ADB Quick Reference Guide

Updated on July 12, 2024

ADB Server

Restart ADB server

adb kill-server
adb start-server

Device Rebooting

Reboot the device

adb reboot

Reboot the device into recovery mode (for upgrading or downgrading devices)

adb reboot recovery

Device Management

adb shell input keyevent <key_code>

Where is a number or text, see below:

0 –> “KEYCODE_UNKNOWN”
1 –> “KEYCODE_MENU”
2 –> “KEYCODE_SOFT_RIGHT”
3 –> “KEYCODE_HOME”
4 –> “KEYCODE_BACK”
5 –> “KEYCODE_CALL”
6 –> “KEYCODE_ENDCALL”
7 –> “KEYCODE_0”
8 –> “KEYCODE_1”
9 –> “KEYCODE_2”
10 –> “KEYCODE_3”
11 –> “KEYCODE_4”
12 –> “KEYCODE_5”
13 –> “KEYCODE_6”
14 –> “KEYCODE_7”
15 –> “KEYCODE_8”
16 –> “KEYCODE_9”
17 –> “KEYCODE_STAR”
18 –> “KEYCODE_POUND”
19 –> “KEYCODE_DPAD_UP”
20 –> “KEYCODE_DPAD_DOWN”
21 –> “KEYCODE_DPAD_LEFT”
22 –> “KEYCODE_DPAD_RIGHT”
23 –> “KEYCODE_DPAD_CENTER”
24 –> “KEYCODE_VOLUME_UP”
25 –> “KEYCODE_VOLUME_DOWN”
26 –> “KEYCODE_POWER”
27 –> “KEYCODE_CAMERA”
28 –> “KEYCODE_CLEAR”
29 –> “KEYCODE_A”
30 –> “KEYCODE_B”
31 –> “KEYCODE_C”
32 –> “KEYCODE_D”
33 –> “KEYCODE_E”
34 –> “KEYCODE_F”
35 –> “KEYCODE_G”
36 –> “KEYCODE_H”
37 –> “KEYCODE_I”
38 –> “KEYCODE_J”
39 –> “KEYCODE_K”
40 –> “KEYCODE_L”
41 –> “KEYCODE_M”
42 –> “KEYCODE_N”
43 –> “KEYCODE_O”
44 –> “KEYCODE_P”
45 –> “KEYCODE_Q”
46 –> “KEYCODE_R”
47 –> “KEYCODE_S”
48 –> “KEYCODE_T”
49 –> “KEYCODE_U”
50 –> “KEYCODE_V”
51 –> “KEYCODE_W”
52 –> “KEYCODE_X”
53 –> “KEYCODE_Y”
54 –> “KEYCODE_Z”
55 –> “KEYCODE_COMMA”
56 –> “KEYCODE_PERIOD”
57 –> “KEYCODE_ALT_LEFT”
58 –> “KEYCODE_ALT_RIGHT”
59 –> “KEYCODE_SHIFT_LEFT”
60 –> “KEYCODE_SHIFT_RIGHT”
61 –> “KEYCODE_TAB”
62 –> “KEYCODE_SPACE”
63 –> “KEYCODE_SYM”
64 –> “KEYCODE_EXPLORER”
65 –> “KEYCODE_ENVELOPE”
66 –> “KEYCODE_ENTER”
67 –> “KEYCODE_DEL”
68 –> “KEYCODE_GRAVE”
69 –> “KEYCODE_MINUS”
70 –> “KEYCODE_EQUALS”
71 –> “KEYCODE_LEFT_BRACKET”
72 –> “KEYCODE_RIGHT_BRACKET”
73 –> “KEYCODE_BACKSLASH”
74 –> “KEYCODE_SEMICOLON”
75 –> “KEYCODE_APOSTROPHE”
76 –> “KEYCODE_SLASH”
77 –> “KEYCODE_AT”
78 –> “KEYCODE_NUM”
79 –> “KEYCODE_HEADSETHOOK”
80 –> “KEYCODE_FOCUS”
81 –> “KEYCODE_PLUS” 82 –> “KEYCODE_MENU”
83 –> “KEYCODE_NOTIFICATION”
84 –> “KEYCODE_SEARCH”
85 –> “TAG_LAST_KEYCODE”

Wake up the device

adb shell input keyevent KEYCODE_WAKEUP

Swipe (unlock screen)

adb shell input keyevent 82

Home button (KEYCODE_HOME)

adb shell input keyevent 3

Send a string of characters

Insert the text into a view with a focus (if it supports text input)

adb shell input text 'Paste text on Android device'

Simulate a physical action

Get Xpoint and Ypoint by enabling pointer location in the Developer Options – Input – Pointer location.

