ADB / Fastboot

How to Update Android SDK Platform-Tools (ADB and Fastboot)

Published: June 23, 2026 • Applies to: Windows, macOS, Linux

ADB and Fastboot are distributed as part of Google's Android SDK Platform-Tools package. Google updates this package several times per year with bug fixes, new command support, and protocol changes required for newer Android versions. Running outdated platform-tools can cause authentication failures, missing command support, and incompatibilities with devices running newer Android releases.

Checking Your Current Version

Before updating, find out which version you have installed. Open a terminal or command prompt and run:

adb version

The output looks like:

Android Debug Bridge version 1.0.41
Version 35.0.2-12147458
Installed as /usr/local/platform-tools/adb

The important number is the middle line: 35.0.2-12147458 in this example. The first component (35.0.2) is the platform-tools release version. Check it against the release notes on the Android developer documentation site (search "SDK Platform-Tools release notes" on developer.android.com) to see if a newer version is available.

Also check Fastboot:

fastboot --version

Both binaries ship in the same package and will have the same version number. If they do not match, you likely have platform-tools installed from two different locations and your PATH is picking up different binaries for each command.

Update via Android Studio SDK Manager (GUI)

If you have Android Studio installed, the SDK Manager provides a graphical update path:

  1. Open Android Studio.
  2. Go to Tools > SDK Manager (or the SDK Manager icon in the toolbar).
  3. Select the SDK Tools tab.
  4. Look for Android SDK Platform-Tools in the list. If an update is available, a checkbox appears with "Update" indicated in the Status column.
  5. Check the box and click Apply.
  6. SDK Manager downloads and installs the new version. The existing adb and fastboot binaries in the SDK directory are replaced.
  7. Close and reopen any open terminals, then run adb version to confirm the update.

The SDK directory is typically located at:

After an SDK Manager update, platform-tools land in the platform-tools subdirectory of the SDK root.

Update via sdkmanager Command-Line Tool

If you prefer the terminal or are working on a headless server, the sdkmanager command-line tool handles updates without the Android Studio GUI. It is located in the cmdline-tools/latest/bin/ directory of your Android SDK, or can be downloaded as part of the standalone Command-Line Tools package from developer.android.com.

List installed and available packages:

sdkmanager --list

This outputs a long list. Look for platform-tools under "Installed packages" and check if it also appears under "Available Updates."

Update platform-tools specifically:

sdkmanager "platform-tools"

On Linux and macOS, you may need to accept the license first:

sdkmanager --licenses

Type y for each license prompt. Then run the update command again. On Windows, run the command prompt as Administrator if the SDK is installed in a system-wide location like C:\Android\Sdk\.

In CI/CD pipelines, you can update platform-tools non-interactively by pre-accepting licenses:

yes | sdkmanager --licenses
sdkmanager "platform-tools"

Update via Standalone ZIP Download

If you installed platform-tools from the standalone ZIP (not through Android Studio), the update path is manual:

  1. Download the current platform-tools ZIP for your OS from the Android developer documentation pages (search "Android SDK Platform-Tools" on developer.android.com). Do not use third-party mirror sites; use the official source.
  2. Extract the ZIP. It contains a platform-tools folder.
  3. Replace your existing platform-tools directory with the new one. If you are on Windows and ADB is currently running (for example, an ADB server is active), stop it first: adb kill-server. Then replace the directory.
  4. On macOS and Linux, the extracted binaries may not be marked executable. Fix this:
chmod +x ~/platform-tools/adb ~/platform-tools/fastboot ~/platform-tools/mke2fs

After replacing the directory, run adb version to confirm the update. If the PATH entry you added earlier points to the directory name (e.g., ~/platform-tools) and you replaced the contents of that directory rather than the directory itself, no PATH change is needed.

Resolving Multiple ADB Installations and PATH Conflicts

A common problem after updating is that the old version is still being invoked because of PATH ordering. Diagnose with:

# macOS / Linux
which adb
which -a adb    # lists all ADB binaries found in PATH

# Windows (Command Prompt)
where adb

If the output shows the old path rather than the updated one, adjust your PATH so the updated platform-tools directory appears earlier. On Windows, open Environment Variables, find the Path entry, and move the new platform-tools path to the top of the list (use the "Move Up" button).

Another source of conflicts is Linux distributions that install ADB via a package manager (sudo apt install adb). The package manager version lives in /usr/bin/adb and is typically several releases behind the standalone SDK. If /usr/bin/adb appears in your PATH before your standalone installation, it takes precedence. Prepend your standalone platform-tools path explicitly in ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc:

export PATH="$HOME/platform-tools:$PATH"

The $HOME/platform-tools entry before $PATH ensures it wins over system-installed ADB.

Why Keeping Platform-Tools Current Matters

Each major Android version can introduce changes to the ADB protocol, authentication handshake, or supported commands. Concrete examples:

There is generally no downside to using a newer platform-tools with an older Android device — backward compatibility is maintained. The reverse (old tools, new device) is where problems arise. Make updating platform-tools part of your regular development environment maintenance.