Develop Reference

adb doesn't show nexus 5 device

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,

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:
Update Android SDK (Google USB Driver)
From PC Control Panel, System -> Device manager -> Right click Nexus 4 -> Update driver.
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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

Here is simple solution for Windows 7 and Nexus 5 on Android 5.
Download the Nexus 5 Drivers from http://androidhost.org/jelry
Extract the zip contents and place all files in a single folder on your desktop.
Connect your device to your computer.
Launch the Device Manager on your PC.
Now you should see the Nexus 5 listed in the hardware list.
Right-click the ‘Nexus 5′ line and then click on Update Driver Software.
Next, click the ‘browse my computer’ option.
In the new window click on ‘Browse…’ button.
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.
Now, the Windows installer will search for Nexus 5 drivers, click Install when asked for permission.
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 :)

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.

If anyone is trying to connect Nexus 5 to a formatted Windows XP then follow these steps:
Download and install media transfer protocol porting kit:
MTP porting kit
Download and install WMFDistributable-11 for XP:
WMFDist-11 XP
Download and install LG United Mobile Driver v3.10.1:
stackoverflow is not allowing to share more than 2 links, please google this.
Connect your device.
Go to Device Management
Right click on Nexus 5 and click Update Driver
Select Yes this time only
Select Install Software Automatically
Wait for sometime.. and enjoy transferring files

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.

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

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

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)

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

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

Try executing :
sudo ./adb kill-server
sudo ./adb start-server
sudo ./adb devices

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.

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)

Go here and download and unzip to an easy location:
http://developer.android.com/sdk/win-usb.html#top
Download and install

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 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

ADB No Devices Found

I am attempting to install an Android app on my brand new Nexus 10. I have a .apk file. I have downloaded the Android SDK, installed "Android SDK Tools", "Android SDK Platform-tools", and Google USB Driver. I have checked the setting on my Nexus 10 for "Unknown Sources".
When I run "adb devices" from the command terminal, it doesn't list any devices. I attempted to follow this recommendation, because it was identical to a suggestion I had previously found here on Stack Overflow. After following those steps, "adb devices" still returns an empty list and to make it worse, when I connect my Nexus 10 to my PC, Windows doesn't show any folders within the device.
I have undone the steps in that link, along with everything else I have done so far, as well as uninstalling my Nexus 10 from Device Manager and reinstalling it, but I am still not seeing any folders in the device.
Is there anything I am missing to get my device to show up in ADB devices?
What can I do to get Windows to see the folders within the device?

Windows 8 wouldn't recognize my Nexus 10 device. Fixed by Setting the transfer mode to Camera (PTP) through the settings dialogue on the device.
Settings > Storage > Menu > USB Computer connection to "Camera (PTP)"

For Windows 8 users:
After trying every solution given here, with no success, I found this:
Go to Device Manager
Browse my computer for drivers -> Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer
Choose Android Device and then Android ADB Interface.
Now I have my devices listed at adb devices.

This situation seems to arise with some ADB drivers. I have encountered the same thing with a couple of Google devices and installing the Universal ADB windows driver has fixed it for me every time.

Use another cable.
Just found out that one of my regular charging cables had Vcc, Gnd pairs, but no Data+, Data-.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB#Pinouts

Make sure to Enable USB debugging in Settings -> Developer options
Also, run "adb devices" after getting into the platform tools folder in the Android SDK (unless you have that folder on your system path already), otherwise the command won't be found.

The device may not be visible for debugging if it is in MTP mode. Some devices only work in PTP mode (or even in "charging only" mode).
This can be changed in Settings > Developer Options > Networking > Default USB configuration > PTP.
Also, you'll get a notification on your android device asking you for confirmation about USB configuration setting change and to allow it.
Note: You can turn on developer options by following the link below:
enable developer options

I have found a solution (for Windows 7):
Connect your Nexus 10 to PC
Go to Windows Device Manager
RClick on ADB Interface -> properties
Details -> Hardware Ids.
You will see two records like these:
USB\VID_18D1&PID_4EE2
USB\VID_18D1&PID_4EE2&MI_01
5 Open the android_winusb.inf file (I have it in "C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Android\android-sdk\extras\google\usb_driver" directory)
6 Create such records in [Google.NTx86] and [Google.NTamd64] sections using Hardware Ids from properties of ADB interface:
;Google Nexus 10
%SingleAdbInterface% = USB_Install, USB\VID_18D1&PID_4EE2
%CompositeAdbInterface% = USB_Install, USB\VID_18D1&PID_4EE2&MI_01
7 Save the file, and update driver for ADB Interface with showing the path to "C:\Users\\AppData\Local\Android\android-sdk\extras\google\usb_driver" directory

