adb not finding my device / phone (MacOS X)

Question

Doing Android development on a Mac and this very new phone I have doesn't show up in the devices list in adb. Lots of other phones and devices work fine for me so I know my setup is good.

I have debugging enabled (Settings --> Applications --> Development --> USB debugging) on the phone, but it just doesn't show up when I run adb devices

Every

for anyone struggling with a Samsung phone, I found I had to install Kies for the device to be recognised – Inharmonious

You should use the PTP when usb debugging instead of multimedia (MTP) -- – Johnsen

Settings->Developer Options->USB Debugging on. – Tannie

The Q is for a "very new phone", and I wanted to add that actually in my case, the phone really was too old. Totally working and fine, and not that ancient, but too old for my mac apparently. – Glowing

Answer 1

Important Update : As @equiman points out, there are some USB cables that are for charging only and do not transmit data. Sometimes just swapping cables will help.

Update for some versions of adb, ~/.android/adb_usb.ini has to be removed.

Executive summary: Add the Vendor ID to ~/.android/adb_usb.ini and restart adb

Full Details: Most of the time nothing will need to be done to get the Mac to recognize the phone/device. Seriously, 99% of the time "it just works."

That being said, the quickest way to reset adb is to restart it with the following commands in sequence:

  adb kill-server
  adb devices

But every now and then the adb devices command just fails to find your device. Maybe if you're working with some experimental or prototype or out-of-the-ordinary device, maybe it's just unknown and won't show up.

You can help adb to find your device by telling it about your device's "Vendor ID," essentially providing it with a hint. This can be done by putting the hex Vendor ID in the file ~/.android/adb_usb.ini

But first you have to find the Vendor ID value. Fortunately on Mac this is pretty easy. Launch the System Information application. It is located in the /Applications/Utilities/ folder, or you can get to it via the Apple Menu in the top left corner of the screen, select "About this Mac", then click the "More Info..." button. Screen grab here:

Expand the "Hardware" tree, select "USB", then look for your target device. In the above example, my device is named "SomeDevice" (I did that in photoshop to hide the real device manufacturer). Another example would be a Samsung tablet which shows up as "SAMSUNG_Android" (btw, I didn't have to do anything special to make the Samsung tablet work.) Anyway, click your device and the full details will display in the pane below. This is where it lists the Vendor ID. In my example from the screenshot the value is 0x9d17 -- use this value in the next command

echo 0x9d17 >> ~/.android/adb_usb.ini

It's okay if you didn't already have that adb_usb.ini file before this, most of the time it's just not needed for finding your device so it's not unusual for that file to not be present. The above command will create it or append to the bottom of it if it already exists. Now run the commands listed way above to restart adb and you should be good to go.

adb kill-server ; adb devices

* daemon not running. starting it now on port 5037 *
* daemon started successfully *
List of devices attached 
123ABC456DEF001 device

Every

Note: The newer adb seems to want to manage the adb_usb.ini itself and says DO NOT EDIT so I'm not sure these directions are going to be accurate any longer. I would still suggest checking the System Information application to make sure your device shows up. – Every

for new versions do android update adb, this will generate the adb_usb.ini file. – Eristic

it's not working in sdk v22. if I added texts in adb_usb.inifile. after I adb kill-server, I cannot start server via adb start-server. It will complain * daemon not running. starting it now on port 5037 *. ADB server didn't ACK * failed to start daemon * error: cannot connect to daemon. It would only recover if I cleared the added texts! – Bouldon

AWESOME! Worked for me - be sure to unplug and plugin your Android device again :) – Shears

Hopefully Google will index this comment to save other people the trouble of spending HOURS hunting down this solution. For anybody else who bought the $89 HP 7-inch Android tablet for Black Friday and can't get USB debugging to work. Just add 0x03f0 to your ~/.android/adb_usb.ini file. – Diannediannne

You're telling me. I've worked with many different Android devices in the past and you can never take for granted that the adb devices is going to work the first time. Actually I've never had it work on the first try. Google should refer all users to this answer :) – Gazetteer

Great answer. I tried android update but that did not work. Mine is a custom prototype device. This should be part of the official doc. – Berkelium

