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Google USB Driver

The Google USB Driver is required for Windows only in order to perform adb debugging with any of the Google Nexus devices. The one exception is the Galaxy Nexus: the driver for Galaxy Nexus is distributed by Samsung (listed as model SCH-I515).

Windows drivers for all other devices are provided by the respective hardware manufacturer, as listed in the OEM USB Drivers document.

Note: If you're developing on Mac OS X or Linux, then you do not need to install a USB driver. To start developing with your device, read Using Hardware Devices.

Downloading the Google USB Driver

The Google USB Driver for Windows is available for download as an optional SDK component. You need the driver only if you are developing on Windows and want to connect a Google Android-powered device (such as a Nexus 7) to your development environment over USB.

Figure 1. The SDK Manager with the Google USB Driver selected.

You can download the Google USB Driver for Windows in one of two ways:

  • Click here to download the latest Google USB Driver ZIP file.
  • Or, use the Android SDK Manager tool that is included with the Android SDK. Using the SDK Manager helps you keep the driver up to date by notifying you when your current driver is out of date.
    1. Launch the Android SDK Manager by double-clicking SDK Manager.exe, at the root of your SDK directory.
    2. Expand Extras.
    3. Check Google USB Driver package and click Install.
    4. Proceed to install the package. When done, the driver files are downloaded into the <sdk>\extras\google\usb_driver\ directory.

For installation information, read Installing a USB Driver.