Can't find android device using "adb devices" command

Question

I am developing Android application on macOS and my application runs well on the emulator. I want to run it on the device, but when I run adb devices I get nothing.

localhost:platform-tools BF$ adb devices 
List of devices attached 

localhost:platform-tools BF$

I have checked the documentation in the reference about "Setting up a Device for Development". I have done everything step by step.

In the documentation, there are some words: Setup your system to detect your device. If you're developing on Mac OS X, it just works. Skip this step.

Now, I can't find any solution. Does it need special drivers for Android Devices?

Answer 1

I know this thread is old, but I think this could still help. Almost all the time "it just works" on OS X, but sometimes new/prototype or obscure devices aren't picked up. Try to help it out with these steps (I'm not near my Mac right now, but I did this last night and think I remember):

1. Open System Profiler and find the device on USB. View it's details to find the Vendor ID. For example, Motorola devices will show 0x2bb8. Or just Google for your vendor's hardware id.

   If nothing shown, make sure to try different cables. Android File Transfer is good for detecting the device if you have a valid cable.

2. Edit ~/.android/adb_usb.ini to include that Vendor ID. If the file doesn't exist, create it with that line only.

3. Restart ADB

   adb kill-server 
   adb start-server
   

4. Maybe unplug/plugin your phone.

And hopefully you see your device.