For connecting a Firefox Os device to the desktop - follow these guidelines for hassle-free dev-environment collected from Mozilla articles https://mcmap.net/q/89512/-firefox-app-manager-doesn-t-detect-intex-cloud-fx/2494535 – Nevus

on mac side, can disconnect device, exit android studio, run 'Activity Monitor', kill adb, then restart android studio, connect device (worked in my case). thank you dustmachine. – Lambdoid

@Every would you mind adding this answer https://mcmap.net/q/89417/-adb-not-finding-my-device-phone-macos-x tp your solution. I spent 1 hour trying everything in this thread and in the end, that was the solution. – Novelize

rm ~/.android/adb_usb.ini worked for me. Had to unplug and re-plug device after and it was detected no problem. – Viridity

Just worked for me for a rare German ionik tablet. And I like the executive summary! – Marine

Changed the cable and my Mac recognized the Samsung Galaxy Note II. – Niki

For me it was the cable - much appreciated – Prussianism

If the devide already not listed after all.... try check if developer mode are active on device. – Mabelmabelle

After activating the USB developer mode from the phone's settings, don't forget that the first time you connect, a dialog box will pop-up in which you'll have to authorise your PC. – Nez

On my Pixel2 I had a cable with USB3 connector on one and USB2 connector on the other end. I used and AUKEY adapter to get USB3 on both sides. I had to replace the cable with USB3 connectors on both sides and it worked. – Scarrow

A data transfer USB cable and eliminate protection cover from phone in case is almost near of entrance – Dorotheadorothee

For me it was the cable in an odd way: I had it plugged in enough for charging, but it needed to be pushed in just a bit more to actually get the data connection working. Threw me off for a good 30mins of debugging... – Adynamia

neither rm the file nor adding the vendor ID (0x0bb4) works for me...:/ any idea? (trying to upgrade a old gigaset phone...) -- thanks (on macOS 10.15.2 , adb 1.0.41, using USB 3.0) – Hallmark

My first cable charged the phone from the Mac, but wouldn't debug. I swapped it and the new cable works for both. – Penelopepeneplain

I forgot to enable USB debugging on my Android. – Liking

There are cables without data transmission, which are used only for charging purposes. These kinds of cables can't be used with ADB. – Gastronome

For me it was port, attached it one next to screen and it works. – Crowded

This worked for me. My Mac couldn't recognize a rare chinese device, but creating the file adb_usb.ini and adding the vendor saved my day. – Tricia

It didn't work for OnePlus phone. First i had to turn on Developer Options menu and then Enable USB debugging. – Emilyemina

Answer 2

Solution specific to Nexus 4 and Nexus 5 for OS X

Got no device listed in the "List of devices attached" when I ran: adb devices

Fix:

1. Get the SDK (Latest Version) from developer.android.com
2. Put developer mode on nexus 4 ( About Phone > Build Number > tap 7 times to enter Dev Mode)
3. A new menu option will come up in the 'Settings' : { } Developer Options
4. Make sure you check the following under { } Developer options:
   • USB Debugging : Debug mode when USB is connected (Accept the RSA fingerprint popup)
   • Verify apps over USB : Check apps installed via ADB/ADT for Harmful behavior

Try listing your device from ./adb devices and it should work.

Answer taken from: Any idea why adb does not recognize my nexus 4 on mac

Vulture

Thank you so MUUCH! That was it for me ;) – Oshiro

Answer 3

If you have installed the application EasyTether, this can interfere with ADB.

From this page you can execute the command:

sudo kextunload /System/Library/Extensions/EasyTetherUSBEthernet.kext 

this will unload your EasyTether extension.

If you need to re-enable EasyTether for tethering, I believe you can use:

sudo kextload /System/Library/Extensions/EasyTetherUSBEthernet.kext 

This worked on my Samsung Galaxy S2. It's been necessary in my case to execute the kextunload command everytime I reboot.

