Issue with running Xamarin Forms project on Visual Studio 2022

Question

Issue with running Xamarin Forms project on Visual Studio 2022

Sreenivasan, Sreejith 310

I have a Xamarin Forms project and I am not able to run it on my Visual studio. The problem is the emulator and physical device are also not showing in the VS to run.

VS version: Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 (64-bit) - Current Version 17.14.18 (October 2025)

Is there any way to show the emulator or physical device on the VS? I am currently working on its MAUI migration, but there is an issue on the LIVE app in production, so I need to fix it and push it now.

I saw Xamarin support existed up to VS 2022 17.7. If I install the 17.7 or earlier am I able to run the xamarin app?

Sreenivasan, Sreejith 310 Reputation points

2025-11-19T12:21:21.2066667+00:00

Hi @Jack Dang (WICLOUD CORPORATION) Could you please check this issue and suggest is the VS 2022 17.7 or earlier will fix my problem?

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Sreenivasan, Sreejith 310 Reputation points

2025-11-19T12:21:21.2066667+00:00

Hi @Jack Dang (WICLOUD CORPORATION) Could you please check this issue and suggest is the VS 2022 17.7 or earlier will fix my problem?

Answer 1

Michael Le (WICLOUD CORPORATION) 6,020 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hello Sreenivasan,

Yes, if you install 17.7 or earlier, you should be able to run your Xamarin app, but please keep in mind that it Xamarin is out of support. For Enterprise and Professional users, you can download previous versions from here.

But first, try these quick checks on 17.14:

Check the workload, ensure Xamarin is installed.
Restart ADB from Visual Studio (Tools > Android > Restart ADB Server) or run adb kill-server and adb start-server in the ADB command prompt.
Make sure your Android SDK path is set correctly in Tools > Options > Xamarin > Android Settings.
Check for the device list in ADB command prompt: adb devices.
For a physical device, enable Developer Options and USB debugging, use a good cable.
For emulators, open Android Device Manager, start an emulator manually, then refresh the device list in Visual Studio.
Stick to Android 14 or lower for physical devices, API 34 for emulators.

If nothing works, install 17.7 or earlier as you mentioned alongside your current version.

I hope this clarifies.

Sreenivasan, Sreejith 310 Reputation points

2025-11-20T07:24:10.1033333+00:00

@Michael Le (WICLOUD CORPORATION) Thanks for your answer, let me work on this and get back to you ASAP.
Sreenivasan, Sreejith 310 Reputation points

2025-11-20T15:05:58.72+00:00

@Michael Le (WICLOUD CORPORATION) I tried installing the VS 17.7.0 and 17.6.22. But on both the Xamarin project is not able to run, the emulator and physical devices are not showing. We have a major issue in the Xamarin project and we need to fix it and make it LIVE. The MAUI migration of the project is still under development. So please help me on this.
Sreenivasan, Sreejith 310 Reputation points

2025-11-21T14:54:16.5033333+00:00

@@Michael Le (WICLOUD CORPORATION)

Today, I attempted installing Visual Studio 2019 (16.11.53) and Visual Studio 2022 (17.0.0). On VS 2019, while the devices loaded successfully, the project failed to load due to .NET version conflicts. Conversely, in VS 2022, the project loaded correctly, but the devices did not load. Do you which is the Xamarin supported version?
Sreenivasan, Sreejith 310 Reputation points

2025-11-24T06:49:03.17+00:00

@Michael Le (WICLOUD CORPORATION) Any comments for the latest findings?
Michael Le (WICLOUD CORPORATION) 6,020 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-11-24T07:15:51.02+00:00

I’d love to help further, but since Xamarin is no longer actively supported and hasn’t received updates for quite some time, there’s no officially supported fix for these issues.

I recommend not spending more time trying to fix the “Device List” in VS. Since you’re able to build, you can use the command line to build, adb to install, and logcat to debug, although it is less convenient.
Sreenivasan, Sreejith 310 Reputation points

2025-11-24T07:33:26.0733333+00:00

@Michael Le (WICLOUD CORPORATION) I didn't get the below part.

Since you’re able to build, you can use the command line to build, adb to install, and logcat to debug

I need to check the notification issue. Without the deices are connected to VS how can I run the project to device and debug what is the problem? Any alternative way is there?
Michael Le (WICLOUD CORPORATION) 6,020 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-11-24T08:23:21.72+00:00
You don't really need to see the devices in VS. As long as ADB can see it, you can work with your app manually.

The process should look like this, but for more information, please read the documentation on using ADB:

Step 1: Open the correct Terminal

Do not use the Windows cmd.

Open Windows Search bar.

Type "Developer Command Prompt for VS 2022".

Right-click it and select "Run as administrator". (This terminal automatically knows where msbuild and adb are located).

Step 2: Verify connection

Connect your device via USB.

In the command prompt, type: adb devices

Check the output:

List of devices attached:

ZE223... device -> Success.

ZE223... unauthorized -> Check your phone screen. You need to tap "Allow USB Debugging" on the popup.

(Empty List) -> The issue is your cable or drivers. You cannot proceed until this list shows your device.

Step 3: Navigate to your project

You need to be in the folder where your .csproj file is.

Type cd followed by the path to your project. For example: cd "C:\Users\Michael\source\repos\MyApp\MyApp.Android"

Step 4: Build the app manually

We will ask MSBuild to create the APK directly.

Type the following command: msbuild /t:SignAndroidPackage /p:Configuration=Debug

Wait for the build to finish.

