ADB and fastboot tool are some of the most powerful tools for Android devices, when it comes to rooting, unlocking bootloader or if you want to flash firmware, everything can be done in one single place that is ADB and fastboot. However, it is not easy to use ADB and fastboot commands, often people end up with a lot of different types of errors. Sometimes it says ADB is not recognized or ADB command not found, there are a lot of different errors similar to these. So here is some easy fix through which you might be able to fix your ADB command error.

Below is a list of some errors and their fixes that might help in fixing your error which you are facing during the ADB commands.

Reasons why you get an ADB Error

There could be several different reasons for the error you are getting while executing the ADB command.

Sometimes drivers are missing while at times permission access are missing. Below we have quoted some of the error messages that often appear while executing ADB commands.

‘adb’ is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.

‘adb’ is not recognized as an internal or external command react-native.

The command a.exe was not found, but does exist in the current location.

or

The command adb was not found, but does exist in the current location.

‘adb’ is not recognized as an internal or external command android studio.

In case you are using Powershell instead of Command Prompt to execute ADB Commands then you might go through the following errors.

ADB : The term ‘adb’ is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or operable program.

‘adb’ command not found

‘fastboot’ command not found

‘fastboot’ is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.

Let’s begin with the very first and most common error that most of the users have which is “adb is not recognized as an internal or external command “. This error could occur due to the following reasons.

• For starters, ADB and fastboot tools is an external software tool which you need to download and install it manually on your PC. it doesn’t come pre-installed on your computer on any of the OS be it Windows, Mac or Linux.
• You may also face errors like the ‘ADB command not found error, this happens mostly because of an outdated version of ADB and the fastboot tool, so always make sure that you have the latest version of SDK and Platform tools.
• Make sure that you are executing the ADB commands from a location where ‘adb.exe’ and ‘fastboot.exe’ file is present otherwise it will show errors while executing the commands.
• If you are trying to flash an OTA zip file, a factory image or a custom recovery then you must make sure that the file which you are flashing is located in the same folder where the ADB is installed or inside the platform-tools folder along with ‘adb.exe’ and ‘fastboot.exe’

Fix for ‘ADB is not Recognized’ Error

There are several different solutions that can work and solve the error ADB is not recognized, so below we have listed a few of the solutions that you can check and try to solve your issue with ADB and fastboot.

Fix 1: Download Latest SDK Platform Tools

There are several different versions of ADB and fastboot tools lying around the internet, many of them are outdated versions as well. For instance, if you are using the ADB and fastboot tools of Koush’s Universal ADB drivers or Minimal ADB and Fastboot, 15 seconds ADB Installer chances are that you are running an older version of the ADB and Fastboot tools. This means that the driver of the Adb is also outdated on your Windows PC. Not to mention, these older versions and installers from third-party sources can also contain some kind of malware that can harm your PC as well.

You must try to remove the tool as soon as possible. The safest and the most reliable way to download and install the ADB and Fastboot tool driver is by downloading it directly from Google’s own website. Thus, we would recommend you to download the latest version of Android SDK Platform Tools zip For Windows directly from the development website of Google.

Fix 2: Execute ADB Command From the ‘Platform-tools’ Folder

As we all know that the original ADB and fastboot tool drivers are not the installer files and we just extract it and start using it by opening the command Prompt on that location of the Platform-tools folder, so there are 3 ways to open cmd.

1. Open the Platform-tools folder that contains the ADB and fastboot files. Now, in the address bar of that folder type cmd and press the Enter key on your keyboard.
2. Open the Platform-tools folder. Next, click on the file tab which should be somewhere at the top left of the screen, now select open Windows Powershell from the context menu.
3. Navigate into the Platform-tools folder, now in the empty area of the folder press and hold shift and then press the right click of your mouse. now from the context menu select open Command prompt/ Windows Power Shell.

Fix 3: Use ‘ Platform-Tools’ Folder Path in CMD

So if you have saved the ADB and Fastboot drivers in the C drive and you are trying to run an ADB command from the desktop screen, you will get an error as ‘adb is not recognized as an internal or external command error’.

