Android Failed to install HelloWorld.apk on device (null) Error

I am new to Android. When I am running my android application in eclipse I am getting these messages in the console:

[2011-03-08 12:57:35 - HelloWorld] ------------------------------
[2011-03-08 12:57:35 - HelloWorld] Android Launch!
[2011-03-08 12:57:35 - HelloWorld] adb is running normally.
[2011-03-08 12:57:35 - HelloWorld] Performing com.oreilly.helloworld.HelloWorldActivity activity launch
[2011-03-08 12:57:35 - HelloWorld] Automatic Target Mode: Preferred AVD 'MY_AVD' is not available. Launching new emulator.
[2011-03-08 12:57:35 - HelloWorld] Launching a new emulator with Virtual Device 'MY_AVD'
[2011-03-08 12:57:39 - HelloWorld] New emulator found: emulator-5554
[2011-03-08 12:57:39 - HelloWorld] Waiting for HOME ('android.process.acore') to be launched...
[2011-03-08 13:00:14 - HelloWorld] WARNING: Application does not specify an API level requirement!
[2011-03-08 13:00:14 - HelloWorld] Device API version is 11 (Android 3.0)
[2011-03-08 13:00:14 - HelloWorld] HOME is up on device 'emulator-5554'
[2011-03-08 13:00:14 - HelloWorld] Uploading HelloWorld.apk onto device 'emulator-5554'
[2011-03-08 13:00:14 - HelloWorld] Installing HelloWorld.apk...
[2011-03-08 13:02:22 - HelloWorld] Failed to install HelloWorld.apk on device 'emulator-5554!
[2011-03-08 13:02:22 - HelloWorld] (null)
[2011-03-08 13:02:23 - HelloWorld] Launch canceled!

How do I resolve the problems so that my application will launch?

Solution 1:

Try changing the ADB connection timeout. I think it defaults that to 5000ms and I changed mine to 10000ms to get rid of that problem. If you are in Eclipse, you can do this by going through Window -> Preferences and then it is in DDMS under Android.

As described here: Android error: Failed to install *.apk on device *: timeout

Solution 2:

Restarting the device works for me. Using adb install can get the apk installed, but it's annoying to use it everytime you launch the app when debugging within eclipse.

Solution 3:

I get this from time to time, but it's usually related to the emulator being slow to start. Try again without closing the emulator between the retries. And if it still fails, please post the client logs (logcat).

Another reason can be a ghost Eclipse process running in background and still bound to the debugging port. Close eclipse, look at process list and see if there's still an Eclipse running. Kill all of them and restart Eclipse again.