Step 5: Install the app manually

The APK file is now located in your bin\Debug folder.

Type this command to install it (the -r flag means "reinstall/update" so you don't lose data): adb install -r bin\Debug\com.yourcompany.yourapp.apk (Note: Replace com.yourcompany.yourapp.apk with the actual name of your APK file. You can type dir bin\Debug\*.apk to find the exact name).

Step 6: Debug with logs (the important part)

Since the debugger won't attach automatically:

Do not close the command prompt.

Type this command to clear old logs: adb logcat -c

Type this command to watch for new logs: adb logcat -s "YourLogTag" (Replace "YourLogTag" with the tag you use in your C# code, e.g., Log.Debug("MyApp", "Test") means your tag is "MyApp").

Manually tap the app icon on your phone to launch it.

Trigger the notification issue.

Watch the command prompt. You will see your debug messages scroll by in real-time.
Sreenivasan, Sreejith 310 Reputation points

2025-11-27T11:05:57.7566667+00:00

@Michael Le (WICLOUD CORPORATION) I need to hold the works on the Xamarin project as suggested from the top. Hope you are available to help me if I have any clarifications on the suggested approach for building and debugging the Xamarin project. Thanks for your support.

Answer 2

To resolve the issue of not seeing the emulator or physical device in Visual Studio 2022 for your Xamarin Forms project, you can try the following steps:

Check Emulator Configuration: Ensure that your Android emulator is properly configured and running. You can check this by opening the Android Device Manager from Visual Studio and verifying that your emulator is listed and started.
Install Necessary SDKs: Make sure that you have the required Android SDKs installed. You can do this through the Visual Studio Installer by modifying your installation and ensuring that the Mobile development with .NET workload is selected, along with the necessary Android SDK components.
Update Visual Studio: Since you mentioned that Xamarin support exists up to Visual Studio 2022 version 17.7, consider installing this version or an earlier one if you're currently on a later version. This may help in resolving compatibility issues.
Check Device Connection: If you are using a physical device, ensure that USB debugging is enabled on the device and that it is properly connected to your development machine. You may also need to install the appropriate drivers for your device.
Restart Visual Studio: Sometimes, simply restarting Visual Studio can refresh the device list and resolve any temporary issues.
Check for Updates: Look for any updates for Visual Studio or the Xamarin tools that might address known issues with device detection.

If these steps do not resolve the issue, you may want to check the Visual Studio Developer Community for similar problems and solutions.

References:

Answer 3

Bruce (SqlWork.com) 81,971 Volunteer Moderator

If it’s an IOS project, the supported version of Xcode is not late enough to sign, so can’t publish a fix. I’m less familiar with Android, but the xamarin tool chain may also face similar issues.

note: with mobile apps you can generally only be one generation of the tools behind. Going forward you should do tool sdk upgrades every 6 months and full upgrade every year. Budget time for the upgrades.

Sreenivasan, Sreejith 310 Reputation points

2025-11-21T09:46:41.5133333+00:00

@Bruce (SqlWork.com) I have issue in the android part and I need to install the VS on windows. I tried installing the VS 17.7.0 and 17.6.22. But on both the Xamarin project is not able to run, the emulator and physical devices are not showing. We have a major issue in the Xamarin project and we need to fix it and make it LIVE. The MAUI migration of the project is still under development. So please help me on this.
Bruce (SqlWork.com) 81,971 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2025-11-21T17:09:53.7166667+00:00

You don’t specify the mobile o/s you want to publish to.

I checked, and Nov 1, 2025 was the last date you could publish an Android 13 app. Xamarin only supports up to andriod 13.

this means you can no longer publish a Xamarin project to either store, as IOS publishing has also expired.

This means there is no quick fix. finishing the conversion to Maui is probably your only option.
Sreenivasan, Sreejith 310 Reputation points

2025-11-22T14:29:44.1766667+00:00

@Bruce (SqlWork.com)

You don’t specify the mobile o/s you want to publish to.

On Android platform I need to submit the build.

I checked, and Nov 1, 2025 was the last date you could publish an Android 13 app. Xamarin only supports up to andriod 13.

I have already published the android version with target API level 35 before Nov 1. On last week also I have submitted a new build with a new fix. So I think there is no issue with publishing xamarin builds. Only problem I am facing is I can't run the app to device or simulator, device and simulators are not showing.

This means there is no quick fix. finishing the conversion to Maui is probably your only option.

MAUI migration will take more than a month to finish, we can't wait up to that with this issue in production.
Bruce (SqlWork.com) 81,971 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2025-11-22T19:22:11.45+00:00

If you can build, why not just side load.

sorry, can not help much more. For production android apps we use kotlin not Maui. Even using native tools, we struggle with build chain changes and 3rd party about every 6 months. Though it is getting better.

i actually work more with iOS where we use swift/swift ui. Main Maui interest is when Maui can build native libraries as our backends are all c#. Though AI may be up to migrating soon.

in the past we tried cross platform, but the build chains failing, not all 3rd parties being maintained just made too work. We are only a partime mobile team of 3 (still develop web applications) so we simplified to native tools. SwiftUI and JetPack compose are big wins in ui development.
Sreenivasan, Sreejith 310 Reputation points

2025-11-24T05:56:20.5333333+00:00

@Bruce (SqlWork.com) Thanks for your support.

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Issue with running Xamarin Forms project on Visual Studio 2022

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