Develop Bugs

Pixel XL Fastboot Works to Flash Stock ROM+TWRP. Unseen as USB in TWRP or OS

I have 3 of these devices I'd successfully flashed TWRP to months ago. I can plug the other 2 into any of my Win10 PCs and they are functional as MTP devices in TWRP or the OS. Something is wrong with this device in that fastboot works fine, yet it is not recognized as a USB device at all in Windows. No device detected ding. No yellow exclamation point in device manager. Nothing in Nirsoft's USB DevView. I was unsure if this device received an OTA update so I went ahead and flashed the latest stock firmware as of 5/24/2017
It successfully flashed albeit unusually slow (even though Nirsoft USBDevView showed it connected at USB 2.0 and not 1.1). It also successfully flashed the latest Pixel XL Marlin-3.1.0-0RC2
Even if I attempt to toggle MTP in TWRP there is no response in Windows (on any of my PCs) nor is there any response when it's booted to Android 7.1.2. Same when toggled to PTP. Same w/ USB Debugging enabled. The device charges fine. Checking OTA updates shows none available. Factory reset option in bootloader didn't help.
I'm sure I'm missing something like I somehow have the incorrect firmware loaded for something. Anyone know what specifically is responsible for the USB at the firmware level that would allow it to function in fastboot mode yet fail to detect when booted TWRP or OS???

Pay_It_Forward_Pete said:
I have 3 of these devices I'd successfully flashed TWRP to months ago. I can plug the other 2 into any of my Win10 PCs and they are functional as MTP devices in TWRP or the OS. Something is wrong with this device in that fastboot works fine, yet it is not recognized as a USB device at all in Windows. No device detected ding. No yellow exclamation point in device manager. Nothing in Nirsoft's USB DevView. I was unsure if this device received an OTA update so I went ahead and flashed the latest stock firmware as of 5/24/2017
It successfully flashed albeit unusually slow (even though Nirsoft USBDevView showed it connected at USB 2.0 and not 1.1). It also successfully flashed the latest Pixel XL Marlin-3.1.0-0RC2
Even if I attempt to toggle MTP in TWRP there is no response in Windows (on any of my PCs) nor is there any response when it's booted to Android 7.1.2. Same when toggled to PTP. Same w/ USB Debugging enabled. The device charges fine. Checking OTA updates shows none available. Factory reset option in bootloader didn't help.
I'm sure I'm missing something like I somehow have the incorrect firmware loaded for something. Anyone know what specifically is responsible for the USB at the firmware level that would allow it to function in fastboot mode yet fail to detect when booted TWRP or OS???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When booted into the OS and plugged into PC, do you have a notification on the pixel that the device is connected and an option to change how to interact with the PC?

TheBobMiller said:
When booted into the OS and plugged into PC, do you have a notification on the pixel that the device is connected and an option to change how to interact with the PC?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can plug it into the PC and charge it up and receive a full charged reached message in the notification bar. Unfortunately I do not receive any other acknowledgement in the notification bar that it's connect to the PC and to toggle from "charge only" to PC MTP connection like most other phones present.
Its not recognized as a USB device at all in Windows. No device detected ding. No yellow exclamation point in device manager. Nothing in Nirsoft's USB DevView.
Yet I can flash it successfully all day long in fastboot mode ... so strange.

Pay_It_Forward_Pete said:
I can plug it into the PC and charge it up and receive a full charged reached message in the notification bar. Unfortunately I do not receive any other acknowledgement in the notification bar that it's connect to the PC and to toggle from "charge only" to PC MTP connection like most other phones present.
Its not recognized as a USB device at all in Windows. No device detected ding. No yellow exclamation point in device manager. Nothing in Nirsoft's USB DevView.
Yet I can flash it successfully all day long in fastboot mode ... so strange.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What happens when you change the default USB Configuration in Developer Options to MTP or PTP and the plug in the phone to the computer?

TheBobMiller said:
What happens when you change the default USB Configuration in Developer Options to MTP or PTP and the plug in the phone to the computer?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No response on the phone or PC when set to MTP or PTP. Same w/ USB debugging off or enabled.

