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Flow Analyzer for Mobile

Android Connection Guide

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Overview

Using Evinced Mobile Flow Analyzer (MFA) running on either a macOS or Windows platform, you can automatically identify accessibility issues in any mobile application running on an Android physical device or emulator.

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Two modes of connection are available for both physical and virtual devices:

  • Wired (via ADB): MFA uses Android Debug Bridge (ADB) to connect.
  • Wireless: MFA communicates with the test device over a local WiFi network.

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Either way, MFA’s companion Android app, Evinced Mobile Flow Analyzer, is needed on the test device or emulator to do the following:

  • Capture the accessibility tree of scanned applications
  • Take screenshots to facilitate issue reporting
  • Send data to MFA on the workstation for further analysis and reporting

When connecting, Mobile Flow Analyzer will prompt you for what it needs to connect. This guide will help you get setup to make analyzing your Android app a trouble-free and efficient process.

Wired connection summary

  1. Install ADB, which is included in the Android SDK Platform Tools. For help, see Install Android Debug Bridge.

  2. Connect Wired (via ADB) in Mobile Flow Analyzer. MFA will install its companion Android app, if not already installed. For help, see Connect Wired (via ADB).

Wireless connection summary

  1. Install and enable the companion Android app, Evinced Mobile Flow Analyzer, from Google Play. For help, see Set up the Evinced Android app.

  2. Connect Wireless in Mobile Flow Analyzer. For help, see Connect Wireless.

See the Mobile Flow Analyzer User Guideopens in a new tab for help installing or using Mobile Flow Analyzer on your workstation.

Connect Wired (via ADB)

You can connect Mobile Flow Analyzer to a physical or virtual Android device using Android Debug Bridge (ADB)opens in a new tab.

When connecting with ADB, Mobile Flow Analyzer will directly install the companion Evinced Android app without having to download and install it from Google Play.

If the Android SDK Platform Tools are not installed or if the executable adb is not available on your terminal’s command prompt, see Install Android Debug Bridge to install and set up your environment.

Select Wired (via ADB)

Select Wired (via ADB) in MFA’s Connecting your device dialog to connect to either an Android device attached to a USB port or an Android Virtual Device (AVD) emulator running on your workstation.

Set up your environment

The Setting up your environment panel of the Connecting your device dialog requires two bits of information before it connect. If MFA does not already have them, MFA will prompt you for either or both:

  • The SDK Platform Tools folder location, where adb is found
  • The USB-connected device or active emulator you which to connect

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You may click the Browse button to search and find adb, but the easiest way to find it is using the command line.

In a macOS terminal, type which adb:

% which adb
/Users/a11ycat/Library/Android/sdk/platform-tools/adb

In a Windows Command Prompt, type where adb:

C:\Users\a11ycat> where adb
C:\Users\a11ycat\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WinGet\Packages\Google.PlatformTools_Microsoft.Winget/Source_8wekyb3d8bbwe\platform-tools\adb.exe

Enter the platform-tools folder location in the Folder path field, then click Set.

If MFA does not accept the location, check that adb is available on your command line and that the path to it matches the path you entered. If which adb or where adb does not return a location, see Install Android Debug Bridge to install and set up your environment.

Mobile Flow Analyzer will save the location, so will not need to repeat this step to connect again.

Prepare a physical device for connection through a USB port

Before connecting a physical device, it needs be in developer mode and have USB debugging enabled.

  1. Open device Settings app to enable developer mode and USB debugging:

    1. Open the About Phone or About Tablet menu then Software information to find Build number.
    2. Tap Build number seven times to activate developer mode.
    3. Tap Develop options in the main Settings menu and, if not already enabled, switch Developer mode On.
    4. In Developer options, enable USB debugging.

  2. Attach the device to a USB port and authorize USB debugging:

    1. Connect the device to a workstation USB port.
    2. If not previously authorized, the device will open a Allow USB debugging? dialog. Tap Allow.
    3. You may check Always allow from this computer to skip authorizing when reconnecting.

