OS X 10.6.6 and “adb devices” fails to list androi

Question

adb devices was working fine last year, but after upgrades and new software installs, adb devices no longer recognizes USB attached Android devices.

Here is what I have tried:

adb kill-server
adb devices

adb usb
  error: Device not found

Answer 1

in my case what worked:

• disconnect device
• exit android studio
• run 'Activity Monitor' and kill adb
• start android
• studio reconnect device

Answer 2

If you have installed EasyTether on OS X, the EasyTetherUSBEthernet.kext can prevent adb from communicating with your mobile device.

If you use Easy Tether, BEFORE you plug in your phone run:

sudo kextunload /System/Library/Extensions/EasyTetherUSBEthernet.kext

(or unplug/plug your phone in after)

If you are done debugging and want to use EasyTether again, either restart or:

sudo kextload /System/Library/Extensions/EasyTetherUSBEthernet.kext

---

If you want to remove the EasyTether kext so it never hassels you again:

sudo kextunload /System/Library/Extensions/EasyTetherUSBEthernet.kext
sudo rm -rf /System/Library/Extensions/EasyTetherUSBEthernet.kext

---

Reference/Credit: http://www.intohand.com/post.php?s=2011-02-17-android-debug-bridge-not-just-working-on-mac

Answer 3

I have seen another report of this bug. I have not been able to reproduce it myself yet.

The bug is: MacOS X 10.6.6 [on some hardware] breaks adb [for some phones].

If anyone is able to reproduce the bug, feel free to add details of the exact hardware, build numbers and so on. I've asked the person who can reproduce the bug, to report it to google using the form at http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/entry

When he does that, I will add the bug report URL here, and people can add their hw/sw details to the bug report.

In the meantime, to be safe, I would recommend Apple users should NOT accept the snow leopard upgrade to 10.6.6, which was pushed on Jan 6 2011 (so it may already be too late for most).

Peter