50 ADB Commands Every Android Power User Needs in 2026

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If you've been using Android for years and still only use ADB for sideloading APKs, you're missing out on a goldmine of powerful commands that can transform how you interact with your device. This isn't your typical "adb install" tutorial – we're diving deep into commands that even experienced developers rarely use.

Table of Contents

  1. Battery & Power Analysis
  2. Hidden Settings & Activities
  3. Performance Optimization
  4. Network & Connectivity
  5. App Management Power Moves
  6. System Information
  7. Automation & Scripting
  8. Debugging & Troubleshooting

Battery & Power Analysis

1. Generate Detailed Battery Stats Report

adb shell dumpsys batterystats > battery_report.txt

This creates a comprehensive report showing which apps consumed battery, wake locks, and more. Way more detailed than Android's built-in battery stats.

2. Reset Battery Stats (After Full Charge)

adb shell dumpsys batterystats --reset

Pro tip: Do this after a full 100% charge for accurate future readings.

3. Check Current Battery Temperature

adb shell dumpsys battery | grep temperature

Divide by 10 to get Celsius. Anything above 45°C is concerning.

4. View Battery Discharge Rate

adb shell dumpsys battery | grep "current now"

Shows real-time current draw in microamperes.

5. Force Battery Percentage Display

adb shell settings put system status_bar_show_battery_percent 1

6. Simulate Different Battery Levels (Testing)

adb shell dumpsys battery set level 15

Reset with: adb shell dumpsys battery reset

Hidden Settings & Activities

7. Access Hidden System UI Tuner

adb shell am start -n com.android.systemui/.tuner.TunerActivity

Unlocks hidden customization options not available in regular settings.

8. Open Network APN Settings Directly

adb shell am start -a android.settings.APN_SETTINGS

9. Access Hidden App Ops (Permission Manager)

adb shell am start -n com.android.settings/.Settings\$AppOpsSettingsActivity

10. Launch Any Hidden Settings Page

adb shell am start -a android.settings.ACTION_MANAGE_ALL_APPLICATIONS_SETTINGS

Replace ACTION_MANAGE_ALL_APPLICATIONS_SETTINGS with any settings action.

11. Enable Demo Mode in Status Bar

adb shell settings put global sysui_demo_allowed 1
adb shell am broadcast -a com.android.systemui.demo -e command enter
adb shell am broadcast -a com.android.systemui.demo -e command clock -e hhmm 1200
adb shell am broadcast -a com.android.systemui.demo -e command network -e mobile show -e level 4
adb shell am broadcast -a com.android.systemui.demo -e command battery -e level 100 -e plugged false

Perfect for screenshots!

12. Force Enable Night Mode

adb shell cmd uimode night yes

Disable: adb shell cmd uimode night no

Performance Optimization

13. Disable Animations Completely

adb shell settings put global window_animation_scale 0
adb shell settings put global transition_animation_scale 0
adb shell settings put global animator_duration_scale 0

Your phone will feel twice as fast!

14. Set Custom Animation Speed (0.5x for faster)

adb shell settings put global window_animation_scale 0.5
adb shell settings put global transition_animation_scale 0.5
adb shell settings put global animator_duration_scale 0.5

15. Force GPU Rendering

adb shell settings put global force_hw_ui 1

16. Clear All App Caches at Once

adb shell pm trim-caches 999999999999999

17. Force Stop All Background Apps

adb shell am kill-all

18. View Real-time CPU Usage

adb shell top -m 10

Shows top 10 CPU-consuming processes.

19. Set Maximum Background Processes

adb shell settings put global max_cached_processes 4

Default is usually higher; lower = more free RAM.

20. Enable Strict Mode for Debugging

adb shell settings put global strict_mode_visual_indicator 1

Shows red flashes when apps do disk/network on main thread.

Network & Connectivity

21. View All Network Connections

adb shell netstat -an

22. Change Private DNS Server

adb shell settings put global private_dns_specifier dns.adguard.com
adb shell settings put global private_dns_mode hostname

23. Disable Private DNS

adb shell settings put global private_dns_mode off

24. View WiFi Password (Root Required)

adb shell cat /data/misc/wifi/WifiConfigStore.xml | grep -A 20 "PreSharedKey"

25. Force 4G/LTE Only Mode

adb shell settings put global preferred_network_mode 11

Values: 0=WCDMA, 1=GSM, 9=LTE/GSM/WCDMA, 11=LTE Only

26. View ARP Table (Connected Devices)

adb shell cat /proc/net/arp

27. Check Current Network Type

adb shell getprop gsm.network.type

App Management Power Moves

28. List All Installed Packages

adb shell pm list packages

Add -s for system apps, -3 for third-party, -d for disabled.

29. Disable Bloatware Without Root

adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.samsung.android.game.gamehome

Replace package name with any app you want to disable.

30. Re-enable Disabled Apps

adb shell pm enable com.samsung.android.game.gamehome

31. Completely Uninstall System Apps (Without Root)

adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.facebook.system

The -k keeps data. Omit to delete data too.

32. View App's Granted Permissions

adb shell dumpsys package com.whatsapp | grep permission

33. Revoke Specific Permission

adb shell pm revoke com.facebook.orca android.permission.CAMERA

34. Grant Permission via ADB

adb shell pm grant com.termux android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE

35. Extract Any APK from Phone

adb shell pm path com.whatsapp
adb pull /data/app/com.whatsapp-xxx/base.apk ./whatsapp.apk

36. View App's Battery Optimization Status

adb shell dumpsys deviceidle whitelist

37. Exempt App from Battery Optimization

adb shell dumpsys deviceidle whitelist +com.yourapp.package

System Information

38. View Detailed Build Information

adb shell getprop | grep "ro.build"

39. Check Android Security Patch Level

adb shell getprop ro.build.version.security_patch

40. View Bootloader Status

adb shell getprop ro.boot.flash.locked

41. Get Complete Hardware Info

adb shell cat /proc/cpuinfo

42. Check Display Specifications

adb shell dumpsys display | grep -E "mBaseDisplayInfo|density|fps"

43. View All System Properties

adb shell getprop > all_properties.txt

Automation & Scripting

44. Simulate Touch Event

adb shell input tap 500 1000

Taps at coordinates (500, 1000).

45. Simulate Swipe Gesture

adb shell input swipe 500 1500 500 500 300

Swipes from (500,1500) to (500,500) in 300ms.

46. Type Text

adb shell input text "Hello%sWorld"

Use %s for spaces.

47. Simulate Key Press

adb shell input keyevent 26

Key 26 = Power button. 3 = Home, 4 = Back, 24/25 = Volume.

48. Take Screenshot via ADB

adb exec-out screencap -p > screenshot.png

49. Record Screen

adb shell screenrecord /sdcard/recording.mp4

Press Ctrl+C to stop. Then: adb pull /sdcard/recording.mp4

50. Launch App by Package Name

adb shell monkey -p com.whatsapp -c android.intent.category.LAUNCHER 1

Bonus: Ultimate ADB One-Liners

Complete Device Backup

adb backup -apk -shared -all -f backup.ab

Restore Backup

adb restore backup.ab

Wireless ADB Connection

adb tcpip 5555
adb connect YOUR_PHONE_IP:5555

View Logcat for Specific App

adb logcat --pid=$(adb shell pidof -s com.whatsapp)

Conclusion

These ADB commands represent the true power of Android's openness. Whether you're debugging, optimizing, or automating, mastering these commands will put you leagues ahead of the average user.

Remember: Always be careful with commands that modify system settings. When in doubt, research the specific command for your device before executing.

What's your favorite ADB command? Drop it in the comments!

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