Many days, I did struggle with this problem. My old 2010 HTC Google Nexus One simply would not connect to Ubuntu 14.04. A couple of weeks ago I gave up. Today, I had the brilliant idea to try connecting the Nexus One to Windows 7, and by a fluke of connecting to Win7, Ubuntu 14.04 also detected it. Why did this happen, I do not know, but I am thankful for these lucky flukes of the universe. Praise Zena Princess Warrior, for her good luck and intervention.