emulator -avd YourAVDName -usb-passthrough "vendorid=0x1234,productid=0x5678" Find your device’s vendor/product ID using lsusb (Linux/macOS) or Device Manager → Properties → Details → "Hardware Ids" (Windows). Your app will now see the USB device exactly as if it were plugged into a real handset. Use the standard UsbManager API:
The good news? . It’s not plug-and-play, but with the right setup, the emulator can treat your USB gadget just like a real phone would.
val manager = getSystemService(Context.USB_SERVICE) as UsbManager val deviceList = manager.deviceList deviceList.values.forEach device -> if (device.vendorId == 0x1234 && device.productId == 0x5678) manager.requestPermission(device, ...) connect usb device to android emulator
: This method doesn’t yet support isochronous transfers (webcams, audio interfaces) on older emulator versions. Method 2: Native USB Passthrough (Emulator 31.3.10+) Newer emulator versions include a dedicated USB passthrough flag. This is the closest you’ll get to a physical USB host. Step 1: Launch the emulator with USB passthrough From the command line:
: On macOS, you may need to run Android Studio with sudo due to stricter IOKit permissions. Method 3: Using virtual-usb (For Advanced Hardware Emulation) Google’s virtual-usb manager (part of the emulator tools) lets you bind a host USB device to a virtual USB controller inside the AVD. Method 2: Native USB Passthrough (Emulator 31
For years, one of the biggest frustrations for Android developers has been the "physical device gap." You want the speed and convenience of the emulator, but you need to test hardware interactions—USB cameras, barcode scanners, game controllers, ADB debugging, or even custom Arduino boards.
: If you’re testing a custom USB peripheral, use adb shell dmesg inside the emulator to check if the kernel sees the device—it’s the fastest way to know if your passthrough worked. . It’s not plug-and-play
Now go unchain your development from physical hardware. Your desk (and your wallet) will thank you.
# Create a virtual USB device mapping emulator -avd Pixel_4_API_30 -virtual-usb-manager virtual-usb-manager attach /dev/bus/usb/002/005