WHEN THE GLASS IS GONE
A phone with a dead display is usually a working computer you have lost the controls to. First preserve the copies that may already exist; then give it a usable display, audio, or a temporary replacement screen so you can unlock it yourself.
Your own device · Nothing here bypasses a lock · No exploit, no brute force
READ THIS FIRST
If USB debugging is switched off, adb cannot reach the phone at all — no typing, no tapping, no screenshots. That is deliberate. If a computer could enable debugging without somebody agreeing on the handset, every stolen phone would be an open book. So the first job is never software: it is getting a working display and pointer in front of the phone, so you can flip that switch yourself.
THREE QUESTIONS, ONE PATH
The answer changes completely depending on what still works. Check these in order — the first "yes" is your route.
Plug the phone in and run adb devices on the computer. If it prints your serial followed by device, you are done looking — skip to Already on. If it prints unauthorized, the phone is showing a permission dialog you must accept, which needs a display.
Cracked but partly lit, or the display works and only touch is dead. A USB-C OTG adapter and any wired mouse gives you a pointer. Cheapest route by far. See OTG mouse.
Black, shattered beyond reading, or the panel is dead. First check the copies that may already exist, then try USB-C video even if the phone is not Samsung. If it has no video output, use the no-display paths.
ON THE COMPUTER, NOT THE PHONE
Everything below runs on the computer the phone will be plugged into. One line, no sudo, on Linux or macOS, or in a WSL terminal on Windows. Nothing here touches the phone.
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nikolareljin/android-device-rescue-kit/main/install.sh | bashIt installs into your home directory and gives you one command, adrescue. Start with adrescue probe, which says immediately whether the phone has already authorised this computer. Full notes, including Windows USB passthrough, are in the installation guide.
CASE A
If adb devices reports device, the broken glass stops mattering. You can see the phone and control it entirely from your keyboard.
Run adrescue probe first. It immediately reports whether the phone has already authorised this computer; it never changes any phone setting. If it says unauthorized, accept the RSA prompt on the phone before continuing.
The best tool for this is scrcpy, which mirrors the screen into a window and passes your mouse and keyboard through. It is free, open source, and does this one job well:
scrcpyWithout it, the raw commands do the same thing more slowly:
adb exec-out screencap -p > screen.pngadb shell input text 1234adb shell input keyevent 66adb shell input tap 540 1200Take a screenshot, look at it on the computer, work out where to tap, tap it, screenshot again. Tedious, but it works with no extra hardware. input text types your own passcode; keyevent 66 is Enter.
Nothing here guesses or bypasses a passcode. You supply one you already know, exactly as if you were tapping it in.
CASE C — THE ONE THAT USUALLY WORKS
Many Android phones can output video through their USB-C port. Connect one to a monitor or TV, add a mouse, and the whole phone appears on the big screen — lock screen included. From there you unlock it and enable USB debugging by hand.
The feature is DisplayPort Alt Mode over USB-C. It is not universal. Not having Samsung DeX does not mean the phone cannot show a picture: DeX is Samsung's desktop interface, while other phones can simply mirror their screen. Check the exact model's manufacturer specifications, then try a known-good cable or powered hub.
adb devicesWhen that prints your serial and device, the phone is reachable and the rest of this toolkit works normally. You can unplug the monitor at that point — scrcpy will show you the screen from now on.
On a Samsung the monitor may show the DeX desktop rather than the phone's own layout. Both reach Settings; the menus sit in different places. If DeX confuses you, look for a way to switch to Screen mirroring in the DeX notification.
WHEN HDMI STAYS BLACK
If the phone boots but has no usable panel and no USB-C video output, there is no universal cable, PC program, or button sequence that can enable USB debugging on a new computer. Modern Android protects the files with the lock-screen credential. These are the realistic recovery paths, in the order worth trying.
Cloud backup only helps if it was enabled before the break and the phone can get online. Never assume an empty cloud library means the on-phone files are gone.
Power the phone off only if its manual says the card can be removed safely while powered. Remove a portable microSD card, put it in a quality card reader, and copy it read-only first to a computer or a second drive. Look for DCIM, Pictures, Movies, and app media folders. Do not format or let the computer "fix" the card.
If Android had set up the card as internal/adopted storage, it is encrypted for that phone and a reader will not expose the photos. Put it back in the original phone and proceed with another route.