To fix this, all you have to do is

1. Open the platform-tools folder now from that folder click on the address bar and copy the whole path.
2. Go back to the command prompt and then type cd <Space> paste the path and then press enter.
3. That’s it now you can try executing the ADB commands and it should not show the error.

Fix 4: Add a User or System variable path For ADB And Fastboot

The method we used above in which we wrote the path of the platform-tools folder using the cd command works pretty well but could be a bit complex and lengthy if you use ADB and fastboot very frequently. So in that case we can use the system variable path method, using it will be very easy to access ADB and fastboot tool universally from any screen or location on your Windows PC. All we have to do is set up the ADB system-wide.

To add System or User Variables for the path of the platform-tools folder follow the tutorial written below.

1. Open Advanced System Settings on your Windows PC.
   • to go to advanced settings simply click on the windows button and then type Advanced system settings.
2. Now Click on Environment Variables as shown below.
3. Now, click on the new button under system variables, for reference look at the screenshot below.
4. Now, in the new dialogue box that opened, type Path in the Variable name box, and inside the variable box you need to enter the path of the Platform-tools folder, simply copy and paste it from the address bar when inside the platform-tools folder. for reference, you can check the screenshot.
5. Finally, click on Ok to add the path variable.
6. Also, click on Ok in the previous screen which is Environment variables otherwise it won’t work.

That’s it you have successfully set up the variable path for ADB and fastboot tool and now you can access ADB commands from anywhere inside the PC be it any location.

Fix ‘adb.exe:no device/emulators found’ Error

Whenever ADB daemon is not able to detect your device due to some of the other reasons it will always show an error saying ‘adb.exe no devices/emulators found. So to fix the error follow the tutorial written below.

• One of the reasons could be that the phone or tablet is not connected to your Pc, you might need to check the cable or the quality of the cable, make sure you are using an original cable, some of the devices causes conflicts when using any other cable.
• Cross-check once whether USB-Debugging on your Android device is enabled.
• Try restarting your device and disconnect the cable and connect it again.

Bonus Tip: Allow USB-Debugging Permission

Whenever you use the USB-Debugging first time on your PC and phone you have to give authorization from your phone which allows your PC to use USB-Debugging, otherwise, none of the ADB commands would work.

So as soon as you run your first ADB command, you will see a pop-up on your phone asking to ‘Allow USB-Debugging’ click on Allow button and that’s it you have successfully given the USB-Debugging permission.

We have a whole guide for this issue: Allow USB Debugging | Authorize ADB Commands on Android

Fix ‘Fastboot is not Recognized’ Error

So all of the above-mentioned solutions were to fix the errors with ADB or ADB commands not recognized error. The above solutions might also fix the error of fastboot commands as well. otherwise, if you are still getting the ‘fastboot not recognized error then you can try the below method which might fix your error. Fastboot commands are those commands which you execute on the ADB platform when your phone is in Recovery or bootloader or fastboot mode. Mostly this is used to flash a custom recovery such as TWRP or to unlock the bootloader of your device.

• Make sure you have downloaded the latest version of platform-tools SDK from the links provided above.
• Now, open the Platform-tools folder
• First of all, copy the files you want to flash on your Android device, and paste them inside the platform-tools folder, the same folder which should also have files like ‘fastboot.exe and adb.exe’
• Now, reboot your Android device into fastboot mode. to do so simply execute the ADB command by writing adb reboot fastboot.
• Make sure your phone is connected to your Pc with a proper compatible cable.
• Now launch the Command Prompt from the platform-tools folder, the same way we do for ADB commands.
• Now type and execute fastboot devices the command will show the list of devices connected to your PC.
• If you cannot see any device in the list that means the device isn’t connected properly or there is some issue. You can try disconnecting the USB cable and connecting again to your PC if it doesn’t help then you can try to reboot your phone and check if USB-Debugging is enabled or not.

To Conclude

ADB and fastboot tool is used a lot of time in everyday life of rooting or unlocking the bootloader or if you are a pro-Android user, so having these solutions to fix the errors of ADB can be handy. Above ae have covered how to fix the error ADB device not recognized along with fastboot is not recognized error as well. So make sure you go through all of the solutions provided to you to minimize the chances of error and if you are having any error you might fix it with the help of the abovementioned solutions.