16

I've been having a issue trying to get the adb devices command to pick up my LG TRANSPYRE™ (VS810PP) phone. Keep in mind the command does in fact work. So it's not an issue with adb, more with the drivers.

After taking a look from this post I found online, I did the steps properly (three times, just to be sure).

So I basically did this:

  1. Created a file: /etc/udev/rules.d/70-android.rules.
  2. Wrote SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTR{idVendor}=="1004", MODE="0666" to the file.
  3. Assigned proper permissions via sudo chmod a+rx /etc/udev/rules.d/70-android.rules
  4. Rebooted my computer.
  5. Restarted udev.

And the results:

$ adb devices
* daemon not running. starting it now on port 5037 *
* daemon started successfully *
List of devices attached 

(But nothing came after that)

But I didn't give up just yet. I read from another post here on Ask Ubuntu, I tried again.

Again, the process:

  1. Created a file: /etc/udev/rules.d/51-android.rules
  2. Wrote SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTR{idProduct}=="1004", MODE="0666" to the file
  3. Gave proper permissions sudo chmod a+rx /etc/udev/rules.d/51-android.rules
  4. Rebooted the 'pooter.
  5. Restarted udev.

The output is the same as above, still not fixed...

I've very new to android, but my best guess is that I'm using some sort of out-dated method, because those posts are at either 2 or more years old. So there is probably a new method now.

Edit:

$ lsusb
...
Bus 005 Device 005: ID 1004:628a LG Electronics, Inc. 
...

$ dmesg | grep "LG"
[   69.824457] usb 5-1.4: Manufacturer: LG Electronics Inc.
[   73.155776] usb 5-1.4: Product: LGE Android Phone
[   73.155783] usb 5-1.4: Manufacturer: LG Electronics Inc.
[   74.232275] scsi 5:0:0:0: CD-ROM            LGE      Android Platform 0000 PQ: 0 ANSI: 2
[   78.191262] usb 5-1.4: Product: LGE Android Phone
[   78.191268] usb 5-1.4: Manufacturer: LG Electronics Inc.

$ echo "0x1004" > ~/.android/adb_usb.ini
$ adb kill-server
$ adb start-server
* daemon not running. starting it now on port 5037 *
* daemon started successfully *
$ adb devices
List of devices attached 
8
  • Do you have USB debugging enabled on your phone?
    – s3lph
    Jun 5, 2015 at 13:56
  • @the_Seppi Yes.
    – user288187
    Jun 5, 2015 at 13:57
  • Mint isn't supported here. This is on topic on Unix & Linux
    – Tim
    Jun 5, 2015 at 14:03
  • Are any devices detected by the kernel when plugging the phone? Check the output of dmesg. Please note that Mint is off-topic here. You may want to ask on unix.stackexchange.com or rephrase your question so it fits for Ubuntu (but please check first whether this appears in an official Ubuntu system, an Ubuntu live system on USB should fit that.)
    – s3lph
    Jun 5, 2015 at 14:03
  • @the_Seppi, when doing lsusb, I get Bus 005 Device 005: ID 1004:628a LG Electronics, Inc. as one of the entries.
    – user288187
    Jun 5, 2015 at 14:09

2 Answers 2

36

Set mode from MTP to PTP. I had the same problem.

MTP means Media Transfer Protocol. PTP means Picture Transfer Protocol, which means that the phone appears to the computer as a digital camera.

To set the mode: Settings > Developer Options > scroll down to Select USB Configuration, tap this and select PTP or just click at notification in status bar and select PTP.

6
  • Perhaps this is a problem in themselves LG phones
    – OlegWock
    Jun 5, 2015 at 14:44
  • Thanks! I've been struggling for quite some time until I found this answer
    – Warrior
    Jun 29, 2016 at 18:11
  • 6
    additionally do this : Go to Settings -> About phone -> Tap on "Build number" seven times. Voila !!! this enables Developer mode ... You will see new option called 'Developer Options' in the setting. From there I also had to enable USB debugging. Developer Options > USB Debugging ... adb kill-server ... adb start-server Aug 12, 2016 at 13:45
  • 2
    What does this mean "set mode from MTP to PTP"? Nov 18, 2016 at 20:48
  • 1
    Selecting PTP did not change anything for me. Still no devices detected. Same for selecting Charge only, MIDI, Audio and all the other modes. Aug 14, 2019 at 1:56
34

This happens to me sometimes with certain devices. Here's what I find works:

  1. Find the Vendor ID: You can do this by typing lsusb. My output is something like this:

    Bus 002 Device 097: ID abc1:1234 Fictional Company, Ltd. 
    

    In this case, abc1 is the Vendor ID.

  2. Create an adb_usb.ini file: Run the following

    echo "0x<your device's Vendor ID>" > ~/.android/adb_usb.ini
    
  3. Restart adb

    adb kill-server
    adb start-server
    

Since doing that, my devices have all shown up in adb devices.

8
  • 4
    It didn't appear to work. Check the edit on the main post I did.
    – user288187
    Jun 5, 2015 at 14:24
  • 1
    That's too bad :( I have no other ideas at this point, the adb_usb.ini file works for me
    – Abe Fehr
    Jun 5, 2015 at 14:34
  • 3
    I'm glad you got this answer in there before the off-topic police arrived. Solved my problem.
    – mmccoo
    Aug 5, 2016 at 7:27
  • Thanks, that worked for me. I had issue, that occasionally Ubuntu wouldn't find my connected Android device. Now it found it after adb restart.
    – ViliusK
    Dec 13, 2016 at 14:37
  • Great answer, allowed my adb to see my OnePlus 2
    – spectras
    Dec 17, 2016 at 11:14