What are ADB and Fastboot tools, and How to Install and Use them on Windows PC

ADB (Android Debug Bridge) and Fastboot are command-line tools used for managing and flashing Android devices. ADB allows your computer to interact with an Android device over USB or wirelessly, enabling command execution directly from your PC. Fastboot, on the other hand, is primarily used to update the Android file system in bootload mode.

These tools are commonly used for flashing stock ROMs, installing custom recoveries, and performing advanced device maintenance. In this tutorial, we’ll first explain what ADB and Fastboot are, and then guide you through the step-by-step process of installing them on your system.

Related Article: How to Unlock Bootloader of any Motorola Device using Fastboot

What is ADB(Android Debug Bridge Utility)?

ADB(Android Debug Bridge Utility) is a command-line development tool that is used to communicate with your Android device with a PC. ADB helps you to control your connected Android device or emulator using a command-line prompt over USB or WIFI. With the help of ADB, you can send files, install and uninstall applications, tweak hidden setting on your Android phone using ADB( Android Debug Bridge Utility).

What is Fastboot?

Fastboot is primarily used as a diagnostic tool for modifying the Android file system while the device is in Bootloader mode. It only works when your Android device is in fastboot or bootloader mode, allowing commands to be sent directly to the bootloader to install or modify firmware components. If you plan to flash a custom or stock ROM, or install a custom recovery, you’ll need to install the ADB and Fastboot tools first.

Both ADB and Fastboot are part of the Android SDK (Software Development Kit). However, since the full SDK includes a large number of unnecessary files for most users, Google provides a simplified package called Android SDK Platform-Tools, which contains just the essential components—ADB and Fastboot.

Now, let’s move on to installing and using ADB and Fastboot on your system.

Note: Fastboot is not supported on all Android devices, so make sure your device is compatible before proceeding.

Download Section

SDK-Platform tool

Install ADB-Fastboot tool using SDK-Platform

1. To install the ADB and Fastboot tools on your system, the first step is to download the SDK Platform-Tools package for Windows Operating system from the download section.

2. Once the SDK Platform-Tools ZIP file is downloaded, extract its contents to a C drive- for example, C:\Android\platform-tools\.

   

3. Next, open a command prompt inside the platform-tools folder. To do this, hold down the Shift key, then right-click on an empty space within the folder and select "Open Command Window Here" or "Open PowerShell window here" from the context menu.

   

4. That’s it! You’ve successfully installed and set up the Fastboot command-line tool. To verify the installation, open the command prompt and type adb. If the tool is installed correctly, you’ll see information about the ADB commands and usage displayed in the terminal.

   

Edit the System PATH/Environment Variables

You can now run ADB and Fastboot commands from within the platform-tools folder. While this works, it’s more convenient to set up a system path variable, allowing you to run these commands from any location in the command prompt.

Environment variables define the directories where the system looks for executable commands. By adding platform-tools to your system’s PATH, you streamline the process of using ADB and Fastboot.

Set Path Variable on Windows

1. The first step is to copy the full path of the platform-tools folder.

2. Next, right-click on the My Computer icon and select Properties. A System Properties window will appear. Now, click on the Advanced tab.

   

3. Under the Advanced tab, click on the Environment Variables button.

   

4. In the next window, you’ll see the System Variables section. Select Path and click on the "Edit" button.

   

5. Now, add the path to the platform-tools folder as per your Windows OS version.

   • Windows 8/7: For windows 8/7 users, Append the platform-path at the end of the existing path and end with a semicolon.

     

   • Windows 10/11: For Windows 10/11 users, click on the new button and add the platform-tools path.

     

6. Finally, restart your system. That’s it! You can now run ADB commands from anywhere in the Command Prompt.

How to Use ADB and Fastboot

To connect your Android phone with your computer using ADB then you need to enable the USB debugging in your Android device. To enable the USB debugging follow the below steps.

1. Goto the Android setting and scroll down to about device.

2. Next, tap on the build number 7 times to enable the developer option setting.

3. Go back, you will see the developer option setting. Click on the developer option setting and search for USB debugging.

4. Now enable the USB debugging setting.

If you know more about how to Enable USB debugging on an Android device then click here

Note: If your device is not shown then you have to install your Android mobile drivers.

For more detail explanation, watch out the below video on How to install ADB and FASTBOOT driver on Windows 10/8/7 PC

Happy debugging…