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Launch an emulator (Android Virtual Device)

Create and manage virtual devicesopens in a new tab in Android Studio by opening its Virtual Device Manager in the More Actions menu on the Welcome page or Device Manager in the Tools menu in an open project.

Click the device ▷ Start button to launch the emulator. Android Studio will download the required runtime if not already installed. After launching, click the ⏻ Power button to run the emulator.

Unlike a physical device, an Android Emulator does need to have developer mode enabled. When it is running, it should be listed by adb devices and available to connect in Mobile Flow Analyzer with Android Debug Bridge.

Find more information about using Android Emulator in Android Developer documentation:

Connect your device to Mobile Flow Analyzer

Internally, MFA executes adb devices to find available physical and virtual devices. You can verify your connection status using adb devices on the command line in either a macOS terminal or Windows Command Prompt:

% adb devices
List of devices attached
R9WN40Q3A8J device
  1. With one device available, MFA will fill the Your device field. When there is more than one, the field will prompt “Select.” Open the menu to select the device you wish to select.
  2. Click Connect to connect the selected device.

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Mobile Flow Analyzer will then show the Setting up panel while it connects. A Cancel button is available if you wish to terminate the connection.

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If not already installed, Mobile Flow Analyzer will install its companion Android app, Evinced Mobile Flow Analyzer, and enable its accessibility service.

Scan your application

Once connected, Mobile Flow Analyzer is ready to scan and analyze your application. Load the application you wish to analyze and click Scan Current View.

Connect Wireless

You can connect to either a physical or virtual Android device over a local network. Connecting wirelessly to a physical device does not require use of Android development tools and is the recommended workflow for those who are not working in a development environment.

To connect wirelessly, all of the following conditions a

  • Your device can access and install apps from Google Play.
  • Your device is turned on and connected to the same local WiFi network as your workstation.
  • You are not connecting your workstation to a device through a VPN or on the other side of a proxy.

If you cannot meet these conditions, see Connect Wired (via ADB) for help creating a wired connection.

To complete a connection, you will need the Android app Evinced Mobile Flow Analyzer installed on the device and enabled as an accessibility service. When first connecting to a physical device, you may scan the QR code that MFA provides with your device camera, and you will be walked through the installation and activation process. Or you may install the Evinced app on either a physical or virtual device prior to connecting in MFA. For more information, see Set up the Evinced Android app.

Scan the QR code to connect a physical device

Select Wireless in MFA’s Connecting your device dialog to open the Wireless Connection panel.

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If the Evinced app is not installed on your device, do the following:

  1. Scan the QR code with your device camera to show a link.
  2. Tap the link to go to the Evinced Mobile Flow Analyzer page in Google Play.
  3. Install and open the app.
  4. Enable the Evinced app as an accessibility service. For help, see Set up the Evinced Android app.

When the Evinced app is installed on the device, do the following:

  1. Open the Evinced Mobile Flow Analyzer app on your device.
  2. If not already enabled, enable the app as an accessibility service. For help, see section “Enable the Evinced app accessibility service” in Set up the Evinced Android app.
  3. In the Connect to the Evinced desktop app page that opens with the accessibility service is enabled, tap QR Code.
  4. Use the Evinced app to scan the QR code to connect.

The following illustrates the process:

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Connecting with the IP address

To use this option, the Evinced Android app must already be installed on your device and enabled as an accessibility service. For more information, see Set up the Evinced Android app.

In Mobile Flow Analyzer on your workstation, do the following:

  1. Select Wireless in MFA’s Connecting your device dialog to open the Wireless Connection panel. The panel shows the default connection method, using QR code.
  2. Click the IP address link under the QR code to open the panel Wireless connection via IP Address.

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In the Evinced Android app, do the following:

  1. Open the Evinced Mobile Flow Analyzer app in the device or emulator.
  2. Enable the app’s accessibility service if not already enabled. The Connect to the Evinced desktop app page should open.
  3. Tap IP Address to open the page titled Insert the IP address provided by the Evinced desktop app.
  4. Insert the IP address displayed in MFA’s Wireless Connection panel in the input field.
  5. Tap Connect to connect.

