Connect Google Android devices

You can connect a Google Android device to your development computer to preview or debug the application on the Android device.

    Supported Android devices

    Flex mobile projects and ActionScript mobile projects require AIR 2.6 or a higher version of AIR. You can run or debug mobile projects only on physical devices that support AIR 2.6 or a higher version.

    You can install AIR 2.6 on supported Android devices running Android 2.2 or a higher version. For a list of supported devices, see http://www.adobe.com/flashplatform/certified_devices/. Also, review the minimum system requirements to run Adobe AIR on Android devices at Mobile System Requirements.

    Configure Android devices

    To run and debug Flex mobile applications from an Android device, enable USB debugging as indicated below:

    1. On the device, follow these steps to ensure that USB debugging is enabled:

      1. Tap the Home button to display the home screen.

      2. Go to Settings, and select Applications > Development.

      3. Enable USB debugging.

    2. Connect the device to your computer with a USB cable.

    3. Pull down the notification area at the top of the screen. You see either USB Connected or USB Connection.

      1. Tap USB Connected or USB Connection.

      2. If a set of options appears that includes Charge Only mode, select Charge Only and tap OK.

      3. If you see a button for turning off mass storage mode, click the button to turn off mass storage.

    4. (Windows only) Install the appropriate USB driver for your device. See Install USB device drivers for Android devices (Windows).

    5. Pull down the notification area at the top of the screen.

      If USB Debugging does not appear as an entry, check the USB mode as described in step 3 above. Make sure that the USB mode is not set to PC Mode.

    Note: Additional configuration is needed when debugging. See Test and debug a mobile application on a device.

    Install USB device drivers for Android devices (Windows)

    Device drivers and configurations

    Windows platforms require installation of a USB driver to connect an Android device to your development computer. Flash Builder provides a device driver and configuration for several Android devices.

    These device driver configurations are listed in the android_winusb.inf. Windows Device Manager accesses this file when installing the device driver. Flash Builder installs android_winusb.inf at the following location: 

    <Adobe Flash Builder 4.6 Home>\utilities\drivers\android\android_winusb.inf

    For the complete list of supported devices, see Certified devices. For Android devices that are not listed, you can update android_winusb.inf with USB drivers. See Add Android USB device driver configurations.

    Install USB device driver

    1. Connect your Android device to your computer’s USB port.

    2. Go to the following location:

      <Flash Builder>/utilities/drivers/android/

      Install the USB driver using either the Windows Found New Hardware wizard or the Windows Device Manager.

    Important: If Windows is still unable to recognize your device, you need to install the appropriate USB driver from your device manufacturer. See OEM USB drivers for links to the websites of several device manufacturers from where you can download the appropriate USB driver for your device.

    Adobe recommends

    Troubleshooting Android device connections on Windows

    Brent Arnold
    If Windows is unable to recognize the Android device connected to your computer, watch this video for troubleshooting tips.

    Have a tutorial you would like to share?

    Add Android USB device driver configurations

    If you have a supported Android device not listed in Install USB device drivers for Android devices (Windows), update the android_winusb.inf file to include the device.

    1. Plug the device into a USB port of your computer. Windows informs you that it cannot find the driver.

    2. Using the Windows Device Manager, open the Details tab of the device properties.

    3. Select the Hardware IDs property to view the hardware ID.

    4. Open android_winusb.inf in a text editor. Find android_winusb.inf at the following location:

      <Adobe Flash Builder 4.6 Home>\utilities\drivers\android\android_winusb.inf

    5. Note the listings in the file that apply to your architecture, either [Google.NTx86] or [Google.NTamd64]. The listings contain a descriptive comment and one or more lines with the hardware ID, as shown here:

      . . . 
[Google.NTx86] 
; HTC Dream 
%CompositeAdbInterface% = USB_Install, USB\VID_0BB4&PID_0C02&MI_01 
. . .

    6. Copy and paste a comment and hardware listing. For the device driver you want to add, edit the listing as follows:

      1. For the comment, specify the name of the device.

      2. Replace the hardware ID with the hardware ID identified in Step 3 above.

      For example:

      . . . 
[Google.NTx86] 
; NEW ANDROID DEVICE 
%CompositeAdbInterface%     = USB_Install, NEW HARDWARE ID 
. . .

    7. Use the Windows Device Manager to install the device, as described in Install USB device drivers for Android devices (Windows) above.

      During the installation, Windows displays a warning that the driver is from an unknown publisher. However, the driver allows Flash Builder to access your device.