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Before you start
- Your phone runs Android 11 or newer. How to check.
- Your phone is connected to a Wi-Fi network. It doesn't need internet, because Shizuku connects to the phone itself. Mobile data alone is not enough. No Wi-Fi? See the options below.
- Developer options is on, with USB debugging on.
- Your brand's extra switches are done. Pick your phone.
- Pause VPN, proxy, firewall and ad blocking apps while you pair and start. They can break the connection to the phone itself.
Sources: Shizuku setup guide, Android adb docs, Issue 18
Install Shizuku and allow notifications
Install Shizuku from GitHub or Google Play. Where to get it.
Open Shizuku.
If it asks to send notifications, tap Allow. Pairing is impossible without Shizuku's notification.
Missed it? Go to Settings, then Apps, then Shizuku, then Notifications and allow them.
Sources: Shizuku setup guide, Issue 997
Open the Wireless debugging page
Open Settings, then System, then Developer options, or wherever your brand keeps it.
Scroll down to Wireless debugging.
Look closely: that row is two controls in one. The switch on the right only turns it on. Tap the words Wireless debugging on the left to open its page. On Xiaomi there is only a faint arrow.
On that page, turn on the switch at the top.
Android asks Allow wireless debugging on this network?. Tick the box that always allows this network if you want Shizuku to start by itself later, then tap Allow.
Sources: Shizuku setup guide, Android adb docs, Issue 205, Shizuku releases
Pair Shizuku (first time only)
You pair once. After that, you only start. Have the Wireless debugging page from the step above ready, then:
In Shizuku, under Start via Wireless debugging, tap Pairing.
Shizuku posts a notification that says it is searching for the pairing service.
Go to Developer options, then Wireless debugging and tap Pair device with pairing code.
A pop up shows a six digit Wi-Fi pairing code, plus an IP address and port. You only need the six digits. Leave this pop up open.
Pull down the notification shade from the top of the screen, over the pop up.
Shizuku's notification now has an Enter pairing code button. Tap it. No button? Expand the notification with the small arrow first.
Type the six digits in the reply box and send.
You get a Pairing successful notification.
Don't leave the pop up. If you press Back or Home while the code is showing, the code becomes invalid. Android makes a new code and port each time the pop up opens. Pull the notification shade down over it instead.
Where do I type the code? On a normal phone, only in the reply box of Shizuku's notification. Shizuku has no box for it inside the app. Split screen with Settings doesn't add one either, but it helps keep the pop up visible, and it keeps Shizuku in front so the phone doesn't cut its network.
The pairing in progress notification may stay after pairing worked. Check Wireless debugging, then Paired devices: an entry called shizuku means it worked. Trouble? Pairing fixes.
Sources: Shizuku setup guide, Issue 2114, Discussion 581, Issue 205, Issue 222, Issue 1044
Start Shizuku
Go back to Shizuku.
Tap Start under Start via Wireless debugging.
Wait a few seconds. The top of Shizuku says Shizuku is running.
Start does nothing, or it says "Waiting for service"? Turn Wireless debugging off and on again, then tap Start. More start fixes.
Sources: Shizuku setup guide, Issue 260, Issue 300
Let an app use Shizuku
Open the app that wants Shizuku.
Do what it asks to turn on its Shizuku feature.
Android shows a prompt asking whether that app may use Shizuku. Allow it only if you trust the app.
Every app has to ask you first, one by one. You can take the permission back at any time in Shizuku's list of authorized apps.
Android 17: with official Shizuku 13.6.0, that list shows as empty. Apps you allowed earlier keep working. New apps may still show the prompt, but you can't manage the grants in Shizuku for now.
Sources: Shizuku introduction, Issue 451, Issue 1965, Issue 2180
Keep Shizuku from stopping
Do these once on every phone. Your brand page adds its own battery switches.
Let Shizuku run in the background with no battery limits. Stock Android 14 or newer: Settings, then Apps, then See all apps, then Shizuku, then App battery usage, turn on Allow background usage, tap that row, choose Unrestricted. Android 12 and 13: App info, then Battery, then Unrestricted.
In Developer options, turn on Disable adb authorization timeout.
In Developer options, set Default USB configuration, then No data transfer.
Leave USB debugging and Developer options on while you use Shizuku. If both USB debugging and Wireless debugging are off, Shizuku stops.
Your brand's keep running steps.
Sources: Shizuku setup guide, Android background docs, Don't kill my app: Google, Android 14 battery wording (third party), Discussion 1000
After every restart
A restart stops Shizuku. That is by design. You don't pair again; the pairing is kept.
Connect to Wi-Fi.
Make sure Wireless debugging is on in Developer options.
Open Shizuku and tap Start.
Sources: Shizuku setup guide, Issue 641
Let it start by itself (Shizuku 13.6.0 or newer)
On Android 13 or newer, Shizuku 13.6.0 can start itself without root when the phone joins a trusted Wi-Fi network. It relies on the always allow this network box from the Wireless debugging prompt. The switch in Shizuku is labelled Start on boot (root), but it works without root too.
Some Android 16 builds hang on 13.6.0 after Wi-Fi changes. That fix.
Sources: Release 13.6.0, Issue 1149, Issue 1254, Issue 2443
No Wi-Fi?
Wireless debugging needs the phone to be connected to a Wi-Fi network, but that network doesn't need internet. Options, best first:
- Connect to any Wi-Fi hotspot: a second phone's hotspot, a travel router, or a cheap access point, just for the start.
- Your phone's own hotspot usually does not work, because the phone isn't connected to Wi-Fi itself then. Don't count on it.
- A computer with a USB cable. That needs no Wi-Fi at all.
Guest, public, hotel or office Wi-Fi often blocks the pairing step. Use your home network or a hotspot.
Once Shizuku is running, turning Wi-Fi off doesn't stop it on most phones, as long as USB debugging stays on. Some brands still stop it.
Sources: Shizuku setup guide, Android adb docs, Issue 183, Discussion 611, XDA thread (third party), Stack Overflow (third party), Issue 544, Discussion 1000, Issue 222