Thursday, February 14, 2013

ADB Shows Device Offline after Android 4.2.2 Update

If you have upgraded to Android 4.2.2 and you can no longer connect to your device with ADB, the problem may be an outdated ADB executable on your PC. If ADB shows your device as "Offline", update your Android SDK to get the latest ADB and see if it helps. I ran into this problem with my Nexus 7. I know version 1.0.31 works. You can check the version with "adb version".

Android 4.2.2 introduces a "whitelist" for ADB connections. When you plug the device in to a PC, a screen opens on the device that gives you the option to allow or deny the ADB connection. If you have an old version of ADB, this screen doesn't appear and the device shows as "Offline" on the PC.

If ADB isn't the issue, then you can try the following:

  • Unplug the device and run "adb kill-server" on the PC and plug it back in. Or,
  • Reboot the Android device. Or,
  • Plug the device into a different USB port
Hope this helps.