How to Install ADB on Windows, macOS, and Linux

Lately here at XDA we have been writing a number of tutorials to show you how to access certain features of the Android platform that simply are not visible to the user. These have generally been done with the help of some command line Android Debug Bridge (ADB) commands, a tool that Google offers for developers to debug various parts of their applications or the system, but which we can use for all kinds of neat and hidden tricks. Using the command line isn’t something that everyone is comfortable with, though, so in an attempt to teach everyone how to do these tweaks (no matter what skill level you’re at), we have been including some basic steps about how to install ADB in each of our tutorials where necessary.

Well, the number of our tutorials has ballooned in quantity lately, so we have decided to exclude those steps from future tutorials to avoid redundancy. However, we still want all future tutorials we write to be easy to understand for as many people as possible, so that will be the point of today’s guide. Having a dedicated step by step tutorial on how to install and setup ADB on your computer (no matter what operating system you use) will be great for those who may not have it set up already.

This will also let us include a link to this guide in the future tutorials we write that require you to have ADB setup and installed on your computer. So when one of our new tutorials comes out that requires ADB, you can click through the link to learn how to install ADB or you can simply ignore it and move onto the next step. Since ADB can be used on a variety of operating systems, we’ll be covering some basic instructions for Windows, macOS and Linux.

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How to Setup the Android Debug Bridge (ADB)

Note: Setting up ADB on the computer is just half the equation since you’ll also need to do some things on the smartphone or tablet to accept the ADB commands.

Phone Setup

1. Launch the Settings application on your phone.
2. Tap the About Phone option generally near the bottom of the list.
3. Then tap the Build Number option 7 times to enable Developer Mode. You will see a toast message when it is done.
4. Now go back to the main Settings screen and you should see a new Developer Options menu you can access.
5. Go in there and enable the USB Debugging mode option.
   
6. You are partially done with the phone setup process. Next up, you will need to scroll below and follow the rest of the instructions for your particular operating system.

Follow along for the operating system on your computer.

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How to setup ADB on Microsoft Windows

1. Download the Android SDK Platform Tools ZIP file for Windows.
2. Extract the contents of this ZIP file into an easily accessible folder (such as C:\platform-tools)
3. Open Windows explorer and browse to where you extracted the contents of this ZIP file
4. Then open up a Command Prompt from the same directory as this ADB binary. This can be done by holding Shift and Right-clicking within the folder then click the “Open command window here” option. (Some Windows 10 users may see “PowerShell” instead of “command window”.)
5. Connect your smartphone or tablet to your computer with a USB cable. Change the USB mode to “file transfer (MTP)” mode. Some OEMs may or may not require this, but it’s best to just leave it in this mode for general compatibility.
6. In the Command Prompt window, enter the following command to launch the ADB daemon: adb devices
7. On your phone’s screen, you should see a prompt to allow or deny USB Debugging access. Naturally, you will want to grant USB Debugging access when prompted (and tap the always allow check box if you never want to see that prompt again).
8. Finally, re-enter the command from step #6. If everything was successful, you should now see your device’s serial number in the command prompt. Yay! You can now run any ADB command on your device! Now go forth and start modding your phone by following our extensive list of tutorials!

---

How to setup ADB on macOS

1. Download the Android SDK Platform Tools ZIP file for macOS.
2. Extract the ZIP to an easily-accessible location (like the Desktop for example).
3. Open Terminal.
4. To browse to the folder you extracted ADB into, enter the following command: cd /path/to/extracted/folder/
5. For example, on my Mac it was this: cd /Users/Doug/Desktop/platform-tools/
6. Connect your device to your Mac with a compatible USB cable. Change the USB connection mode to “file transfer (MTP)” mode. This is not always required for every device, but it’s best to just leave it in this mode so you don’t run into any issues.
7. Once the Terminal is in the same folder your ADB tools are in, you can execute the following command to launch the ADB daemon: adb devices
8. On your device, you’ll see an “Allow USB debugging” prompt. Allow the connection.
9. Finally, re-enter the command from step #7. If everything was successful, you should now see your device’s serial number in macOS’s Terminal window. Congratulations! You can now run any ADB command on your device! Now go forth and start modding your phone by following our extensive list of tutorials!

