Can I access my Android through ADB if the phone can only get to the fastboot menu?

Question

I would like to recover message attachments from a Pixel 3 that died recently. (Yes, I should have had them saved and backed up, but I missed that option for message attachments.)



However, the phone is minimally functional. If the phone could turn on, I could sync those files and be done. It also appears that I need to turn the phone on to enable usb debugging for ADB. I can reach the fastboot menu by holding the power and volume down buttons, but if I try to go past that into "Start" or "Recovery Mode" or even "Rescue Mode," the phone powers off again.



While in the fastboot menu, I can see that a Pixel 3 device is connected by usb to my computer. I have installed Android Studio, Android SDK, and the Google USB drivers. The phone appeared as "LeMobile Android Device" at first, but after changing the driver to Google's it is now "Android Device"--"Android Bootloader Interface."



Running adb devices returns an empty list even while Device Manager shows it is attached (probably because I can't turn the phone on and enable usb debugging).



I'm out of ideas, and am looking for ADB tips to try. What can I try next? How can I get the phone to start or to get access to the phone without leaving the fastboot menu?



Thanks.


— Gino | Sources

Answer

No you can't access your phone via adb while you are in fastboot menu.



While in fastboot menu only the fastboot binary + driver can access your device.



ADB is only available when the device is booted (adb is usually already available from a certain boot stage on while the device is still booting).



Also certain recovery ROMs provide full ADB access. Simple recovery ROMS only provide limited ADB access, for adb sideload - it allows you to upload ROM images so that the recovery can install it.


— Robert | Sources

Q & A

Can a blocked contact see any number changes?
Way to prevent the noise when 2 phones together
Where can I find the bootanimation.zip in the Evolution X Custom ROM?
Why Were My Timezone Definitions Updated?
Is it Possible to Create an Operating System for Android Devices?
Can I access my Android through ADB if the phone can only get to the fastboot menu?
I can't find the /system/media/ folder in any root browser or TWRP File Manager
How much of the Android filesystem is visible over MTP?
Add rows to table in Google Docs
How can I condense the icons in the quick settings panel on Android?
Is it possible to know the wear level information of a phone, like SSD have with SMART?
What’s the difference between stock Android, Android One, and Android Go?
Run script using init.rc doesn't work
What does the "2 arrows inside a broken triangle" notification icon mean on Samsung devices?
What bootloader/recovery firmware can it be?
How do I add a Google Assistant command to a button on the homescreen?
Copy URL with unicode symbols without percent-encoding in Firefox
Is TWRP OS-version specific?
How do I automatically add all existing apps to my home screen?
Setting Protonmail on default email mobile phone app

Topics

2D Engines   3D Engines   9-Patch   Action Bars   Activities   ADB   Advertisements   Analytics   Animations   ANR   AOP   API   APK   APT   Architecture   Audio   Autocomplete   Background Processing   Backward Compatibility   Badges   Bar Codes   Benchmarking   Bitmaps   Bluetooth   Blur Effects   Bread Crumbs   BRMS   Browser Extensions   Build Systems   Bundles   Buttons   Caching   Camera   Canvas   Cards   Carousels   Changelog   Checkboxes   Cloud Storages   Color Analysis   Color Pickers   Colors   Comet/Push   Compass Sensors   Conferences   Content Providers   Continuous Integration   Crash Reports   Credit Cards   Credits   CSV   Curl/Flip   Data Binding   Data Generators   Data Structures   Database   Database Browsers   Date &   Debugging   Decompilers   Deep Links   Dependency Injections   Design   Design Patterns   Dex   Dialogs   Distributed Computing   Distribution Platforms   Download Managers   Drawables   Emoji   Emulators   EPUB   Equalizers &   Event Buses   Exception Handling   Face Recognition   Feedback &   File System   File/Directory   Fingerprint   Floating Action   Fonts   Forms   Fragments   FRP   FSM   Functional Programming   Gamepads   Games   Geocaching   Gestures   GIF   Glow Pad   Gradle Plugins   Graphics   Grid Views   Highlighting   HTML   HTTP Mocking   Icons   IDE   IDE Plugins   Image Croppers   Image Loaders   Image Pickers   Image Processing   Image Views   Instrumentation   Intents   Job Schedulers   JSON   Keyboard   Kotlin   Layouts   Library Demos   List View   List Views   Localization   Location   Lock Patterns   Logcat   Logging   Mails   Maps   Markdown   Mathematics   Maven Plugins   MBaaS   Media   Menus   Messaging   MIME   Mobile Web   Native Image   Navigation   NDK   Networking   NFC   NoSQL   Number Pickers   OAuth   Object Mocking   OCR Engines   OpenGL   ORM   Other Pickers   Parallax List   Parcelables   Particle Systems   Password Inputs   PDF   Permissions   Physics Engines   Platforms   Plugin Frameworks   Preferences   Progress Indicators   ProGuard   Properties   Protocol Buffer   Pull To   Purchases   Push/Pull   QR Codes   Quick Return   Radio Buttons   Range Bars   Ratings   Recycler Views   Resources   REST   Ripple Effects   RSS   Screenshots   Scripting   Scroll Views   SDK   Search Inputs   Security   Sensors   Services   Showcase Views   Signatures   Sliding Panels   Snackbars   SOAP   Social Networks   Spannable   Spinners   Splash Screens   SSH   Static Analysis   Status Bars   Styling   SVG   System   Tags   Task Managers   TDD &   Template Engines   Testing   Testing Tools   Text Formatting   Text Views   Text Watchers   Text-to   Toasts   Toolkits For   Tools   Tooltips   Trainings   TV   Twitter   Updaters   USB   User Stories   Utils   Validation   Video   View Adapters   View Pagers   Views   Watch Face   Wearable Data   Wearables   Weather   Web Tools   Web Views   WebRTC   WebSockets   Wheel Widgets   Wi-Fi   Widgets   Windows   Wizards   XML   XMPP   YAML   ZIP Codes