OS X 10.6.6 and "adb devices" fails to list android devices

Question

adb devices was working fine last year, but after upgrades and new software installs, adb devices no longer recognizes USB attached Android devices.

Here is what I have tried:

adb kill-server
adb devices

adb usb
  error: Device not found

make sure you have USB Debugging enabled in the Settings -> Application -> Developemnt. Also what type of device are you connecting? Ive seen some devices like DroidX (actually mostly the motorola devcies) have issues being "found". you have to play with the "debugging mode" option. — Ryan Conrad, Jan 13 '11 at 14:18
Yes, I did turn on Debugging mode on my Android phone. I am also running the most recent version of android (2.3). I am wondering — RSStepheni, Jan 13 '11 at 18:13
The problem that I am reporting is occurring with USB Debugging mode on Android phones. I suspect that there might be some other kexts in /System/Library/Extensions, which might conflict with android USB drivers. — RSStepheni, Jan 13 '11 at 18:18
I'm having this problem as well. Haven't found a solution yet. — awolf, Feb 05 '11 at 06:09
were you able to solve this? I'm having the exact same problem and have spent the last few hours searching the web with no results. I will appreciate any help. — Roy Sharon, May 03 '11 at 09:02
+1 for Mac OS X v10.7.3 when upgrading to the latest SDK. I can share device's storage so the USB on mac works (only adb devices is empty). — xpepermint, Feb 29 '12 at 11:37

whitehat101 · Answer 1 · 2012-03-28T23:40:10.983

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If you have installed EasyTether on OS X, the EasyTetherUSBEthernet.kext can prevent adb from communicating with your mobile device.

If you use Easy Tether, BEFORE you plug in your phone run:

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

(or unplug/plug your phone in after)

If you are done debugging and want to use EasyTether again, either restart or:

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

If you want to remove the EasyTether kext so it never hassels you again:

sudo kextunload /System/Library/Extensions/EasyTetherUSBEthernet.kext
sudo rm -rf /System/Library/Extensions/EasyTetherUSBEthernet.kext

Reference/Credit: http://www.intohand.com/post.php?s=2011-02-17-android-debug-bridge-not-just-working-on-mac

edited Mar 28 '12 at 23:40

answered May 26 '11 at 00:29

whitehat101

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I thought I was going crazy for like 3 hours, this fixed my issue, thanks! – RyanG Jul 22 '11 at 17:44
if it was possible to give you a +100 I would. I've been tearing my hair out over this for two days... there's a total lack of info on this solution out on the net... very frustrating. I should start a blog just so I can post this for everyone else it's making crazy. BTW - I remember now that I had the exact converse of this problem a year or more ago - I couldn't get PdaNet to work all of a sudden and someone finally suggested that maybe I was running Eclipse - and thus adb - at the same time... I was. and quitting Eclipse fixed it. I really should've remembered that!! Doh! – Bennett Von Bennett Feb 16 '12 at 08:32
oh - I should add that obviously you will have to do the same with PdaNet if you have it installed. In my case a modified Terminal command did NOT kill the process and I had to do it in the Activity Monitor. After I trashed both .kext files (PdaNet and Easytether) and now all is well again and I don't have to go out and buy a netbook just to test my apps!! – Bennett Von Bennett Feb 16 '12 at 08:40
I have been looking for a solution to this for almost 2 weeks. I can't thank you enough. – Stofke Mar 22 '12 at 20:46
Just confirmed that this is still an issue on OS X 10.8.3. Thankfully, this answer is highly-ranked on Google. – talon55 May 02 '13 at 01:15

score 5 · Answer 2 · answered Dec 08 '11 at 22:40

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Having just connected a brand new Motorola Atrix 2 to my Mac running 10.6.8, I had to pull down the menu from the top of the screen, tap on "USB Connection", and change it from "Motorola Phone Portal" to "Charge Only" before it would show up in my list of devices from adb. Hope this helps!

answered Dec 08 '11 at 22:40

D.McG.

