qvm-usb: Device attach failed for Android 6 in Debugging mode

[grote]

Qubes OS version

R3.2

Affected TemplateVMs

fedora-23

Expected behavior:

qvm-usb -a dev sys-usb:3-2 attaches USB device to AppVM 'dev'.

Actual behavior:

USB is not attached. This error is shown: ERROR: Device attach failed
stderr and stdout of the call make by qubesutils.py is empty and None.

Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. Attach Android 6.0.1 device with activated ADB mode to USB port
2. Call qvm-usb to see where it got attached
3. Call qvm-usb -a dev sys-usb:3-2 to attach it to running 'dev' AppVM
4. See how attaching fails without any helpful error messages.

General notes:

This happens with an Android 6.0.1 device running CyanogenMod. Please note that attaching an old LG phone in Android debugging mode works just phone. I don't have other phones here at the moment to do more tests.

If I switch debugging mode off, the device attaches just fine. However, when I activate debugging mode on the device, it gets detached from the VM again. dmesg in sys-usb shows this:

[ 8525.456374] usbip-host 3-2: usbip-host: register new device (bus 3 dev 45)
[ 8525.466994] usbip-host 3-2: stub up

Now I activate Android debugging mode on the device.

[ 8539.612454] usbip-host 3-2: USB disconnect, device number 45
[ 8539.612926] usbip-host 3-2: recv a header, 0
[ 8539.612954] usbip-host 3-2: lock for reset
[ 8539.948110] usb 3-2: new high-speed USB device number 46 using xhci_hcd

Of course, I also tried rebooting the phone, using other USB cables, etc.
The phone was working just fine before using QubesOS on the same hardware.

Help for debugging this further would be greatly appreciated as I need to attach this device for work.

[andrewdavidwong]

We closed #1375 on the grounds that Android devices are not block devices and therefore not among the supported device types for USB attachment.

Does toggling "debugging mode" affect whether the device appears as a USB mass storage device?

[andrewdavidwong]

We closed #1375 on the grounds that Android devices are not block devices and therefore not among the supported device types for USB attachment.

Does toggling "debugging mode" affect whether the device appears as a USB mass storage device?

[grote]

Hi @andrewdavidwong,

thanks for answering so quickly. I read #1375 before opening this one, but it is unrelated. This is not about block devices, mass storage mode, MTP or PTP.

This is about an Android USB device failing to attach to a different AppVM when USB debugging or the Android Debug Brigde is activated. This is used by Android developers to test their apps on real hardware.

[grote]

Hi @andrewdavidwong,

thanks for answering so quickly. I read #1375 before opening this one, but it is unrelated. This is not about block devices, mass storage mode, MTP or PTP.

This is about an Android USB device failing to attach to a different AppVM when USB debugging or the Android Debug Brigde is activated. This is used by Android developers to test their apps on real hardware.

[marmarek]

I bet it was already reported some time ago, but can't find it just now. The result of debugging was that Android trigger device disconnect as soon as driver is detached from the device. Which is part of the process of attaching the device using qvm-usb. So, it won't fly, unfortunately.
But you can use ADB over TCP.

[marmarek]

I bet it was already reported some time ago, but can't find it just now. The result of debugging was that Android trigger device disconnect as soon as driver is detached from the device. Which is part of the process of attaching the device using qvm-usb. So, it won't fly, unfortunately.
But you can use ADB over TCP.

[grote]

So, it won't fly, unfortunately.

:(

But you can use ADB over TCP.

Ok thank you very much, I will look into this then.

[grote]

So, it won't fly, unfortunately.

:(

But you can use ADB over TCP.

Ok thank you very much, I will look into this then.

[grote]

Just in case other people stumble upon this:

ADB over TCP works nicely. To activate, go to Developer Options in Settings -> Debugging - > Activate "ADB over network" and note the IP:port (e.g. 192.168.0.1:5555) that shows up below the setting.

In your development AppVM type the following:

adb connect IP:port

Then your device should show up in Android Studio.

This is not a fix for this issue, but a workaround.

[grote]

Just in case other people stumble upon this:

ADB over TCP works nicely. To activate, go to Developer Options in Settings -> Debugging - > Activate "ADB over network" and note the IP:port (e.g. 192.168.0.1:5555) that shows up below the setting.

In your development AppVM type the following:

adb connect IP:port

Then your device should show up in Android Studio.

This is not a fix for this issue, but a workaround.

[rustybird]

In my experience with Android 6 (CM13 on a Nexus 7), attaching works iff at least one of the following conditions is satisified before calling qvm-usb --attach:
1. ADB is enabled on the device and the screen is unlocked
2. The adb daemon is running (as root) on the target VM

Never mind - at some point in the CM13 release cycle, it broke for me too.

[rustybird]

In my experience with Android 6 (CM13 on a Nexus 7), attaching works iff at least one of the following conditions is satisified before calling qvm-usb --attach:
1. ADB is enabled on the device and the screen is unlocked
2. The adb daemon is running (as root) on the target VM

Never mind - at some point in the CM13 release cycle, it broke for me too.