ADB, installed properly and used for something.

01 · THE TOOL

A debug bridge, not a rooting tool.

ADB talks to a debug service on your phone over USB or the network. It does not grant root, and it does not require an unlocked bootloader.

Three components: the client on your computer, a server process that brokers connections, and a daemon on the device. Most confusing failures are the server on your machine, not the phone.

What you can genuinely do with it:

• Install and uninstall applications, including ones not on the store.
• Read live system logs — the single best tool for understanding why an app misbehaves.
• Copy files in both directions without the file-transfer mode.
• Record the screen and take screenshots at native resolution.
• Inspect battery, network and package state.
• Disable preinstalled applications for your user, without root, with the caveats in section five.

02 · INSTALLATION

Platform-tools, PATH, and nothing else.

Skip the packages that bundle ADB with a driver installer of unknown origin. The official archive is small and needs no installation.

# Simplest route
winget install Google.PlatformTools

# Or extract the official platform-tools zip yourself, then add it to PATH
$tools = "C:\Android\platform-tools"
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable(
  "Path",
  [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable("Path", "User") + ";$tools",
  "User")

# New terminal, then verify
adb version

On the phone

• Settings, About phone, tap Build number seven times. Developer options appear, usually under System.
• Enable USB debugging. On some manufacturers you must also enable an install-via-USB option before ADB can install packages.
• Use a data cable. Charge-only cables are the single most common cause of a device that never appears. If nothing is detected, change the cable before anything else.
• Accept the prompt on the phone. Tick “always allow from this computer” unless it is a machine you do not control.

adb devices -l
# List of devices attached
# R58N12ABCDE  device  product:... model:SM_G991B

If the state says unauthorized, the prompt was not accepted. If it says offline, the daemon needs restarting. Both are covered in the last section.

03 · OVER THE NETWORK

Wireless debugging, which is better than it sounds.

On Android 11 and later, wireless debugging pairs with a code and does not require a cable at all. Once set up it is the more pleasant way to work.

# On the phone: Developer options, Wireless debugging, Pair device with pairing code
adb pair 192.168.1.50:41234
# Enter the six-digit code shown on the phone

# Then connect, using the port from the wireless debugging screen
adb connect 192.168.1.50:5555
adb devices

adb tcpip 5555
# Unplug the cable, then
adb connect 192.168.1.50:5555

• Both devices must be on the same network, and client isolation on guest Wi-Fi will block it silently.
• The pairing port changes each time the pairing dialog opens. Read it from the screen rather than reusing an old one.
• The connection drops when the phone sleeps deeply or changes network. adb connect again; nothing is broken.
• Do not leave it enabled on an untrusted network. Wireless debugging is authenticated, but it is still an open debug interface.

04 · THE COMMANDS

Fifteen that earn their place.

# Install, replacing an existing version and keeping data
adb install -r app.apk

# Install a split APK bundle
adb install-multiple base.apk config.arm64_v8a.apk

# Remove an app
adb uninstall com.example.app

# List installed packages, filtered
adb shell pm list packages | findstr example

# Copy a file off the device, and onto it
adb pull /sdcard/Download/report.pdf .
adb push localfile.txt /sdcard/Download/

# Live log, filtered to one app's process
adb logcat --pid=$(adb shell pidof -s com.example.app)

# Clear the buffer, then watch only errors
adb logcat -c
adb logcat *:E

# Battery, network and package state
adb shell dumpsys battery
adb shell dumpsys package com.example.app

# A full bug report, which is what you attach to an issue
adb bugreport report.zip

# Screenshot straight to your machine
adb exec-out screencap -p > screen.png

# Record the screen, then pull it
adb shell screenrecord /sdcard/demo.mp4
adb pull /sdcard/demo.mp4

# An interactive shell on the device
adb shell

# Restart the daemon when things get strange
adb kill-server
adb start-server

05 · PREINSTALLED APPS

Removing manufacturer apps without root, carefully.

ADB can uninstall a package for your user only. The system copy remains, so a factory reset restores it — which is what makes this reversible and therefore reasonable.

# Find the exact package name first
adb shell pm list packages | findstr vendor

# Remove for the current user, keeping the system copy
adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.vendor.someapp

# Put it back
adb shell cmd package install-existing com.vendor.someapp

A safer procedure

• Identify the app first. Open its settings entry on the phone and read the package name from the app info screen rather than guessing from a list.
• Prefer disabling to removing where the option exists in Settings. Same practical effect, easier to undo.
• Never touch anything named for the framework, the launcher, telephony, media provider or the package installer.
• Keep a list of what you removed. When something breaks a week later, this is the only way to find the cause.
• Expect updates to restore some of them. A system update can reinstate a package you removed per user.

06 · TROUBLESHOOTING

The six failures, in order of how often they happen.

adb kill-server
adb start-server
adb devices -l

# On the phone: Developer options, Revoke USB debugging authorisations
# Then replug and accept the prompt again

07 · QUICK ANSWERS

ADB, briefly.