Enable and Use Wireless Debugging

byBeimnet Zewduon Aug 29, 2022

Web Development

The previous version of Android Studio named BumbleBee released in January 2022 comes with a new feature — Wireless Debugging.

Testing your apps on emulators can be tempting and easier to test apps on because emulators are open and free to download, and provide some basic analytics for your app performance, be able to test your apps on different android versions, but compared to testing your apps on a real physical device, it has drawbacks, I will mention a few of them as follows:

The emulator cannot emulate battery performance, network performance, and other real-time data such as GPS, gestures, etc.
It cannot evaluate the performance of an app in real-world situations when the network is interrupted during incoming calls and incoming texts.
We cannot test for color/contrast of the display under different weather conditions
We can not test how the app will perform when a lot of apps we use daily are open at the same time in the backgound

Although testing on a physical device isn’t perfect, as these devices can be expensive, testing on physical devices is critical as it helps you to truly understand how your app will perform on different networks, batteries, and so on. Here are some of the advantages of using a physical device to test your apps:

Real results and a live network — the network we use daily, how our app performs in the real world.
Any performance defects related to the device or the environment are visible;
All real-life scenarios are taken into account: from network failures, and incoming disturbances, to hardware limitations and issues.

So if we say that testing on a real device is the better solution, how do we go about doing this?

So ever since Android Studio came out on May 16, 2013, we used USB debugging to test our apps on our devices or test on emulators. This had its own limitations as you needed to connect your phone to your PC even if the battery status is at 100% and keep it charging, this might be okay but it will drain your phone’s battery. You can also run out of USB ports to plug in other devices. Even if all of this is not a problem for you, maybe finding a cable can be pretty hard.

Android Studio came up with a solution for us — Wireless Debugging, with their BumbleBee version in January 2022, and still exists on the latest Chipmunk version. Wireless Debugging lets you install and test your apps over WiFi. Next, we will see how to enable and use this feature.

If you have already enabled the developer option you may skip the first step.

Step 1 — Enable Developer Options

Find the developer options settings on your phone

a) For Google Pixel

Settings > About phone > Build number

b) Samsung Galaxy S8 and later

Settings > About phone > Software information > Build number

c) LG G6 and later

Settings > About phone > Software info > Build number

d) HTC U11 and later

Settings > About > Software information > More > Build number or Settings > System > About phone > Software information > More > Build number

e) OnePlus 5T and later

Settings > About phone > Build number

You can find this table here.

Note: Your mobile and your computer must be on the same Wifi Network

Step 2 — In the developer options find and enable Wireless Debugging

Note: Your mobile and your computer must be on the same Wifi Network

Step 3 — Select Pair using WiFi in Android Studio

Step 4 — Choose your preferred pairing option

a) Pair using QR Code — Choose the Scan the QR Code option on your device in the Wireless Debugging setting and do the same on Android Studio

Then Scan the QR Code on your phone

Then you will see a confirmation as follows:

b) Pair with Paring Code — On your phone, in the Wireless Debugging setting, choose the Pair device with pairing code and do the same on Android Studio