Setting up adb/fastboot

Last updated : 11/2/2025 (added Samsung stuff)

Introduction

Here's yet another guide (among plenty of them) on setting up adb/fastboot on the computer for your Android needs.

Arch-based Linux distros

sudo pacman -S android-tools. That's it. By the way, Artix has absorbed android-tools from the discontinued universe repo to galaxy repo (which is Artix's equivalent to Arch's community repo) since September 2023.

Too short? How about this - you don't need to install any additional drivers just to get fastboot working. Other than that, there's not much explaining for this one.

5/12/2024 Update : adb commands may require sudo in Artix Linux, especially when adb server is not running yet.

Windows

More involved than Arch.

1. Download the latest platform-tools for Windows (sorry for goolag link)
2. Extract contents to somewhere accessible (such as C:\platform-tools; or C:\Windows if possible since it allows you access to adb without navigating to the platform-tools folder)
If you have extracted platform-tools to any folder outside PATH variable, you will have to either browse to that folder & opening Command Prompt / PowerShell there (which means you need to add files to platform-tools folder for flashing and/or booting stuff); or add the folder into PATH variable to be able to use it from any directory.
At this point, you can now use ADB on Windows using PowerShell / command prompt. However, fastboot doesn&39;t work until the next step.


3. Download & install ADB driver from XDA (forum link), skipping installation of its prebuilt ADB & fastboot binaries. Sure, you can try installing ADB drivers from Goolag, but let's be honest, that's the worst way to go, especially since the driver isn't an executable file, to say the least about Goolag even letting you gain access to the download link in the first place.
Alternatively, there's also ADB & Fastboot++; which also allows you to sidestep this entire installation guide, though I haven't used it yet. It uses ADB drivers from adb.clockworkmod.com, which is probably ancient at this point.

Samsung

As in how to set up whatever is needed to flash stuff on Samsung devices.

• On Linux (at least the Arch-based distros) : sudo pacman -S heimdall. Artix users will need Arch's Extra repo (using artix-archlinux-support) as Artix hasn't included heimdall in its repositories yet.
If you wanted to return your Samsung device to stock ROM using Linux computers, you will need to use Odin v4.

• On Windows (I only tested out Odin, in an attempt to bring my S9 back to stock for RR A10)
1. Install Samsung USB drivers. Heimdall also provides Zadig if you need an alternative.
2. Download & extract the Heimdall suite. Also install Microsoft Visual C++ redistributable package if you haven't already.
3. Open Command Prompt / PowerShell in the directory containing the heimdall executable (and/or set the heimdall directory into PATH variable).
4. Verify if Heimdall runs : heimdall version.
5. Optional, but only required if you need to return your Samsung device to stock ROM : Download & extract Odin v3.
• Test if Heimdall properly works - boot a Samsung device to download mode, plug it to your computer, and type heimdall print-pit in terminal (or Command Prompt / PowerShell in Windows). If the Samsung device reboots, Heimdall works.

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