Sometimes ADB loses connection to the device, and needs to be reset. If you have everything else working (ie USB driver installed, Developer settings enabled on the device), and still can't see your device, you need to reset the ADB process.
This is available in the DDMS Perspective (from within Eclipse), Devices tab (the triangle on the far right includes a menu item to perform the reset).
Otherwise from the command line, you can reset it with the following 2 commands:
adb kill-server
then
adb start-server

Enable Developer options in your device. To enable the developer mode, setting->About phone, tap Build number option 8 times continuously
Go to Settings-> Developer options and Turn on USB debugging
From the above steps it didn't work try this step, Go to Settings->Security and turn on Allow Unknown Resources

You have to download the drivers from the SDK manager (extras → Google USB Driver)
Then you have to install the USB driver in Windows (it works for me in Windows 8.1):
(Copy and paste from http://developer.android.com/tools/extras/oem-usb.html#InstallingDriver:)
Connect your Android-powered device to your computer's USB port.
Right-click on "Computer" from your desktop or Windows Explorer, and select "Manage".
Select "Devices" in the left pane.
Locate and expand "Other device" in the right pane.
Right-click the device name (such as Nexus S) and select "Update Driver Software." This will launch the "Hardware Update Wizard".
Select "Browse my computer for driver software" and click "Next."
Click "Browse" and locate the USB driver folder. (The Google USB Driver is located in <sdk>\extras\google\usb_driver\.)
Click "Next" to install the driver.

After downloading the Google drivers via Android SDK Manager (available via Eclipse, Intellij or Android Studio), I had to update the driver in Computer Management > Device Manager > Other Devices > ADB - right clicking and clicking on update driver and browsing for updated driver finally did the trick.
BTW, a total nightmare for me as well. I continue to be bewildered that setting up a dev environment should be the most difficult task imaginable, with each new inexplicable failure leading to another one. Jeesh! Good luck.

On my Windows 8.1 64bit (Nexus 5 did not show up), only manually installing the USB driver fixed it:
http://developer.android.com/sdk/win-usb.html
The "Google USB Driver" in "Android SDK Manager" was installed already.

I still get this once in a while and it usually works if I unplug it and plug it back in a different port. I'm on Linux but had the same thing happen on Windows before.

Installing Samsung Kies and using their tool to reinstall device drivers, is what finally worked for me with my Galaxy S3 and Tab S 8.4

Normally SDB will download the driver in the **android-sdk-windows\extras\google\usb_driver** path
Here are the steps that worked for me:
Enable USB debugging.
Do to device manager, right click on ADB device and click update driver software.
Select "Browse my computer for Driver Software"
Select "Let me pick from list of Device drivers on my computer"
Click on "Have Disk" option.
Select the driver path **android-sdk-windows\extras\google\usb_driver** (path of sdk)
7.Select 1st driver out of list of drivers shown.
And hopefully, it will work.

Edit: I recommend you DO NOT run ADB under VirtualBox if you are using a Windows Host. Somehow I got VirtualBox to lock the device drivers on the host, eventually making it so that the ADB wouldn't work on the client nor the host for any device I plugged in. To fix, I removed VirtualBox extensions on the host and ran http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/usb_devices_view.html to delete the incorrect drivers. I could not get the correct drivers to load while VirtualBox extensions were installed, and this problem was a complete bastard to diagnose and fix.
Edit 2: Also the following is probably out of date, now that Google have released an integrated ADB extension for Chrome.
What an installation nightmare... Here are the steps I needed to get my Nexus 10 recognised on an XP virtual machine running under VirtualBox:
If you get asked to install Nexus 10 drivers, make sure to untick "don't ask again" (you WANT to be asked again!).
Plug in the Nexus 10 USB connection
Turn on debugging in the Nexus 10 settings Developer menu (tap "About Tablet" 7 times to get that menu).
In your virtual machine settings (host), add the samsung Nexus 10 device to the USB Device Filters (important - selecting it from the devices menu didn't seem to work).
In guest install java jre (if you don't have java installed). In Control Panel, change Java settings so that java doesn't run in the browser (to help prevent security issues).
In guest get the adk zip file and put it somewhere permanent. I needed to delete the .android config directory from the user directory because I moved the directory.
Run the SDK Manager.exe - if it doesn't work, try running sdk\tools\android.bat which seems to give better error reporting.
From SDK Manager install the Google USB driver package.
Unplug the Nexus 10 and plug it in again, and install the Google USB driver package.
Restart the guest.
running c:>[...]\sdk\platformtools> adb devices finally shows me the device...