TAP

adb shell input tap Xpoint Ypoint

Example – Tap over position (487,428):

> adb shell input tap 487 428

SWIPE

adb shell input swipe Xpoint1 Ypoint1 Xpoint2 Ypoint2 [DURATION*]

*DURATION is optional, default=300ms

Example – Swipe from position (356,1257) to (356,100):

> adb shell input swipe 356 1257 356 100

Setting Device Configuration

Open Settings

adb shell am start -a android.settings.SETTINGS

Get/Put the device_name

adb shell settings get global device_name
db shell settings put global device_name "Device_XXX"

Enable/Disable Stay awake

adb shell settings put global stay_on_while_plugged_in 3 (enable)
adb shell settings put global stay_on_while_plugged_in 0 (disable)

Setting the device brightness

adb shell settings put system screen_brightness 125

Setting the sound levels

adb shell settings put system volume_music_speaker 0
adb shell settings put system volume_notification_speaker 0
adb shell settings put system volume_ring_speaker 0
adb shell settings put system volume_system_speaker 0

Setting the screen rotation

adb shell settings put system accelerometer_rotation 0

accelerometer_rotation: auto-rotation, 0 disable, 1 enable

adb shell settings put system user_rotation 3

user_rotation: actual rotation, clockwise, 0 0°, 1 90°, 2 180°, 3 270°

Getting/Setting the language

adb shell settings get system system_locales
adb shell settings put system system_locales fr-FR

A device reboot is needed

Allow applications from unknown sources

adb shell settings put global install_non_market_apps 1
adb shell settings put secure install_non_market_apps 1 (Oreo+)

Disable USB Debugging mode

The enable command has no sense. You cannot send ADB commands to the terminal if the Debug mode is disabled

adb shell settings put global adb_enabled 0

Configure the default HOME (for MDM)

The “home app” must be installed and active

adb shell cmd package set-home-activity com.telelogos.mediacontact/com.telelogos.mckiosk.McKioskActivity

Get the current keyboard

adb shell settings get secure default_input_method

Get the list of available keyboards

adb shell ime list -s

Enable/Disable/Set a keyboard

Each platform has a specific name of the keyboard

adb shell ime enable com.android.inputmethod.latin/.LatinIME
adb shell ime set com.android.inputmethod.latin/.LatinIME
adb shell ime disable com.android.inputmethod.latin/.LatinIME

Block OS and security updates

adb shell settings put system security_update_db 0
adb shell settings put system SOFTWARE_UPDATE_WIFI_ONLY2 0

Set NTP server

adb shell settings put global ntp_server ntp1.ggl.inet

NTP server is not present on all platforms

Enable/Disable WiFi connection

adb shell "dumpsys wifi | grep 'Wi-Fi is'" (get current status)
adb shell "svc wifi enable" (enable)
adb shell "svc wifi disable" (disable)

Open WiFi settings

adb shell am start -a android.settings.WIRELESS_SETTINGS

WiFi detailed status

adb shell dumpsys wifi | grep "mNetworkInfo"

If connected to a valid network, it shows “CONNECTED/CONNECTED“. It also shows the name of the connected network.
If wifi has been enabled but it is yet to connect to a network, it shows “DISCONNECTED/SCANNING“.
If wifi is disabled, it shows “DISCONNECTED/DISCONNECTED“.