---

How to setup ADB on Linux

1. Download the Android SDK Platform Tools ZIP file for Linux.
2. Extract the ZIP to an easily-accessible location (like the Desktop for example).
3. Open a Terminal window.
4. Enter the following command: cd /path/to/extracted/folder/
5. This will change the directory to where you extracted the ADB files.
6. So for example: cd /Users/Doug/Desktop/platform-tools/
7. Connect your device to your Linux machine with your USB cable. Change the connection mode to “file transfer (MTP)” mode. This is not always necessary for every device, but it’s recommended so you don’t run into any issues.
8. Once the Terminal is in the same folder your ADB tools are in, you can execute the following command to launch the ADB daemon: adb devices
9. Back on your smartphone or tablet device, you’ll see a prompt asking you to allow USB debugging. Go ahead and grant it.
10. Finally, re-enter the command from step #8. If everything was successful, you should now see your device’s serial number in the Terminal window output. Congrats! You can now run any ADB command on your device! Now go forth and start modding your phone by following our extensive list of tutorials!

Some Linux users should be aware that there can be an easier way to install ADB on their computer. The guide above will certainly work for you, but those own a Debian or Fedora/SUSE-based distro of Linux can skip steps 1 and 2 of the guide above and use one of the following commands:

• Debian-based Linux users can type the following command to install ADB: sudo apt-get install adb
• Fedora/SUSE-based Linux users can type the following command to install ADB: sudo yum install android-tools

However, it is always better to opt for the latest binary from the Android SDK Platform Tools release, since the distro-specific packages often contain outdated builds.

Just to cover all of our bases here, Linux users may need to put a ./ in front of the ADB commands we list in future tutorials. This is something that is likely known by any Linux user already, but again, we want as many people as possible to understand how to do these tweaks for Android no matter how much of your operating system you know.

Bonus: For those who want to take this a step further, you can follow this new tutorial we put together that will walk you through how to setup ADB so that you can use the command from any directory on a Windows or Linux desktop.

The post How to Install ADB on Windows, macOS, and Linux appeared first on xda-developers.

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How to Install ADB on Windows, macOS, and Linux

Lately here at XDA we have been writing a number of tutorials to show you how to access certain features of the Android platform that simply are not visible to the user. These have generally been done with the help of some command line Android Debug Bridge (ADB) commands, a tool that Google offers for developers to debug various parts of their applications or the system, but which we can use for all kinds of neat and hidden tricks. Using the command line isn’t something that everyone is comfortable with, though, so in an attempt to teach everyone how to do these tweaks (no matter what skill level you’re at), we have been including some basic steps about how to install ADB in each of our tutorials where necessary.

Well, the number of our tutorials has ballooned in quantity lately, so we have decided to exclude those steps from future tutorials to avoid redundancy. However, we still want all future tutorials we write to be easy to understand for as many people as possible, so that will be the point of today’s guide. Having a dedicated step by step tutorial on how to install and setup ADB on your computer (no matter what operating system you use) will be great for those who may not have it set up already.

This will also let us include a link to this guide in the future tutorials we write that require you to have ADB setup and installed on your computer. So when one of our new tutorials comes out that requires ADB, you can click through the link to learn how to install ADB or you can simply ignore it and move onto the next step. Since ADB can be used on a variety of operating systems, we’ll be covering some basic instructions for Windows, macOS and Linux.

---

How to Setup the Android Debug Bridge (ADB)

Note: Setting up ADB on the computer is just half the equation since you’ll also need to do some things on the smartphone or tablet to accept the ADB commands.

Phone Setup

1. Launch the Settings application on your phone.
2. Tap the About Phone option generally near the bottom of the list.
3. Then tap the Build Number option 7 times to enable Developer Mode. You will see a toast message when it is done.
4. Now go back to the main Settings screen and you should see a new Developer Options menu you can access.
5. Go in there and enable the USB Debugging mode option.
   
6. You are partially done with the phone setup process. Next up, you will need to scroll below and follow the rest of the instructions for your particular operating system.

Follow along for the operating system on your computer.