Hayman

damn thanks for this ! forgot I installed this crap 3 weeks ago ! – Capriccio

thank you so much... this is exactly what my problem was – Ryurik

Yes it's a headache problem.after installing easy tether to mac,connected android device not shown in eclipse IDE.When i am executing sudo kextunload /System/Library/Extensions/EasyTetherUSBEthernet.kext this command too.But nothing helps me to figure out the connected device problem...I also removed EasyTether network connection from System Preferences. – Sexy

Never installed this EasyTether thingy, but there it was, after I disabled it it worked for adb devices. now I have to make fastboot devices work... – Negligible

I used EasyTether -ages- ago and forgot I had left it installed. This did the trick for me. – Irresoluble

Answer 4

I had a similar issue. I've discovered that MTP is not supported in OSX. I changed it to PTP, I was promoted to approve my laptop and then my device was finally listed (LG G3).

Downey

LG G2, had to select PTP. Thanks! – Joshia

The Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3 had defaulted to Charging mode yet mislead me with the continuous USB debugging connected notification. I had to scroll past the misleading, enabled USB Debugging switch and open the Select USB configuration menu. – Armhole

This worked for me - note that to get to this menu you may need to enable USB Debugging, then from the notifications bar up top tap on the USB connection dialog and switch from MTP to PTP. After you should see a dialog to accept connection to your computer. – Reasonable

Same thing! Had to switch to Transfer photos (PTP) on Nexus 5X. – Minatory

For me I needed to change "Use USB for" from ( ) Transferring files to (*) USB tethering. I accessed this option from the "notification" pull down on the main screen of the phone. – Acidforming

LG G3 had the same issue ;) – Germain

LG H-320 (Leon), had to select PTP, thanks! – Kigali

Answer 5

If you are using following devices:
Samsung S3 GT-I9305 (Android 4.1.2)
Mac OS 10.6.8

Do following:

# echo "0x04e8" >> ~/.android/adb_usb.ini
# adb kill-server
# adb devices

(if you are not using Samsung device, change the Vendor ID "0x04e8" to the correct value of your Vendor)

If still not working, you may want to try following:

(1) On your Samsung device, disable "USB Debugging" and re-enable it again
(and try the adb commands again)

(2) Disconnect the USB cable, and re-connect it again

(3) Uninstall Samsung Kies

(4) Install Android File Transfer

(5) Reboot your Mac and the Samsung device

(6) Use hardware device to test your Android app

After getting the devices connected but you suddenly unplug the USB cable, and suppose now "adb devices" cannot see your device any more, even after "adb kill-server", in this case, you may want to try the following:

(1) power off your Mac
(2) disable "USB debuggine" on your Samsung device
(3) power off your Samsung device
(4) power on your Mac
(5) power on your Samsung device
(6) enable "USB debuggine" on your Samsung device
(7) connect the USB cable
(8) Run "adb devices"
(9) You should see the attached device now

Harvestman

I was going to upvote this answer specifically for the link to vendors, but the link tries to instal ad-ware. I didn't try the other links, but I'm sure they do the same things. – Grier

Worked for me for a Mediacom S2 tablet. The Console.app shows the vendor ID when connecting the device: 13/02/14 11:17:27,000 kernel[0]: USBMSC Identifier (non-unique): 0123456789ABCDEF 0x2207 0x10 0x222, 2 The VendorID is, in this case, 0x2207 – Janssen

Downvoting because the link to Android File Transfer is adware. Use this link instead: android.com/filetransfer – Ventricular

The latest 10 steps procedure what was I was searching for. Thank you! – Bellbella

nothing worked for me. Still can't find my gs7 on recovery mode – Sika

Rebooting the macbook should always be step 1 for everything. – Copestone

thanks a lot disabling and enabling usb debugging solved my problem – K

Answer 6

Believe it or not, swapping USB cables solved this for me. I'd been using a random one (which wasn't working), and as soon as I switched over to one that came with an actual Android device, it worked.

Another sign that the good cable was working, was that the Android File Transfer app immediately launched, which wasn't happening with the crappy cable.

