The adb tcpip method lets you run ADB commands over your local WiFi network without keeping a USB cable plugged in. It predates Android 11's built-in Wireless Debugging feature and works all the way back to Android 4.4, making it the go-to approach for older devices and for situations where you want a quick, no-menu wireless session.
Normally ADB listens on a USB transport. When you issue adb tcpip 5555, the daemon on the device switches its listening transport to TCP on port 5555. From that point on, any ADB client on the same local network can reach the device by IP address and port number. The USB cable becomes optional once the mode is set — you only need it for that initial command. The device stays in tcpip mode until it reboots or until you run adb usb to revert back to USB-only listening. Port 5555 is the conventional choice, but you can substitute any unused port number between 1024 and 65535 if 5555 is already in use.
adb devicesdevice. If it shows unauthorized, unlock the screen, look for the RSA key dialog, and tap Allow.
adb tcpip 5555adb shell ip route | grep wlan192.168.1.42. Write it down.
adb connect 192.168.1.42:5555adb devices192.168.1.42:5555 instead of a USB serial number. Every ADB command works normally — adb shell, adb logcat, adb install, and so on.
Every time the device reboots, the ADB daemon returns to USB-only mode and your wireless connection is lost. The cleanest solution is to assign a static IP to the device through your router's DHCP reservation table: look up the device's MAC address (Settings > About phone > Status > Wi-Fi MAC address) and bind it to a fixed IP so the address never changes between reboots. Then keep a one-line reconnect command in a script or alias on your PC:
adb connect 192.168.1.42:5555If you still have a wireless ADB session open and the device has not yet rebooted, you can refresh tcpip mode without touching a cable by targeting the device explicitly:
adb -s 192.168.1.42:5555 tcpip 5555This restarts the daemon on the same port and is useful if the connection has gone stale after the device woke from sleep.
When you have more than one device connected simultaneously — a mix of USB-attached phones and TCP-connected devices — use the -s flag to target the right one:
adb -s 192.168.1.42:5555 shell
adb -s emulator-5554 logcatYou can maintain simultaneous wireless ADB sessions to several different Android devices at once, provided each has a unique IP address. They can all share port 5555 because the IP differentiates them. Run adb devices at any time to see the full list of active transports.
error: cannot connect to daemon / Connection refused
The device dropped tcpip mode, most often because it rebooted or the daemon crashed. Reconnect via USB, run adb tcpip 5555 again, then unplug and reconnect wirelessly.
Connection reset by peer
A firewall on the PC or a router-level setting is blocking port 5555. On Windows, check that adb.exe has a firewall exception. On Linux and macOS, check iptables rules or the built-in application firewall. Some consumer routers enable AP isolation by default, which prevents devices on the same WiFi network from talking to each other. Disabling AP isolation in the router's wireless settings usually resolves this immediately.
No route to host
The PC and the Android device are on different subnets, or the device has dropped off WiFi entirely. Confirm both share the same network by running ping 192.168.1.42 from the PC. If ping fails, the problem is network-level and not related to ADB. Check the device's WiFi connection first.
Device shows as unauthorized over TCP
Watch the device screen for the RSA key authorization dialog and tap Always allow from this computer. If the dialog never appears, go to Developer Options, tap Revoke USB debugging authorizations, reconnect via USB to trigger a fresh authorization, and then retry the wireless setup from the beginning.