[How to] Quick ADB

DroidXcon

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Post #1= FAQ and preparation
Post #2= Interface and commands

This was originally intended for the fascinate but will work on all android phones with the exception of the drivers and download mode command
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any hacking that is done, is done at your own risk, I nor Android Central are
responsible for anything that users do to their phone. That being said, Have fun :)

Manipulating files through ADB can be Havocing on your device so if you are going to get any more technical than what i am providing here please be very careful and do your reading.
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FAQ


Q: What is ADB?


A: ADB stands for Android Debug Bridge, it provides a terminal-based interface for interacting with your phone’s file system.
ADB provides the bridge between your machine and your computer. It is usually for the advanced user but i am going to attempt to make this a little more useful for the Intermediate user.


Q: What is Quick ADB and when is it useful?


A: Usually to use ADB you need to download and install SDK tools, which involves vary steps. Sometimes i am at a remote location and i do not need SDK tools installed so why go through all the time it takes just for me to create a connection for a minute. Quick ADB allows you to download a folder, open a command prompt and quickly do what you need to do.

With ADB you can do things like, sideload apps, root, carry out reboot commands....etc. there is more than i know what do to with but in this thread i will show you how to establish ADB and some simply useful commands.

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Preparations

1.Download and extract Quick ADB , save QuickAdb foler to your C:\ drive

2. Download and Install your phones drivers

3. Go to Settings > Applications > Developement > Enable Debugging then plug in your phone


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CAP201009102356.jpg
 
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DroidXcon

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Lets begin

Creating a connection
Assuming you followed perpartions in post #1.In order to give commands you need to enter to command prompt, the way to do this is as follows:

From your pc go to your task bar at the bottom click start and when your menu pops up enter CMD in the search box and press enter:
searchbox.png


Once the command prompt box comes up we need to change directories (cd command) to the Quick ADB directory so type the following (If you want to copy and paste, remember in command prompt you must right click and select paste):

cd c:\quickadb

Your prompt should have changed to c:\quickadb. The next thing we need to do is establish that we have connection (again assuming you are connected to your pc in debugging mode) type the following

adb devices

it will now say "List of devices attached". If you are connected you will see device serial number (the image below was altered to protect my device). if there is nothing under "List of devices attached" this means you are not connected and you should check your connections. If all is well you are ready to use adb commands. your command prompt should look similiar to this:
connection-1.png


Some basic commands

adb devices : as you have seen above this command allows you to see all devices connect

adb pull: it allows you to copy a file from your phone and place it in your Quick ADB folder.
for example:
i have a picture of Lloyd on my sdcard and i want to copy it into my computer and so i need to command to pull(copy from) tell it where and what i am pulling i need to state the path and the file i want copied. then i need to tell it what i want it called in the destination folder (in this case quick adb folder) so my command will look like this

adb pull /sdcard/Lloyd.jpg Lloyd.jpg

or lets say i want it to be called Cool.jpg

adb pull /sdcard/Lloyd.jpg Cool.jpg

This file will now appear in my Quick ADB folder

adb push: it allows you to copy a file from your Quick ADB folder and place it in on your phone.
for example:
This is the opposite of pull, so lets say i have a picture of Lloyd on my computer and i want to copy it into my phone, first i place it in my Quick ADB folder. Then i need to command to push(copy to). tell it what i am pushing, then tell it where in the phone i want it to go and what to call it

adb push Lloyd.jpg /sdcard/Lloyd.jpg

or lets say i want it to be called Cool.jpg

adb push Lloyd.jpg /sdcard/Cool.jpg

This file will now appear on my sdcard on my phone

adb reboot: this one is pretty simply just type adb reboot and your phone reboots without you even touching it.

adb reboot recovery: this is one of my favorites, not only does it reboot your phone but also reboots straight into recovery without you touching any button combination at all. this is great for people who flash alot of roms or if you have damaged keys

adb reboot download : this command also is a great one (for samsung phones or any other that supports download mode) this allows you to boot straight into download mode again without touching your phone. this is great for people who flash via odin alot or if you have damaged keys

adb install : this is great for those of you who cannot sideload apps or just like to install quickly from your computer.
for example: lets say i have googlemaps.apk on my computer and want to install it on my phone. I simply move the googlemaps.apk to my quick adb folder and from the command prompt i type

adb install googlemaps.apk

when its done it will tell me if it was successful or not. you can then go to your app drawer and enjoy your new application, that simple.
 
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DroidXcon

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Credits:
  • Thank you to Chris Kerrigan for his contributions to this thread and his constant support.
 
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Chris Kerrigan

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Remove apps from SD card:


adb shell rm -r /system/sd/app
adb shell rm -r /system/sd/app-private

The second command is to remove private apps, as it says. /system/sd is the location of the SD card in Android, and /app is where all apps are stored on the SD card.

NOTE: You must be running Android 2.2 or newer for apps to be stored on the SD card.
 
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DroidXcon

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If anyone finds any Errors please let me know, also if you have commands you would like to add, please post it here with description and example of how to execute the command. i will add it to the Op and give you credit also in the OP

Thank you
 

ls377

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Adb uninstall of system apps (good for removing bloatware from phones with small storage).

NOTE: System had to be R/W for this to work. This may require you to boot into recovery, depending on the phone.

1. Open adb connection
2. Type "adb shell"
3. You should see a # sign. Type "cd system"
4. Type "cd app"
5. Type "ls". This gives you a list of installed apps.
6. Type "rm (name of app.apk)" The app should be uninstalled.

DO NOT UNINSTALL AN APP UNLESS YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY 100% POSITIVE YOU DON'T NEED IT!! You can uninstall any app you can find in the market, such as Maps, and install it to the SD card if you need more space.

I had to put together two guides to make this work (both had inaccuracies or were unclear), so if there's an error, I apologize.
 
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srkmagnus

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I would advise anyone who removes an app to back it up:

adb shell
cd system/app
ls
adb pull nameofapp.apk nameofapp.apk
 

davey11

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try rebooting your computer and phone and try again

Before posting, shoot I rebooted couple times, tried diff usb ports, reboot phone couple times, reinstalled sam drivers....whew lotsa stuff ... debugging on you know the usual stuff....no workie

I was trying the Samsung logo mod...did the heimdal flash but jus this adb thing no workie. Ah I can live with the logo.

Capture.png
 

DroidXcon

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Before posting, shoot I rebooted couple times, tried diff usb ports, reboot phone couple times, reinstalled sam drivers....whew lotsa stuff ... debugging on you know the usual stuff....no workie

I was trying the Samsung logo mod...did the heimdal flash but jus this adb thing no workie. Ah I can live with the logo.

Capture.png

try opening the computer task manager then kill adb.exe and try again
 

davey11

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try opening the computer task manager then kill adb.exe and try again

Wasn't running in TM....just tried again...no go

Its ok DX thanks for your time...this mod is kinda trivial anyway.
Mebbe when you do a package for it, I'm game


edit: besides we both be getting the charge soon haha
 
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