How can I connect to Android with ADB over TCP?

Question

I am attempting to debug an application on a Motorola Droid, but I am having some difficulty connecting to the device via USB. My development server is a Windows 7 64-bit VM running in Hyper-V, and so I cannot connect directly via USB in the guest or from the host.

I installed a couple of different USB-over-TCP solutions, but the connection appears to have issues since the ADB monitor reports "devicemonitor failed to start monitoring" repeatedly. Is there a way to connect directly from the client on the development machine to the daemon on the device using the network instead of the USB connection or possibly another viable options?

Solution 1

I ended up getting the Eltima USB to Ethernet software working after finally giving up on the possibility of a direct to device connection over TCP. I have pretty much decided that it is not possible to connect to a device across the network only an emulator.

Solution 2

Manual Process

From your device, if it is rooted

According to a post on xda-developers, you can enable ADB over Wi-Fi from the device with the commands:

su
setprop service.adb.tcp.port 5555
stop adbd
start adbd

And you can disable it and return ADB to listening on USB with

setprop service.adb.tcp.port -1
stop adbd
start adbd

From a computer, if you have USB access already (no root required)

It is even easier to switch to using Wi-Fi, if you already have USB. From a command line on the computer that has the device connected via USB, issue the commands

adb tcpip 5555
adb connect 192.168.0.101:5555

Be sure to replace 192.168.0.101 with the IP address that is actually assigned to your device. Once you are done, you can disconnect from the adb tcp session by running:

adb disconnect 192.168.0.101:5555

You can find the IP address of a tablet in two ways:

Manual IP Discovery:

Go into Android's WiFi settings, click the menu button in the action bar (the vertical ellipsis), hit Advanced and see the IP address at the bottom of the screen.

Use ADB to discover IP:

Execute the following command via adb:

adb shell ip -f inet addr show wlan0

To tell the ADB daemon return to listening over USB

adb usb

Apps to automate the process

There are also several apps on Google Play that automate this process. A quick search suggests adbWireless, WiFi ADB and ADB WiFi. All of these require root access, but adbWireless requires fewer permissions.

Solution 3

This is really simple if your phone is rooted.

Download a terminal emulator from Google Play (there are lots that are free). Make sure that your Android device is connected to your Wi-Fi and get the Wi-Fi IP address. Open the terminal program and type:

su
setprop service.adb.tcp.port 5555
stop adbd
start adbd

Now go to your computer (assuming that you are using Windows) and create a shortcut on the desktop for "cmd.exe" (without the quotations).

Right click on the cmd shortcut and choose "Run as Administrator"

Change to your android-sdk-windows\tools folder

Type:

adb connect ***wifi.ip.address***:5555

(example: adb connect 192.168.0.105:5555)

adb should now say that you are connected.

Note: if you are too fast to give the connect command it may fail. So try at least two times five seconds apart before you say this doesn't work.

Solution 4

1. Connect device via USB and make sure debugging is working, then run:

   adb tcpip 5555
   adb connect <DEVICE_IP_ADDRESS>:5555
   

2. Disconnect USB and proceed with wireless debugging.

3. When you're done and want to switch back to USB debugging, run:

   adb -s <DEVICE_IP_ADDRESS>:5555
   

To find the IP address of your device, go to Settings > Wi-Fi > Advanced > IP Address on your device or run adb shell netcfg.

No root required. Only one device can be debugged at a time.

See this XDA post.

The adb command is located in the platform-tools folder of the Android SDK.

Solution 5

Assume you saved adb path into your Windows environment path

1. Activate debug mode in Android

2. Connect to PC via USB

3. Open command prompt type: adb tcpip 5555

4. Disconnect your tablet or smartphone from pc

5. Open command prompt type: adb connect IPADDRESS (IPADDRESS is the DHCP/IP address of your tablet or smartphone, which you can find by Wi-Fi -> current connected network)

Now in command prompt you should see the result like: connected to xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:5555

View more solutions

Comments

[andreszs]

When connected via USB: adb tcpip 5555. Disconnect USB, view phone IP from Settings > About Phone > Status. Now adb connect 192.168.x.x and that's it. No tools, no software. Just Works.

