What USB driver should we use for the Nexus 5?

Question

As of the time of this writing, Google does not provide a USB driver (for Windows) for the Nexus 5. The usual link (http://developer.android.com/sdk/win-usb.html) shows Wind

Answer 1

After trying the other solutions I was able to send ADB commands to the phone as long as it was booted into Android. However, when the phone was in recovery mode I encountered a new problem, and I would like to contribute my experience here.

While booted into Android the phone installed in Windows as a device named "Nexus 5". After the phone was powered down and booted into recovery mode, the phone was still installed as "Nexus 5", but ADB could not detect the device. I had to manually force the driver from "Nexus 5" to the Google USB driver provided with the SDK or available from Google USB Driver.

The .inf file has three devices available. I used "Android Composite ADB Interface" and everything seems to be working.

Answer 2

My Nexus 5 is identyfied by the id = USB\VID_18D1&PID_D001.

Use the Google USB drivers, and modify file android_winusb.inf. Find the lines:

;Google Nexus (generic)
%SingleBootLoaderInterface% = USB_Install, USB\VID_18D1&PID_4EE0

And add below:

%CompositeAdbInterface%     = USB_Install, USB\VID_18D1&PID_D001

Repeat it, because there are two sections to modify, [Google.NTx86] and [Google.NTamd64].

If you continue with problems, try this:

Connect your Nexus 5, go to Device Manager, find the Nexus 5 on "other" and right click. Select properties, details, and in selection list, and select hardware id. Write down the short ID, and modify the line with:

%CompositeAdbInterface% = USB_Install, YOUR_SHORT_ID

Answer 3

I had similar problems as people here with Nexus 5 on Windows 7. No .inf file edits were needed, my computer was stuck on an old version of the Google USB drivers (7.0.0.1). Windows 7 refused to install the newer version even if I tried to manually select the directory or .inf file. Had to manually delete specific cached .inf files in WINDOWS\inf folder, follow directions here: http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=62365#c7

Also be sure USB debugging is turned on in developer options. There's a trick to expose the developer options, click 7 times on the build number at the bottom of the "About Phone" information!

Answer 4

This worked for me:

1. Download the Nexus 5 Drivers from Google USB Driver
2. Extract the ZIP contents and place all files in a single folder on your desktop.
3. Connect your device to your computer.
4. Launch the Device Manager on your PC.
5. Now you should see the Nexus 5 listed in the hardware list.
6. Right-click the ‘Nexus 5′ line and then click on Update Driver Software.
7. Next, click the ‘browse my computer’ option.
8. In the new window, click on ‘Browse…’ button.
9. Go to folder unzipped at step 2. Select the folder where you extract the USB drivers. Click Next.
   • Make sure to tick the subfolder box too.
10. Now, the Windows installer will search for Nexus 5 drivers. Click Install when asked for permission.
11. Wait for the process to complete and then check the Device Manager list to confirm that the installation was successful.

Source: Download and Install Google Nexus 5 USB Drivers (ADB / Fastboot)

Answer 5

While Nexus 5 owners wait for a dedicated driver, you could try this driver, which is the one for the LG G2, from LG Electronics' website, since usually USB drivers are not limited to one particular model. This one, for example, seems like a generic USB driver. You are prompted to download the same one for quite a few models on LG Electronics' website.

I hope this helps you ;)

Answer 6

Everything else here failed for me initially (it kept coming up as an MTP device no matter how many times I uninstalled and restarted).

However, by going and enabling USB debugging, it worked. Just do this:

1. Uninstall the Nexus 5 driver
2. Disconnect from the computer
3. Enable developer options, see How to Enable Developer Options on the Nexus 5 & KitKat.
4. Enable USB debugging: Go to Settings -> Developer Options -> USB Debugging
5. Reconnect
6. It will probably fail to install all drivers. Go update the drivers as described in other answers.