install LG United Mobile Driver v3.10.1: stackoverflow is not allowing to share more than 2 links, please google this.
4. Connect your device.
5. Go to Device Management
6. Right click on Nexus 5 and click Update Driver
7. Select Yes this time only
8. Select Install Software Automatically
9. Wait for sometime.. and enjoy transferring files

Answer 20

My windows solution:

Go here and download and unzip to an easy location:

http://developer.android.com/sdk/win-usb.html#top

• Right click 'My Computer' or 'Computer'

• Select properties

• Select Device manager

• Look for your device. It should have a yellow mark above it.

• Click 'update driver software'.

• select browse my computer for driver software.

• select the usb_driver folder you saved earlier.

• install it

and wala. magic.

Answer 21

What you need to do is this:

Settings | About Phone

Scroll to the bottom to build number. Tap on build number about 7 times. Each time you will get a popup message saying you are x steps away from being a developer

When you get to the final step you will get a message saying now you are a developer

Go back into settings and you will see a new setting Developer options there you will see a lot of options for developers. Enable USB debugging

Re-connect you phone to the usb, and you should see you device under adb devices.

I hope this answer helps someone else.