Four years later...

I was looking for the same situation.

Adb requires a network connection as it is a client-server connection where the Android device is the server and the computer the client.

To work around this, you need Termux (an Android terminal with package manager) and a local VPN such as Netguard. Root access is not required.

In Termux you can install a native Android version of adb which is step 1 by apt install android-tools. But adb should make a network connection to the device itself. Then a VPN can be useful. VPNs operate locally, where the device acts as a VPN server such as for adblocking like Netguard. Then your device gets another network with another IP address, e.g. Netguard makes 10.1.10.1 which I use as an example (your VPN might issue a different address). Run adb connect 10.1.10.1 The device might prompt (only once) with 'allow connections from computer ..blabla...' and consent this. Then run adb connect 10.1.10.1:5555 and you are connected. Now adb commands can be run from the Termux command shell regardless on the device itself or via an SSH connection. So plugging in USB is not needed anymore.

Four years later...

I was looking for the same situation.

Adb requires a network connection as it is a client-server connection where the Android device is the server and the computer the client.

To work around this, you need Termux (an Android terminal with package manager) and a local VPN such as Netguard. Root access is not required.

In Termux you can install a native Android version of adb which is step 1 by apt install android-tools. But adb should make a network connection to the device itself. Then a VPN can be useful. VPNs operate locally, where the device acts as a VPN server such as for adblocking like Netguard. Then your device gets another network with another IP address, e.g. Netguard makes 10.1.10.1 which I use as an example (your VPN might issue a different address). Run adb connect 10.1.10.1 The device might prompt (only once) with 'allow connections from computer ..blabla...' and consent this. Then run adb connect 10.1.10.1:5555 and you are connected. Now adb commands can be run from the Termux command shell regardless on the device itself or via an SSH connection.

Note: Plugging in USB is still needed after reboot, unless you have Android 11+.

Four years later...

I was looking for the same situation.

Adb requires a network connection as it is a client-server connection where the Android device is the server and the computer the client. To work around this, you need Termux (an Android terminal with package manager) and a local VPN such as Netguard. In Termux you can install a native Android version of adb which is step 1 by apt install android-tools. But adb should make a network connection to the device itself. Then a VPN can be useful. VPNs operate locally, where the device acts as a VPN server such as for adblocking like Netguard. Then your device gets another network with another IP address, e.g. Netguard makes 10.1.10.1 which I use as an example (your VPN might issue a different address). Run adb connect 10.1.10.1 The device might prompt (only once) with 'allow connections from computer ..blabla...' and consent this. Then run adb connect 10.1.10.1:5555 and you are connected. Now adb commands can be run from the Termux command shell regardless on the device itself or via an SSH connection. So plugging in USB is not needed anymore.

Four years later...

I was looking for the same situation.

Adb requires a network connection as it is a client-server connection where the Android device is the server and the computer the client.

To work around this, you need Termux (an Android terminal with package manager) and a local VPN such as Netguard. Root access is not required.

In Termux you can install a native Android version of adb which is step 1 by apt install android-tools. But adb should make a network connection to the device itself. Then a VPN can be useful. VPNs operate locally, where the device acts as a VPN server such as for adblocking like Netguard. Then your device gets another network with another IP address, e.g. Netguard makes 10.1.10.1 which I use as an example (your VPN might issue a different address). Run adb connect 10.1.10.1 The device might prompt (only once) with 'allow connections from computer ..blabla...' and consent this. Then run adb connect 10.1.10.1:5555 and you are connected. Now adb commands can be run from the Termux command shell regardless on the device itself or via an SSH connection. So plugging in USB is not needed anymore.