Category:

Device Tunnel

February 9th, 2017 by

Device Tunnel

 

In the age of mobile apps, a typical developer’s cubicle can be imagined as place where a series of mobile devices are connected with several long USB cables that run into computers. While some developers furiously keep debugging their apps on their computers, there will be others who frequently keep plugging USB cables in and out of the mobile devices to test their apps on various devices.

 

That makes some of us wonder, doesn’t it? What’s the connection between mobile app developers and USB cables?

 

Well, when a developer connects a device to a computer, he will instinctively enable the ‘USB Debugging mode’. When the ‘USB Debugging Mode’ is enabled on an Android device, it opens up a bridge between the Android device and the computer. This bridge grants him a level of access from your computer to your device. What kind of access? This level of access that USB Debugging Mode grants is important when he needs system-level clearance, such as when coding or debugging an app. This mode, also called the Developer Mode, allows newly programmed apps to be copied via USB to the device for testing. Depending on the OS version and the installed utilities, the mode must be turned on to let developers gain access of the device. One such common utility is ADB.

 

What is ADB?

 

One of the most commonly used abbreviations in Android blogs and forums is “adb”. So, what is “adb”?

 

ADB, Android Debug Bridge, is a command-line utility included with Google’s Android SDK. It provides a wide variety of functions for managing your device. As stated in the Android developer site — “Android Debug Bridge (adb) is a versatile tool that lets you manage the state of an emulator instance or Android-powered device.” In simple words, ‘adb’ is a “bridge” through which developers can connect to an Android emulator or a device from a computer to resolve bugs in their applications. The bridge can be accessed via a command line interface from a computer, where the Android SDK is installed. This is done by connecting a device that runs the software through a PC, and feeding it terminal commands. ADB lets you modify your device (or device’s software) via a PC command line.

 

Using ADB with A locally connected devices

 

A simple client-server setup using your USB cable will help you establish an adb connection from a computer to an android device. Once this connection is established, you can send adb commands from your computer via USB to control your android device. Using ADB commands you can move content to and from your phone, install an uninstall apps, back-up and restore your software, run shell commands, run automation scripts and more.

 

But, it certainly raises questions like these:

 

  • We are moving to cloud-based devices, how will we be able to use adb connection with the devices on cloud?
  • Do I have to switch to local devices to if I have to debug my app?
  • Does this mean I cannot use adb bridge when I’m using devices on cloud?

 

Well, the answer is you can establish adb connection with cloud-based devices as well, and it is a much easier process compared to connecting your devices locally.

 

Using ADB with A Remotely connected device

 

Accessing ADB through pCloudy platform – Device Tunnel

 

pCloudy has introduced Device Tunnel, a new add-on to our real mobile device cloud. With Device Tunnel, you can connect and take full control of any Android device using Android Debug Bridge. It provides access to the cloud-based devices through the Android Studio or Eclipse IDE and the command-line tool that’s installed on your computer. What’s more? Many test automation frameworks and developer tools used for evaluation of the app and debugging can hold on to cloud-based devices as if locally connected by USB. For such tools, Device Tunnel acts as a “USB cable” connecting cloud-based device(s) to a local laptop or server. From the point of view of such tools, a cloud-based device appears physically attached. In reality, the Device Tunnel communicates with pCloudy’s servers over Ethernet (LAN or WAN) to reach the cloud-based device.

 

The Device Tunnel allows developers to gain more control over any cloud-based android device. Once a connection is established, the developers can perform the following actions:

 

  • Issue a number of adb commands for debugging, shell creations, port forwarding, and viewing general information about any cloud-based Android device
  • Copying and pushing files to connected cloud-based devices
  • Installing and uninstalling applications on cloud-based devices
  • Debugging apps during development or testing by adding breakpoints, inspecting variables, analyzing runtime metrics to optimize your app and more

 

This comes with the added advantage of accessing and performing these actions on any Android device among of hundreds that are hosted on our Cloud. This ability will also help developers to debug apps and determine the causes behind issues or bugs that are device specific.

 

On the whole, the Device Tunnel will aid developers and testers who need quick access to diverse devices for brisk evaluation of app and debugging. It enables developers and testers to instantly connect to any device hosted on cloud and easily identify problems by running interactive debug sessions.

 

To know more on how to connect any device on pCloudy using Device Tunnel click here

New Devices Added Recently On Our Platform

January 12th, 2017 by

Latest Devices

 
latest devices

Release 4.0

November 25th, 2016 by

Device Location Testing

 

Multi-location device access

Continuing with our endeavor to provide you a better experience, we are excited to announce our next big step.

 

Now, you will be able to access Mobile devices and Mobile networks from across different geographies. In the first phase, we are providing devices and mobile network from India, US and Philippines. We will add more locations very soon.

 

You can continue to use your existing credentials with the URL device.pcloudy.com to access all the devices from different locations.

 

Here are some of  the changes you will notice –

Device Location filter in the Devices Tab

 

You can now select devices from different locations using the Device Location filter.

 

  • In the Instant Access page

 

Device Location Testing

 

  • In the Book your Device page

 

Cloud Access

 

Device Location filter in the My App/Data Tab

 

NOTE: The My App/Data folder is specific to a device location. If you plan to use devices from different locations, make sure your app is uploaded in all Device locations.

 

My App/Data

 

Device Location filter in the Reports Tab

 

NOTE: The Storage folder is specific to a device location. If you’ve used devices from different locations, please select the corresponding location to view it’s reports.