A wired keyboard and USB audio adapter through a powered hub can make a previously configured screen reader usable without a panel. If the owner had enabled the Android accessibility volume-key shortcut, holding both volume keys — or pressing Ctrl + Alt + Z on an attached keyboard — can start its assigned service. TalkBack then speaks focused controls, and the owner can unlock and navigate Settings with the keyboard.
This is not a reliable blind recipe: manufacturers vary, the shortcut has to have been enabled, and a first-use confirmation may still need a display. Use it only when the owner recognizes TalkBack and can follow its audio; otherwise go directly to a temporary-screen repair. Android documents the shortcut and its keyboard equivalent in its accessibility-shortcut guide.
This is usually the best answer for a booting phone with neither video-out nor an existing accessibility route. Ask a reputable repair shop to connect a known-good compatible display/digitizer, or repair the display path without replacing the mainboard, factory-resetting, flashing, unlocking the bootloader, or accepting any wipe prompt. Be explicit that the sole goal is to unlock the phone yourself, enable USB debugging, and run adrescue photos before any permanent repair.
Bring the passcode yourself; do not disclose it. Stay present while the phone is unlocked. If the shop says a reset, bootloader unlock, firmware flash, or board swap is required, stop and get a second opinion—those actions can make the original encrypted data unavailable.
adrescue photos /mnt/rescue/photos. It verifies each copied photo and video against the device.CASE B — THE CHEAP ONE
If the display lights up at all — even a cracked corner — a USB mouse may be all you need. Android has supported pointers for years and needs no setup.
This does nothing for a completely dark display — you still cannot see where the pointer is. In that case go to External display.
Many phones charge and take a mouse at the same time only through a powered hub. A plain OTG adapter occupies the port on its own.
THE SWITCH ITSELF
Once you can see and click, this is the sequence. Wording varies a little by manufacturer and Android version.
While you are there and can still see the screen, consider also turning on Stay awake in Developer options. It keeps the display on while charging, which makes everything afterwards easier. This toolkit sets that same option temporarily during the steps that need you, and puts it back.
SAVE YOURSELF THE TIME
Locates, rings, locks and erases. It cannot unlock a phone or show you its screen.
Reachable with hardware buttons, but it runs a separate minimal system. It gives no ADB access to your installed Android and no way to enable debugging there.
Flashing tools. They cannot switch on a setting inside the running system, and unlocking a bootloader wipes the device — destroying exactly what you are trying to recover.
Miracast, Smart View, Chromecast — all need you to start them from the phone's screen first. Circular, unless it was already set up before the break.
adb pair over Wi-Fi still requires USB debugging to be on and a pairing code read off the phone's display.
A program cannot grant itself USB debugging or read a locked phone's encrypted storage. Treat claims that it can as a warning sign, especially if it asks for the passcode or a factory reset.
These normally erase user data by design. Do not use fastboot, OEM unlocking, rooting, recovery flashing, or a firmware tool while photos are the priority.
Sometimes the right answer — but a shop may reset the device, and a swap can trip anti-theft protection. Pull your data off first if any of these routes work.
WHAT TO BUY
Nothing here is specialised or expensive. The links are searches, not individual listings — specific products go out of stock and their pages die, and a dead link in a recovery guide is worse than no link. Every search below lands on the right category in that shop.
HDMI out, at least one USB-A socket for the mouse, and pass-through charging so the phone does not flatten itself. Look for 4K 30Hz or better and PD or power delivery in the description.
One cable, phone to monitor. Fine for a short session on a well-charged phone, and the cheapest way to find out whether your phone outputs video at all.
A thumb-sized USB-C plug with a USB-A socket. Buy a two-pack; they are trivially cheap and easy to lose.
Any wired mouse works. Wired avoids a pairing dance you cannot see. A cheap wired keyboard makes entering a long passcode much easier.
Shop links are provided for convenience only. Nothing here is sponsored and no affiliate codes are used. Buy wherever you like — the important thing is the category, not the brand.
ONCE YOU ARE IN
A phone reachable over ADB may not stay that way — batteries die, cables fail, and a cracked panel gets worse. Take the data off first, verify it, and only then think about repairs. Start with adrescue photos, which copies every photo and video and checks each one against the phone before it reports success.