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Set up the Evinced Android app

To analyze your Android application, Mobile Flow Analyzer on you workstation needs its companion Android application, Evinced Mobile Flow Analyzer, installed and enabled as an accessibility service on the test device. The Evinced app is required whether the device is physical or virtual or whether connecting wired or wireless.

Install the Evinced Android app on your device

The companion app may be installed on the device from Google Playopens in a new tab or directly from Mobile Flow Analyzer after making a wired connection with Android Debug Bridge.

Install from Google Play

For this method, your device must have access to Google Play through a Google account.

  1. Either scan the QR code in the Wireless Connection panel of the Mobile Flow Analyzer Connecting your device dialog or directly search for “Evinced” in Google Play to find the Android app Evinced Mobile Flow Analyzer. Sign in to Google Play with a Google account if not already logged in.
  2. Download and install the Evinced app on your device.
  3. Open the Evinced app, accept terms, and tap Get Started.

Install from Mobile Flow Analyzer on your workstation

For this method, you must install Android Debug Bridge on your workstation and create a wired connection to the device or emulator.

  1. Install Android Debug Bridge on your workstation. For help, see the section Install Android Debug Bridge.

  2. Select Wired (via ADB) in the Android panel of the Mobile Flow Analyzer Connecting your device dialog.

  3. Follow the instructions in the section Connect Wired (via ADB) to connect your device or emulator. If not already installed, the Evinced app will be installed and opened to its Get Started page.

  4. Accept terms and and tap Get Started in the device.

Enable the Evinced app accessibility service

However it is installed, the Evinced Mobile Flow Analyzer Android app needs to be enabled as an accessibility service in order to control and analyze apps running on the device.

When opening the app, Get Started will take you to the Enable Accessibility Service page. You will also be taken there when using the app if its accessibility service is not enabled. Do the following to enable the app as an accessibility service:

  1. Tap Go to Settings to go to the Accessibility page in the device Settings app.

  2. Before going to Accessibility settings, a dialog may open asking to allow the Evinced app to analyze and control your device. Tap Agree to proceed.

  3. Find Evinced Flow Analyzer under Downloaded apps in the Accessibility settings. (Details may differ for your Android version.)

  4. Tap Evinced Flow Analyzer in the Downloaded apps menu to open its settings.

  5. If Off, tap Use Evinced Flow Analyzer to toggle the service on.

  6. A dialog may open that asks, “Allow Evinced Flow Analyzer to have full control of your device?” Tap Allow. Use Evinced Flow Analyzer should then be On.

    When disconnecting or relaunching the app, the accessibility service may be disabled. To quickly reenable, the app provides a shortcut button that will reenable the service with a single tap.

  7. To activate the shortcut, tap the Evinced Flow Analyzer shortcut option.

These steps are illustrated in the following image:

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With the Evinced Mobile Flow Analyzer app installed on the device and its accessibility service enabled, you are ready to connect.

Install Android Debug Bridge

Mobile Flow Analyzer executes Android Debug Bridge (the command-line tool adb) to communicate with an Android device or emulator.

Android Debug Bridge (ADB)opens in a new tab is included in the Android SDK Platforms Toolsopens in a new tab package. There are several ways the SDK Platform Tools can be installed. Choose the method that best works for you:

If you do not otherwise need Android Studio and can access the command line, the simplest way to install the Android SDK Platform Tools is to use the package manager for your system, either Homebrew or WinGet.

Install ADB using Homebrew

For macOS, the SDK Platform Tools is available in the Homebrewopens in a new tab cask android-platform-tools. If you are using Homebrew, install the platform tools with the command brew install android-platform-tools as shown in the following example:

% brew install android-platform-tools
==> Downloading https://dl.google.com/android/repository/platform-tools_r36.0.0-darwin.zip
...