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This fixed my issue! I had to change mine from "Motorola Phone Portal" to "None". Thanks. – clintsmith Feb 22 '13 at 09:42

score 3 · Answer 3 · answered Feb 07 '13 at 08:21

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Another alternative: on modern Apple iMac's, the USB port closest to the outside edge of the machine never works with ADB, whereas all others work fine. I've seen this on two different iMacs, possibly those are USB 1.0 ports (or something equally stupid) - or it's a general manufacturing defect.

Plugging USB cables (new, old, high quality or cheap) into all other USB ports works fine, but plugging into that one fails ADB

NB: plugging into that port works for file-transfer, etc - it's only ADB that breaks.

answered Feb 07 '13 at 08:21

Adam

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I have two USB ports on my Mac Book 13in retina 2012. Both are working, but android only connects on one! – user363349 Mar 18 '13 at 13:23
Absolutely true, this worked for me on my latest iMac OS X Mavericks. It did not detect my tab on the first port towards the edge, but automatically detected when I used the first port towards the power socket. – Akash Gupta Jul 08 '14 at 12:03

score 3 · Answer 4 · answered Feb 28 '15 at 17:20

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If none of the above works for you just as it didn't for me, just try using a different cable. The cable I was using was my friend's cable but it was only meant to charge over USB, not to pass data over USB. I don't know how to tell the difference between micro USB cables that do or don't support data over USB but it's worth a try! Good luck!

answered Feb 28 '15 at 17:20

Junior

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This was the solution in my case. Thank you so much for bringing this up! – Erin Geyer Sep 15 '15 at 22:48

score 3 · Answer 5 · answered Sep 02 '11 at 20:37

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Following the google bug submission... I set usb mode to Charge Only, and it detected the phone immediately. Pretty silly.

answered Sep 02 '11 at 20:37

mondo

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score 2 · Answer 6 · answered Apr 25 '12 at 17:12

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Change the USB connection type to 'Charge Only'. That was the only change I made it showed up on my device list. Weird.;)

answered Apr 25 '12 at 17:12

Cam

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score 2 · Answer 7 · answered Jan 28 '11 at 12:59

I too am having this problem. However, it isn't just a problem with ADB, it's a problem with android devices in general on Mac OSX 10.6.6 Snow Leopard. Devices that used to work in 10.6.4 will no longer even mount the device as a USB drive. Googling to see if I can find the answers.

score 1 · Answer 8 · answered Mar 18 '11 at 02:36

I have seen another report of this bug. I have not been able to reproduce it myself yet.

The bug is: MacOS X 10.6.6 [on some hardware] breaks adb [for some phones].

If anyone is able to reproduce the bug, feel free to add details of the exact hardware, build numbers and so on. I've asked the person who can reproduce the bug, to report it to google using the form at http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/entry

When he does that, I will add the bug report URL here, and people can add their hw/sw details to the bug report.

In the meantime, to be safe, I would recommend Apple users should NOT accept the snow leopard upgrade to 10.6.6, which was pushed on Jan 6 2011 (so it may already be too late for most).

Peter

score 1 · Answer 9 · answered Sep 05 '11 at 02:38

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I was having the same issue and tried connecting as charge only, but that didn't solve the problem, then unchecked the "Unknown sources" option to allow installation of non-market applications, tried it again and it recognized the device. I'm running android 2.2.3.

answered Sep 05 '11 at 02:38

jctechsan

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I had this problem with the Samsung Galaxy Tab not appearing on my list of devices as well. Thanks! I would have thought that this option was required for development. – Josh Metcalfe Feb 03 '12 at 17:17

score 0 · Answer 10 · answered Jun 05 '12 at 16:55

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The last time I updated my tablet, it turned off "allow USB debugging", and I spent a half hour or so spinning my wheels. Double check that that is turned on in settings.

answered Jun 05 '12 at 16:55

Henry Finucane

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score 0 · Answer 11 · answered Mar 27 '14 at 23:37

This thread is old but perhaps my answer will help somebody. Using a Motorola MB865 with OSX, ADB would recognize my phone only after I performed a factory reset.

I got the idea from this thread.

This was after I tried all the other tricks listed in other threads:

adb kill-server followed by adb start-server
Make sure USB Debugging is enabled
Make sure vendor USB ID listed in adb_usb.ini
Switching USB cables. For what it's worth, I did have to switch cables in order for the Mac to see the device. But this had no effect on ADB.

