Windows 10 and 11 No Longer Recognize My Graphene OS Phone

safeandsecure8373

Windows no longer recognizes my phone. It makes the connection and disconnection sounds when I plug it in and unplug it, but it doesn't show up in file explorer. I have USB-C under the exploit protection settings turned to on and from the drop down menu I changed the USB preferences to "file transfer" so I think it should be appearing, but it's not--just the connection noise plays but my phone doesn't show up in file explorer.

Issue persists on both my Windows 10 and Windows 11 computers after trying several different USB cables I know are capable of transferring data.

Not sure when this issue started as I rarely connect my phone to the PC? Any ideas? Am I the only one?

Devs clarified they don't believe this is an OS update issue so I moved the topic here. I'll escalate it to GitHub if no one is able to find a solution,

akc3n

safeandsecure8373 Have you tried reinstalling the drivers?

Edit: Remember to follow our official instructions on obtaining the driver required after you manually uninstall it and reboot your PC.

You can obtain the driver from Windows Update which will detect it as an optional update when the device is booted into the bootloader interface and connected to the computer. Open Windows Update, run a check for updates and then open the "View optional updates" interface. Install the driver for the Android bootloader interface as an optional update, which will show up as "LeMobile Android Device" due to USB ID overlap.

https://grapheneos.org/install/web#connecting-device

Additionally, there are instructions for manually installing the driver included in the link above.

DeletedUser242

safeandsecure8373
have you tried with a different USB-C cable or another Windows PC/laptop? also have you installed the latest drivers? try troubleshooting tips from this link

akc3n

DeletedUser242 have you tried with a different USB-C cable or another Windows PC/laptop?

They literally stated:

safeandsecure8373 Issue persists on both my Windows 10 and Windows 11 computers after trying several different USB cables I know are capable of transferring data.

safeandsecure8373

akc3n My phone does not appear in device manager even after connecting with the steps in my original post. There is no "Portable Devices" or "Other Devices" section. So DeletedUser242's suggestion doesn't work.

I actually already reinstalled yesterday the "LeMobile Android Device" driver which showed up via optional Windows updates. I didn't start the phone with the bootloader interface though (not sure this matters?). There is actually a section with the "LeMobile Android Device" driver already installed in Device Manager (with "Android Composite ADB Interface" listed as the driver under it) and when I try to update it by "search automatically for drivers" Device Manager says it's already up to date. Should I try to force update with the "Google USB Driver" (described below) to the "LeMobile Android Device" driver?

I can't install the "Google USB Driver" via akc3n's suggestion (https://grapheneos.org/install/web#connecting-device) which links https://developer.android.com/studio/run/win-usb and https://developer.android.com/studio/run/oem-usb#InstallingDriver as again I can't install it via device manager as my phone doesn't appear under "Portable Devices" or "Other Devices" as the https://developer.android.com/studio/run/oem-usb#InstallingDriver instructions suggest.

safeandsecure8373

I can no longer edit the above post so adding a bit here.

Please add to the second paragraph above: This driver (Android Composite ADB Interface) disappeared entirely when I disabled Developer Settings (which I had enabled to try to allow a permission for a third party app).

There is also a driver section titled "ACER Device" and under it is a "ACER ADB Interface" driver when I plug my phone in. Is this the driver we need to update? My device is a Pixel 8 Pro.

safeandsecure8373

I should clarify that I didn't do anything or try to enable any permissions after I enabled developer settings as I couldn't get my phone to connect to my Windows computer in the first place.

DeletedUser242

safeandsecure8373
if file transfer is your main requirement, may i suggest an alternate option? how about installing LocalSend or PlainApp to remotely access your device?

safeandsecure8373

DeletedUser242 I appreciate it though I already have an alternate route for transferring files. It is much slower than a usb-c cable though. It became an issue this time because I need to use usb debugging to enable a third party app permission. Also would become a potentially serious issue if my phone ever bricked itself and needed the OS to be sideloaded? Issue is still not resolved. Appreciate suggestions. @DeletedUser242 @akc3n

safeandsecure8373

Issue partially resolved. First, plug your phone in to your PC and make sure usb-c exploit mode is set to on and USB Preferences is set to "File Transfer."

Second, follow the instructions of the top answer in this forum thread here to roll back your driver: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/pixel-4a-phone-is-not-being-recognized-by-windows/3e6790ba-36d5-4a40-9c98-8b7c1d81f74f

I'll copy and paste what it says in case the thread is removed:

"First connect your Pixel, drag down the usb dialog and "tap for more options".
Choose "File transfer / Android auto".
On your windows 10 machine, open an explorer (windows key+E).
Highlight "This PC" and from the menu bar, choose "Computer" and then "Manage".
Choose "Device manager".
You will see the dreaded "ACER ADB Interface".
Right click it, and choose "Update driver".
Choose "Browse my computer for drivers".
Choose "Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer".
Choose "MTP USB device" and click "Next"."

Third, I enabled "Allow this PC to access your mobile devices" and "Turn on Phone Link" on my Windows 10 and Windows 11 machines. In Windows 10, go to Settings -> Mobile Devices. In Windows 11, got to Settings -> Bluetooth & devices -> Mobile devices.

After following these steps, my phone and all the files appeared in file explorer as a "MTP USB Device." Unfortunately, upon disconnecting and trying to reconnect via repeating the above steps again I have yet to repeat my success in getting the "MTP USB Device" to appear in File Explorer again. I seem to be on the right track though and hope this information helps whoever searches for it.

safeandsecure8373

Issue is solved.

A web forum search shows me this may be an issue specifically for Windows 10 and 11 Pro, not so much just Windows 10 and 11.

Regardless, the issue may be solved by:

Enable Developer Settings by going to Settings -> About Phone and click several times on Build Number.
Enable USB Debugging by going to Settings -> System -> Developer Options -> USB debugging (both Developer Settings and USB Debugging need to be enabled for this to work)
Go to Device Manager and find the problematic "ACER ADB Interface" driver under "ACER Device" OR (depending on your version of Windows it seems) find the "Android Composite ADB Interface" driver under "LeMobile Android Device." You should only have one of the two
Right click on the applicable driver and select "Update Driver"
Select "Browse my computer for drivers"
Select "Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer"
Select "USB Composite Device" and click next which should install the driver
Your phone should connect and now be viewable in File Explorer

Note: You may get a pop up on your phone asking to allow USB debugging which you should agree to. Make sure to have "File Transfer" enabled in your phone's "USB Preferences."

I believe this is an issue for all Android phones, not just GrapheneOS. Hope this helps those who happen upon this solution.