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Enable USB Debugging on Android Devices
Jul 31, 2013 android

I’m currently getting started with Android Development. Today, let’s take a look at how to enable USB debugging on Android devices, which I had some problems with.

Image of an Android teacher

I’m currently going through the developer.android.com docs to familiarize myself with all the tools, terms, acronyms etc. and have started setting up my Nexus 7 for development. However, nothing happened when I plugged the Nexus into my computer. It didn’t even show up in Android Studio, which means that I couldn’t use it to run or debug my Android app.

Turns out that you have to enable Developer Mode on Android devices. However, this feature is hidden by default on Android 4.2 and later.

To make it available, go to Settings > About phone and tap Build number seven times. Android will then tell you Congratulations, you are now a developer. If you then return to the previous screen, you will find a Developer options section. The device will also connect correctly with USB.

Talk about a hidden option. I love it!