For the Blu Studio 5.5s ADB drivers, you have to go through this hoop. I am certain it is the same with all Blu phones or maybe for all non-Google mfg phones, I am not sure. First of all if you connect the Blu device with USB cable and USB Debuggin off, you will see that Windows 7 loads a generic driver for you to copy on/off files to the phone and SD storage. This will appear when the USB cable is first plugged in and appears as a device icon under Control Panel, Device Manager, Portable Devices, BLU STUDIO 5.5 S (or the device you are working with). Do not bother getting the hardware ID yet - just observe that this happens (which indicates you are good so far and don't have a bad cable or something).
Go to the phone and switch on USB Debugging in the Developer section of your phone. Notice that an additional item appears as an undefined device now in the device manager list, it will have the yellow exclamation mark and it may have the same name of the phone listed as you saw under Portable Devices. Ignore this item for the moment. Now, without doing anything to the phone (it should be already in USB debug mode) go back to the Portable Devices in Device Manager and right-click the BLU STUDIO 5.5 S or whatever phone you are working with that is listed there without the exclamation mark (listed under Portable Devices). Right click on the icon under Portable Devices, in this example the name that appears is BLU STUDIO 5.5 S. On that icon select Properties, Details, and under the pull down, select Hardware IDs and copy down what you see.
For BLU STUDIO 5.5 S I get:
USB\VID_0BB4&PID_0C02&REV_0216&MI_00
USB\VID_0BB4&PID_0C02&MI_00
(Note if you do this out of turn, the HW ID will be different with the phone USB debugging turned off. You want to copy the value that it changes to when the USB debugging is ON)
Now do as the instructions say above, of course customizing the lines you add the the INF file with those relating to your own phone, not the Nexus 10. Here is what to customize; when you downloaded the SDK you should have a file structure expanded from the ZIP such as this:
\adt-bundle-windows-x86_64-20140321\sdk\extras\google\usb_driver
Find the file named: android_winusb.inf in the usb_driver folder
Make a copy of it and name it anything, such as myname.inf
Edit the myname.inf and add the lines as instructed above only modified for your particular phone. For example, for the BLU STUDIO 5.5 S, I added the following 2 lines as instructed in the 2 locations as instructed.
;BLU STUDIO 5.5 S
%SingleAdbInterface% = USB_Install, USB\VID_0BB4&PID_0C02&REV_0216&MI_00
%CompositeAdbInterface% = USB_Install, USB\VID_0BB4&PID_0C02&MI_00
Note that you add these lines to both the 32 and 64 bit sections, matching how the example in the tutorial reads.
Now go back up to the unknown device that appeared in Device Manager when you switched on device USB debugging and right click on this item (has yellow exclamation mark), right click on it and then select Update Driver Software, and then Browse My Computer, Let Me Pick, click on the Have Disk button and browse to find the myname.inf. Continue to agree to all the prompts warning you it might not be the right driver. As the final step, Windows should have identified the device as Android ADB Interface and once that is done, you should be able to go back, open your CMD window and run the command "adb devices" as instructed in this tutorial and now you should see that the phone is now discovered and communicating.
Now you can go have fun with the adb command.

At first Thanks #rmsyk's post.
For my issue and after long time suffering with Meizu C9 Pro witch require just android ADB drivers (no special drivers) referring to manufacturer and it solved in my Windows 7 PC by the bellow steps.
Make Sure to
Install latest version of ADB & Fastboot with the needed drivers.
Enable Developer options & USB Debugging.
Enable Media File Transfer (MTP Mode).
Manually replace C:\Users\USERNAME\.android with the folder included here ,Then kill process 'adb.exe' if found from Windows Task Manager and use adb devices and finally my device listed successfully and just confirm the PC as trusted.
Notes:
Android Studio was uninstalled in earlier time and also i tried to reinstall but was not a solution at all.
Tried adb kill-server & adb start-server but was not a solution too.

As well as the usual settings (enable USB debugging) I also had to select Enable OEM unlock in the Developer options.
This supposedly makes the device less secure, but it's your device and you know what you want to do.
Once checked the device behaved as expected and appears in the adb devices list.
You can always reverse all these settings once you're finished.

