How to Install ADB & Fastboot on Ubuntu 20.04, 18.04, 21.04

This tutorial is going to show you how to install ADB & fastboot on Ubuntu 20.04, 18.04, 21.04, which is quite easy.

What are ADB and Fastboot

ADB and fastboot are two components of the Android SDK Platform-Tools.

ADB stands for Android Debug Bridge. It’s a command-line utility that allows you to do the following stuff:

  • Control your Android device over USB from your computer
  • Copy files back and forth
  • install and uninstall apps
  • run shell commands
  • and much more

Fastboot is a command-line tool for flashing an Android device, boot an Android device to fastboot mode, etc…

How to Install ADB and Fastboot on Ubuntu 20.04, 21.04, 18.04

It’s super easy. Simply run the following commands in a terminal window to install them from Ubuntu repository.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install android-tools-adb android-tools-fastboot

To check ADB version, run

adb version

Sample output:

Android Debug Bridge version 1.0.32

Enable USB Debugging on Your Android Device

While your Android device is unplugged from USB, go to your Android settings, scroll all the way down and tap About phone or About device. Then tap Build number 7 times which makes you a developer.

Now go back to the settings, you will see a new button called Developer options. Tap that button and enable USB debugging.

Test the Installation

To check if ADB is working properly, connect your Android device to your Ubuntu computer via USB cable. After that, type the following command in your Ubuntu terminal window.

adb devices

You will be prompted to allow USB debugging from an Ubuntu computer like the screenshot below. Select OK.

adb ubuntu

Then type run adb devices command again and your Android device will show up.

adb ubuntu install

If you get the following error,

????????????    no permissions

Then all you need to do is restart adb daemon, run

sudo adb kill-server

Then

sudo adb start-server

That’s it!

Wrapping Up

I hope this tutorial helped you install adb and fastboot on Ubuntu 20.04, 21.04 and Ubuntu 18.04. You may also want to read:

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14 Responses to “How to Install ADB & Fastboot on Ubuntu 20.04, 18.04, 21.04

  • Mohammad Shahebaz
    6 years ago

    It worked. Thanks!

  • Johann Jörß
    6 years ago

    hey, I’ve a bricked oneplus one and isn’t possible to get access to my OPO.
    adb devices under adb (ubuntu 17.04) doesn’ find devices under fastboot mode and also after start it (screen shows powerde by android and 1+-logo). May be I’d overwrote my bootloader by switching in TWRP…..
    Is where any way to unbrick and reanimate my oneplus one again ????

    I had had probe somthinks with an win-7 System; but the procederes aren’t successfully. Mayday , mayday 😉

  • worked, thank u

  • Amarjit Dhillon
    6 years ago

    thanks a lot. it worked for me

  • Christ_OFF
    5 years ago

    Thanks a LOT
    On ubuntu adb can be installed with : sudo apt install android-tools-adb
    Thank you AGAIN
    There is so much crapware already installed on my Android

  • I tried .but it is showing only
    list of devices attached.

  • I would like to hear if any have ideas about, how to use android devices like (cheap tablets) for running android apps, as a part of a multisystem setup, with the linux-system as the main controlling device. It would of course be via a USB-hub or something like that. Preferable with any graphical output on X.

  • Abhilash P B
    5 years ago

    show the error
    List of devices attached
    * daemon not running. starting it now on port 5037 *
    * daemon started successfully *
    26**** unauthorized

  • analyst@analyst:~$ adb devices
    adb server is out of date. killing…
    cannot bind ‘tcp:5037’
    ADB server didn’t ACK
    * failed to start daemon *
    error:

  • Very helpfull , it worked for me , thanks a lot.

  • Thanks bro

  • trash tutorial, how do i install for windows????

    • Xiao Guoan (Admin)
      2 years ago

      Go away. Windows users. This site is Linux only

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