Debugging Firefox OS over USB

This guide explains how to connect the Firefox Developer Tools to a Firefox OS device over USB.

Before you can connect a Firefox OS device, there's some setup you have to go through:

  • Check your Firefox OS version: Make sure your device is running Firefox OS 1.2/Boot2Gecko 1.2 or higher. To check the version, go to the Settings app on the device, then Device Information > Software. If you don't have a high enough version, find your device in the developer phone guide and follow the instructions for upgrading.
  • Enable remote debugging: In the Settings app on the device, go to Device information > More information > Developer.
    • Firefox OS 1.3 and earlier: "Remote Debugging" is just a simple checkbox. Check it.
    • Firefox OS 1.4 and later: "Remote Debugging" asks you to enable for just ADB, or for ADB and DevTools. Select "ADB and DevTools".
  • Disable Screen lock on your device: In the Settings app on the device, go to Screen Lock and uncheck the Lock Screen checkbox. This is required because when the screen gets locked, the phone connection gets lost, meaning it is no longer available for debugging.
  • If you want unrestricted debugging privileges, including certified apps, built-in apps, and apps already installed on a real device: See the section on Unrestricted app debugging (including certified apps, main process, etc.).

Linux only:

  • Add a udev rules file, as documented in step 3 of this guide to setting up an Android device. The idVendor attribute to use for the Geeksphone is "05c6", and this page lists other idVendor values.

Windows only:

If there are any other Android devices connected to your computer, disconnect them.

Now connect the device to the computer using USB, and open WebIDE. You should see the device appear in the Select Runtime menu under "USB DEVICES":

Select your device, and you'll be able to connect the developer tools to it.

Troubleshooting

If you're having trouble getting this to work, check the Troubleshooting page for things to double check and support forums you can contact.

Document Tags and Contributors

 Contributors to this page: jryans, wbamberg
 Last updated by: jryans,