[Jeff Ward]

What Andrew said - these are the official instructions from Google's android developer website, no root necessary. Just worked on my non-rooted HTC One m8 (requires enabling developer options, of course.).

[Shivam Aggarwal]

If adb service runs at port 5037 then why does it locate devices in the range 5555 to 5585 ?

[DaveTheMinion]

@Andrew Could I use an app such as this to open and close the port without a computer on a Nexus 6 with no root access? I am concerned with the security issues that could arise from leaving port 5555 open when I am on a public network and not using my phone for developing.

[Michael]

@Alex Wait, so you need a USB connection to begin with or it won't work? I was looking for a solution while I wait for a new USB cable...

[andreszs]

Unless you can find a way to execute adb commands on the phone itself, you will need the cable to run the adb command to change the port. Surely there is some kind of rooted command line app to run adb commands.

[Khurshid Ansari]

This blog help me to connect wireless : codetheory.in/…

[Kamlesh]

you can check the file at gist.github.com/kamleshkarwande/…

[Athira Reddy]

2 methods - how to run android app over wifi - Simple tutorial

[Ashok Kumar]

FYI developer.android.com/studio/command-line/adb

[Saif Siddiqui]

Here is the shell script which I have written which can be used to connect to wifi.github.com/saifsms91/… : Run this script when your device is connected to USB and remove the usb once scripts runs to connect it to wifi

[JDM]

I had tried that with 5555-5558 and now 5554 and it it does not work for some reason. Basically from a command line: adb kill-server adb connect 10.10.10.100:5554 with the result being * daemon not running. starting it now * * daemon started successfully * unable to connect to 10.10.10.100:5554 I can ping the ip of the device from the dev workstation. When the output states "daemon started successfully" shouldn't it be referring to the daemon on the device? Is it attempting to use the emulator possibly? How do I ensure/validate the daemon is running on the device? thanks

[J J]

Do you need root access to do this? I seem to be able to run the commands using terminal, but it doesn't actually seem to work...

[Kingsolmn]

@ J J - Unfortunately, yes. Root required.

[yingted]

Also, check your firewall. I had to reconfigure my firewall.

[Ridcully]

For the second solution (adb tcipip 5555 and adb connect ... there's no root necessary.

[JDM]

at the time it was the only solution

[John]

there are small free apps on the market that launch adb into tcpip mode.

[Eduardo]

This answer was better for me because it explained that which part should be performed on the device and which on the computer.

[ArtOfWarfare]

What eclipse plug-in are you referring to? Edit: Nevermind. Found it by following the link in your answer.

[soulseekah]

adb tcpip <port> still requires either ro.kernel.qemu property to be set (running in emulator mode), ro.secure to be 0 (i.e. a rooted device), or ro.debuggable and service.adb.root to be set to 1. adbd simply won't open a TCP/IP connection if none of the above is met. See netmite.com/android/mydroid/system/core/adb/adb.c adb_main parts about the secure variable. adbd on my unrooted 2.3.7 Android does not enter TCP/IP mode at all.

[Rich]

One additional comment: If you're using Windows, you'll need to change the "adb connect 192.168.0.101:5555" line to "adb connect 192.168.0.101". Also, don't close the terminal window, just leave it alone (at least, for Windows).

[android.weasel]

...but only if the phone is rooted.

[Rohit Sangal]

Thanks for the very good example, can you please tell me the reqiurement of the device to be rooted, is it mandatory.

[Aiden Strydom]

you should first adb tcpip port as the default is debugging over usb. After the latter you can connect connect host:port and it should work

[Grzegorz D.]

Great! Second solution really doesn't require root!

[lapo]

BTW: the first app (the one that "requires fewer permissions") seems to exist no more.

[Brian]

@lapo Here is a link to an F-Droid archive of the app f-droid.org/repository/browse/?fdid=siir.es.adbWireless

[Aiden Strydom]

Asus Transformer 301 - Working no root required

[samus]

BEFORE "adb tcpip 5555" DO "adb kill-server". AFTER "adb connect 192.168.0.101:5555" DO "adb devices" OR "adb shell" (connect doesn't start shell).

[BrainSlugs83]

"adb tcpip port" literally? that just returns the string "error: device not found" -- is there a typo? Or should I replace something here?

