Question Can fastboot work with Google/Qualcomm USB drivers?

[Gigajules]

With Google Android SDK USB drivers (usb_driver_r13-windows.zip from 'Get the Google USB Driver') installed on a Windows PC, the platform-tools adb command can comunicate with the phone when it's in the Android system.

However, after booting into fastboot, the platform-tools fastboot command cannot communicate with the phone.

Does fastboot only work with the USB drivers installed by the miflash utility?

Or does it work with different drivers from Google or Qualcomm? If so, where to download them from?

There are countless sources claiming to be the Qualcomm drivers, but they are not authoritative.
Qualcomm puts all its downloads behind a login, but even after joining the Qualcomm developer network, I still couldn't find the drivers on there.

 

[zgfg]

With Google Android SDK USB drivers (usb_driver_r13-windows.zip from 'Get the Google USB Driver') installed on a Windows PC, the platform-tools adb command can comunicate with the phone when it's in the Android system.

However, after booting into fastboot, the platform-tools fastboot command cannot communicate with the phone.

Does fastboot only work with the USB drivers installed by the miflash utility?

Or does it work with different drivers from Google or Qualcomm? If so, where to download them from?

There are countless sources claiming to be the Qualcomm drivers, but they are not authoritative.
Qualcomm puts all its downloads behind a login, but even after joining the Qualcomm developer network, I still couldn't find the drivers on there.

I always use the so-called Minimal ADB and Fastboot package (search by Google).
Starting from that it will further download additional drivers (when phone is connected in Android or in Fastboot mode - PC must be on Internet)

But you may have problems (preventing to recognize the phone in Fastboot) with your USB cable or USB port on the PC or even with some previously installed drivers - Windows wrongly recognize and try to use a previously installed driver instead and then it doesn't work in Fastboot

To clean up the previously installed USB drivers from the particular USB ports you may use USB Deview (google for, it's been couple of years ago when I had to use it last time)

 

[Gigajules]

Again, countless links to 'Minimal ADB and Fastboot package' downloads from untrustworthy sources such as dropbox, droidfilehost etc,
But anyway it was not necessary. Thank you for the suggestion to clean the device. I think the Google Android SDK USB drivers contains the bootloader driver, it just wasn't installed. The device manager just needed a nudge.

To recreate the issue...

Connect the phone to the PC via USB
In Windows, go to the Device Manager.

When the phone is in Android system, it is shown in the device tree as...
Android Device > Android Composite ADB Interface
...but when the phone is in fastboot, it is shown in the device tree as...
Other devices -> Android
...with an exclamation mark over the Android device to indicate it is not working.

To fix the problem...

In Device Manager, find...
Other devices -> Android
Right click Android, and select Properties.
In the General tab, click Change Settings. At the UAC prompt, log in with an Administrator account.
In the Driver tab, click Update Driver > Browse my computer > Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer > Android Device > Android Bootloader Interface > When 'Update Driver Warming' is displayed, click 'Yes'
Shows: Windows has successfully updated your drivers.
Driver properties now shows: Driver provider: Google, Inc
The phone shows in the device tree as:
Android Device > Android Bootloader Interface

Now Android platform tools fastboot commands work.

 

[zgfg]

Again, countless links to 'Minimal ADB and Fastboot package' downloads from untrustworthy sources such as dropbox, droidfilehost etc,
But anyway it was not necessary. Thank you for the suggestion to clean the device. I think the Google Android SDK USB drivers contains the bootloader driver, it just wasn't installed. The device manager just needed a nudge.

To recreate the issue...

Connect the phone to the PC via USB
In Windows, go to the Device Manager.

When the phone is in Android system, it is shown in the device tree as...
Android Device > Android Composite ADB Interface
...but when the phone is in fastboot, it is shown in the device tree as...
Other devices -> Android
...with an exclamation mark over the Android device to indicate it is not working.

To fix the problem...

In Device Manager, find...
Other devices -> Android
Right click Android, and select Properties.
In the General tab, click Change Settings. At the UAC prompt, log in with an Administrator account.
In the Driver tab, click Update Driver > Browse my computer > Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer > Android Device > Android Bootloader Interface > When 'Update Driver Warming' is displayed, click 'Yes'
Shows: Windows has successfully updated your drivers.
Driver properties now shows: Driver provider: Google, Inc
The phone shows in the device tree as:
Android Device > Android Bootloader Interface

Now Android platform tools fastboot commands work.

Ofc that Google's SDK should contain drivers but I suggested Minimal.. since I always use them and it's the minimal/smallest package (as the name says, and self-contained) to download and install

Btw, there is a thread on XDA for Minimal..., that should be trustworthy I think

Anyway, it's important that it works now for you. And problem is usually with some mess on the PC with previous drivers

USB Deview is small, easy to use and powerfully tool for cleaning the old drivers that have been installed who knows when in the past

 

[Gigajules]

Btw, there is a thread on XDA for Minimal..., that should be trustworthy I think

Thanks, found it here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/tool-minimal-adb-and-fastboot-2-9-18.2317790/

The latest version minimal_adb_fastboot_v1.4.3_setup.exe, is 1mb, dated is Feb 2018, hosted on androidfilehost.com.

I guess Google's platform-tools_r33.0.1-windows.zip supercedes it, it's a little bigger at 6mb, but it's portable, so doesn't require any Administrator access to install, and provenance it clear.