How to Install ADB on Windows, macOS, Linux and Chrome OS

ADB (Android Debugging Bridge) tools allow users to tweak their Android phones. Just install ADB tools and connect your phone to your PC (be it Windows, macOS, Linux, or Chrome OS). After that, you can tweak and even access some hidden features of your phone.

Using ADB tools, you can install APKs, transfer files, boot into recovery, or even change the DPI of the screen on Android. Besides these, many apps need ADB permissions to work. So, in this tutorial, we are going to show you how to install and use ADB on Windows, macOS, Linux, or Chrome OS.

SEE ALSO: How to Enable Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) in Windows 10?

A) Setup Android Device for ADB (Enable USB Debugging)

Only installing ADB on your computer won’t be of any use unless you set up your Android device to work with ADB first. So, if you are not sure how to do that, just follow these steps.

Step 1: Go to About Phone and Enable Developer Options

Open Settings on your Android phone. Scroll down and tap on About Phone. Here, you can see details about your phone. Tap on Build number 7 times consecutively. This will enable Developer Options in your Android phone.

Step 2: Go to Developer Options and Enable USB Debugging

After enabling “Developer options“, go to Settings > System. Here, scroll down, open Developer Options and enable USB debugging.

Now, every time you connect your Android phone to the computer, you will see a message to allow USB debugging from this computer. Simply allow the permission and you are done.

SEE ALSO: How to Enable Developer Mode in Chromebook?

B) Install ADB Platform Tools on Windows

After you are done setting up your phone for USB debugging, it’s time to install ADB on your Windows computer. We have used Windows 10 PC in this tutorial, however, it should work for previous versions of Windows as well.

Step 1: Download and Extract ADB Tools for Windows

First of all, download the ADB Platform Tools for Windows from Google’s official page. After downloading, extract the downloaded zip file on your computer.

Step 2: Open the CMD Window in the ADB Tools folder

You don’t need to run any setup file to install ADB on Windows. Simply, go to the folder where you extracted the downloaded ADB zip file.

Now, open the command prompt in the same folder. You can do so by typing cmd in the address bar and pressing Enter. A command prompt window will open in the same folder.

Step 3: Check Connected Devices via ADB

It’s time to connect your Android phone to your computer. After connecting your phone, run the adb devices command to see the attached devices. If your ADB tool installation on the Windows PC was successful, you will get a USB debugging pop-up on your Android phone.

Step 4: Allow USB Debugging in Android Phone

You will see a “USB debugging” prompt asking for permission. Check the box next to “Always allow from this computer” and then tap on Allow.

After you allow USB debugging in your phone, you should see your phone’s serial number in the Command Prompt window. Run the adb devices command again if it doesn’t detect your device in the first attempt. ADB is now successfully installed and set up on your Windows PC.

C) Install ADB Platform Tools on macOS

Installing ADB on macOS is not as simple as on Windows. We will have to take a different approach here. First, we will install Homebrew on macOS and then we will install ADB tools on macOS. Homebrew is an open-source package manager that installs the missing packages. Let’s start with the process.

Step 1: Install Homebrew on macOS

First of all, we will install Homebrew on macOS. Open the terminal and run the command given below to install Homebrew on your Mac. It might prompt for your password, enter your password to continue. Installation takes approximately 10 minutes.

ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)"

Step 2: Install ADB Tools on macOS using Homebrew

Homebrew will make the installation of ADB tools easier for us. Run the following command to install the ADB platform-tools on your Mac. (Command has been updated).

brew install –cask android-platform-tools

Step 3: Allow USB debugging on Android

After successful installation of ADB tools, connect your Android device to your Mac. Now, execute the adb devices command. You will see a prompt on your Android phone to allow USB debugging. Just tick the checkbox next to “Always allow from this computer” and tap on Allow.

Step 4: View Connected Devices on macOS

You will see the serial number of your device in the terminal. This indicates that ADB has been installed successfully on your Mac.

D) Install ADB Tools on Linux

After installing ADB on Windows and macOS, it’s time to check the ADB tools installation process on Linux. To be honest, it’s quite easy to install ADB tools on Linux compared to other operating systems. Just, follow these steps.

Step 1: Download ADB tools and Start the Terminal in the same folder

First, download the ADB Platform Tools for Linux from Google’s official page. After downloading, unzip the file to your home directory.

Now, open the terminal in Linux and change the directory to the extracted folder location. For that run the following command in the terminal. Change “username” with your actual Linux username.

cd /home/username/platform-tools

Step 2: Allow USB debugging on Android Phone

Now, connect your Android device to your Linux PC. Run the adb devices command on the Linux terminal. On your Android phone, when prompted, tick the checkbox next to “Always allow from this computer” and tap on the OK button.

SEE ALSO: How to Enable Developer Options and USB Debugging in Android?

Step 3: View attached Devices via ADB terminal on Linux

Your Android device would show up on the Linux Terminal. You have now successfully set up ADB on your Linux system.

SEE ALSO: How to Enable Linux (WSL) in Windows 10 PC?

E) Install ADB Platform Tools on Chrome OS

Installing ADB tools in Chromebook is not as simple as Windows or Linux. Your Chromebook should have Play Store support and Chrome OS should be on the Developer Channel. Plus, you need to enable Linux on your Chromebook. You can move to the Developer Channel on Chromebook by going to Settings > About Chrome OS > Additional Details > Change Channel to Dev. After doing all this, let’s see how to install ADB on Chrome OS.

Step 1: Enable ADB debugging in Chrome OS and Install ADB tools

First of all, open Settings on Chromebook and go to Linux -> Develop Android Apps. Here enable to toggle for ADB Debugging. Now, restart your Chromebook and the ADB prompt will show up after the reboot. Simply, click on Allow.

Now, open the Linux Terminal from the app drawer and run the following command to install the ADB platform tools on Chrome OS. You may need to press Y to continue the installation.

sudo apt-get install android-tools-adb

Step 2: Connect Android Phone to Chromebook

After the successful installation of ADB tools, connect your Android device to your Chromebook. Click on CONNECT TO LINUX when you get a prompt after USB device detection.

SEE ALSO: How to Sideload Android apps on Chromebook without Developer Mode?

Step 3: Check connected Devices via ADB Command in Chrome OS

Go back to the Linux Terminal. Run the adb devices command. When the prompt appears on your Android device, tick the checkbox for “Always allow from this computer” and then tap on Allow. Your device will appear in the terminal. You have now successfully set up ADB on Chrome OS.

NOTE: If you see “Permission Denied” in the Terminal or “Command Not Found” error, then run the adb start-server command. After that try the adb devices command again.

How to Use ADB Tools on Windows, Mac, Linux, and Chromebook

After successful installation of ADB on Windows, Mac, Linux system, or Chromebook, you can simply execute desired ADB commands. Connect your Android phone to your computer after enabling USB debugging.

Here are a few of the most commonly used ADB commands to help you get started.

SEE ALSO: How to Uninstall Magisk from your Android Phone?

Install ADB Platform Tools on Windows, macOS, Linux, and Chrome OS

The above tutorial explained how you can install and set up ADB on various platforms. ADB is a very useful utility for playing with Android OS. We have already listed some of the common ADB commands above.

Hope you liked this tutorial. Feel free to share it with your friends. Also if you have any queries or suggestions, feel free to write them in the comment section below.