[BrainSlugs83]

AHHH!! Figured it out, the default port number for CyanogenMod is 5555! NICE. :D

[KrisWebDev]

You can use restart instead of stop and start

[KrisWebDev]

Note that adb server locates emulator/device instances (ie adbd aka the daemon) by scanning odd-numbered ports in the range 5555 to 5585. So use ODD numbers in that range for your TCP ports otherwise you will have to manually connect, which is a pain (doable but not recommended: adb connect <ip>:<port>).

[KrisWebDev]

Doesn't work: adbd not found. adbd is normally launched via start adbd. But maybe there's a script/executable in some folder?

[transistor1]

On my gnex, it's /sbin/adbd. That may vary by phone. Of course, you must be rooted... If you're not rooted, you won't be able to access /sbin.

[BrainSlugs83]

@Michael it might work on some cell networks, but their network configurations are basically black boxes -- you don't know when/if you're behind a firewall, if ports are being blocked, if NAT translation is going on, etc.

[Jay Bobzin]

Here's a couple aliases I whipped up to automate the second solution. However I haven't been able to get it to work unrooted. alias adbip='adb shell ip -f inet addr show wlan0 | sed -En "s/.*inet ([0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+).*/\1/p"' alias adbwifi='ADB_IP=adbip; adb tcpip 5555 && adb connect $ADB_IP'

[CoatedMoose]

@JayBobzin, your aliases didn't quite work for me, I had to change 'ADB_IP=adbip; ...' to 'ADB_IP=$(ADB_IP); ...'. Could be a bash thing.

[Grim]

In console write su first to get a rooted-console.

[Philipp Rieber]

Worked on my Mac only when leaving out the port number when connecting: "adb connect 192.168.0.101" – no rooting necessary. Great!

[andreszs]

OK, this IS the correct answer. You can view the IP from the phone, go to Settings > About Phone > Status. Just set the port with adb tcpip 5555 first when connected via USB. Finally, no more USB cable for deployment, beautiful.

[andreszs]

Actually, you can connect many devices at a time, if you follow the right order. Just set the tcpip to 5555 individually for each phone, then issue the connect command for each phone and voilá, they are all connected to adb.

[Bron Davies]

All of this is already on developer.android.com/tools/help/adb.html#wireless make sure you are on the same subnet too. 196.168.0.* usually cannot access 196.168.1.* ;)

[JM Lord]

I confirm with Philipp : for the non-root option, it was necessary to leave out the port number - in my case using Windows. "adb tcpip 5555" + "adb connect 192.168.0.101"

[Aron Lorincz]

Debugging is a bit slower if my phone is connected this way. Also, sometimes it falls asleep and that causes an immediate disconnect.

[Abdul Saleem]

You're a hero.. By the way, i did it without root.. :-) Thank you

[mr5]

For some reason, when I'm trying to execute adb tcpip 5555, I always need to: re plug the USB; switch device mode, turn the WiFi on and off again; restart adb. Repeat those until it work. Don't wait if the adb tcpip 5555 command hangs, it just doesn't work. Good answer btw.

[IronBlossom]

Great!! One question can I add multiple devices through tcpip?

[azizbekian]

Getting this error on Asus Zenfone 2: unable to connect to 192.168.0.173:5555: cannot connect to 192.168.0.173:5555: A connection attempt failed because the connected party did not properly respond after a period of time, or established connection failed because connected host has failed to respond. (10060) Reasons? Workaround?

[rostamiani]

This error occures: "'adb'command not found. Review your Android SDK installation.

[Pedro Vicente Gómez Sánchez]

You have to declare a environment variable with name ANDROID_HOME. But I have a PR pending to review to avoid this. With the version 1.2 I'm going to publish next week the plugin will work just with IntelliJ installed :)

[powder366]

Im using mac, don't see an icon in AS? Do I need to do something manual first?

[Pedro Vicente Gómez Sánchez]

I've already published a new version where the ANDROID_HOME environment variable is not needed anymore. @powder366 you need to install the plugin from the IntelliJ plugins store of installing it manually. All the instructions needed to install and use the plugin are in the project readme, take a look github.com/pedrovgs/AndroidWiFiADB

[powder366]

@PedroVicenteGómezSánchez Thanks. I picked the wrong plugin, there exist another plugin with similar name...