Enable/Disable Bluetooth connection

adb shell settings get global bluetooth_on (get current status)
adb shell settings put global bluetooth_on 1 (enable)
adb shell settings put global bluetooth_on 0 (disable)

A device reboot is needed

adb shell am start -a android.bluetooth.adapter.action.REQUEST_ENABLE

adb shell am start -a android.bluetooth.adapter.action.REQUEST_DISABLE

It prompts the user to ‘allow’ or ‘deny’

Enable/Disable NFC connection

adb shell dumpsys nfc (get current status)
adb shell svc nfc enable / adb shell service call nfc 7 (enable)
adb shell svc nfc disable / adb shell service call nfc 6 (disable)

Enable/Disable Google Play Protect

adb shell settings get global package_verifier_user_consent (get current status)
adb shell settings put global package_verifier_user_consent 1 (enable)
adb shell settings put global package_verifier_user_consent -1 (disable)

Getting Device Information

Get Android version

adb shell getprop ro.build.version.release

Get Build number

adb shell getprop ro.build.display.id

Get Patch number

adb shell getprop ro.device.patch.version

Get BT MAC address

adb shell settings get secure bluetooth_address

Get NTP server

adb shell settings get global ntp_server

Get IP address

adb shell ip addr show wlan0  | grep 'inet ' | cut -d ' ' -f 6 | cut -d / -f 1

File Management

Copy from the local source to the device

adb push <local path> <device path>

Copy from the device to the local source

adb pull <device path> <local path>

Delete a file

adb shell rm "/sdcard/file.ini"

Create/Delete a directory

adb shell mkdir "/sdcard/WsmHost/" > NUL
adb shell rmdir "/sdcard/WsmHost/"

See private directory where an app is installed

adb shell
run-as <package_name>

<package_name>: The installed app must be in debug version, not release or logcat or installed from Google Play

Example:

> adb shell
> run-as com.tellnext.emulator

Logcat

Clear logcat

adb logcat -c

Print log messages to stdout

adb logcat <text>:V *:S

<text>: BTPairing, TellNext, Calibrate, SpeakerNext, EVAPlayer

Example – Print BTPairing and TellNext messages (Verbose) and hide the rest of the messages (Silent):

> adb logcat BTPairing:V TellNext:V *:S

Example – Print VoiXtreme Engine messages (Verbose) and hide the rest of the messages (Silent):

> adb logcat VoiXtreme:V NUANCE:V *:S

Set Logcat buffer size (K or M)

adb logcat -G16M
adb logcat -g

Dump log messages to a specified file

adb logcat -f <filename>

Activate log messages (if logs not visible – property reset after rebooting the device)

adb shell setprop log.tag.<MyAppTag> DEBUG

Example – Activate logs for SpeakerNext:

> adb shell setprop log.tag.SpeakerNext DEBUG

Devices

Bonded devices

Find your Bluetooth service:

adb shell "dumpsys -l | grep bluetooth"

Get bonded devices:

adb shell "dumpsys bluetooth_manager | sed -n '/Bonded devices:/,/^$/p'"

Apps Management

Install an application

adb shell pm install -g "/sdcard/application.apk" --user all

List installed packages

adb shell pm list packages

List installed 3rd-party packages

adb shell pm list packages -3

Launch an app

Get the corresponding ActivityName:

adb shell dumpsys package <packageName> | findstr Activity

Launch the app:

adb shell am start -n <ActivityName>

Example – Launch BT Pairing:

> adb shell dumpsys package com.tellnext.bluetooth_pairing | findstr Activity
> adb shell am start -n com.tellnext.bluetooth_pairing/com.tellnext.StarterActivity

Enable/Disable Accessibility Services for an App

Get Accessibility Service Name:

adb shell dumpsys package <packageName>

Enable the Service:

adb shell settings put secure enabled_accessibility_services <serviceName>

Example – Enable BT Pairing Accessibility Service:

> adb shell dumpsys package com.tellnext.bluetooth_pairing | findstr Accessibility
> adb shell settings put secure enabled_accessibility_services com.tellnext.bluetooth_pairing/com.tellnext.accessibility_service.BTAccessibilityService

This action can also disable other services. So, it’s better to use “:” to join services:

adb shell settings put secure enabled_accessibility_services <serviceName_1>:<serviceName_2>

Example – Enable BT Pairing Accessibility Service and EVA Player service:

> adb shell settings put secure enabled_accessibility_services com.tellnext.bluetooth_pairing/com.tellnext.accessibility_service.BTAccessibilityService:com.eva.player/.service.PlayerAccessibilityService

