A different way to connect Android to Linux using USB

I've just tested this with and old phone (Motorola moto8G) connecting to a Kubuntu 24.04 system.

On the 'phone, switch off Wifi and (if you have a SIM card in it) disable Mobile data too. So there are now no active network interfaces.

Connect the phone to your Linux system with a USB cable. Go to the choices for what this link is to do and select "USB Tethering". You will now have a network interface on the 'phone, and your Linux system will pick up an IP address on the same network (although if the Linux system normally has an active wired connexion, you may need to configure that to be specific to the main interface).

Then just fire up the client using the IP address on the Android app. You'll be running the network traffic over the private USB cable.

This may work with Window systems too - given that the USB network connecting works there as well.

Oh, and this also means the 'phone will be charging whilst you run it....