Pay_It_Forward_Pete said:
No response on the phone or PC when set to MTP or PTP. Same w/ USB debugging off or enabled.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know this may seem like a stupid question, but have you tried using a different cable? If the phone recognizes fastboot mode commands but not PTP or MTP, then perhaps the cable is going bad. I would blame it on your drivers but fastboot mode wouldn't work if the drivers were malfunctioning.

TheBobMiller said:
I know this may seem like a stupid question, but have you tried using a different cable? If the phone recognizes fastboot mode commands but not PTP or MTP, then perhaps the cable is going bad. I would blame it on your drivers but fastboot mode wouldn't work if the drivers were malfunctioning.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same behavior with a different cable. I've also tested on USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports. Also different PCs. Up until today I couldn't get Windows to acknowledge anything. Today I observed Windows a couple times present "usb device not recognized. the last usb device you connected to this computer malfunctioned and windows does not recognize it."
However even after it did that once on one PC today and again on another PC today, I couldn't get Windows to present that message any subsequent times. Even when that message did appear as a system tray notification in Windows, Windows still wasn't showing the phone with a yellow exclamation point in device manager like it sometimes can for many other devices it would otherwise present such a message for. (I just speak from past experience with older PCs)

Pay_It_Forward_Pete said:
Same behavior with a different cable. I've also tested on USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports. Also different PCs. Up until today I couldn't get Windows to acknowledge anything. Today I observed Windows a couple times present "usb device not recognized. the last usb device you connected to this computer malfunctioned and windows does not recognize it."
However even after it did that once on one PC today and again on another PC today, I couldn't get Windows to present that message any subsequent times. Even when that message did appear as a system tray notification in Windows, Windows still wasn't showing the phone with a yellow exclamation point in device manager like it sometimes can for many other devices it would otherwise present such a message for. (I just speak from past experience with older PCs)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow...that's puzzling then. You said in your op that you factory reset using bootloader menu but have you tried flashing factory image with fastboot in bootloader? Maybe the firmware that's malfunctioning could be fixed with a factory image flash...

TheBobMiller said:
Wow...that's puzzling then. You said in your op that you factory reset using bootloader menu but have you tried flashing factory image with fastboot in bootloader? Maybe the firmware that's malfunctioning could be fixed with a factory image flash...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what's killing me. I can successfully factory image flash (same I've flashed on the other handsets). Yet the USB doesn't work in the OS. When this initially happened I thought for sure USB was going to work like usual in TWRP (works on the others) but it doesn't work there either.
The only other thing I can think of out of desperation is flash Pure Nexus ROM or Resurrection remix in the hopes that somehow affects a USB bit setting at the firmware level. (Mind you flashing factory nor TWRP helped).
My exotic theory is that fastboot driver has an ability to work in USB 1 mode and TWRP or OS level driver can only work in USB 2.0/3.0 mode. Even though I don't see any visual defects to the pinout on this handset I'm guessing my pins for charging and for USB 1 mode is fine whereas my pins for USB 2.0/3.0 are electrically damaged or something.

Pay_It_Forward_Pete said:
That's what's killing me. I can successfully factory image flash (same I've flashed on the other handsets). Yet the USB doesn't work in the OS. When this initially happened I thought for sure USB was going to work like usual in TWRP (works on the others) but it doesn't work there either.
The only other thing I can think of out of desperation is flash Pure Nexus ROM or Resurrection remix in the hopes that somehow affects a USB bit setting at the firmware level. (Mind you flashing factory nor TWRP helped).
My exotic theory is that fastboot driver has an ability to work in USB 1 mode and TWRP or OS level driver can only work in USB 2.0/3.0 mode. Even though I don't see any visual defects to the pinout on this handset I'm guessing my pins for charging and for USB 1 mode is fine whereas my pins for USB 2.0/3.0 are electrically damaged or something.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well i guess you could try some ROM flashing and see if that works and if not, try contacting Google and see if they will honor a warranty or something. Good luck to ya!