Disable accessibility services for one app:

adb shell am force-stop <packageName>

Finding the name of the current foreground app

adb shell dumpsys window windows | grep mCurrentFocus

Kill app

adb shell am force-stop <packageName>

Example – Kill BT Pairing App:

> adb shell am force-stop com.tellnext.bluetooth_pairing

Enable/Disable apps notifications

adb shell cmd appops set <packageName> POST_NOTIFICATION ignore
adb shell cmd appops set <packageName> POST_NOTIFICATION allow

Example – Disable Hangouts (Google Talk) notifications:

> adb shell cmd appops set com.google.android.talk POST_NOTIFICATION ignore

Give specific authorization to an app

adb shell cmd appops set <packageName> <permission> allow

Example:

> adb shell cmd appops set com.telelogos.mediacontact WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE allow

Give the rights for MDM app (device owner/admin)

dpm set-active-admin: Sets the given component as active admin for an existing user.
dpm set-device-owner: Sets the given component as active admin, and its package as the device owner.
dpm set-profile-owner: Sets the given component as active admin and profile owner for an existing user.

adb shell dpm set-active-admin com.telelogos.mediacontact/.McDeviceAdminReceiver > NUL
adb shell dpm set-device-owner com.telelogos.mediacontact/.McDeviceAdminReceiver > NUL

Wait for an activity to appear (specific screen)

Example:

:WAITING_FOR_KLMS
SET KMLS_ACTION=0
echo "---- PENDING ACTION BEFORE KLMS SCREEN APPEARS -----"
timeout /t 1 > NUL
for /f "delims=" %%i in ('%adb% shell "dumpsys activity activities | grep -c \".activities.ConfirmDialog\" "') do Set KLMS_ACTION=%%i
if %KLMS_ACTION% EQU 0 (goto WAITING_FOR_KLMS)

Zebra devices

Identify MC33 keypad model

adb shell getprop ro.config.device.keyboard

Possible responses: 7 (29-key device) / 6 (38-key device) / 5 (47-key device)

Honeywell devices

Identify CK65 keypad model

adb shell getprop ro.hon.plat.keypad

Example:

> adb shell getprop ro.hon.plat.keypad
> qwerty

Possible responses: qwerty (51-key alpha) / numeric (38-key numeric)

ADB Server

Device Rebooting

Device Management

Example – Tap over position (487,428):

*DURATION is optional, default=300ms

Example – Swipe from position (356,1257) to (356,100):

Setting Device Configuration

accelerometer_rotation: auto-rotation, 0 disable, 1 enable

user_rotation: actual rotation, clockwise, 0 0°, 1 90°, 2 180°, 3 270°

A device reboot is needed

NTP server is not present on all platforms

If connected to a valid network, it shows “CONNECTED/CONNECTED“. It also shows the name of the connected network. If wifi has been enabled but it is yet to connect to a network, it shows “DISCONNECTED/SCANNING“. If wifi is disabled, it shows “DISCONNECTED/DISCONNECTED“.

A device reboot is needed

It prompts the user to ‘allow’ or ‘deny’

Getting Device Information

File Management

<package_name>: The installed app must be in debug version, not release or logcat or installed from Google Play

Example:

Logcat

<text>: BTPairing, TellNext, Calibrate, SpeakerNext, EVAPlayer

Example – Print BTPairing and TellNext messages (Verbose) and hide the rest of the messages (Silent):

Example – Print VoiXtreme Engine messages (Verbose) and hide the rest of the messages (Silent):

Example – Activate logs for SpeakerNext:

Devices

Apps Management

Example – Launch BT Pairing:

Example – Enable BT Pairing Accessibility Service:

Example – Enable BT Pairing Accessibility Service and EVA Player service:

Example – Kill BT Pairing App:

Example – Disable Hangouts (Google Talk) notifications:

Example:

Example:

Zebra devices

Honeywell devices

Example:

If connected to a valid network, it shows “CONNECTED/CONNECTED“. It also shows the name of the connected network.
If wifi has been enabled but it is yet to connect to a network, it shows “DISCONNECTED/SCANNING“.
If wifi is disabled, it shows “DISCONNECTED/DISCONNECTED“.