How to enable usb debugging and install an apk to an android device with non-functioning display?

[Himadri Pandya]

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The display of my Xperia z3 is non-functioning(i.e. all I can see is a black screen) after an accidental damage due to water-insertion. But all other parts are working fine. The screen responses to touch, I can hear the touch sounds and I can click photographs as well with the camera key.

After connecting the phone with USB cable to my ubuntu laptop, I can browse through the internal storage files on the phone and locate the newly created image files as I click new photographs and take screen-shots. But I can't open any files(images/audio/videos) with errors like "couldn't load image" and "couldn't determine type of stream". However, I'm able to copy new files to the internal storage.

I want to install some screencasting application like vysor on my phone so that I can access it using my laptop. I know this can be done using adb commands but the problem here is that USB debugging is not enabled on my phone and hence I can't find it on the list of adb devices.

Is there any workaround for such situation?

 

[Rukbat]

after an accidental damage due to water-insertion. But all other parts are working fine.

For the moment, but the impurities that were in the water will keep eating away at the phone until it's useless and unrepairable. (See Oh, no! My Phone got Wet!)

I want to install some screencasting application like vysor on my phone so that I can access it using my laptop. I know this can be done using adb commands but the problem here is that USB debugging is not enabled on my phone and hence I can't find it on the list of adb devices.

You can adb push the .apk, but you can't adb install an .apk file, only a .zip file. (Changing the name of the file to .zip may work - I've never tried it - an .apk file is, after all, just a renamed .zip file.) But there's no work-around to enabling debug unless you've set something up first (say an app to enable it, triggered by something like Tasker getting some signal like a double push on the power button).

I'm afraid that you're going to have to temporarily replace the screen with a working one (even if it's one in poor condition that barely works - which is why repair shops keep unrepairable phones around). (And if that particular computer's never been connected to the phone for USB debug, you're going to have to tell the phone on the screen to allow a USB connection from that computer.)

You should be able, though, to just drag files from the phone to the desktop (or a folder you created on it, or a symlink on the desktop to some other folder), if all you want is to get your files off the phone. (It may get boring but I'll say it again - this is why all important files should always be backed up. Are your important Ubuntu files backed up to at least one cloud account?)