TheBobMiller said:
Well i guess you could try some ROM flashing and see if that works and if not, try contacting Google and see if they will honor a warranty or something. Good luck to ya!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@TheBobMiller I appreciate all your thoughtful suggestions and well wishes. Have an awesome weekend!

I Guess I Discovered a New Form of Hard Bricking on my Device???

I was running the Developer Preview Beta 2 and noticed that my device would no longer communicate correctly with my OTG usb jump drive, I tried all the normal trouble shooting techniques and nothing worked. I than tried connecting my phone to my computer and my computer would no longer connect to my device either. I didn’t think this was a big deal so I was going to just flash back to the May factory image from my computer.
This did not work, so I did a factory reset in TWRP hoping that this would clear out the issue that was stopping the phone from usb communication. It did not fix the issue. So normally in TWRP I can always plug a flash drive into the phone through the otg and explore the files, however for some reason this was still not possible, something has happened to the device where it no longer allows incoming or outgoing usb communication. The device still charges however it is no longer recognized at all by my computer nor does the device recognize usb drives. I have all the latest USB drivers and updates needed. I uninstalled and reinstalled my drivers on my computer as well. The main issue I feel like I am having here, is that the device no longer wants to communicate with usb asides from charging, this is why it is not seeing the otg storage when I plug it in while I am in TWRP.
I am at a loss, I can boot into twrp and explore the device, this is useless as i deleted all the files on the device, TWRP will not allow a usb to be found so i cannot flash anything to the device. My computer does not see the phone so i cannot fastboot anything to the device. I have tried everything, DUECS script, skipsoft, none of them have identified a device. This is further verified by running cmd and typing in adb devices, to which the response is a blank line.
How can a device be bricked, but somehow have TWRP recovery working, along with the ability to boot the device into fastboot/the bootloader (and yes the bootloader is unlocked still)? If anyone has any ideas of how I can get this thing to be recognized by my computer please let me know.

jasonstackhouse said:
I was running the Developer Preview Beta 2 and noticed that my device would no longer communicate correctly with my OTG usb jump drive, I tried all the normal trouble shooting techniques and nothing worked. I than tried connecting my phone to my computer and my computer would no longer connect to my device either. I didn’t think this was a big deal so I was going to just flash back to the May factory image from my computer.
This did not work, so I did a factory reset in TWRP hoping that this would clear out the issue that was stopping the phone from usb communication. It did not fix the issue. So normally in TWRP I can always plug a flash drive into the phone through the otg and explore the files, however for some reason this was still not possible, something has happened to the device where it no longer allows incoming or outgoing usb communication. The device still charges however it is no longer recognized at all by my computer nor does the device recognize usb drives. I have all the latest USB drivers and updates needed. I uninstalled and reinstalled my drivers on my computer as well. The main issue I feel like I am having here, is that the device no longer wants to communicate with usb asides from charging, this is why it is not seeing the otg storage when I plug it in while I am in TWRP.
I am at a loss, I can boot into twrp and explore the device, this is useless as i deleted all the files on the device, TWRP will not allow a usb to be found so i cannot flash anything to the device. My computer does not see the phone so i cannot fastboot anything to the device. I have tried everything, DUECS script, skipsoft, none of them have identified a device. This is further verified by running cmd and typing in adb devices, to which the response is a blank line.
How can a device be bricked, but somehow have TWRP recovery working, along with the ability to boot the device into fastboot/the bootloader (and yes the bootloader is unlocked still)? If anyone has any ideas of how I can get this thing to be recognized by my computer please let me know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would try a different cable as this device is very finicky; that solved my issue of the computer not recognizing the phone.

Is it possible that your device's USB port data transfer function is damaged, but the charging portion is functional, making it a weird hardware failure?
You know, like the old days when the charge port would break or wiggle loose, and sometimes it would charge and sometimes it wouldn't, depending on the angle of the cable in the mini usb port?

