How do I debug on a real Android device using Xamarin for Visual Studio?

c# visual-studio visual-studio-2012 xamarin xamarin-studio
jay_t55 picture jay_t55 · Aug 7, 2014 · Viewed 94.1k times · Source

I've found a few links but they don't explain how this is done. I can debug using Xamarin Studio IDE but that IDE (no offense) is lame compared to Visual Studio 2012.
Using Visual Studio 2012, there appears to only be option to select an emulator to debug. So how do I get it to debug on my real device via USB (I already have USB Debugging = true)?

Answer

Shane Dixon picture Shane Dixon · Aug 2, 2016

I'm using Visual Studio 2017 with a OnePlus.

In order get debugging working I did the following.

  1. Go to Settings > About phone and tap Build Number repeatedly until developer mode is enabled
  2. Go into Settings > Developer options and turn USB debugging ON
  3. Connect you phone to your PC via USB. I had to plug my phone into my PC's onboard USB port, not my USB hub as this did not work
  4. You should be prompted to trust your PC (trust it)
  5. Fire up Visual Studio
  6. Open your solution and your device should now be available.

Side note: I have noticed that sometimes it also depends on the cable you use. If you still have no luck, perhaps try another cable.

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