adb devices Shows No Devices? 10 Fixes That Work

You plug the phone in, run adb devices and get an empty list:

List of devices attached

Or a command fails with adb: no devices/emulators found. The computer is not seeing the phone as an ADB device. Work through these checks in order. Most problems are solved by the first four.

1. Is USB debugging really on?

Open Settings › About phone, tap Build number seven times, then turn on Developer options › USB debugging. On Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO the number to tap is MIUI version or OS version, and Developer options sit under Additional settings. Full steps for every brand: how to enable USB debugging.

2. Is the cable a data cable?

Many cables only charge. If the phone charges but the computer never reacts (no new device sound on Windows, nothing in the USB notification), try another cable, ideally the one that came with the phone.

3. Unlock the phone and look for the prompt

Unlock the screen. A dialog Allow USB debugging? should appear. Tap Allow. Until then the phone is listed as unauthorized, or on some systems not at all.

4. Change the USB mode

Pull down the notification shade and tap the USB notification. Choose File transfer. Some phones only expose ADB in that mode, especially older Samsung and Huawei models.

5. Install the driver (Windows only)

macOS and Linux need no driver. Windows needs one:

• Google Pixel and many others: Google USB Driver from the Android SDK
• Samsung: Samsung Android USB Driver
• Xiaomi, OPPO, Vivo, Realme and others: the maker's driver or PC suite

In Device Manager, the phone should appear under Android Device › Android Composite ADB Interface. A yellow warning icon means the driver is missing.

6. Linux: permissions

On Linux the phone may be seen but not accessible to your user. Install your distribution's android-sdk-platform-tools-common or android-udev-rules package, add yourself to the plugdev group, then unplug and replug. Running adb devices with sudo once tells you whether permissions are the problem.

7. Restart the adb server

adb kill-server
adb devices

8. Another program owns the phone

Android Studio, scrcpy, vendor PC suites and emulators may hold the connection. Close them and restart the adb server. See fixing a busy or unauthorized device.

9. Try another port

Use a USB port directly on the computer. Front panel ports and hubs often cause trouble. On some laptops a USB 2.0 port works when USB 3 does not.

10. Revoke and start again

In Developer options tap Revoke USB debugging authorizations, switch USB debugging off and on, restart the phone and reconnect.

Same problem in the browser?

ADBKit connects through WebUSB in Chrome or Edge instead of the adb command. If the browser's device picker shows no phone, the causes are the same: data cable, USB debugging, driver on Windows, or another program holding the phone. Specific steps are in fixing a phone that WebUSB does not detect.

If the phone is listed but as offline, read adb device offline.