Confirm you have the correct platform SDK tools
For Windows 10, had to manually download the latest platform SDK tools from Android as the version supplied through Visual Studio 2017 EMDK for Xamarin was not sufficient. Everything else except adb.exe devices worked.
https://developer.android.com/studio/releases/platform-tools
After the platform tools were manually downloaded, device showed up regardless of USB configuration (charging, MTP, etc.)
Installing an emulator device at this stage is also helpful to see whether the problem is with adb or your physical device.
List of devices attached
12345D1234 device
emulator-5554 device

There could be two reasons why adb devices command is not working for you. Either your phones USB drivers are not installed properly or you have not enabled USB debugging mode.
I created a tool that makes installing USB drivers a one click thing.
Just connect your phone in USB debugging mode to PC.
Run my tool
It will detect and install drivers specific to your phone and also install the latest ADB & Fastboot binaries with it.
The tool is available at my GitHub Repo

It's so easy, just turn off your Android device, and then hold down both "Volume Down" key and "Power" at the same time. Wait a few seconds till it start in recovery mode, done.
Now type adb devices, and you'll see your device.

I had the same problem with my Windows 8. The Android/SDK USB driver was installed correctly, but I forgot to install the USB driver from my phone. After installing the phone USB driver ADB works fine.
I hope this will help.

Turn on debugging in the Nexus settings Developer menu (tap "About Tablet" 7 times to get that menu).
Freaking Google tricks!

Have you had an android update recently? I updated to Lollipop and all the sudden I had no adb devices. Boo! I spent awhile trying a few things to no avail. Then I went into my developer options and lo and behold, "USB debugging" had been turned off. Silly Google. After turning it back on, it immediately showed up and I'm back in business!

GoTo DeviceManager, then right click on the android device and click uninstall driver.
Unplug and plug the device back...then a pop will come on your device while your pc installs the required drivers. Click "allow" on the popup.
You can see your device when you type "adb devices" in command prompt.

For Windows, just end all the processes related to Blue stacks or any such emulator if you are using.
Worked for me.

There's obviously a ton of different problems that could be causing this (and a ton of different solutions to go along with those problems). So think about all the solutions!
If you've gotten this phone and computer pair to work together before, but they aren't working any more, it might be a specific program on your computer rather than a problem on your phone. Some programs install/use their own adb, and only one of these can connect to your phone at a time. I think this makes a race condition, so sometimes it'll connect fine.
Some programs that run adb:
HTC Sync Manager - uninstall this.
chrome://inspect - lets you view localhost on your phone. Just close the window when you're done with it.

To have ADB in MTP mode
If you don't find any ADB device (nothing with exclamation mark) in the device manager (with all developers settings on phone checked), do this:
In Device Manager :
UpdateDriver->Manuel Install->Search on my computer->Select from installed driver list -> then select the one with the word usb in it (not MTP).
Edit: after that, you'll then have 2 or 3 peripheral, one for USB and one for ADB, install adb driver using usual method (see first answers)

For my Nexus 6P downloading drivers from Google helped resolved the issue. Here is the URL with documentation. And here you can download the driver itself.
P.S. I saw some people advice to download some drivers from random places on internet. While this might help it's too dangerous in my mind to download unknown drivers from unofficial places. So the one from Google worked well for me :)

Cannot detect Sony Xperia in Eclipse

I am totally new at testing apps on devices, especially the Sony Xperia. I am testing apps using the Android emulator, but I have now a Sony Xperia. First I have connected the device to the laptop via USB. But the laptop couldn't detect my phone. Is a driver necessary for Eclipse to detect the phone?

Download the correct driver for your phone, make sure your phone has enabled USB debugging and then connect it to proceed with the install.
Download drivers from:
http://developer.sonymobile.com/downloads/drivers/

Even though this question was posted long time ago, I didn't find 100% correct answer from previous replies. Most of replies are useful, but here is one final step for debugging apps on Sony Xperia devices.
My Sony Xperia T has not been visible in Eclipse even though I installed PC Companion and in mobile phone, I set developers options debugging mode!
Xperia has very strange option:
Settings > Xperia > USB Connectivity > USB connection mode
and select Mass storage mode (MSC).
Note that the USB cable must be unplugged to change this option.
By default, Media transfer mode (MTP) was selected. If MTP is selected even little bug is shown in notification bar debugging is not possible!

