Debugging Using ADB

You can debug Mixtile Blade 3 on Windows, Ubuntu, or Mac either using serial debugging or using Android Debug Bridge (ADB).

ADB is a command-line debugging tool that enables a variety of functions, such as tracking system logs, uploading files and downloading files. The default system of Mixtile Blade 3 is Debian 11 and you can also use ADB to connect the Blade 3 board.

The document describes how to debug Mixtile Blade 3 using ADB. For details about serial debugging, see Serial Debugging.

Preparations

• A PC (Windows, Linux or macOS)
• A USB-A to USB-C cable
• A power adapter with a USB-C connector at one end that supports USB PD 2.0

Debugging Steps

Step 1. Connect hardware

1. Connect one end of the USB cable to Blade 3’s USB port that is away from the corner and the other end to the PC.
2. Connect the power adapter to Blade 3’s USB port that is near the corner.

Step 2. Install ADB

You need to install ADB according to the operating system running on your PC.

On Windows

1. Download ADB and unzip the file to a customized installation directory, such as C:\adb\platform-tools.
2. Press Windows + R to open Run. Then enter sysdm.cpl and press Enter.
3. Choose Advanced > Environment Variables > System Variables > Path.
4. Create a new directory C:\adb\platform-tools under Path.

On Ubuntu

To install ADB on Ubuntu, run the following command:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install android-tools-adb

On MacOS

1. (Optional) Install the Homebrew tool if it is not installed yet by running the following command:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

2. Install ADB on macOS by running the following command:

brew cask install android-platform-tools

Step 3. Verify ADB connection status

On Windows

Run the following ADB commands to verify whether the ADB connection is successful.

C:\Users\user> adb devices
List of devices attached
I002TDRJNA    device

C:\Users\user> adb shell
root@blade3:/#
root@blade3:/#

On Linux and macOS

Run the following ADB commands to verify whether the ADB connection is successful.

$ adb devices
List of devices attached
I002TDRJNA    device

$ adb shell
root@blade3:/#
root@blade3:/#

Commands for Debugging

Via ADB, you can obtain the debugging information.

• Getting system logs via ADB logcat

adb logcat [Options] [Label]

For example:

# View all logs.
adb logcat
# Show only parts of the logs.
adb logcat -s WifiStateMachine StateMachine

• Getting system bug reports

For example:

adb bugreport
# Save to host, then open it with text editor to view ADB
adb bugreport >bugreport.txt

• Getting root permission

If TARGET_BUILD_VARIANT is in user debug mode, you need to run the following command to get root permission:

adb root

Switch the device side of ADB to root mode for commands that require root access, such as ADB remount.

Appendix: Other Common ADB Commands

This section introduces other ADB commands that are commonly used for your reference.

Commands for Managing Connections

To display related devices and their serial numbers, run the following command:

adb devices

If there are multiple connected devices, you need to use the serial number to tell them apart by running the following command:

export ANDROID_SERIAL=<SerialNumber>
adb shell ls

To connect to a specific device, run the following command:

adb -s SerialNumber shell

For more ADB commands, run adb –help:

adb --help