16
votes

I have tried every suggestion on this website and many others to no avail. Is it even possible to do android development for a nexus 7 on windows?

I have tried the usb driver downloaded from the sdk manager, the one from asus. I have tried changing the usb mode to PTP and I am still getting the the same message when I try to install the driver (manually).

"Windows could not find driver software for your device"

13
Not sure, but this might helpkeyser
Does it fail at a certain step?keyser
Yes ... when I try to install the driver I get the message as stated in the post.ryoung
Yes I am choosing option 2 (i.e. browse my computer for driver)ryoung
That website worked. I had drilled down too far when browsing for the driver.ryoung

13 Answers

24
votes

I know this question has been answered, but I just ran into an issue where uninstalling the Unknown Device, and then updating the driver manually was not working (by selecting the sdk/../usb_drivers folder). No matter what I did from Device Manager, I could not get the drivers to be found/installed.

Hopefully this helps someone - if you have an issue installing the device (Win7), this worked for me:

  1. Disconnect the USB from the device.
  2. On the device, go to Settings -> Developer Options, and click Revoke USB debugging authorizations.
  3. On the device, go to Settings -> Storage -> USB Computer Connection (available on the drop down menu at the top right of your screen). Verify that Media device (MTP) is CHECKED.
  4. Reconnect the device, and it should install successfully without a problem. If not, attempt to update the driver manually and point Windows to the usb_drivers folder of your SDK.

I just had this problem occur for me with two factory new Nexus devices (Nexus 7 and Nexus 4). For both devices, I had to do the steps above and everything worked fine afterward.

22
votes

Ok here's something awesome. When browsing for the driver DO NOT select the architecture (i.e. amd64 or i386). Just browse to the "usb_driver" folder. It is working now.

\your_sdk_path\android-sdk\extras\google\usb_driver
4
votes

I had to hook up 4 Nexus 7s (2012) on Windows 7. After much trials, tribulations and many errors, here is what I had to do, for EACH device.

Plug in the Nexus 7 using USB. Watch it fail to install one out of 4 drivers. Now, Computer -> Manage -> Device Manager -> Right Click on device -> Uninstall NOTE: Check "Delete the driver software...". This buys you some time -> OK

Unplug USB, wait 5 secs, plug it back in. Windows tries to install a driver. BEFORE it can complete, Right click on the device that appeared in the device list and select "Update driver software" Gotta be fast here. Time is of the essence. If you are slow, delete and repeat.

Browse to the Google driver ( \extras\google\usb_driver ) -> OK Try connecting via Eclipse..

For me, at this point, the stupid Nexus was asking whether to accept a key. Say OK, and I was all set. Not fun...

2
votes

I have a new nexus 7 with 4.4. Had to "enable usb debugging mode" specifically in developer options.

Haven't seen this mentioned previously. Everything seems to work fine after that.

2
votes

Here is a guideline how to install nexus 7 driver in windows: http://developer.android.com/tools/extras/oem-usb.html

I was also facing same type of problems and following this guideline my problem was resolved.

In a nutshell:

  • open SDK manager and install Google USB Driver
  • then manually update your device driver from Device Manager(control panel>>other devices)
0
votes

Install the driver manually through device manager of your PC.

0
votes

Try following these instructions: http://developer.android.com/tools/extras/oem-usb.html I couldn't get it working but after installing them manually it worked just fine.

0
votes

Windows installs different set of drivers depending on whether you have USB Debugging enabled or disabled in Settings -> Developer Options (Of course, if your device is not rooted, you don't have to worry about USB Debugging as you won't see the Developer Options).

So unlike Lo-Tan suggested above, it is NOT required to disable USB Debugging.

I would rather install the drivers in 2 steps: - First have the USB Debugging enabled and manually update the drivers. - Second, disconnect the device, enable the USB Debugging and again manually update the drivers.

As Lo-Tan suggest, it is required to have MTP Enabled as explained in point number 2.

0
votes

I was having issues with the latest adb usb drivers on my 2012 nexus 7. I installed an older version from this link and they worked. https://app.box.com/s/2c25e8bc42ecce400afd

0
votes

Nexus 7 2013:

When changing mode and looking at device manager:

  • MTP: i see only the "Nexus 7" device under "Portable Devices", not updatable

  • PTP: i see "Nexus 7" under both "Portable Devices" and "Other devices"

  • none: i see only "unknown device" under "Other devices", not updatable

So, to fully install drivers, with adb interface, i had to put it first into PTP mode (+debubbing mode). Then update the drivers of the nexus 7 device under "other devices" manually with the google drivers.

Now put the tablet in MTP mode and update the nexus 7 driver under "portable devices". choose "let me pick...", then "composite..".

The "Android Composite ADB Interface" now appear under "Android Device".

et voila..

0
votes

I found that when installing either the Asus or Google OEM drivers it didn't install. But when updating the driver from device manager choosing "pick from list" and select Google as the manufacturer and select "Android ADB Interface Version 10.0.0.0" (after installing the Google USB Driver)

Notably this is on Server 2012 (albeit more similar to Win 8), but the same might apply to Win 7.

0
votes

Just in case you have Windows 7 edition N:

Windows 7 N edition is a release of Windows 7 distributed in Europe that lacks the Media Center/Player parafernalia, so that the users can choose their own. Windows 7 N does not include the drivers for the Nexus 7. The Nexus N drivers "suddenly appear" when you install the Media Feature Pack for Windows 7 N and Windows 7 KN. Otherwise it is difficult to make the Nexus 7 connect through USB. After the upgrade, it recognizes the Nexus 7 automatically by plug-&-play.

0
votes

My Nexus 7 2013 worked fine connected to my laptop for months. Then yesterday I couldn't get it to be seen by the debugger. I tried every thing on this page with no luck. I especially like the driver installation guide in the Nexus Root Toolkit (NRT) and USBDeview, but no luck. NRT's driver installation guide has step by step instructions that are great for debugging these types of Nexus driver issues. I highly recommend it.

Today, it is working fine again.

The difference? Yesterday, I was in my office and my laptop was docked in a docking station that has built in USB hubs. Today, my laptop is undocked and there is no USB hub. Both days I was connecting my Nexus to the same USB port, and while I couldn't get my laptop to see my Nexus, my Motorola and Samsung devices were fine.

I don't know why this makes a difference, but if you are stuck with this problem, try removing any USB hubs and/or undocking your laptop.