These were my steps to solve the problem:
On SONY XPERIA Z
Enable USB debugging (http://developer.android.com/tools/device.html#setting-up)
Settings > Developer > USB-Debugging = Enabled
Settings > Xperia > USB Connectivity > USB connection mode = MSC
Settings > Xperia > USB Connectivity > Install software = Disabled (!!!)
On Windows7
Google USB drivers were already installed for another device
Download XPERIA drivers from: http://developer.sonymobile.com/downloads/drivers/
Connect XPERIA via USB
Device manager > Unknown device > Install driver from downloaded file

Don't forget to enable usb debugging in the phone setting.

Yes, eclipse needs drivers. You need to install drivers for the phone, and then restart eclipse. You then need to add the xperia through the device manager in eclipse.
Are you running windows??

Start eclipse
open the android SDK manager,it will load the repository.
select the package for sony and download it.
restart eclipse,and you are good to go.

Try to Install PC Companion here:
http://www.sonymobile.com/gb/tools/pc-companion/

I had a problem connecting a Sony Xperia Tipo to Eclipse for android debugging. I went through all the steps already recommended (installing sony drivers, USB debugging on, etc), but was still getting a "driver not found" error when I connected the Tipo to my PC with USB debug switched on.
I fixed the problem starting with the driver install instructions for a Sony Tablet, http://www.kb.sony.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?cmd=displayKC&externalId=C1024692&fes=true
Then I looked through Windows event viewer to find the find the details of the previous driver install failures, which gave me the correct device ID string for the Tipo. I added that to the end of the [Google.NTx86] section of android_winsub.inf, following the same pattern as for the Sony Tablet. It now contains this:
[Google.NTx86]
;SONY Sony Tipo
%CompositeAdbInterface% = USB_Install, USB\VID_0FCE&PID_5170&MI_01
Finally I reconnected the Tipo to my PC, went for the manual driver search options during driver install, pointed it to the Google USB driver directory, and it installed the Google drivers successfully. Now Eclipse is connecting to the Tipo and I can test and debug my app.

SOLUTION ! : I had that problem with the detection of the SONY XPERIA Z tablet only with Eclipse and did everything in the book to connect it without success :
Checked that the Sony USB driver was updated on the PC,
enabled USB debugging in the developpers options,
tried the Media Transfer Protocol (MTP),
tried the Mass Storage Configuration (MSC),
still the Eclipse command Run responded with a 'No compatible device found" message
until I downloaded the Google USB driver in the SDK manager and the DEVICE WAS AT LAST DETECTED.
This is all the more so strange that the Google Driver is introduced as dedicated to Nexus tablets only !
So if this can help ....

I've just fixed this problem recently. Here's the steps you should try as follows:
enable usb debugging
change to mass storage device
reset DDMS - adb
install driver
Then in eclipse it should show up as an Android device :)

solution for sony Mobile usb driver for Window 7
After googling and more time spend on this we find the solution Sony tipo & Sony M mobile are detecting by eclipse .
Steps are 1.install the latest sony companion
2- go to settings>>xperia>> connectivity>>USB connectivity mode>>MTP
3- restart eclipse and run your project Android Device Chooser show your device
donot forgot to check the usb debugging

This answer is more general to not finding your device. But if you have dead ADB processes running, you might have to kill them (and start a new one) in order to pick your device.

For me, it works when combining Damir's & Michell Bak's answers.
First need to change device form MTP mode to MSC mode as Damir mentioned, then download and install driver to your PC as Michell Bak mentioned.
Most new Sony device default setting USB connection mode to MTP and the setting location is different from other android devices. Besides, driver can not install automatically and need to download form official site.

Steps to debug using Sony Xperia :
Settings > Xperia > USB Connectivity > USB connection mode
and select Mass storage mode (MSC).
The USB cable must be unplugged to change this option.
By default, Media transfer mode (MTP) was selected.
Untick "Install software"

I had same problem with my Xperia Z3+ (android 5.02) with Android studio 1.3.
I installed new drivers and XPeria Companion but it didn't help.
However after I enabled hotspot via USB it started to work. Don't know if all of these was needed of if it was only the last one. Anyway I did
1. Settings->More...->Internetsharing hotspot->USB-sharing to on.
2. In the pop-up accept USB debugging.

How to fix: Error device not found with ADB.exe

In cmd when I try to do the command:
adb shell
it shows device not found error. Can someone help me please. It'll be appreciated.

Don't forget to go to your device and enable Settings->Developer Options->USB debugging.

