The mystery: I cannot establish a USB connection between my Pixel 7 Pro (Android 13) and PC (Windows 11). When I try, the PC makes that characteristic "connected device" sound, but Windows Explorer doesn't discover the Pixel, nothing shows up anywhere in the Windows Device Manager, and the ADB command
.\fastboot device
returns nothing. The Pixel is similarly not discoverable as a bluetooth device to the PC, although it IS to other devices (like my earbuds).
This is the first task I have attempted since I performed a factory reset (and walked through the automated Pixel setup process) last night. I have spent the last three and a half hours reading Android forums, testing USB port-cable permutations, and installing and uninstalling drivers. There is no obvious solution to this problem within the first ten pages of Google search results. I would be beyond grateful for any possible insight, but please, take a moment to review what I have attempted already before you expend any effort helping me troubleshoot.
The Pixel CAN connect to an older laptop running Windows 10, appearing both in the Windows Device Manager (which says my drivers are up to date) and in File Explorer (where I can access the internal memory). But ADB similarly returns nothing on the ADB
.\fastboot devices
command. Also, my old phone (a Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G running Android 13) connects fine--both by USB and by bluetooth--to all three devices.
So the PC (Windows 11) connects to the Galaxy and the laptop (Windows 10) connects to the Pixel (kinda), which fairly well eliminates the possibility of an issue related to my hardware or USB cables. But the PC (Windows 11) won't connect to the Pixel--not anymore. Everything worked just fine when I unlocked the Pixel's bootloader a few weeks ago.
What I need now is to recover the functionality of the USB and bluetooth connectivities between the Pixel and the PC running Windows 11, especially for file transfers. For several reasons, WiFi reliant solutions are untenable for my situation. I also need to re-lock the bootloader by any method (not necessarily with the PC). As mentioned above, ADB has not succeeded in finding the device on either platform.
Finally, in case it's relevant: when I open the Pixel's USB Preferences menu, I cannot switch from "USB controlled by...This device" to "USB controlled by...Connected device"--in both cases, the Pixel returns a "couldn't switch" dialogue. And yes, I have of course enabled USB debugging.
If you took the time to comb through all those particulars, Thank you. I'm getting desperate for some thoughtful expertise, and while I'm open to retrying anything for the fifth or sixth time, (maybe I somehow missed the magic driver package), it is a special kind of tribulation to review the same tired list of perfunctory solutions to a different problem. I promise, the solution I need isn't one of the usual suspects.
I spent $800 on this device. That's a lot of money for me. It feels absurd and unfair that such a basic functionality--one that far more affordable devices have been delivering reliability for decades--should be missing from the Pixel 7 Pro. Please please please help me!
.\fastboot device
returns nothing. The Pixel is similarly not discoverable as a bluetooth device to the PC, although it IS to other devices (like my earbuds).
This is the first task I have attempted since I performed a factory reset (and walked through the automated Pixel setup process) last night. I have spent the last three and a half hours reading Android forums, testing USB port-cable permutations, and installing and uninstalling drivers. There is no obvious solution to this problem within the first ten pages of Google search results. I would be beyond grateful for any possible insight, but please, take a moment to review what I have attempted already before you expend any effort helping me troubleshoot.
The Pixel CAN connect to an older laptop running Windows 10, appearing both in the Windows Device Manager (which says my drivers are up to date) and in File Explorer (where I can access the internal memory). But ADB similarly returns nothing on the ADB
.\fastboot devices
command. Also, my old phone (a Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G running Android 13) connects fine--both by USB and by bluetooth--to all three devices.
So the PC (Windows 11) connects to the Galaxy and the laptop (Windows 10) connects to the Pixel (kinda), which fairly well eliminates the possibility of an issue related to my hardware or USB cables. But the PC (Windows 11) won't connect to the Pixel--not anymore. Everything worked just fine when I unlocked the Pixel's bootloader a few weeks ago.
What I need now is to recover the functionality of the USB and bluetooth connectivities between the Pixel and the PC running Windows 11, especially for file transfers. For several reasons, WiFi reliant solutions are untenable for my situation. I also need to re-lock the bootloader by any method (not necessarily with the PC). As mentioned above, ADB has not succeeded in finding the device on either platform.
Finally, in case it's relevant: when I open the Pixel's USB Preferences menu, I cannot switch from "USB controlled by...This device" to "USB controlled by...Connected device"--in both cases, the Pixel returns a "couldn't switch" dialogue. And yes, I have of course enabled USB debugging.
If you took the time to comb through all those particulars, Thank you. I'm getting desperate for some thoughtful expertise, and while I'm open to retrying anything for the fifth or sixth time, (maybe I somehow missed the magic driver package), it is a special kind of tribulation to review the same tired list of perfunctory solutions to a different problem. I promise, the solution I need isn't one of the usual suspects.
I spent $800 on this device. That's a lot of money for me. It feels absurd and unfair that such a basic functionality--one that far more affordable devices have been delivering reliability for decades--should be missing from the Pixel 7 Pro. Please please please help me!