Jefe

Plugging USB cable to different USB port might also solve "adb devices" problem if computer occasionally stops detecting your device. – Or

This just worked for me too. Can't believe the amount of time I've wasted on this... – Everywhere

Happened to me too and I have no idea how it works. USB cable is a USB cable - Charging is working just fine, why wouldn't ADB work? That's some monster-gold-plated-cable magic stuff :( – Housecoat

To everyone who had connected with a not-working cable once: Did you get the dialogue on your phone that says like "Allow file access" and did your phone go to debugging mode? Or did it just say "charging over USB"? – Scholastic

@Scholastic : for me it just charged over USB and I didn't get any further dialogs. With the other cable it then just worked with dialog. – Nessim

Answer 7

Also make sure you are not using an USB cable designated for charging only. This just got me. And it actually was labelled "for charging only"

Toots

I was totally not expecting this solution, but yeah changed my usb cable and there was my device.. :/ :/ – Gondar

With a normal USB, two contacts are used for data, and two are used for power. Those "for charging only" cables probably cut manufacturing costs by omitting the data connections. – Asgard

Thanks, I was having the same issue. I was using the USB to microUSB cable from a portable charger thinking it would be a standard cable, but I guess it was actually for charging only. Swapped it out for a normal USB to microUSB cable and it worked. – Libove

Answer 8

In my case, it was because the USB cable.

I discovered there are two types of USB cables:

• Those that only supply power
• Those that supply power and can transfer data

And it's hard to know what type is a USB cable. Now I make a notch on my cables with data transfer.

Buddy

90% of the time, for me, this is the problem. Thanks for the feedback. – Execratory

Answer 9

This only worked for me after I've enabled developer usb debugging on the phone:

On your android phone, go to Settings > About, then tap repeatedly on Build Number until Developer Options is enabled.

Stalwart

This and clicking on Settings->Developer Options->USB Debugging seem to have done the trick.. I am using an AstroTab w/5.0. Thanks! – Bonucci

This was THE thing for me. Now also adb devices showed my Samsung Galaxy A5 2015. – Pretrice

Answer 10

NOTE TO FOLKS WHO CANT GET ANY OF THIS ADVICE TO WORK

Try launching Console.app and watching for errors when you plug in your device. I was getting

# The IOUSBFamily is having trouble enumerating a USB device that has been plugged in. It will keep retrying.

It persisted after reboots, so I eventually reset my PRAM and that got it working again.

HOW TO PERFORM A PRAM RESET

1. Shut your machine down completely.
2. Briefly hit the power button
3. Hold down Command + Option + P + R
4. Wait until you hear the boot chime for a 3rd time
5. Release all keys and let the machine continue to boot completely

Dado

I have the same problem "IOUSBFamily is having trouble enumerating a USB device". I have tried every possible solution, even PRAM RESET. Did not work for me :( Any other suggestion? Everything was working fine before and now suddenly none of my 3 devices are being recognized. charging is being done for the samsung ones, for nexus 4 not even that. – Triangular

THANK YOU ! I tried the first 6 answers and nothing worked. In the end, your solution worked great. Your solution should be added in the most upvoted answer. – Novelize

@Novelize - did you get the Console.app error as well or did you just reset the PRAM? – Whitcher

Answer 11

Here is another thing to try, if like me you have tried all of the other answers and have had no luck.

In my case (Android 4.3) I went into the USB settings under the notifications and changed from MTP mode (Media device) to PTP (camera) and as soon as it switched, the device showed up in the ADT device list.

Ricardoricca

Lifesaver! Thank you, worked right away for my LG L90 (D415)! – Plaster

Answer 12

Simply changing the cable and Authorizing the Mac worked for me!

Emirate

A few times this has happened to me and it was the cable - perhaps just for charging and not rated for data transfer – Seedbed

Same for me; check the cable. – Cockloft

Answer 13

I was experiencing the same issue and the following fixed it.

• Make sure your phone has USB Debugging enabled.
• Install Android File Transfer
• You will receive two notifications on your phone to allow the connected computer to have access and another to allow access to the media on your device. Enable both.
• Your phone will now be recognized if you type 'adb devices' in the terminal.

Buskin

Opening Android File Transfer did the work for me, thanks! – Plight

Answer 14

With the newer adb version, you have to remove ~/.android/adb_usb.ini

Phaedra

rm .android/adb_usb.ini; adb kill-server; adb devices – Veracity

Answer 15

I had to enable USB debugging (Security settings) developer option in addition to USB debugging in Redmi Note 4.

Chasidychasing

Even I had to enable USB debugging for Redmi Note 7 to make it work. – Yoga

Answer 16

I faced the same problem and spent half of the day searching for a solution. But everything was in vain. In the first answer, there it is mentioned about USB cable issue which didn't catch the attention. So if someone goes through the same issue, I'll suggest, first of all

Try some other USB Cables because some cables are used only for charging rather than transmitting data

If it doesn't bring you luck then you can try out other answers.