Try any of the following solutions. I get errors with adb every now and then.
And one of the following always works.
Solution 1
Open command prompt as administrator and enter
adb kill-server
adb start-server
Solution 2
Install drivers for your phone if you're not testing on emulator.
Solution 3
Open android sdk manager and install "Google USB Driver" from extras folder. (attached screenshot)
Android SDK Google USB Driver missing
Solution 4
Go to settings > Developer Options > Enable USB Debugging.
(If you don't see Developer Options, Go to Settings > About Phone > Keep tapping "Build number" until it says "You're a developer!"
Enable USB Debugging

It depends on windows system but usually:
you go to system properties
look at hardware devices
Right click on the yellow (has to be yellow if it's driver problem) icon representing your mobile device
select property
Then go on the driver tab
select update driver
choose the bottom selection find on local computer
then choose manually
From the windows opened look for driver disk the bottom right button
Choose the driver from the folder <sdk>\extras\google\usb_driver\i386 (or amd64 for and).
Remember to uncheck the show only compatible hardware.
Then choose the driver
When windows warn your about possible incompatibility go on.
For my mobile it works, but depend on your mobile if it work or not.
Hope this help, bye.

If you installed Eclipse have Android SDK, go to DDMS. If the list device display "?????????"
you do adb kill-server and then adb start-server.
Please make sure you install USB driver and enable debug mode.

Another issue here is that you likely need to turn off "connect as media device" to be able to connect with adb.

For me, I have to Revoke USB debugging authorizations in Developer Options. Here is the steps:
Turn off USB Debugging,
Revoke USB debugging authorizations,
Plug the cable back in,
Turn on USB Debugging

I solved:
Just turn off USB debugging and re-enable debugging it immediately

On my G2 I had to select PTP instead of MTP mode to get the connection to work.

I had this problem suddenly crop up in Windows 7 with my Nexus One - somehow the USB drivers had been uninstalled. I ran android-sdk/SDK Manager.exe, checked Extras/Google USB Driver and installed it. Then I unplugged the phone and plugged it back in, and ran "adb devices" to confirm the phone was attached.
This doesn't work for all phones, just the ones listed here:
http://developer.android.com/sdk/win-usb.html

Developer options
USB Debug
if you can not see developer option, go to about. build version and click build version until developer options in unlock.

Try changing USB port.
Try restarting adb server.

I have a Droid 3 (Verizon). I went to Motorola here and found the driver for the device 'Motorola ADB Interface' which was showing in device manager. It's kind of a big download for just the driver, but during installation it found it and installed correctly.

I switched to a different USB port and it suddenly got recognized...

How about:
Settings -> System -> Developer options -> Debugging -> turn on toggle for Wireless ADB debugging
or:
Revoke USB debugging authorizations
and try from the scratch.

Just wanted to provide a simple answer here. I am just messing with an old Android device for the first time doing these root and unlock procedures. I received an error like this one when an adb push "..." "/sdcard/" command failed, and the key was that my device was in the bootloader screen. Booting to recovery then allowed me copy over the file(s), and I presume the normal OS would as well.

This worked for me, my AVG anti virus was deleting my adb.exe file. If you have AVG try:
1) opening the program
2) go to options
3) go to the virus vault and click on it
4) find your adb program, click on it, and press RESTORE at the bottom
This will move the file back to its original place.
However, unless you turn off the AVG it will delete the file again.
After this android studio located the file. Good luck.

I found my solution from this similar thread by enabling USB tethering on my LG G6 (requires data saver to be turned off)
Go to: Settings -> Tethering & networks -> switch on USB tethering

For completeness, I've just had a case here I had to change my USB cable. Guess the one I had was for charging only, accursed thing.

On my Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact on Oreo I had to switch USB mode to MIDI to get it working. Only after this my Windows recognised Android ADB, however it couldn't autoinstall driver. I opened Device Manager and installed the Google USB Driver for the ADB.

To solve this problem,
Add adb folder to your windows path (system veriable)
This solves the problem

In my case I needed to swap the ends of the cable connecting my device to the computer...

Device not detected in Eclipse when connected with USB cable

I want to run my Android project on a device.
My device is not detected in Eclipse when I connect it with a USB cable.
I restarted Eclipse and I have checked that USB debugging is on, on the device.
Can anybody tell me what the problem is and how to resolve it?