 

Reports

 

Device Location filter in the Settings page

 

  • History section

 

Settings

 

  • Test Runs section

 

Settings

 

  • UDID

 

Settings

 

You also see a few changes once you access a device

 

  • Device Information
  •  

    Device Information

  • Installing an app

 

NOTE: Since My App/Data is specific to a device location, ensure that the installation file is uploaded to the respective location of the device.Install

New Devices Added Recently On Our Platform

November 9th, 2016 by

New Devices Added

 

auxus-stunner
Auxus Stunner
gionee-elife-e8
Gionee Elife E8
intex-cloud-cube
Intex Cloud Cube
karbon-march-five
Karbon March Five
karbon-sparkle-v
Karbon Sparkle V
lava-a59
Lava A59
lava-a67
Lava A67
lava-flair-z
Lava Flair Z
lava-p7-plus
Lava P7 Plus
lava-x10
Lava X10
lenovo-a1000
Lenovo A1000
motorola-moto-e3-power
Motorola Moto E3 Power
oppo-a37f
Oppo A37F
panasonic-eluga
Panasonic Eluga
panasonic-eluga-a2
Panasonic Eluga A2
redmi-note-2
Redmi Note 2
panasonic-eluga-a3
Panasonic Eluga A3

New Devices Added Recently

October 26th, 2016 by

New Devices Added

 

iphone-7
iPhone 7
amazon-fire
Amazon Fire
lenovo-s920
Lenovo S920
coolpad-dazen-1
Coolpad Dazen 1
huawei-p8-lite
Huawei P8 Lite
gionee-f103
Gionee F103
oppo-r7
Oppo R7
Nextbit-robit
Nextbit Robit
vivo-y31l
Vivo Y31l

New Devices Added Recently on Our Platform

October 19th, 2016 by

Latest Devices

 

htc-828
HTC 828
htc-desire-10-lifestyle
HTC Desire 10 Life Style
htc-desire-820s
HTC Desire 820S
htc-desire-825
HTC Desire 825
htc-one-x9
HTC One X9
itel-it-1512
ITEL IT 1512
lava-x81
Lava X81
lenovo-vibe-p1-turbo
Lenovo Vibe P1 Turbo
micromax-canvas-6
Micromax Canvas 6
micromax-canvas-fire-4g
Micromax Canvas Fire 4G
bleu-wi-208-8gb-black
Bleu WI 208
blu-studio-one-s0110ee
Blu Studio One S0110EE
coolpad-note-3
Coolpad Note 3
panasonic-eluga-icon-slate
Panasonic Eluga Icon Slate
phicomm-c630
Phicomm C630
samsung-galaxy-j2
Samsung Galaxy J2

Ensure Your Apps Work on Latest OS Versions and Devices

October 6th, 2016 by

Latest OS Versions and Devices

 
latest-os-versions-and-devices

New Devices Added on Our Platform

September 29th, 2016 by
htc_desire_630
HTC Desire 630
htc-desire-628
HTC Desire 628
htc-desire-830
HTC Desire 830
lenovo-k5-note
Lenovo K5 Note
lenovo_k4_note
Lenovo K4 Note
xperia-c3-dual
Xperia C3 Dual
micromax_unite_plus
Micromax Unite Plus
micromax-canvas-juice
Micromax Canvas Juice
micromax-canvas-lite
Micromax Canvas Lite
meizu-note2
Meizu Note 2
zopo-color-c
Zopo Color C
itel-selfie-pro
Itel Selfie Pro
honor_5c
Honor 5C
intex_aqua-ace
Intex Aqua Ace
cobalt-iball
iBall Cobalt
infocus-460
Infocus 460
canvas_unite_4_pro
Canvas Unite 4 Pro

Release 3.5 is Here

September 10th, 2016 by

pCloudy is happy to announce several exciting features as part of it’s latest release.

UI changes for improved user experience

More filter options to select devices on device search page. Device page options have been categorized for ease of access. Please check this video to see the changes.

Live View of Automation Runs

Now users can view the automation runs live on devices. Please check this video to see the changes.

Click Here to check our Previous Release.

New Devices Added Recently

September 8th, 2016 by

New Devices Added Recently

 

apple-iphone-se
iPhone SE
htc-desire-616
HTC Desire 616
htc-one-mini
HTC One Mini
htc-butterfly-s
HTC Butterfly S
lenovo-vibe-c
Lenovo Vibe C
asus-zenfone-2
Asus Zenfone 2
lg-optimus-g2
LG Optimus G2
samsung-galaxy-mega
Samsung Galaxy Mega
sony-xperia-c
Sony Xperia C
xolo-era-4k
Xolo Era 4K
xolo-era-x
Xolo Era X
asus-zenpad
Asus Zenpad
htc-526
HTC 526
htc-one-m8
HTC One M8
moto-g-turbo
Moto G Turbo
moto-x
Moto X
oppo-mirror-3
Oppo Mirror 3
samsung_e5
Samsung E5
samsung-galaxy-j7
Samsung Galaxy J7
samsung-galaxy-note-3
Samsung Galaxy Note 3
samsung-galaxy-s7
Samsung Galaxy S7
samsung-galaxy-s-duos
Samsung Galaxy S Duos
samsung-galaxy-star-pro
Samsung Galaxy Start Pro
sony_xperia_m
Sony Xperia M