How to configure ADB access for Android devices?

Question

I'm using Ubuntu 12.10 and I have installed Android SDK, set it's path in my user .bashrc and it works.

The problem is that my phone requires adb to be ran by root for permissions, but running adb with sudo I get the following error:

sudo: adb: command not found

I tried to simply use sudo -E adb start-server, but it doesn't work. Tried to add the export path line to /root/.bashrc and (after realizing it didn't help) to /etc/bash.bashrc.

I remember I could set it on my Arch Linux, but I guess my problem now is connected to Ubuntu root account not behaving like I expect it.

---

What I don't understand is the following:

These don't work:

martin@alyx:~$ sudo adb devices
sudo: adb: command not found

This does (typing the full path):

martin@alyx:~$ sudo /opt/android-sdk-linux/platform-tools/adb devices
* daemon not running. starting it now on port 5037 *
* daemon started successfully *
List of devices attached 
CM7-Blade   device

This doesn't work (using -E with sudo):

martin@alyx:~$ sudo -E adb devices
sudo: adb: command not found

This works (as root):

martin@alyx:~$ sudo su
root@alyx:/home/martin# adb devices
List of devices attached 
CM7-Blade   device

I'm totally confused now and I'd appreciate some clarifying on how to set a path for sudo or how else I could solve my problem.

(And please, don't say adb shouldn't be ran as root.)

Thanks in advance!

Edit: By requiring root permissions I mean that I need them because otherwise I get:

$ adb devices 
List of devices attached 
????????????    no permissions

which doesn't occur as superuser. Sorry if it was misunderstanding.

Solution 1

Please read the following first: How do I set up Android ADB?

---

Configuring USB access

First, you don't need root permissions to run ADB if you have set the permissions accordingly. The AOSP site provides examples for Configuring USB Access for Pixel/Nexus devices. You can use the following scheme for non-Nexus devices:

SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTR{idVendor}=="xxxx", ATTR{idProduct}=="xxxx", MODE="0600", OWNER="<username>"

Vendor and product ID can be obtained by using lsusb and searching for your device. (Note: The device actually is a Galaxy Nexus.)

$ lsusb | grep -i samsung
Bus 002 Device 103: ID 04e8:6860 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd GT-I9100 Phone [Galaxy S II]

So my /etc/udev/rules.d/51-android.rules udev rule looks like this:

# adb protocol on maguro/toro (Galaxy Nexus)
SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTR{idVendor}=="04e8", ATTR{idProduct}=="6860", MODE="0600", OWNER="username"

You may want to repeat this for the other phone states like fastboot if needed. To let the changes take effect either reload udev (sudo udevadm control --reload) or reboot (recommended).

Making programs available

Instead of modifying the path variable I would suggest adding a symbolic link to the executable either in ~/bin/ (user only) or in /usr/local/bin/ (system wide).

mkdir ~/bin/
ln -s /opt/android-sdk-linux/platform-tools/adb ~/bin/

Solution 2

I bumped into the same issue with a tablet from China (some weird manufacturer).

In addition to /etc/udev/rules.d/51-android.rules file, I needed to change ~/.android/adb_usb.ini as well.

Run below on terminal;

sudo gedit ~/.android/adb_usb.ini

and your adb_usb.ini file should look like:

# ANDROID 3RD PARTY USB VENDOR ID LIST -- DO NOT EDIT.
# USE 'android update adb' TO GENERATE.
# 1 USB VENDOR ID PER LINE.
# ie 0x2207
0x<!!!Your Vendor ID here!!!>

Disconnected and reconnected device and also needed to run below commands on terminal;

adb kill-server

and afterwards

adb start-server

And the device was detected.

Solution 3

Follow these steps:

1. Set android vars

   Initially go to your home and press Ctrl + H it will show you hidden files now look for .bashrc file, open it with any text editor then place the lines below at the end of file:

   export ANDROID_HOME=/myPathSdk/android-sdk-linux
   export PATH=$PATH:$ANDROID_HOME/tools:$ANDROID_HOME/platform-tools
   

2. Reboot

3. Using device to debug

   Listen for connection:

   adb -a
   

   Connect your Android device and authorise it:

   cordova run android --device
   

Comments

[Martin Fejes]

I tried adding the udev rules for my phone, but it didn't help so I thought maybe I wasn't clear about my problem. Please, if you have the time, see the end of my question.

[Csabi Vidó]

Have you added the correct IDs? modaco.com/topic/329317-guide-ubuntu-and-the-blade Have rebooted your machine afterwards? adb devices works for me without root privileges.

[Martin Fejes]

Yay, it works! I added the udev rules to /etc/udev/rules.d/51-android-rules and apparently it was a mistake. After using /lib/udev/rules.d/11-android.rules, everything was fine! I don't need root persmissions! Thanks a lot!

[landroni]

I'm not sure that this addresses the original question...

[Panthro]

Had the same ???????????? no permissions situation and your answer solved it, thanks.

[Aquarius Power]

for some reason it did not work here, I had to start adb server with sudo; any idea where could I look to see why it did not work?

[Aquarius Power]

I tried with your tip too but nothing changed, any idea where I could look to see why it did not work here?

[Waffle's Crazy Peanut]

Nice one. That worked for me. Along with that, I had to update my adb.

[Luís de Sousa]

sudo or no sudo this solution is not functional on Ubuntu 14.04. The list of devices is always empty.

[Luís de Sousa]

This solution does not work on Ubuntu 14.04. The list of devices still comes out empty.

[Dmitry Popov]

Thanks a lot, Uygar, finally I've found the solution that works for me.

[pegu]

developer.android.com/studio/run/device.html

[Dan Dascalescu]

I haven't needed ANY of this in the past year+ of using Ubuntu 16. This answer might be outdated. adb just worked on Samsung S7, Nexus 5X, Pixel and Pixel 2.

[Csabi Vidó]

@DanDascalescu It's supposed to work out of the box, only when it doesn't one is looking for answers and the advice about the udev rule is still correct if it doestn't exists for a specific device as far as I am aware.