Physical device won't show up, Emulator works just fine

Question

I've got a weird one for you guys...

When I plug my phone into my computer it begins charging but won't show up in Eclipse as a valid running Android device. My program works just fine in the emulator, but I can't test it on my Droid. To clarify, I don't receive errors - I simply don't have the option to launch the app on my physical device.

This seems to have occurred after 2.3 was released. My phone got the update and if memory serves, this is when it quit working. I was developing primarily on the Emulator at the time, so I can't be sure. My phone shows Android version 2.2.1 though, which is further puzzling me as I assumed it would show v2.3. It's a Motorola Droid (the original one).

I upgraded the SDK through Eclipse and while it still works fine through the emulator, it patently refuses to recognize my Droid when I plug it in. I need to do some final testing on an app that I'm about to publish, but I'm at a standstill until I can use a physical phone.

I haven't yet tried downgrading to v2.2. I suppose it's possible that the old Droid just can't handle 2.3 and is thus incompatible with the upgrade. Just thinking out loud here, I'm really hoping someone can give me a better answer.

Has anyone else seen this?

Answer 1

1. Is USB debugging turned on in your phone?
2. When you plug your phone into the computer, do you get a device not recognized message (Windows)?

You have to make sure you have the USB driver installed on your comp to debug on your phone. This is not to be confused with the driver that your comp needs to talk to the SD card.

Answer 2

I know this is an old post, but I just went crazy trying to get my Droid recognized and found the only definitive answer here:

http://groups.google.com/group/android-developers/browse_thread/thread/3571170253b99d0

Scroll down to authorwjf's post. By following those instructions you will be on your way.