What Is USB Debugging In Android

In short, USB Debugging allows an Android device to communicate with a computer equipped with the Android SDK and enable advanced operations.

When you build an app, you must install its SDK or software development package on your PC. The SDK contains a set of tools that are vital for any developer. Tools like Debugger, simple codes or libraries are the main components of an SDK.

The SDK allows the developer to perform common tasks without having to rewrite code. For example, Android can print by default. So, when you write a program, you don’t need to add this task again. It is enough to call this function from the library and use it.

You, as a user, can do a lot from the Android device itself, but a developer will need more options, especially when it wants to collect the details of the errors that have occurred. It would be tough to find this information all over the phone, so with the help of SDK, they can do it very easily.

Without USB Debugging, you cannot send advanced commands to your handset via USB cable. The most common reason for USB Debugging is that developers use it to get apps into their devices and run tests on them.

When you write an app in Android Studio and want to test it, you can send it to your Android device with just a few clicks. Whenever the app creation is finished, it runs very quickly on the Android device and does not have the hassle of downloading the APK version and installing it.

Other users use USB debugging to root the device. It is enough to connect the handset to the PC and use the existing root tools.

Another possible use of this feature relates to the Android Debug Bridge (ADB) commands. ADB allows you to install APKs on the PC on the handset, send and receive files, and view necessary logs to find errors. Meanwhile, ADB and Fastboot can rescue a device that won’t turn on anymore.

In the past, USB debugging was used for other purposes. One of the most important of them was taking a screenshot via USB. It was when Android did not yet have a special command to take screenshots.

You should find this feature in the Developer Options menu on new phones. The menu is hidden by default. To make it appear, you must go to settings and tap on the About phone option. Then find the title Build number in this section. Tap this option several times until a notification appears.

Now go to settings again and select About phone. This time you will see a new title called Developer options. Tap on it and look for USB debugging under Debugging option. Now activate it and confirm the Android alert.

Now connect the handset to the computer and identify it to the computer by confirming the window that opens. It helps protect the device against software attacks.