Staford

Answer 17

Just in case it helps somebody in the future, I had accidentally turned off "USB debugging" in my settings when I was enabling/disabling "Show layout boundaries". So, first check this setting in your "Developer options".

Telegraphy

I needed to toggle this off and then on again to repair with my mac. – Epizootic

Answer 18

I switched to a different USB port and that got it to show up in the adb devices list.

That was the only thing that worked for me of all the solutions proposed here. It was proposed by @user908643 in this comment.

Hurlyburly

Answer 19

Another tricky thing with modern Android is you set the device behavior by selecting "Use for" of the device.

If it is set as "Use for" charging for example the device won't be detected by ADB. switching to PTP/MTP other behavior which is more 'active' will auto-magically make your device detectable.

Langston

if I go to USB preferences in settings to set to PTP they are all greyed out :| – Commons

Answer 20

None of the above answers worked for me. On macOS Mojave, open console app, you may see an error like this:

001076.240057 adb@(null): IOUSBUserClientLegacy::start: missing entitlement com.apple.appledfr.client

Even resetting the mac PFRAM didn't help. To fix this issue:

1. Connect Android device via USB cable(double USB-C cable worked for me).

2. Go to Settings -> .. -> Developer Options and click Revoke USB debugging authorizations

3. The Android phone will go for a reboot.

4. Go to Settings -> .. -> Developer Options and make sure USB debugging is enabled.

5. Now in macOS terminal enter:

   adb devices
   

6. You can see your device listed.

It worked for my Google Pixel 2 phone.

Missend

close to be same for me, but this way you described helps time to time, sometime helps changing usb socket, but eventially it goes into stuck and does not sees my device constantly untill mac reboot. Have you figured out what is really going on? – Clydeclydebank

This setting saved me, thanks. Apparently a recently Android update left my Developer settings turned ON, but turned OFF my USB debugging switch. Turning it back on resolved it. – Aubry

Answer 21

Also make sure you check the vendors website for their "USB" drivers. I had this problem with my AT&T Galaxy Note (Running Android 2.3.6) and it wasn't being recognized by the adb without a driver install that I got from the samsung website.

Soapbox

Answer 22

None of the tips above worked for me on my Mac OS X Lion set up. I have Motorola phones running 2.3.6. It turns out that I needed to install drivers for Motorola phones. I found them here.

Tressa

Answer 23

if you are trying to detect a samsung galaxy s3, then on the phone go to settings -> developer options -> make sure usb debugging is checked

Tarantass

I'm android dev working daily with, among others, Galaxy Nexus. Somehow USB debugging got deselected on its own, no update no change from half an hour ago what so ever. I've enabled it again and its working. This gave me clue to check it, thanks. – Limacine

Answer 24

Try rebooting (if it was ever detected before and stopped showing up) - the mother of all solutions!

Bent

Answer 25

Tried all the above, the last piece missing was to enable USB Debugging within Developer Options which was hidden on my 4.4 Galaxy Note 10.1.

See item 5.2 from this link.

Vietnam

Could you summarise the link, in case it breaks? – Derbyshire

Answer 26

Its damn strange but just plugging to the USB port located next to Thunderbolt port on my mid-2014 MBP with Retina worked!

The other USB port would simply not recognise the device.

Lagerkvist

Answer 27

On the LG G3 I was able to get it working by installing ADB via homebrew (Installing ADB on MAC OS X) and then disabling/enabling USB debugging.

Sanctity

Answer 28

In case, like me, none of the above worked for you, I figured out a very stupid solution.

I'm using a HTC One X on a 2011 Macbook Pro. I just disabled NFC in Settings > Wireless & Networks > More > NFC and viola! Working normally.

Auk

Answer 29

I have seen this problem and tried every solution on stackoverflow and other sites, but nothing help me.

I have restarted adb, switching on developer mode and activating usb debugging, uninstalling samsung kies and even exchanging the usb cables to different ports.

But then I read somewhere that different usb cable use different pins for connecting to the laptop or computer.
So I used different usb cable to connect my samsung phone to mac .. and vowwww it works... for me......

