ADB Auto-Enable

Package: eu.project_simple.adbautoenable
APK file: toolkit/eu.project_simple.adbautoenable.apk
Source: adb-auto-enable/ (local repository)
Forked from: project-SIMPLE/adb-auto-enable

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What it does

ADB Auto-Enable is a foreground watchdog service that ensures wireless ADB (adb_wifi_enabled) stays enabled on a Meta Quest headset at all times — through reboots, sleep cycles, network reconnects, and firmware-level resets. It requires no root and uses only WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS, granted once over ADB by the WebPlatform.

This solves a persistent problem with Meta Quest: the OS can disable wireless ADB silently (e.g. after a sleep/wake cycle, after a network change, or as a side effect of firmware updates), causing the WebPlatform to lose its ADB connection and drop screen mirroring.

note

The app has no GUI. It is invisible except for a persistent foreground notification — "ADB Auto-Enable — Watchdog Active" — visible in the headset's notification panel. MainActivity exists solely as a launch trigger and exits immediately after starting the service.

warning

Wireless ADB provides full shell access to the device. Only deploy this app on isolated, trusted networks. Never expose port 5555 to the internet.

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Architecture

The app has four components.

BootReceiver

Listens for BOOT_COMPLETED and LOCKED_BOOT_COMPLETED broadcasts (the latter fires during encrypted early boot, before user unlock). On either event, it starts AdbConfigService as a foreground service.

The receiver is declared android:directBootAware="true", allowing it to fire before the user unlocks the device.

AdbConfigService

The core watchdog. A START_STICKY foreground service that runs continuously after the first boot post-install.

On start, it:

1. Immediately calls triggerHook("Service Start") to enforce ADB.
2. Registers two reactive hooks (see below).
3. Schedules a 60-second periodic fallback watchdog.
4. Calls ensureA11yEnabled() to register AdbPopupAccessibilityService in the secure settings.

Enforcement logic (triggerHook):

int current = Settings.Global.getInt(getContentResolver(), "adb_wifi_enabled", 0);
if (current == 1) return;
// ADB is off — re-enable it
Settings.Global.putInt(getContentResolver(), "adb_wifi_enabled", 1);

A 500 ms debounce prevents rapid-fire re-triggering when multiple hooks fire at once.

Reactive hooks:

Hook	Trigger	Purpose
Settings observer	Any change to adb_wifi_enabled	Immediately re-enables ADB if it is turned off
Network callback	onAvailable or onCapabilitiesChanged (Wi-Fi with NET_CAPABILITY_VALIDATED)	Re-enforces ADB after network reconnects
Periodic watchdog	Every 60 seconds	Fallback for any edge case the above hooks miss

AdbPopupAccessibilityService

An accessibility service that monitors window changes and detects the Quest's VrUsb trust dialog — the popup that asks "Allow USB debugging from this computer?". When detected (by window title containing "VrUsb"), it automatically sends:

TAB → TAB → TAB → ENTER

This selects and confirms the "Always allow" option without any user interaction. The sequence has a 1-second cooldown between triggers.

The service is enabled programmatically on each service start via ensureA11yEnabled():

Settings.Secure.putString(
    getContentResolver(),
    Settings.Secure.ENABLED_ACCESSIBILITY_SERVICES,
    packageName + "/" + AdbPopupAccessibilityService.class.getName()
);
Settings.Secure.putInt(getContentResolver(), Settings.Secure.ACCESSIBILITY_ENABLED, 1);

MainActivity

A no-display activity. When launched (including via the monkey command the WebPlatform uses on first install), it starts AdbConfigService and immediately finishes. Its only purpose is to give the foreground service an initial launch trigger.

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How the WebPlatform manages it

When HeadsetSetup runs for a connected Quest headset:

1. Checks whether eu.project_simple.adbautoenable is installed and up to date.
2. If not installed or outdated, installs the bundled APK from toolkit/.
3. Grants android.permission.WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS.
4. On first install (needsToStart: true), launches MainActivity once to start the foreground service:

adb shell monkey -p eu.project_simple.adbautoenable -c android.intent.category.LAUNCHER 1

After that first launch, the app starts automatically on every subsequent boot via BootReceiver.

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Permissions

Permission	Purpose
RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED	Start on device boot
WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS	Write adb_wifi_enabled and the secure accessibility settings
ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE / ACCESS_WIFI_STATE	Register the network callback
FOREGROUND_SERVICE / FOREGROUND_SERVICE_SPECIAL_USE	Run as a persistent foreground service
POST_NOTIFICATIONS	Show the persistent foreground service notification

WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS is privileged and must be granted via ADB — the WebPlatform does this automatically.

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Building from source

Prerequisites: JDK 17, Android SDK (API 34), Gradle (wrapper included).

cd adb-auto-enable

# Debug build
./gradlew assembleDebug

# Release build (requires keystore env vars)
export KEYSTORE_FILE=/path/to/keystore.jks
export KEYSTORE_PASSWORD=...
export KEY_ALIAS=...
export KEY_PASSWORD=...
./gradlew assembleRelease -PversionName="1.0.0" -PversionCode="1"

Output: app/build/outputs/apk/release/app-release.apk

The CI workflow (.github/workflows/build-release.yml) triggers on v* tags, builds a signed release APK, and publishes it as a GitHub Release asset. versionName is derived from the tag (stripping the leading v); versionCode is the GitHub Actions run number.

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Troubleshooting

Check permission status:

adb shell dumpsys package eu.project_simple.adbautoenable | grep WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS
# Expected: android.permission.WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS: granted=true

Re-grant permission (needed after reinstall if signature changed):

adb shell pm grant eu.project_simple.adbautoenable android.permission.WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS

Force-restart the service:

adb shell am force-stop eu.project_simple.adbautoenable
adb shell am start -n eu.project_simple.adbautoenable/.MainActivity

View live logs:

adb logcat -s ADBAutoEnable ADBAutoEnable.A11y

Reset and re-grant all permissions:

adb shell cmd appops reset eu.project_simple.adbautoenable
adb shell pm grant eu.project_simple.adbautoenable android.permission.WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS