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I have a Pixel 2 that is unlocked and has USB debugging enabled. Yet if I plug it into my computer, it only ever shows charging. The USB cord works to connect other devices for data transfer no problem though, so it's not the cord. I have no trouble connecting any other devices to any of my ports, even the original Pixel. I am running Windows 10 pro. The Pixel 2 connects fine to an older computer running Windows 10 pro. I have Android Studio 3 and the usb driver from Google tools. If I go into device manager and click on the Pixel 2, it says I have the most updated driver if I try to update. I have tried disabling and reenabling USB debugging, revoking permissions, etc. Nothing causes it to do anything other than charge. There is no pull-down menu either to select different options.

How can I get my Pixel 2 to be seen by my computer?

Vadim Kotov
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Elliptica
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  • I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it is better suited for https://android.stackexchange.com/ – ephemient Nov 10 '17 at 21:28

7 Answers7

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I had the same issue connecting my S7 Edge to my MacBook Pro running Android Studio. Make sure that you have the "USB Configuration" setting in the Developer Options to be set to "MTP" ("PTP" on newer phones).

One last ditch effort, a lot of the times when my phone would not show up, switching USB ports on my computer would work most the time. I am very unsure as to why it would, but it would. I thought this was just my situation, but it's worth a try on your end.

user985366
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T. Leonard
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  • THANK YOU!!! I have never seen this before in developer options and didn't know to look for it here. You have to scroll down past the rest of the USB choices but it's there and it works. YAY!!! – Elliptica Nov 10 '17 at 23:43
  • Awesome glad I could help, up-vote would be awesome since it worked for you. But yeah, it's quite a bit passed it for some reason. – T. Leonard Nov 10 '17 at 23:45
  • I also had to reconnect the device and cycle adb on my machine with adb kill-server/start-server, but this got it out of "offline" mode and working for me. – Jerry Brady Dec 18 '17 at 17:46
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    I also had to turn on "USB debugging" in `Settings > System > Developer options` and it worked immediately. I installed the google usb driver via Android Studio `Tools > Android > SDK Manager > SDK Tools [tab]` I never got past the "most updated driver" so it seems that step is unnecessary. – dotcomly Feb 13 '18 at 19:35
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    It's now "PTP". – Meshugah May 20 '19 at 09:31
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Plug cable into device by interchanging upside down. This is hilarious but it worked for me.

Parinda Rajapaksha
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    Worked for me too. I suspect it has to do with 3rd party cables. – Philippe David Dec 03 '18 at 05:11
  • Usually it will work for me if I unplug and replug it in over and over. Wait a few seconds before unplugging it each time. Really bizarre! Doesn't happen on my Moto phone, just my Pixel 2. – Tyler Apr 16 '19 at 23:47
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    For some reason this worked for me. I'm using an Anker USB A to C cable. – Memetic Jan 12 '20 at 22:05
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I had the same issue connecting my Google Pixel 2 to my Android Studio and this works for me:

  1. Settings -> Connected devices -> USB -> Transfer files (otherwise it's only charging your phone by default)
  2. Settings -> System -> Developer options -> USB debugging (turn this on)
  3. A question prompts up and you need to allow your computer to see your device

lo and behold, my Android Studio can see my Google pixel 2.

Nicole Finnie
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  • Oddly enough, I found that a restart of my device seemingly caused the developer options to reset! It wasn't until I went and checked that this was on that I realised what had happened. Thanks! – AlgoRyan Oct 03 '19 at 06:40
2

My problem ended up being that my Pixel 2 wouldn't connect to my MacBook Pro when using a USB 3.0 cable. It would charge fine, but the mac wouldn't detect it (in any USB Configuration) and the trust device dialog or USB debugging notification never appeared on the device.

Using a chain of cables/adapters that included a USB 2.0 component fixed the problem, e.g. Pixel 2 -> USB-C to USB 2.0 cable -> USB to USB-C cable -> MacBook.

It doesn't appear this problem (and solution is limited to just me

Nicholas
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  • Hi @Nicholas, I believe I've got the same problem as you. I almost despaired because it doesn't work in both my MBP 15' (2015) and MBP 16' (2019), but then I read the same Reddit thread you pointed out here in your answer. Do you think something like this would really make it work? https://www.ebay.de/itm/265123539104 (please just look at the pictures since it's in German ;) ). Thanks. – Glenn Mohammad May 04 '21 at 21:09
  • Also, I'm currently in a bootloop situation. My OS is completely gone and cannot be accessed because I carelessly wiped the /system and /data partitions. But I still have access to the bootloader (unlocked) and the recovery (TWRP). Do you think I'd still stand a chance to fix it (via fastboot at least) once my Pixel 2 could be detected again by my Mac(s)? – Glenn Mohammad May 04 '21 at 21:42
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    That looks like it should work as the USB-A ports are listed as 2.0. But you should be able to use the male USB-C to female USB-A dongle that came with the Pixel 2 with the male USB-A to male USB-C cable. – Nicholas May 05 '21 at 10:44
  • I bought my Pixel 2 secondhand so I don't have such dongle. Currently I only have USB 3.1 Type C Male to USB 3.0 Type A Female dongle, and USB 2.0 Type A Male to USB 3.1 Type C Male cable. I bet USB-A Female part in the official dongle is USB 2.0 (with white-colored stripe tab), correct? https://www.ebay.de/itm/174195439714 – Glenn Mohammad May 05 '21 at 12:16
  • Today I received the official/original male USB-C to female USB-A dongle you mentioned above, but it still doesn't make it got detected when my Pixel 2 is in FastBoot Mode – Glenn Mohammad May 08 '21 at 23:20
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I tried all of the above, several times over the last few months and the only way I am able to get it to work (temporarily) is to reboot my MacBook Pro. It will work for the rest of the day, until I sleep the MBP again.

Matt D.
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    I have the same issue with MacBook Pro, looks like sleep mode somehow breaks the connection to the phone. Quite annoying. – Micer Apr 26 '19 at 07:28
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After my Pixel 2 updated to Android 9, I had to clear the cache of the Media Storage app for my phone to be recognized by my computer / have my phone recognize it was connected to a computer.

My phone has to be plugged in at Windows 10 startup time for this to work. I connected my phone with USB-C and restarted Windows 10.

In Android,

  1. Search Settings for Media Storage
  2. App info -> Storage -> Clear Cache
  3. Phone prompts me (immediately in my case) with 2 notifications, 1 notification that USB Debugging is enabled (follow steps from this answer), and 1 notification that it is charging.
  4. Tap the charging notification for more options. What I see by default worked for me. I see "USB controlled by: This device" and "Use USB for: No data transfer" (Selecting "File transfer" also works for me)

In Windows 10's Devices -> Bluetooth & other devices -> Other devices, I now see Pixel 2 (Or "MTP" if I had selected "Use USB for: File transfer" in step 4. The first time you do this, Windows should have sent a notification that the device is being set up (I assume it installs the drivers).

I can now see my Pixel 2 as a connected device in ADB.

Solution based on this thread: https://productforums.google.com/d/msg/phone-by-google/JlooQqANO2A/d_n-MGIHAgAJ

JHS
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-1

For debian/ubuntu only

If you try to use the adb in {your sdk location}/platform-tools/, you will see the message

no permissions (user XXX is not in the plugdev group); see [http://developer.android.com/tools/device.html]

Turns out, you should be using another package with some custom rules of some sort (I have no idea what plugdev group means), and basically you just have to

apt-get install android-tools-adb

and use that adb instead.

Louis Tsai
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