Wearisome

In my case it was the cable. I changed it with a quality cable and all devices were found. – Effusive

Answer 30

In my case, USB debugging wasn't enabled on my device yet connecting the device to my macbook didn't cause the familiar "Allow USB Debugging" dialog to pop up on the screen.

Juarez

For anyone with this problem (like I've been for the past several hours), all you need to do is follow the instructions from the site below eltima.com/wiki/user-guides/syncmate/usb-debugging-android.html Instructions go as far as v4.0 of Android. I've scoured the internet, searching "Android can't connect to Mac" and the like with all solutions asking to enable usb debugging mode, but with none stating how to access this option. After 3 applications and 5 installations later I find this website because of an app called SyncMate. I'm going to relax and enjoy Christmas now. – Alluvial

Answer 31

I was trying to connect an old phone that I use to test apps on older API versions. Today adb was not finding it.

After trying pretty much everything here, I figured out that the phone was not even showing the system notification about the USB connection going on.

So I looked around for that issue, and found the solution here (credits to the original source):

1. Remove phone from PC and remove battery to shut off phone.
2. Plug USB cable into PC.
3. Plug USB cable (other end) into phone.
4. The PC install new hardware appropriate drivers for a few minutes (phone without battery)
5. Unplug USB cable from phone
6. Put battery back in and turn on phone
7. As the phone boots, hold down Volume up and down. Phone boots into safe mode.
8. Plug USB cable into phone.
9. I saw notification about USB MTP-connecting on the phone. PC have found my phone!
10. After the reboot in normal mode problem was fixed

Not sure step 4. is of any use here on macOS, however I did all the steps and it worked well.

Waxbill

Answer 32

For me this is what worked, I have a Huawei device and I had to install HiSuite from the AppStore, followed its instructions to enable HDB, then in my phone change USB mode to PTP and I started to see some popups about authorizing the device, after that adb devices detected the device.

Deepset

Answer 33

Just an extra bit of help: the device needs to be directly connected to the computer, connecting it to an USB hub might prevent the device prompt from displaying.

Ostracon

Answer 34

When I plugged the Android 10 device to the Mac OS a popup showed on the phone saying:

The Mac OS cannot access data on this device, you will have to download filetransfer or smart-switch.

1. Download file transfer https://www.android.com/filetransfer/ for android
2. Download smart-switch https://www.samsung.com/us/smart-switch/ for Samsung I guess

Though not sure why there are two options here!

I downloaded file transfer and it worked perfectly even though the device was Samsung Note.

Note: I forgot to mention that first you have to enable Developer mode then USB Debugging.

Jell

Answer 35

Got it working by restarting my Oneplus 5T after enabling Developer mode.

Haematinic

Answer 36

In my case (Samsung s5e tablet) after enabling developer mode by taping the build number 7 times, I also had to switch on the USB debugging under Developer Options

Lederhosen

Answer 37

I had a devil of a time with this.

I attempted this method but it did not work. I ended up turning OFF USB debugging and the device then requested that install motocast.

It attempted to use the build in installer but it kept crashing past the download. After I downloaded it manually and installed it, I was able to do it.

I am running 10.6.8 and the device is a Xoom 2 running 3.2.2

After that installation, it worked fine.

Sentience

Answer 38

Just for all iPhone users.. you cannot use a physical iPhone, you need to run an Android Simulator.

Just in case you try to use Android Studio with an iPhone.

Sitra

The question is about Android devices, not iPhones. – Spittle

My comment was about giving a hint to tell users that having Android Studio wouldn't work with an iPhone. – Sitra

So the answer is not relevant to the question, because the question has nothing to do with an iPhone. If you want to share that knowledge, you should look for a question from a person trying to use Android Studio to deploy to an iPhone. – Spittle

Or maybe there's a reason your answer is at -3 and the one that answers the question is at 396. – Spittle

Your answer just makes this question confusing for anybody not trying to deploy to an iPhone via adb. I had to re-read the question and then read all the comments. A couple of minutes wasted. Downvotes help to clear this up: it's easy to see that this answer can be ignored. Your certainty that this has a place here and everyone else is wrong is concerning though. – Brandenbrandenburg