Getting Google Nexus 4 to work on Windows 7

I recently received Google Nexus 4 (LG E960) for research and testing. So,  I decided to hook it up with my Windows 7 desktop for development. I also wanted to check out new Android Studio so I decided to install it as well.

Installing Android Studio was very straightforward. Please see some screenshots of the installation process below.

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However, Windows 7 didn’t recognize Google Nexus 4 out of the box. I assumed that since I have installed Android Studio I should have latest Google USB Drivers but I was wrong. It took me a couple of hours to get it to work.

I ran into two problems:

I was not able to find developer options under settings on Nexus 4.

Instead, to enable Developer Options on Nexus 4 go to

About Phone-> Click 7 times on Build Number

and it will then show Developer Options under settings.

You will see following screen while clicking on build number:-

Pop-up when clicking on Build number

Under Developer options make sure  Stay Awake and USB Debugging options are checked.

Developer Options on Nexus 4

Google Nexus not getting recognized by Windows & ADB

Windows 7 unable to find drivers for Nexus 4

No devices were listed when I did

adb devices

So, before you start, make sure you have right software and driver version

1. ADB – 1.0.31
2. Google USB Drivers – 7.0.0
3. Android SDK Tools Rev 22.0.1
4. Android platform Tools Rev. 17
5. Android SDK Build Tools Rev. 17

You should use SDK manager to install all the updates. For Google USB Drivers first uninstall/delete old drivers using SDK manager and then install latest version.

Once you have updated everything SDK Manager should look like following:

Android SDK Versions

Google USB Driver Version

Once you have the latest Google USB Driver.  Connect your Nexus 4 to your PC via USB.

My Computer->Properties->Device Manager->Right Click Nexus 4-> Select Driver Tab -> Update Driver

Now locate and install latest Google USB Driver manualy. In my case it was located under

C:\Program Files\Android\android-studio\sdk\extras\google\usb_driver

Once installation is complete you should see:

Android Composite ADB Interface Installed Successfully

After driver is installed you might have to reboot your Nexus 4.
Make sure you are running latest platform tool by running adb version.


adb version

After reboot and version check you should do:

adb devices


As soon as ADB server starts you will get a pop on your phone to accept RSA fingerprint of the PC. Once you accept the RSA fingerprint you are all set to debug Nexus 4.

RSA Fingerprint Pop-up on Nexus 4