[Shivam Aggarwal]

If adb service runs at port 5037 then why does it locate devices in the range 5555 to 5585 ? Can anyone please explain me

[Script Kitty]

Thanks so much! I was being dumb and my phone was connected to a different wifi network than my computer. But got it working now

[aleksamarkoni]

I would just like to add that before you type adb connect <ip-address>:<port> you should take out the usb cable, because when you connect over wifi you will start authorization dialog, and because you are authorized over the cable, you will not be able to authorize wifi connection also.

[Ian Ni-Lewis]

This is cool info but it doesn't address the question. The adb server is host-side, and the question is asking how to communicate with the device wirelessly. (The reason adb server exists is to multiplex adb host sessions over a single host-to-device transport, usually a USB endpoint.)

[ahsan.dev]

Additionally, you can get the IP of your device with this script on Unix: adb shell ip -f inet addr show wlan0 | grep inet | echo -n $(grep -Eo '[0-9\.\/]') | echo -n $(grep -Eo '^[^\/]*') | sed 's/ //g'

[iSrinivasan27]

@Eddy One doubt that both system and mobile/Tablet must connected via WiFi or else system connected through LAN and tablet connected using of WIFi router of same network. Please Clarify it

[Eddy]

@i-Droid I don't know why both have to connect in the same network. maybe ADB use special net routing protocol. I have no idea and no deep research about it. If you have interest in it, welcome to clarify it and share it with me, thanks!

[Chris623]

this plugin is really great and easy to use :)

[UserInteractive]

This worked. However. After performing these steps, I can no longer switch back to the emulator. Suggestions?

[Thiago]

You need to restart your adb with: <adb kill-server> and then <adb start-server>

[Josh]

This is one of the most useful answers in SO ever. I am a heavy duty developer and usb cables would fail after a few months, and my device would no longer be detected by android studio. I just connected my device with a good usb cable once, ran tcpip 5555, and then connect command ...afterwards, I used no cable and used only the adb connect... command to test my apps over wifi. SWEET!

[RaRa]

moto g play connect successfully, but when remove usb, both the connection terminate, FYI- i am already connected with other device.

[Michael]

adb shell ip -f inet addr show wlan0 Is the IP address and port support to be substituted in somewhere therE?

[Zoe stands with Ukraine]

not in that line. That is the shell-way to get the IP. Nothing in there should be replaced in that line

[Zoe stands with Ukraine]

This is only root though

[vhamon]

On some devices, the delay between adb tcpip command and adb connect command has to be very low otherwise it does not work. Also, for me it worked by doing adb tcpip 5555 && adb connect <DEVICE_IP_ADDRESS>:5555

[Diaa Saada]

can I use device public IP (4G) e.g. adb -d connect 85.36.1.184:5555 how can I aceive such thing after I open the port ?

[RogerW]

Of all the complicated answers that received massive upvotes, this 8 year old answer his the simplest and works No rooting required. Just type 'adb connect <ip>:5555' and it will be available to be deployed to.

[tngotran]

correct from above question: adb tcip 5555 and adb connect your_android_ip_address you can find your android's ip in settings->about system

[Angelina]

I tried adb tcpip 5555 and then the other person executed adb connect myIP:5555 on their PC. He could install an app to my phone but he could not debug it remotely. Is it possible to debug remotely? On my phone there was a dialog waiting for debugger forever.

[Zaffy]

If you don't know the device's IP after you execute adb tcpip, here's a useful shortcut: adb shell ip --brief addr

[e-info128]

Without root: disable and enable again the usb debug.

[Hritik]

Does this make the settings persistent across reboots ?

[Manju]

Thanks for sequence of steps and mentioning exactly when to disconnect PC.

[CaptainFreedom]

Does this work with ipv6 address via mobile internet?

[Anil GR]

How do I connect to an emulator on another computer over network ?

[Spikatrix]

Is it possible to prevent the phone from resetting the adb tcpip 5555? When I don't connect wirelessly to the phone via adb connect for a few days using the method you said, I'm unable to connect until I repeat the steps again, i.e, adb tcpip 5555