How To Access Developer Options On Android 4.2 Jelly Bean

Google has rolled out the Android 4.2 Jelly Bean update, which along with many welcome changes came with  a nasty surprise. After the OTA update for the GSM/HSPA+ versions of Galaxy Nexus devices, some users (after the update) found out that updating to 4.2 resulted in the absence of “Developer Options”. Anyone willing to root their device or Android developers require accessing these options on a frequent basis, e.g. to enable/disable USB Debugging. If your Android device has suffered from the same issue after an OTA update, here is how you can access the “Developer Options”.

It turns out that the Developer Options have simply been hidden after the new update and you can easily get them back by an odd method. The below process explains how you can access Developer Options and Enable USB Debugging on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean devices.

Android 4.2 Jelly BeanAccess Developer Options

In the first step, Go to ‘Settings’ –> About Phone and repeatedly tap the “Build number” option seven times. After tapping this option for the 7th  time, you will see a notification that you are now a developer. Now, you can locate the “Developer Options” under Settings as usual.

Enable USB Debugging

To enable USB debugging on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean devices, head over to the Developer Options and enable ‘Android debugging’. Needless to say, you can also disable USB Debugging the same way.

While one may find it hard to understand why Google may hide the Developer Options considering their immense importance, it is no surprise that another major operating system manufacturer has left the users out in the cold. Another such example can be seen in Windows 8 where shutting down the operating system is a headache for new users. You can find out more about this topic from this post: How To Shutdown, Restart, Log Off And Lock Windows 8.