Az Biker said:
Is it possible that your device's USB port data transfer function is damaged, but the charging portion is functional, making it a weird hardware failure?
You know, like the old days when the charge port would break or wiggle loose, and sometimes it would charge and sometimes it wouldn't, depending on the angle of the cable in the mini usb port?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That would be nice if that were the problem, but unfortunalty I do not think it is. For example, when the issues first began, before I did the factory reset on the device, windows would pop up a message that said unknown device, and failure to connect. After the factory reset in TWRP the computer gave up all together in recognizing the phone. Another sign it was likely not a hardware failure was when the device was on and i was attempting to connect the otg usb to the phone it would give me some weird options. With android P the options were, allow this device to control the usb, or allow the USB to control the USB. that made no sense to me since why would i want the the USB to have any control, it couldnt do anything its not a computer its only a storage device. However, even though I had file transfer selected in developer options, it would not allow this connection. The options were all greyed out and it would not allow the pixel to have control over the usb device.
As for USB cords I have used without fail the google issued USB cord that came with the Pixel 1 xl, It has never faile me or had any issues. It is still fully functional as I was able to use it to connect my girls note 8 to my computer for file transfers and all other things my phone is not doing anymore.
I reached out to google and explained the situation to them, after i told them I was on Dev preview beta and they verified this to be true they told me this is likely a hardware failure and offered to replace the device. I am now waiting on the new device to be sent to me, however still cant accept that i cant recover the current device with an unlocked bootloader, TWRP installed, and access to fastboot/bootloader screen. I have seriously bricked phones before as in they would not even turn on and I was able to get them back up and running, this would be my first ever device I could not recover and what makes it worse is that it actually has TWRP installed and powers on and off just fine.

Sorry for the obvious question: Do you have the latest drivers? I don't have the drivers set to the whole system (Windows), so if I don't CD into my fastboot folder, I can't do anything because the system wide drivers aren't current. Don't know if that could be your issue?
I'm too lazy to fix the PATH of my drivers ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I had an issue similar to this. I was trying to hook up a USB c to Ethernet adapter. It worked fine on April's patch but after I flashed Mays the phone wouldn't recognize it. After I plugged it in my phone rebooted and I no longer had access to developer options and it wouldn't read any usb device. Luckily I had a TWRP backup on my device. Once I flashed the backup which was only about a week old everything worked again. I haven't tried using the adapter again. I think something in the data partition got corrupted. I tried just restoring the boot and system partition and that didn't fix it. Try doing an advance wipe and formatting the data partition. That might get you back up and going.

have we even seen a bricked device yet?

twiz0r said:
have we even seen a bricked device yet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't think it was possible, I still dont understand how this is happening. For the other responses above, I have all the drivers up to date, and I already formatted data, wiped everything. At this point I would like to see if there is anyway to delete TWRP recovery from the device, anything, I have no OS on the device, but for some reason still have TWRP on both A and B.
I almost dont want to give the phone back to Google because I want to figure out what happened and how to fix it, its definitely not broken/bricked like you see when someone flashes the wrong files to a device, it just has no USB connection capabilities which in-turn have rendered the device useless.
When I had Samsung phones if you bricked a device to the point it doesn't even turn on correctly you could always save it still using ODIN. Its weird that the google flagship device and software doesn't have its own proprietary flash software like Samsung, LG and HTC, we just have adb/fastboot, I feel like if we did, i may be able to get this thing started again.

have you tried using something like quickboot from the playstore to be able to get to fastboot?
I had a similar thing happen a few weeks ago on oreo. PC wouldn't 'see' the phone, but it would charge very slowly.
I installed quickboot, booted to fastboot and was able to flash the factory image

Pyr0x64 said:
have you tried using something like quickboot from the playstore to be able to get to fastboot?
I had a similar thing happen a few weeks ago on oreo. PC wouldn't 'see' the phone, but it would charge very slowly.
I installed quickboot, booted to fastboot and was able to flash the factory image
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't access the play store on the device in it's state. I do have access to fastboot. I can boot the phone to fastboot, and into TWRP, only problem is the phone doesn't communicate with the computer in either state. If the pixel had a SD card slot I would just load up a recovery but unfortunately we don't have that luxury