Before starting, Make sure that USB DEBUGGING IS ENABLED in your phone settings !!!
1) BASIC STEP - Plug in device via USB, then go to device page in Android developers blog. There you can find necessary information regarding adding USB vendor ids. Add your device specific ids, and restart eclipse if needed.
2)If you were able to see the device connected(using command: 'adb devices'
) earlier, but not anymore, then just try restarting ADB. (you can use the commands: 'adb kill-server' followed by 'adb start-server'. adb commands need to be executed from platform tools folder in the Android SDK, if you havent exported it).
3)If neither of them works out and you are on windows machine,
then check the installed usb drivers are correct. If not install proper drivers
Please find more information on how to install/update drivers in http://developer.android.com/tools/extras/oem-usb.html
If this also is not working, try installing Universal ADB windows driver https://plus.google.com/103583939320326217147/posts/BQ5iYJEaaEH
4)You may also try increasing the timeout time
Go to preferences-> android->DDMS in eclipse, then try increasing 'ADB connection timeout(ms)' value
Update based on newer answers:
5)Run > Run Configurations > Target. Please make sure, the option "Always prompt to pick device" is enabled.
Special case: Windows 8 and Nexus 10 (from this question: ADB No Devices Found)
Windows 8 wouldn't recognize my Nexus 10 device. Fixed by Setting the
transfer mode to Camera (PTP) through the settings dialogue on the
device.
Settings > Storage > Menu > USB Computer connection to "Camera (PTP)"

I solve this problem by updating PC portable device drivers:
Go to : Settings -> Applications -> Development to enable USB debugging
Plug in device USB
Desktop "My Computer" right click -> "Manager"
Choose "Device Manager"
Portable Device
right click on your device -> "Update Driver software" -> Search automatically (wait about 3-5min, )
Done

Restarting the adb server, Eclipse, and device did the trick for me.
C:\Android\android-sdk\platform-tools>adb kill-server
C:\Android\android-sdk\platform-tools>adb start-server
* daemon not running. starting it now on port 5037 *
* daemon started successfully *
I had the same problem as mentioned on this question.

I had similar problem, drivers was okey, but Eclipse did show me the device in Run > Run Configurations > Target tab. But I checked the option "Always prompt to pick device". And then running the application from Eclipse the prompt window finally showed my device.

After a long and frustrating search, finally I made my Micromax Funbook p362 to connect with eclipse and made it to suit for development.
*Installed Moborobo (All in one Android smart phone management tool).
*Perform stop -server / start -server using ADB.
*Reboot the device.
*Restart the eclipse.
*Device got detected.(Eclipse - list of adb devices)

In addition to the steps provided by #asfsafgsf (above), make sure to re-enable your phone's developer modes/functions. For my Motorola Atrix:
settings>applications>Unknown Sources: allow 3rd party apps
settings>applications>Development: to enable USB debugging, mock locations, and disable phone sleep
A note on developer modes
USB Debugging is the main mode you will need for running apps through eclipse when your phone is connected via usb (obviously). Disable phone sleep is also handy for self-explanatory reasons.
Allowing 3rd party app sources allows you to beta test your app on a larger-scale. With this, you can host your own apk and instruct your beta-testers to download it (prior to releasing it to the Google Play storefront). More specifically, 3rd party support allows the installation of android package files that don't contain a google approved signature (required for play store hosting). With 3rd party apps enabled, a handset will be able to run packages regardless of their source. You should also be able to receive an APK via bluetooth and install it in this mode.

You can also list all currently connected devices by running the following command:
adb devices

Go to http://developer.android.com/tools/extras/oem-usb.html#InstallingDriver and follow the steps on the android website but on browsing for the USB folder don't use the directory specified -> ((sdk)\extras\google\usb_driver). (sdk) just means your sdk location.
Your phone should have the correct driver and it can be accessed when you plug it in and go to the CD Driver in My Computer, in my case it's G:\drivers\adb_driver. Use this directory instead and it should work. (It may be differ with devices).

One possible reason is to check Android SDK Manager and install Google USB Driver in Extras folder if you have not installed it.
Following the steps here: http://developer.android.com/sdk/oem-usb.html#InstallingDriver allowed Eclipse to display the device.

