I have a very annoying problem. To put it shortly, I'm unable to work due to the unreliability of the Android ecosystem when it comes to debugging.
Here is the thing:
I have a Pixel 7.
Debugging with my office computer goes as:
When I connect it to my work computer (Win 11) it constantly breaks the connection then re-connects to the PC. This is especially annoying when I try to read logcat, or trying to run my app when the device is not connected.
When I try to debug via Wi-Fi with the QR-code reading/connectivity, Android Studio tells me I should update "platform-tools" otherwise I cannot use this feature because: "The system does not meet the requirements to support Wi-Fi paring. Please update to the latest version of "platform-tools" using the SDK manager." In the SDK download manager's SDK Tools tab, I don't see any "platform-tools", EDIT (Thanks to Robert I found it): I just updated it to the latest version, (34.0.5), still the same error.
Sometimes I just get a popup which reads: "Unknown USB device."
Debugging with my computer at home:
When I bring my phone home to work on my PC at home (Win 10) the phone does very similar behavior just like with my work PC, but the connection breaks and re-connects are much faster, like literally in 3-5 seconds.
The QR-code debugging sometimes work sometimes doesn't, I cannot put it any other way, and even if it is, it also forgets/breaks connection after few minutes our hours, really unpredictable, unreliable, annoying.
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I tried 2 different methods, 3 different USB cables, 4 different USB slots on my 2 computers with 2 different versions of Windows and also with an additional phone (Xiaomi Mi A1) and yet there is no variation which makes me a reliable debugging environment for Android.
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Emulator:
I'm facing the following problems with this type of debugging:
I get a popup like every minute that says:
"System UI isn't responding"- it is very annoying and when I demo the app the customer thinks that his app that I work on isn't working.The back, home, app history buttons doesn't work at all.
There are mysterious problems every once in a while, for example: Http handshake/certificate error - strictly only ever occurred while using Emulator, never with real device. Or Firebase connectivity issues, same as above, strictly only ever occured while using Emulator.
Customers aren't comfortable to try their app on an Emulator.
It is painfully slow.
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What have I tried:
- Reinstall Android Studio
- Update my environment, Android Studio, SDK tools, Emulator
- Deleting adb folder in myuser/android
- Trying to debug via
adb devicesto get some information about what is wrong - Trying to connect via Wifi with command line commands
- Deleted and re-created Emulators with different Android versions
- Factory reset on my phone
- Disabling then re-enabling USB debugging and developer settings
- Bought a brand new USB cable
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So here I am after 10+ years of Android development in the year of 2023 and debugging for Android is still an unreliable stinking pile of crap.
I would like to ask the community, are there any more reliable alternatives? Can you suggest me anything?