What cable are you using to connect to the PC? Is it USB c to USB c?
Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using XDA Labs

Triscuit said:
What cable are you using to connect to the PC? Is it USB c to USB c?
Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using XDA Labs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The cable is not the issue, I confirmed this by testing all my cables with the new device that I just received for my warranty exchange. I also tried my luck with Linux, after a complicated installation on my computer I was able to have Linux actually detect the device (partially) when the device was plugged in at splash screen I got nothing, at fastboot/bootloader screen nothing, but once the phone booted into TWRP it came up as AOSP device, when I attempted clicking on the AOSP device being detected by Linux an error message popped up telling me mtp or midi error, not sure for sure what one it said. Either way I couldn't connect for any transfer of information, I tried adb sideload and that failed as well.
This has been an experience for the memory books, glad that old device is gone and I'm back up and running on a working phone. No more beta testing for me, I'll be ready for Android P when they get it out of beta, I don't have the time or patience to deal with any more warranty exchanges.

[Q] Unable to communicate to PC after unlocking bootloader

I have a pixel 2 XL, 64GB, Google (non-Verizon) model running android pie (9) on Oct 5 2018 security patch. I was able to unlock the bootloader via fastboot flashing unlock_critical. The device then wiped, no issues. Then when I went to reconnect my device and root/install TWRP, fastboot did not see the device. I booted to the OS and adb didn't see the device either. I have tried
-multiple cables (all Benson approved)
-multiple USB ports
-multiple factory data resets (both via settings and recovery)
-multiple systems (1 pc and 1 macbook pro)
-cleaning the device's usb-c port with iso alcohol
-jiggling the cable in case its not making a good connection
-downloading the OTA and attempting to flash that via stock recovery (didn't work, nothing showed up in the list)
-singing to it.
I have an additional pixel 2 xl which I put in bootloader mode and fastboot saw it instantly. Same with my old nexus 6p. I would unplug those devices, plug in my pixel 2 xl also in bootloader mode, but still nothing listed for `adb devices` (booted in android with USB debugging enabled) or `fastboot devices` (booted in bootloader). Any ideas? Thanks!
One thing I'd like to try is to be able to flash the stock OTA image. How would I go about doing that without ADB (ie using the sdcard)? I tried renaming the zip file to `update.zip` and placing it in the root of the home folder (defaulted to /storage/emulated/0) but when I go into stock recovery, its empty. All I see is (../). Any ideas for this?

DangerIsGo said:
I have a pixel 2 XL, 64GB, Google (non-Verizon) model running android pie (9) on Oct 5 2018 security patch. I was able to unlock the bootloader via fastboot flashing unlock_critical. The device then wiped, no issues. Then when I went to reconnect my device and root/install TWRP, fastboot did not see the device. I booted to the OS and adb didn't see the device either. I have tried
-multiple cables (all Benson approved)
-multiple USB ports
-multiple factory data resets (both via settings and recovery)
-multiple systems (1 pc and 1 macbook pro)
-cleaning the device's usb-c port with iso alcohol
-jiggling the cable in case its not making a good connection
-downloading the OTA and attempting to flash that via stock recovery (didn't work, nothing showed up in the list)
-singing to it.
I have an additional pixel 2 xl which I put in bootloader mode and fastboot saw it instantly. Same with my old nexus 6p. I would unplug those devices, plug in my pixel 2 xl also in bootloader mode, but still nothing listed for `adb devices` (booted in android with USB debugging enabled) or `fastboot devices` (booted in bootloader). Any ideas? Thanks!
One thing I'd like to try is to be able to flash the stock OTA image. How would I go about doing that without ADB (ie using the sdcard)? I tried renaming the zip file to `update.zip` and placing it in the root of the home folder (defaulted to /storage/emulated/0) but when I go into stock recovery, its empty. All I see is (../). Any ideas for this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried toggling USB debugging a few times to see if it connects?

Badger50 said:
Have you tried toggling USB debugging a few times to see if it connects?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes.