Do following steps to detect your device in eclipse : -
On Mobile Side:- For Connect USB sync, your Android device needs to have USB Debugging enabled.
To enable Android USB Debugging Mode do following steps :-
Android 2.x - 3.x devices:
Go to Settings > Application > Development > USB Debugging.
Android 4.x devices:
Go to Settings > Developer Options > USB Debugging.
For devices running Android 4.2.2 or later, you may need to unlock Developer Options before it is available within the Menu:
Go to Android home screen.
Pull down the notification bar.
Tap "Settings"
Tap "About Device"
Tap on the "Build Number" button about 7 times.
Developer Mode should now be unlocked and available in Settings >
More > Developer Options or in Settings > Developer Options
On PC side
Connect your device to the PC with USB cable.
Download Google USB Driver
Extract/Unzip “latest_usb_driver_windows.zip” file on your computer
(using 7-zip free software, preferably)
Open device manager on your PC
Windows 7 & 8 users → search for
Device Manager from Start (or Start screen) and click to open.
Windows XP users → Google it
You will see list of all devices attached to your computer in the
device manager. Just find your device (it’ll most probably
be in the Other devices list with a yellow exclamation mark by the
name of ADB devices), then Right-click on it and select Update
Driver Software.
Select “Browse my computer for driver software” in the next window
Now click the “Browse…” button and select the “usb_driver” folder
that we extracted in Step 3 from “latest_usb_driver_windows.zip”
file.
Do NOT select the zip file, select the folder where the
contents of the zip file are extracted. And keep the Include
subfolders box checked
During the installation (as a security check) Windows may ask your
permission to install the drivers, click “Install”
Once the installation is complete you’ll see a refreshed list of
devices on the Device manager screen showing your phone’s driver
installed successfully.
Now in eclipse do following steps to install your app in your device:-
Go to Run > Run Configurations > Target tab.
Check option "Always prompt to pick device". And then running the
application from Eclipse,the prompt window finally showed
your device.

Please check whether your device is shown in the Eclipse device tab in Window > Open Perspective. If its not shown there then you need to install drivers for the the device. Once the device is visible in the Devices tab then change the launch settings for manual target. Once you launch your app then it will allow you to choose from the real device or the virtual devices

If you have the following problem
Then you can so following to fix it
Note : You should enable USB debugging on your android device(It will be in developer option in System settings)

I had this problem. With my galaxy S2. So came here for advice, but couldn't find anything specific. Then I found this 'Kies' software on the Samsung site, under the section for my exact model of phone, under downloads, after clicking software.
It installed the right USB drivers as part of the process of installing Kies and so my phone instantly then became visible on eclipse.
The Kies version for Galaxy S2 (GT I1900) = http://www.samsung.com/uk/support/model/GT-I9100LKAXEU-downloads#
There are other versions of Kies for other android models of course.

(new) device not showing, Check List:
Developer Option ON
USB debugging ON
Try changing to USB Storage/MTP/PTP
if it installs Window driver and fails, there's your problem (verify in Windows Device Manager) fix it.

ok this is an old thread -
but I spent nearly two days and did not get anywhere
Here is what solved my problem
I had USB debugging enabled ( finding developer options itself was a pain - I think the 7 times tap from google is childish and just plain stupid - rant over )
However HTC syn manager , eclipse ADT and windows computer management were all unable to identify my device
My problem was my phone was set to ONLY USB Charge - this was the problem
In 'USB Computer connection' >> Choose the option USB Storage
Once you do this - PC will install drivers and your device will get detected by Eclipse as well as in 'Computer Management' under ''Android USB devices '
Now I still dont know a way to access ''USB Computer connection' but at that time I did get the option to change and t worked
For those ( like me earlier ) who dont know how to identify if 'Computer Management' shows their device look for 'Android USB devices '
If its present - then your device is being detected by your PC
Hope this helps some others
shankar

On a kitkat Google Nexus 7, I tired everything here, and did not succeed. The device did previously connect properly to this computer.
Then I hit settings - developer-options - Revoke USB debugging authorisations
and confirmed that I really did want to revoke them.
I unplugged and plugged the USB. The tablet beeped and asked if wanted to authorise the computer for debugging. I said "Yes" and everything worked again.

For me the problem is with Defective USB Cable. I have tried those above all answers. Nothing gives me any fix. But finally i came to know the problem is because of my usb cable while changing the usb cable. While connecting through the usb cable the phone is charging but the drivers are not installed. Some usb cable don't have the option for that. So while buying check it and buy.

Best approach is install PDA net(software) on both system as well as in android device. This software automatically installs global driver for all phones, provides easy connectivity to android device.
Follow these links to download
For system
http://pdanet.co/
For android device
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pdanet&hl=en

Here is my checklist in windows (not the device itself) when my device is not shown:
Make sure "USB debugging is turned in setting>Developer options.
Check status bar on your device. It tells you if your phone is connected as Media Device (MTP) or Send images (PTP). My device is only listed when PTP is selected.
Turn of windows firewall.
Turn of any proxy programs ran on whole windows ports.
And finally stop adb.exe from windows task manager and wait some seconds to restart automatically.