---

How to setup ADB on Microsoft Windows

1. Download the Android SDK Platform Tools ZIP file for Windows.
2. Extract the contents of this ZIP file into an easily accessible folder (such as C:\platform-tools)
3. Open Windows explorer and browse to where you extracted the contents of this ZIP file
4. Then open up a Command Prompt from the same directory as this ADB binary. This can be done by holding Shift and Right-clicking within the folder then click the “Open command window here” option. (Some Windows 10 users may see “PowerShell” instead of “command window”.)
5. Connect your smartphone or tablet to your computer with a USB cable. Change the USB mode to “file transfer (MTP)” mode. Some OEMs may or may not require this, but it’s best to just leave it in this mode for general compatibility.
6. In the Command Prompt window, enter the following command to launch the ADB daemon: adb devices
7. On your phone’s screen, you should see a prompt to allow or deny USB Debugging access. Naturally, you will want to grant USB Debugging access when prompted (and tap the always allow check box if you never want to see that prompt again).
8. Finally, re-enter the command from step #6. If everything was successful, you should now see your device’s serial number in the command prompt. Yay! You can now run any ADB command on your device! Now go forth and start modding your phone by following our extensive list of tutorials!

---

How to setup ADB on macOS

1. Download the Android SDK Platform Tools ZIP file for macOS.
2. Extract the ZIP to an easily-accessible location (like the Desktop for example).
3. Open Terminal.
4. To browse to the folder you extracted ADB into, enter the following command: cd /path/to/extracted/folder/
5. For example, on my Mac it was this: cd /Users/Doug/Desktop/platform-tools/
6. Connect your device to your Mac with a compatible USB cable. Change the USB connection mode to “file transfer (MTP)” mode. This is not always required for every device, but it’s best to just leave it in this mode so you don’t run into any issues.
7. Once the Terminal is in the same folder your ADB tools are in, you can execute the following command to launch the ADB daemon: adb devices
8. On your device, you’ll see an “Allow USB debugging” prompt. Allow the connection.
9. Finally, re-enter the command from step #7. If everything was successful, you should now see your device’s serial number in macOS’s Terminal window. Congratulations! You can now run any ADB command on your device! Now go forth and start modding your phone by following our extensive list of tutorials!

---

How to setup ADB on Linux

1. Download the Android SDK Platform Tools ZIP file for Linux.
2. Extract the ZIP to an easily-accessible location (like the Desktop for example).
3. Open a Terminal window.
4. Enter the following command: cd /path/to/extracted/folder/
5. This will change the directory to where you extracted the ADB files.
6. So for example: cd /Users/Doug/Desktop/platform-tools/
7. Connect your device to your Linux machine with your USB cable. Change the connection mode to “file transfer (MTP)” mode. This is not always necessary for every device, but it’s recommended so you don’t run into any issues.
8. Once the Terminal is in the same folder your ADB tools are in, you can execute the following command to launch the ADB daemon: adb devices
9. Back on your smartphone or tablet device, you’ll see a prompt asking you to allow USB debugging. Go ahead and grant it.
10. Finally, re-enter the command from step #8. If everything was successful, you should now see your device’s serial number in the Terminal window output. Congrats! You can now run any ADB command on your device! Now go forth and start modding your phone by following our extensive list of tutorials!

Some Linux users should be aware that there can be an easier way to install ADB on their computer. The guide above will certainly work for you, but those own a Debian or Fedora/SUSE-based distro of Linux can skip steps 1 and 2 of the guide above and use one of the following commands:

• Debian-based Linux users can type the following command to install ADB: sudo apt-get install adb
• Fedora/SUSE-based Linux users can type the following command to install ADB: sudo yum install android-tools

However, it is always better to opt for the latest binary from the Android SDK Platform Tools release, since the distro-specific packages often contain outdated builds.

Just to cover all of our bases here, Linux users may need to put a ./ in front of the ADB commands we list in future tutorials. This is something that is likely known by any Linux user already, but again, we want as many people as possible to understand how to do these tweaks for Android no matter how much of your operating system you know.

Bonus: For those who want to take this a step further, you can follow this new tutorial we put together that will walk you through how to setup ADB so that you can use the command from any directory on a Windows or Linux desktop.

The post How to Install ADB on Windows, macOS, and Linux appeared first on xda-developers.

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Mobvoi rolls out an update to the TicWatch Pro 3 with essential screen tweaks

Mobvoi on Monday introduced a new firmware update for the TicWatch Pro 3, which includes a number of new features and improvements. The new firmware version is PYDA.200427.080.MRB.210114.001.