Same thing happened to me. First it randomly rebooted and then hung on the "G" splash screen. I couldn't get it to boot at all. It wouldn't show up on windows 8 or 10 (it did on Sept patch) it would charge, but no adb. Had to factory reset in recovery and it booted, but still no USB connection. Went through diagnosis with Google tech support and they are replacing it under warranty.

Not really the same thing here but, my phone suddenly stopped being recognized by my windows 10 laptop even tried several different cables. Also what further made it evident that something must be wrong with the USB-C port when I used the dongle adapter for wired headphones nothing at all, no sound nothing but it charges just fine. I just contacted Google yesterday for a standard RMA and sent if off for a replacement. I love Google's devices but kind of sad I'll be on my 2nd replacement here now, oh well least I get another replacement right?

I've been having issues with my USB-C port as well. I've actually kinda chilled on flashing because of that. I'm worried it's gonna bite me in the ass.

So I ended up talking with Google and I just went for a replacement device. Not ideal but not much more I could do!

Feb 2019 update kills PC usb connection

Strange issue. After applying the Feb 2019 security patch over air, my phone is no longer recognizing when it is plugged into a PC. I plug into my PC and I get a charge symbol on my battery but no pull down option to switch from charging to USB mode. Things I've tried:
1. New Cable although the wife has a Pixel 3 (standard) that works with this cable and computer just fine.
2. Different PC
3. Toggling USB debugging
4. Changing the USB setting in developer mode to transfer
5. When I plug a USB stick into the phone using the USB-C to USB-A adapter, the phone recognizes the stick and I can browse files
6. "Cleaning" the USB-C port
7. Also booted into safe mode (which I would assume should be like a factory reset) but no USB.
8. Switched between USB 3 and USB 2 ports on the PC.
It seems to me that there's a software issue with the Feb update that messed with the usb settings. I called google and they just want me to factory reset my device before they will transfer me to tech support. I'm avoiding that because I don't want to go back through the time/trouble of resetting up my phone. Any tips/tricks I've missed here?

If you have a Google variant with the BL unlocked, flash the factory image with the -w removed from the flash-all batch file. That way, you won't lose data. If you are on the Verizon variant or don't want to unlock you BL, sideload the OTA from stock recovery. See if it cleans up your issue. Also, sounds like you might have a driver issue on your PC. Easier to fix that first if it is the issue.

I have the February update over the air and I had no issues connecting to my Chromebook (crouton) via USB to pull an APK with ADB. I did have to turn USB debugging back on (not sure if I turned it off or if it was turned off from an update) and change the connection type, it was set to charging only.

More info this morning. I have an Android based car stereo that when I plugged my phone into this morning, I did get the USB drop down. So it seems to be a windows 10 problem. I have both a Surface pro 4 and a desktop running windows 10 that are fully up to date that show the same symptoms. I don't know how I'm going to sideload an update if I can't connect it to my computer.
1. What I don't understand is why the Pixel 3 would work and the Pixel 3 XL would not. Same driver set, no?
2. Also, PC with Windows 7 also has same issue.

copekyle said:
More info this morning. I have an Android based car stereo that when I plugged my phone into this morning, I did get the USB drop down. So it seems to be a windows 10 problem. I have both a Surface pro 4 and a desktop running windows 10 that are fully up to date that show the same symptoms. I don't know how I'm going to sideload an update if I can't connect it to my computer.
1. What I don't understand is why the Pixel 3 would work and the Pixel 3 XL would not. Same driver set, no?
2. Also, PC with Windows 7 also has same issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try putting the phone into Fastboot mode and use the command "fastboot devices" to see if it is recognized. If it is, then the problem is on the ADB side, which is part of the Android system.
If it can connect via Fastboot, it's less likely to be a driver issue. You can try "adb devices" too with the phone booted to see if it is recognizing it all. May need to toggle through the various connection modes, I believe I used PTP the last time, but not certain.
As for sideloading, you will need the phone to be recognized by either ADB or Fastboot. You can sideload an OTA update from Recovery with a locked bootloader or as @sliding_billy said you can unlock the bootloader and flash the factory image which is done via Fastboot.
I would also verify that you have the latest version of the Android SDK installed just to cover that base.