In the end, the factory reset did the trick.

score 0 · Answer 12 · answered Oct 16 '14 at 19:37

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in my case what worked:

disconnect device
exit android studio
run 'Activity Monitor' and kill adb
start android
studio reconnect device

answered Oct 16 '14 at 19:37

tmr

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score 0 · Answer 13 · answered Nov 05 '14 at 15:57

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For some devices running Android 4.4.2, you must enable tethering. You can do this in "Tethering and Mobile hotspot" and then check "USB tethering".

answered Nov 05 '14 at 15:57

jlhonora

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score 0 · Answer 14 · answered Apr 19 '15 at 18:27

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Try restarting the Mac in "Safe Mode". It worked for me (macos X.9.5)

answered Apr 19 '15 at 18:27

Shaa Linar

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score 0 · Answer 15 · answered Jun 14 '16 at 11:19

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Make sure that USB Debugging is enabled in Settings -> Application -> Developemnt, and also that the selected USB method is PTP and not MTP (not supported in OSX).

answered Jun 14 '16 at 11:19

guyromb

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score 0 · Answer 16 · answered Mar 18 '11 at 13:20

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The bug report to Google is http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=15583

If you have encountered this bug (upgrade to MacOS 10.6.6 and adb no longer sees some phones on USB) please add a comment with any useful relevant info (like your exact hardware type).

answered Mar 18 '11 at 13:20

Peter van der Linden

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Also include your version of adb when you add to the google bug report. Get the adb version with "adb version". That responds with something like "Android Debug Bridge version 1.0.26" – Peter van der Linden Mar 18 '11 at 14:11

Mike Hay · Answer 17 · 2011-09-06T22:05:49.643

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I just ran into this problem using my HTC Inspire (Android 2.3.3) and Mac OS 10.6.8. The phone did not enter USB debugging mode when I connected it to my USB hub, but it did start USB debugging mode when I connected it directly to my MacBook Pro.

... and then, of course, it showed up in the list of devices attached.

edited Sep 06 '11 at 22:05

answered Sep 06 '11 at 21:54

Mike Hay

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score 0 · Answer 18 · answered Sep 20 '11 at 17:31

The EasyTether fix worked for me, although first I had to load the kext file, then unload it. My Droidx popped up right away!

By the way, I'm running Snow Leopard 10.6.8 on my MacBookPro, so those who are having trouble with adb and connecting devices should check any USB applications, like EasyTether, for conflicts. Also be sure to follow all the above rules for 1. Application debugging (Settings->Applications->Development) USB debugging: ON 2. USB connection (on notification bar). Choose USB Mass Storage (altho Charge Only also works with my droidx and MacBookPro) 3. Unknown Sources (Settings->Applications->Unknown Sources = ON)

gmauri21 · Answer 19 · 2011-11-08T22:48:19.967

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I have the same problem, I solved using an alternate install method.

First I put an sd card in my device. Then I use a File Manager to transfer the .apk to the device, and I install it from the device

You can see a tutorial in http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UOAw124y1s

edited Nov 08 '11 at 22:48

answered Oct 09 '11 at 02:40

gmauri21

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score 0 · Answer 20 · answered Dec 26 '11 at 20:45

I had this problem today with my HTC mytouch phone and OS 10.6.8. At the same time, the phone reported a damaged SD card. The solution was to remove the Micro SD card and erase/format it using disk utility as FAT 32. The name I gave the SD card volume appeared in the Finder when I tried connecting again (charge only). For some reason, Android reported the card as damaged but could not format it. I used a Micro SD USB adapter. My Macbook didn't see the card until I carefully slid it out and back into the adapter slot. This is a known problem with HTC android phones.

score -2 · Answer 21 · answered May 16 '11 at 05:42

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After connecting the device and enabling the USB debugging please go to the path of adb, which is now inside the android-sdk-->platform-tools and type the following command ./adb devices. I think this will list the devices connected.

answered May 16 '11 at 05:42

Basil

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OS X 10.6.6 and "adb devices" fails to list android devices

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