How to Enable USB Debugging on Android With Black Screen

You never know when you may need to retrieve data from your phone to your computer. Recovering data from a broken Android phone can be critical, and it may seem difficult when you have a black screen and disabled USB debugging on the Android phone. Don’t worry! The situation is not beyond remedy. We will tell you how to enable USB debugging on Android with black screen.

The Easy Solution with OTG Cable

The problem with unresponsive screens is that you can no longer use the touch on your screen to activate USB debugging. But there is an additional problem with black screens. You cannot unlock the phone if it’s locked and you cannot navigate through the Settings menu either. In this case, you will need to mirror broken screen to PC using OTG cable and a keyboard.

First, make sure that your phone supports OTG technology. Then follow these steps to enable USB debugging. Find yourself an extra keyboard and mouse to get started.

Unlock your phone

Connect your phone with the keyboard using an OTG adapter. Now, you may use a keyboard or a mouse depending on what kind of lock your phone has. If it’s a pattern lock then you will need a mouse to drag it while tracing the unlock pattern. If it’s a pin or a swipe type of lock, you can easily unlock with a keyboard. For swipe-to-unlock, just double-tap the space bar and your phone will be unlocked. For pin, first, press the Windows key and then enter the password from the keyboard keys.

Turn on WiFi to stream the screen

This step explains how to mirror a broken Android screen. You will need another phone or a router with open access to a WiFi hotspot. Once the WiFi is available, you need to press the Windows key to activate Google Assistant on your broken phone and say ‘turn on WiFi ’. We will need WiFi access in order to install the screen streaming app on the broken phone. Next, you need to open Google Play Store on your PC and log-in using the same account that you had used on the broken phone.

Start the app to mirror screen

• Press the window key and say ‘open screen stream app’.
• Press the Tab key 12 times.
• Press the Enter key once.
• Press the Tab key again 2 times. Then press Enter.
• Download the software on your windows. Follow the link https://www.advanced-ip-scanner.com.
• This PC software will help you find the IP address of your broken smartphone.
• Enter the IP address on the URL of a browser on your PC. This will start displaying the screen of your phone on the browser.
• Remove the keyboard and replace it with a mouse to connect with the phone via the OTG cable.

Now that you can access the phone’s screen on your PC, use the mouse to select settings-> Additional Settings -> USB debugging, then switch it ON.

The ADB Command Method

This is another good method for those trying to find how to enable USB debugging on Android with black screen. The ADB method can be slightly complicated if you are not familiar with the command prompt. But we are here to simplify the steps for you.

Installing the ADB Driver

Follow the link to download and install the ADB driver: https://adbdriver.com/downloads/

Turn on ClockworkMod Recovery

Since the USB debugging is turned off for your phone, you need to enter ClockworkMod Recovery to connect it with the PC. This is done by pressing and holding Home + Power + Volume Up buttons together.

Opening the Command Prompt on the PC

Press the Windows key + X followed by C to open the command prompt. You can also search ‘cmd’ in the search windows bar to find the command prompt executable file. In the command prompt type ADB Devices.

Copy the Files from the Phone to the PC

Choose the device in the command prompt and then use the following command to start copying files from the broken phone to your PC.

adb pull/data/media/clockworkmod/backup~/Desktop/Android-up

Recover Data using Debugging Software

One of the best solutions to retrieve data from phones with broken/black screen is using Android data recovery software. This software has an option to restore data from an Android device with a broken/black screen. However, this system is not compatible with all Android devices. Make sure that this works for your device before proceeding.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I fix black screen on my Android?

Yes, in some cases it’s possible to fix this issue. You may try the following methods to fix black screen.

• Disable/Uninstall Apps
• Perform Hardware Factory Reset
• Remove the SIM and SD Card
• Re-Insert the Battery
• Disable Dark Screen Mode

What is causing the USB Debugging to not work?

This is usually caused by problems with the ADB drivers. Reinstalling the driver and retrying may solve the issue. Related: How to Recover Deleted Files from Android

Unable to unlock my broken phone, what do I do?

If the above-mentioned methods don’t work, you can download an Android Unlock Software for this task. Use the mobile hotspot of another device to access WiFi on your broken phone. Install the unlock software and enter your Smartphone in the download mode.

Conclusion

In most cases, you don’t need to be tech-savvy to carry out data recovery on your smartphone with a broken/black screen. Now that you have learned how to enable USB debugging on Android with black screen, you realize that your data will not be lost even if the screen has turned completely useless.

An extra keyboard, mouse, or even the gaming controller of your Xbox/PS3/PS4 will do the trick. Your other concern should be to find the right OTG adapter to be compatible with your Smartphone. A type C adapter usually works fine with most devices. If for some reason that doesn’t work, ADB drivers should help you access Android phone with broken screen.