If the Homebrew bin directory is included in your PATH environment variable, adb will then be available on the command line. Check that by executing which adb:

% which adb
/opt/homebrew/bin/adb

Install ADB using WinGet

In Windows, Android SDK Platform Tools can be installed using the WinGetopens in a new tab package manager. WinGet is included with all Windows installations and is available in PowerShell and Command Prompt. To install the SDK platform tools using WinGet, launch Command Prompt or Powershell with administrator privileges.

In Command Prompt, execute winget search android (or a variety of other terms, such as “Google”) to see Android SDK Platform-Tools listed with the ID Google.PlatformTools. To install the package, execute winget install Google.PlatformTools, as shown in the following example:

C:\Users\a11ycat> winget install Google.PlatformTools
Found Android SDK Platform-Tools [Google.PlatformTools] Version 36.0.1
This application is licensed to you by its owner.
Microsoft is not responsible for, nor does it grant any licenses to, third-party packages.
Successfully verified installer hash
Extracting archive...
Successfully extracted archive
Starting package install...
Path environment variable modified; restart your shell to use the new value.
Command line alias added: "adb"
Command line alias added: "fastboot"
Successfully installed

Installation will automatically add the platform tools location to your PATH environment variable.

Test the installation with where adb or adb version:

C:\Users\a11ycat> adb version
Android Debug Bridge version 1.0.41
Version 36.0.1-13811061
Installed as C:\Users\a11ycat\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WinGet\Packages\Google.PlatformTools_Microsoft.Winget.Source_8wekyb3d8bbwe\platform-tools\adb.exe
Running on Windows 10.0.26100

Install ADB with Android Studio

Download Android Studio for your platform from https://developer.android.com/studioopens in a new tab.

Note: Though Android Studio supports both x86 and ARM based processors, you may have trouble in a Windows system with an ARM processor. Android Emulator is based on an x86 architecture and, as of this writing, emulation is not yet support for a Windows ARM system. Apple Silicon, however, is supported in macOS.

After installing Android Studio installed, you will need to manually add the SDK Platform Tools folder location to your PATH environment variable. You may find that location in Android Studio.

In macOS, open Android Studio the Projects > New Project Setup > Default Project Structure menu item to open the Android SDK location panel, as shown in the following screenshots:

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In Windows, open Android Studio Settings, then expand Language and Frameworks and open Android SDK to find the Android SDK Location, as shown in the following screenshot:

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Add the SDK platform-tools folder location to your PATH environment variable. For help, see the following section “Add platform-tools to your PATH”.

Install ADB from developer.android.com

If none of the above methods work, you can download the Android SDK Platform Tools directly from https://developer.android.com/tools/releases/platform-toolsopens in a new tab. Choose the download link for your platform. The downloaded zip packaged contains a platform-tools folder with the binary executables for your platform.

Place the downloaded platform-tools folder in a location of your choice, then add its location to your PATH environment variable. See instructions in the following “Add platform-tools to your PATH” section.

Add platform-tools to your PATH

If not using a package manager (Homebrew or WinGet) to install the Android SDK Platform Tools, you will need to manually add the path to the platform-tools folder to your PATH environment variable.

In macOS, open a Terminal and append the PATH variable in your default shell startup script, such as .zshenv or .bash_profile. In the following example, the SDK is installed under the Library folder in the users home directory:

# .zshenv
export ANDROID_HOME="${HOME}/Library/Android/sdk"
export PATH=${PATH}:${ANDROID_HOME}/platform-tools"

In Windows, use the Environment variables dialog in Settings to add the platform-tools folder location to the PATH variable. You can find the dialog by opening the About entry in Settings, find and click Advanced system settings, then Environment variables in the advanced settings panel or simply search for “environment” in the Find a setting search box. In the User variable section, select the Path entry and click Edit.

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Then add the platform-tools folder location.

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Install your Android app on your device

It is most likely that the Android app you need to analyze for accessibility is in development and is not (yet) available on Google Play. How to do that is beyond the scope of this guide. You may find the following Android Studio IDE Guides helpful.

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