Mobvoi said some of the new features for the TicWatch Pro 3 include support for adjusting the essential screen’s date format (DD-MM/MM-DD) through the Essential Mode app and support for turning off the essential screen’s auto-backlight. The update also includes improvements to the tilt-to-wake screen and the smoothness of sliding.

Here’s the full changelog for today’s TicWatch Pro 3 update.

Features:
1. Support adjusting the essential screen’s date format(DD-MM/MM-DD) through the Essential Mode app.
2. Support turning on the backlight through the power button in the essential mode.
3. Support turning off the essential screen’s auto-backlight in the Essential Mode app.
4. Enable the notification sound (Can be adjusted in Settings –> Sound –> Ring volume).

Improvements:
1. Improved the speed of the Tilt-to-wake screen by about 1/4 second.
2. Solved the issue where sometimes the steps in the essential mode might be partially lost after restarting.
3. Improved the smoothness of sliding.
4. Optimized the responsive area at the edge of the screen.
5. Reduced the backlight brightness of the essential screen.
6. Improved pairing speed when pairing with Android phones.

Bug Fixes:
1. Solved the issue that the essential screen’s backlight could not be lit up by Tilt-to wake under certain circumstances.
2. Fixed the issue that double-clicking the function key sometimes opens other apps instead of Google pay(if Google pay is available in your area).

Mobvoi said that the rollout will take place in stages, with some users receiving the update today. By Thursday the company said that 100% of all TicWatch Pro 3 owners should receive the update available on their device.

The TicWatch Pro 3 was launched last year and features Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 4100 chip and Wear OS. Mobvoi recently launched an LTE version of the wearable in Europe.

The post Mobvoi rolls out an update to the TicWatch Pro 3 with essential screen tweaks appeared first on xda-developers.

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Mobvoi rolls out an update to the TicWatch Pro 3 with essential screen tweaks

Mobvoi on Monday introduced a new firmware update for the TicWatch Pro 3, which includes a number of new features and improvements. The new firmware version is PYDA.200427.080.MRB.210114.001.

Mobvoi said some of the new features for the TicWatch Pro 3 include support for adjusting the essential screen’s date format (DD-MM/MM-DD) through the Essential Mode app and support for turning off the essential screen’s auto-backlight. The update also includes improvements to the tilt-to-wake screen and the smoothness of sliding.

Here’s the full changelog for today’s TicWatch Pro 3 update.

Features:
1. Support adjusting the essential screen’s date format(DD-MM/MM-DD) through the Essential Mode app.
2. Support turning on the backlight through the power button in the essential mode.
3. Support turning off the essential screen’s auto-backlight in the Essential Mode app.
4. Enable the notification sound (Can be adjusted in Settings –> Sound –> Ring volume).

Improvements:
1. Improved the speed of the Tilt-to-wake screen by about 1/4 second.
2. Solved the issue where sometimes the steps in the essential mode might be partially lost after restarting.
3. Improved the smoothness of sliding.
4. Optimized the responsive area at the edge of the screen.
5. Reduced the backlight brightness of the essential screen.
6. Improved pairing speed when pairing with Android phones.

Bug Fixes:
1. Solved the issue that the essential screen’s backlight could not be lit up by Tilt-to wake under certain circumstances.
2. Fixed the issue that double-clicking the function key sometimes opens other apps instead of Google pay(if Google pay is available in your area).

Mobvoi said that the rollout will take place in stages, with some users receiving the update today. By Thursday the company said that 100% of all TicWatch Pro 3 owners should receive the update available on their device.

The TicWatch Pro 3 was launched last year and features Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 4100 chip and Wear OS. Mobvoi recently launched an LTE version of the wearable in Europe.

The post Mobvoi rolls out an update to the TicWatch Pro 3 with essential screen tweaks appeared first on xda-developers.

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Microsoft’s mobile scanning app gets a new name and new features

Microsoft has announced it’s renaming Office Lens, a scanning app for mobile devices, to Microsoft Lens. As part of the name change, the app is also getting a new logo.

In addition, Microsoft Lens is gaining new features like Image to Text, Image to Table, Image to Contact, Immersive Reader, and QR Code Scan. These features are coming to Android first and will be available on iOS in the coming months, Microsoft said.

