The Android Debug Bridge or ADB is a utility that allows you to debug your Android device, sideload apps, and install custom ROMs. One of our favorite uses of ADB is removing bloatware from Android smartphones to make them snappy and free up storage space occupied by unwanted apps. You can use ADB on your Android device with any device running Windows, macOS, or Linux, or even one of the best Chromebooks. And if your Android smartphone runs Android 11 or higher, you can use ADB wirelessly.
Best of all, Wireless ADB is easy to set up and use, and you don’t have to be an Android developer for this to work. If you don’t know how to set up Wireless ADB on your Android phone, follow this tutorial to learn how.
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How to use wireless ADB on your Android phone
Generally, users use USB cable to send ADB commands over USB connection. But wireless ADB has improved a lot, and now you don’t have to use a cable to run ADB commands on your Android device. However, before proceeding, follow these steps:
- Connect your computer and Android phone to the same Wi-Fi network.
- Update your Android device to the latest version and make sure it’s running Android 11 or higher.
- Download the latest version of Android SDK Platform Tools to your computer.
You don’t need to install Android Studio unless you are an Android developer and need it to test your apps. After meeting the basic requirements, follow the steps below to set up and use Wi-Fi ADB on your Android phone.
If you are using an older Android smartphone running Android 10 or lower, use the older one adb tcpip command method. You can check the steps for this method on the Android developer official site.
Enable developer options on your Android device
Before you can use Wi-Fi ADB on your Android smartphone, you need to configure your Android device to enable developer options. Depending on the smartphone brand, the steps may be slightly different.
- To enable developer options on a Google Pixel go to settings > Via phone > build number. Tap the build number option seven times until the message “You are now a developer!” appears.
- If you own one of the newer OnePlus devices, go to settings > About the device > execution.
- Beat build number seven times until you see the same message.
- Go to for Samsung smartphones settings > Via phone > software information.
- Beat build number several times until you see “You are now in developer mode!”
Enable wireless debugging on your Android device.
After enabling developer options, you need to enable wireless debugging on your Android device.
- To enable wireless debugging on a Google Pixel go to settings > system and open developer options.
- Turn on the switch next to Wireless debugging. Choose To allow when you see the popup.
- Go to for Samsung smartphones settings > developer options and tap the toggle for Wireless debugging.
- Beat To allow in the popup to activate it.
- If you have a OnePlus smartphone, go to settings > Additional settings and type developer options.
- Tap the toggle next to Wireless debugging and choose To allow to make it possible.
Use Wireless ADB on your Android device
After enabling developer options and wireless debugging, you can use ADB on your Android device wirelessly. You don’t need to install ADB on your computer as you can use Android SDK folder to run commands. We’ll use a Mac to demonstrate this, but the steps are the same on Windows and Linux devices.
The only difference is that you don’t add anything “./” before running ADB commands in Windows command prompt. For example, on a Mac, run the ./adb devices Command to find the list of devices, but on Windows run the command ADB devices Command.
- Open Wireless debugging Setting and tap Pair device with pairing code Possibility.
- You’ll see an IP address, port number, and Wi-Fi pairing code.
- If you are using ADB on a Mac, open the terminal app, type CD followed by a space and drag Android SDK platform tools folder to add its path.
- Press Enter to open the path in the terminal.
- On Windows, open the Android SDK platform tools folder. Click the address bar, type cmdand press Enter to open the folder in the command line tool.
- write the ./adb pair command in the terminal window. Add spaces and enter the IP address and port you saw in step 2. Remember to remove them ./ from the command if you are using windows.
- Enter the pairing code and press Enter to pair your Android device with your computer.
- You will see the successful pairing dialog on your computer and phone as below screenshots shown.
- Go back to the main screen on your Android phone Wireless debugging Side. On this page you can see the IP address of the Android device. You will use this to connect your Android device.
- In the terminal window, use the command ./adb connect, followed by the IP address and port. Press Enter to run the command.
- You will see a successful connection notification on your Android device and computer.
You now have wireless ADB set up on your Android device and you can run any ADB command you want. To make sure everything is working properly, run the ./adb devices Command to check your connected device.
Debug your Android phone wirelessly
You can use wireless debugging to do anything you can do with USB debugging. Whether you want to install an APK, debug your app, or remove bloatware, wireless debugging can handle it. Because you don’t have to connect your phone with a cable, there’s no chance of the connection dropping when you move your devices.