copekyle said:
More info this morning. I have an Android based car stereo that when I plugged my phone into this morning, I did get the USB drop down. So it seems to be a windows 10 problem. I have both a Surface pro 4 and a desktop running windows 10 that are fully up to date that show the same symptoms. I don't know how I'm going to sideload an update if I can't connect it to my computer.
1. What I don't understand is why the Pixel 3 would work and the Pixel 3 XL would not. Same driver set, no?
2. Also, PC with Windows 7 also has same issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't need to be in file transfer mode to connect via fastboot. Check connection from there after using the combo keys to get into fastboot (power/vol down) for the factory image or one step further into recovery for sideload.

Neither Fastboot devices or ADB devices lists a device. When put in fastboot and recovery, my device manager on either computer does not register that there is a device connected.

copekyle said:
Neither Fastboot devices or ADB devices lists a device. When put in fastboot and recovery, my device manager on either computer does not register that there is a device connected.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like you have attempted everything... New cable (but rereading I don't see where you tried using a C>A cable instead of a C>C and that definitely needs tried). New computer/port/OS. Direct connect to fastboot. I think you are going to need to backup to the cloud (at least you have a functional device with internet) and factory reset the device.
P.S. I just thought about this, but do you have the current platform tools (ADB/Fastboot)? https://developer.android.com/studio/releases/platform-tools.html

sliding_billy said:
Sounds like you have attempted everything... New cable (but rereading I don't see where you tried using a C>A cable instead of a C>C and that definitely needs tried). New computer/port/OS. Direct connect to fastboot. I think you are going to need to backup to the cloud (at least you have a functional device with internet) and factory reset the device.
P.S. I just thought about this, but do you have the current platform tools (ADB/Fastboot)? https://developer.android.com/studio/releases/platform-tools.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sadly I don't have a computer with a USB C port. I have been using only cables with C>A. I downloaded the latest platform tools yesterday before trying fastboot/adb. I'm waiting for a call back from Google tier 2 tech support within 72 hours. If anything comes of it, I will report back here.

copekyle said:
Sadly I don't have a computer with a USB C port. I have been using only cables with C>A. I downloaded the latest platform tools yesterday before trying fastboot/adb. I'm waiting for a call back from Google tier 2 tech support within 72 hours. If anything comes of it, I will report back here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good luck!

No data transfer possible (Pixel 2 XL - PC)

Today I tried to transfer some files from my Pixel to my PC.
After plugging in different cables into different PCs and Ports I only could get my phone to load.
There was no way to change it to transfer mode...
Windows didn't recognize the phone at all.
In the developer options it is already set to data transfer / Android Auto.
I am using the latest December (October) patch.
My final goal was to backup my data and install a different ROM now after there are no more official updates.
Anyone has an idea how to get my phone connected to a PC again? In the past it was working well - but I don't know how long it isn't working anymore.
PS: I already cleaned to USB port of my Pixel.
Thanks a lot!

I just bought a used Pixel 2 XL and have the same problem. I've been through every solution here and on Google Pixel support with no luck (see below).
The phone connects via USB for a second and brings up ADB debugging auth, then disconnects. Every other thing I plug into the phone works fine (thumb drive, OTG camera, charger). Wireless ADB works fine, but I can't unlock the bootloader this way (that I know of). I can't get ADB or Fastboot access in bootloader or recovery.
It's got to be a software problem on the phone. I'm currently running build RP1A.201005.004.
On the factory image page, there's a new image, RP1A.201005.004.A1, Dec 2020, that I hope is a fix, but I've got no way to install it except if I get it OTA.
If anyone has any ideas on other things to try, please LMK! Thanks!
Solutions I've tried:
Cleaned port, dozens of cables, USB 1, 2, & 3 ports on four different machines and three different OS that work with ADB on other phones, every phone ADB/USB setting on/off in all combinations, cleared data for external storage, can't clear data for media storage because it's now grayed out in this build.