Mobile Appium Test

Android UI automation testing using Appium with USB-connected real devices. Use when the user wants to run Appium tests on physical Android devices connected via USB, including: device connection verification, app installation, UI element inspection, test execution, screenshot capture, and log collection. Requires ADB and Appium Server installed.

Android UI automation testing using Appium with USB-connected real devices.

Prerequisites

Required tools (must be installed):

• ADB (Android Debug Bridge) - part of Android SDK
• Appium Server (v2.x recommended)
• Appium Doctor (npm install -g @appium/doctor)

Verify installation:

adb version
appium --version
appium doctor

Quick Reference

Device Connection

Goal	Command
List connected devices	adb devices
Get device info	adb shell getprop ro.build.version.release
Restart ADB server	adb kill-server && adb start-server
USB debug authorization	Check phone for authorization prompt

Appium Server

Goal	Command
Start Appium	appium --address 127.0.0.1 --port 4723
Start with relaxed security	appium --relaxed-security
Check Appium status	curl http://127.0.0.1:4723/status

Common Appium Operations

Goal	Endpoint/Action
Start session	POST /session with capabilities
Find element	POST /session/{id}/element
Click element	POST /session/{id}/element/{id}/click
Send keys	POST /session/{id}/element/{id}/value
Take screenshot	GET /session/{id}/screenshot
Get page source	GET /session/{id}/source
Quit session	DELETE /session/{id}

Typical Workflow

1. Verify Device Connection

adb devices

Ensure device shows device status (not unauthorized or offline).

2. Start Appium Server

appium --address 127.0.0.1 --port 4723 --relaxed-security

3. Run Test

Use desired capabilities for USB device:

{
  "platformName": "Android",
  "deviceName": "device",
  "udid": "<device-udid>",
  "app": "/path/to/app.apk",
  "automationName": "UiAutomator2",
  "noReset": true
}

4. Common Test Scenarios

• Install app: adb install app.apk
• Launch app: Appium appActivity capability
• Find element by ID: find_element("id", "com.example:id/button")
• Find element by text: find_element("xpath", "//*[@text='Submit']")
• Swipe: Appium touch action
• Get logs: adb logcat

Error Handling

Error	Cause	Solution
device not found	USB connection issue	Check adb devices, restart ADB server
unauthorized	USB debug not authorized	Unlock phone, authorize the computer
no such element	Element not found	Use find_elements with wait, check page source
session not created	Capability mismatch	Verify UDID, platform version, app path

Notes

• Always use UdID from adb devices for real device testing
• Use UiAutomator2 as automation engine for Android
• noReset: true preserves app state between sessions
• For WiFi debugging: adb tcpip 5555 then adb connect <IP>:5555