Microsoft said the update will also include an improved scan experience. Users can now re-order pages, re-edit scanned PDFs, apply a filter to all images in the document, and scan up to 100 pages as images of PDFs. The update will also allow users to easily switch between local and cloud locations while saving PDFs, along with an easy way to identify local and cloud files.

Microsoft Lens powers the camera in Microsoft 365 mobile apps, meaning you’ll be able to rely on the app to “capture and intelligently enhance, and work with your documents, photos and videos with the same ease and dependability of Microsoft Lens app.”

Mobile scanning apps are a convenient way to scan documents, text, images, and more with your phone. They’re a great alternative compared to using a dedicated machine that your home office might not even have room for. And the best part is a mobile scanning app is always with you, allowing users to easily and quickly digitize important information.

Microsoft pushes Lens as a service that can help users get organized and also improve productivity at work and school. You can scan text on a whiteboard, for example, and send it to co-workers. Or you can scan a teacher’s handout and save it for later reference. If you’re heavily invested in Office 365—or even if you’re not—Lens is a great option.

Microsoft Lens requires Android 6.0 and up.

Microsoft Office Lens - PDF Scanner (Free, Google Play) →

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Google Maps makes it easier to navigate with a split screen Street View UI

Google Maps for Android is one of the most actively developed Google apps, with new features and improvements routinely being added to the navigation app. In the last two months alone, the app has gained quite a few functionalities, including a new community feed, a Go tab for accessing frequently visited places, messaging for verified businesses, a new driving mode, and food delivery alerts. The app will also soon start showing COVID-19 vaccine locations in the US. Now the Google Maps on Android is picking up a new split-screen UI that makes it easier to navigate in the Street View mode. This feature has long been available on the Google Map’s web version, but it’s only now making its way to smartphones.

As first spotted by Reddit user /u/p3nsive (via 9to5Google), the new UI launches automatically when you drop a pin on the map and enter the Street View mode. The Google Maps’ screen splits in half, with the upper half of the screen occupied by the Street View interface and the corresponding map shown in the bottom half. The Street View path is indicated in blue on the map, and there’s a Telegram logo-like indicator that shows your current position. You can also open the Street View mode in full screen and return to the split-screen with a simple tap.

In the old UI, it was easy to get lost and roam around aimlessly. The new split-screen UI gives you a much better understanding of exactly where you’re on the map and makes it easier to navigate your way around in the Street View mode.

The new split-screen UI with Street View is rolling out via a server-side switch on the latest version of Google Maps for Android. It was available on our phone running Google Maps v10.59.1. At the time being, the new split-screen UI is only rolling out to Android devices.

Google Maps - Navigate & Explore (Free, Google Play) →

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iCloud Passwords by Apple is a Chrome extension that lets you use passwords from your iCloud Keychain

Apple is making it easy for users to access their iCloud Keychain passwords on non-Apple devices with a new Chrome extension. The extension, called iCloud Passwords, is now available on the Chrome Web Store, and it will let you easily access all your saved passwords on Windows devices.

The iCloud Passwords extension lets you use the same Safari passwords that you create on your Apple device with Google Chrome on Windows, making iCloud Keychain a viable alternative for people who often switch between Windows and macOS devices. Previously, users had to settle with third-party password managers, like LastPass, that offer better cross-platform compatibility. But the new Chrome extension eliminates the need to sign up for a third-party password manager to an extent.

The new extension comes with iCloud for Windows version 12.0 (via Engadget), which now has a new “passwords” option in the list of available services. Tapping on this option brings up a prompt that states: “iCloud Passwords extension for Chrome is required; download the extension to automatically fill website passwords with your iCloud Keychain.”

While the Chrome Web Store listing for iCloud Passwords doesn’t mention support for other Chromium-based browsers, we tested it on Microsoft Edge, and it seems to work as intended. This leads us to believe that the extension will work on other Chromium-based browsers as well. You might also be able to get it to work on an Android device using a Chromium-based browser that offers Chrome extension support, like Kiwi Browser. But we weren’t able to test that out at the moment.

To use the extension, you’ll have to download iCloud for Windows on your system. You can download it by following this link. Once that’s set up, you can download the extension from the Chrome Web Store. Do let us know if you get the extension to work on an Android device in the comments section below.

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