Fix: Unable to Locate ADB Error on Android Studio?

Android Studio is the official integrated development environment for Google’s Android operating system that’s built specifically for Android development. ADB (Android Debug Bridge) basically allows you to communicate with the connected devices to the PC via commands. Now, plenty of users have reported that while trying to run the app via Android Studio, they’re facing Unable to Locate ADB Error on Android Studio.

If you’re also encountering the same issue then make sure to follow this troubleshooting guide completely. The error message is appearing whenever the Android Studio isn’t able to locate the ADB.exe file that should be located inside the Platform Tools folder on the Windows PC. To be precise, it can happen due to several reasons whatsoever. Such as the antivirus program is blocking the ADB.exe file.

Fix: Unable to Locate ADB Error on Android Studio?

Whereas it may also be possible that any of your project settings on the Android Studio is conflicting with some issues with ADB. Sometimes corrupted or missing Platform Tools files can also cause issues. So, without wasting any more time, let’s jump into the guide below.

1. Turn Off Antivirus Software or Restore ADB

Your antivirus program may be one of the main reasons behind throwing out the ADB can’t locate error on Android Studio. Some of the affected users have already mentioned that turning off the antivirus software or simply restoring the blocked ADB file can be helpful. To do this:

Whether you’re using the default Windows Defender or any other third-party antivirus program on your computer, just try to open the application and turn off the real-time protection feature. But make sure to allow/restore the ADB file if the antivirus has blocked it already.

Once done, you can restart your computer to apply changes, and then try locating ADB again on Android Studio.

2. Change Project Settings on Android Studio

Sometimes your project may not assign any SDK and that’s why the Android Studio can’t recognize or locate the ADB.exe file. To fix this issue, you’ll have to change the project settings which aren’t set to SDK from the Project Structure option.

• Launch the Android Studio application on the PC.
• Now, go to File > Project Structure.
• Here click on Project under Project Settings.
• Then search for Project which has no SDK and change it to Android API XX Platform from the drop-down menu.
  • If in case, there are no options in the drop-down menu, you can click on the New button to choose Android SDK and then choose the directory where Android SDK is present.
• Once done, you’ll be able to select Android API XX Platform from the drop-down menu.
• Finally, click on OK to save changes and check for the error again.

3. Install Android SDK from SDK Manager

If in case, the specific Android SDK version isn’t available on your system then you can also receive the error message. You can install the respective Android SDK from the SDK Manager that you can find in the Android Studio. To do this, follow the steps below:

• Launch the Android Studio application > Open up the Preferences window from File > Settings.
• Next, go to Appearance & Behavior > System Settings > Android SDK.
• From the SDK Manager, go to SDK Platforms > Install the SDK Platform for your respective Android version.
• Finally, try running the application to see if the error message is still bothering you or not.

4. Reinstall Platform Tools on PC

If you’re still facing the can’t locate ADB error message on Android Studio then it can possible that somehow the damaged or corrupted platform-tools files have been corrupted or missing. As a final resort, you should try uninstalling and reinstalling the platform tools via the SDK Manager on Android Studio.

• First of all, close the Android Studio > Open Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc).
• Now, go to Processes > Search for the ADB.exe process > Select it and click on End Task.
• Once done, open the Android Studio again.
• Now, you’ll have to open up the SDK Manager by clicking on the box icon with a down arrow.
• Once the SDK Manager opened, go to the SDK Tools tab.
• Here scroll down the page until you see Android SDK Platform-Tools.
• Make sure to Uncheck Android SDK Platform-Tools > Click on OK.
• It’ll uninstall platform tools. You may have to wait for it to finish uninstalling.
• Once uninstalled, open the SDK Manager again > Head over to the SDK Tools tab again.
• Search for Android SDK Platform-Tools again and checkmark it.
• Finally, click on OK and wait for it to finish then sync your project properly.

It should fix the Unable to Locate ADB Error on Android Studio.

That’s it, guys. We assume this guide was helpful to you. For additional queries, you can comment below.