COMPLETELY 'GOOGLE-IZE' YOUR AMAZON FIRE TAB (Confirmed Working) - Fire HD 8 and HD 10 General

Hello there folks, my name is James Hamilton, and I am from Trinidad and Tobago. I have been the owner of an Amazon Fire Tab HD8 (5th Generation) for the past year and a half, and many times I used to be pissed off with the fact that my 'Tablet' did have the Google Play Store, and apps like Facebook and Twitter never updated to the most recent one because of Amazon's backward behavior.
It wasn't until I stumbled across a video on YouTube that allows you to operate your Fire without the use of an Amazon account. Not only did this save you from the restrictions of having to go to Amazon's Appstore, but it disabled the ads on your lock screen too! So, with these experimental hands of mine, a wild imagination and much tinkering around, I managed to get my Amazon Fire Tab to look and act like a normal Android Tablet, and if I haven't bored you with this (somewhat) lengthy introduction, I'd like to show you how to do the same with yours.
Now, I am a nice person, and I would have liked to post links with these little goodies, but seeing that I am new to the page, I can't post external links... SMH!
DISCLAIMER:
I have tried this on my own, and it did work. If, however, you manage to corrupt your device, or something happens, causing it to go loco, I will not be held responsible for any damages caused.
Now that that's out of the way, let's 'Google-ize' your Amazon Fire Tablet.
THINGS YOU WILL NEED.
. Of course, your fully charged Amazon Fire Tab. (Could be any one from any generation...)
. A back up copy of your data on your Fire tab. (You will need this!)
. A fully functional WiFi network.
. Google Installer (apk file) on your memory card. This will download and install the latest version of Google Apps for your device.
Get it here...
---- You can also use RootJunky's Supertool to install the Google Play Store, but I will be using the Google Installer.
. Launcher Hijack (apk file) on your memory card.
. Google Now Launcher (apk file). This is optional, in the sense that you can download it from the Google Play Store after. Your choice!
Get it here...
Now let's do this!
STEP 1: FACTORY RESET YOUR FIRE TAB.
You can either do a hard or a soft reset on your tab. The following video gives a full demonstration on how to successfully reset your tab...
This is also the reason why a back up of your data is required, because, by doing this, you will be kissing your personal accounts and data... GOODBYE!!!
Note: Your Fire Tab will take a pretty long while before it starts back up, so please, be patient with this!
STEP 2: LOG INTO THE TAB WITHOUT AN AMAZON ACCOUNT.
By doing this, you'll be disabling system offers and killing (most of) Amazon's functionality on this tablet to the core. This here requires special attention and detail. You may have to go into a wifi network, and come back out to get that 'NOT NOW' option, but whatever you do, DO NOT SIGN INTO A WIFI NETWORK, or else you may have to start over from step 1. The following YouTube video gives a demo on how to do this successfully.
STEP 3: SET YOUR FIRE TO INSTALL REQUIRED APPS.
Go to 'Settings', then into 'Security'. Tap on the 'Apps from Unknown Sources' option, tap OK on the pop-up window, and you're all set to install exterior apps.
STEP 4: INSTALLING GOOGLE APPS.
NOW, you can sign into your WiFi Network... (You know you wanted to... lol)
Using the Silk Browser, download the ES File Explorer .apk file, and install it as soon as it is downloaded. If you don't install it immediately after it's downloaded, it'll be impossible to find it, and you may have to do it again, so, let's do it correctly the first time.
After installing the ES File Explorer, at this point, you have many options. You can use the above step to install the Google installer, or you can use the ES File explorer to install it if you had it pre-downloaded to your memory card.
After you installed Google Installer, run it, tap on 'Install', and it will download and install the latest versions of Google Play Store, Google Services Framework, Google Account Manager, Google Play Service, and the Google Calendar Synchronization Service.
If you prefer to use RootJunky's Supertool, a PC and a data cable will be required to follow this option though....
STEP 5: MAKING GOOGLE NOW YOUR DEFAULT LAUNCHER
Using your available options now (Silk Browser or ES File Explorer), you can use either options to install Launcher Hijack. This will override the Fire Launcher, and give you the many available options of customizing the home screen of your Fire.
After installing Launcher Hijack, it's best to install Google Now Launcher. Now you have 3 options in which to install this. Via a browser of your choice (Chrome, Opera, Firefox, Silk, because the Play Store should be installed and running by now), via ES File explorer if you have it pre-downloaded on your memory card, or via the Google Play Store, which, of course, is the easier option.
Open Launcher Hijack, and if Google doesn't show up, click on the three descending dots on the top right hand corner, and select 'Launchers Only.' If it still doesn't, disselect 'Hide System Apps'. It should show up now. When it does, a pop up will appear. Select OK. Next, Go to Settings, go to Accessability, scroll all the way down and tap on 'To detect home button press,' and tap on the switch to turn it on. Now, tap on the home screen, and there you have it, your new Amazon Fire 'Android' Tablet.
THINGS TO CONSIDER:
-You can use any launcher you want, but I prefer the Google Now Launcher because of the ability to install widgets without problems, the file size, and the real stock Android look.
- You may want to install other apps from Google like Gmail, YouTube, Google+, Drive, Photos, Chrome, Contacts, etc. to get a better android user experience.
- All of Amazon's apps will still be there..., TRY TO AVOID THEM! They're the bloatware now! lol
I hope this helps, and if you have any questions, feel free to comment a question, and I will answer. It may not be immediately, but I will answer.
God bless y'all!

What a peculiar post!
What's a "google installer"?

Webern said:
What a peculiar post!
What's a "google installer"?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
an apk to install Gapps

Is it possible to set the backup to Google drive? Thanks

redhonker said:
Is it possible to set the backup to Google drive? Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it is... I was using that for some time...
Sorry for the late reply.

Likns...
For some reason, all your links are missing. Can you please PM links?

Yes it is. It backs up my pics and videos right there. Sorry for taking so long to reply to your message...

Links
gman759 said:
For some reason, all your links are missing. Can you please PM links?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, here are the links, in order of the original post...
Google Installer - https://google-installer.en.uptodown.com/android
Launcher Hijack - https://github.com/BaronKiko/LauncherHijack/releases
Google Now Launcher - https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/google-inc/google-now-launcher/
How to log into your Fire without an account - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvORUs7kNk0

Thanks for these instructions. I have a Fire HD 8 and one thing I just can't seem to get working are app notifications...push notifications from apps won't show up no matter what settings I try to do. Permission settings are all set so that apps are allowed to show notifications, but no dice. I even did a factory reset and followed your instructions as above to 'Google-ize' it, but no go. Any ideas?

heytim said:
Thanks for these instructions. I have a Fire HD 8 and one thing I just can't seem to get working are app notifications...push notifications from apps won't show up no matter what settings I try to do. Permission settings are all set so that apps are allowed to show notifications, but no dice. I even did a factory reset and followed your instructions as above to 'Google-ize' it, but no go. Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same thing mentioned in this post, & explanation why it's not currently possible here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=78730311&postcount=10. I have an HD8 8th gen & am bummed about it myself.

Related

[FIX] Android Market "My Apps"

Missing apps in your market app?
Try this! It worked for me. Been through a few reboots already and it's still working.
All credit goes to user darkstarsinner from Rootzwiki!
Go to rootzwiki...com then /topic/14596-fix-android-market-my-apps/
So right up front I would like to point out that this may not work for everybody. But I know it has worked for me.
If your Android Market "My Apps" section is always blank it would appear that it is actually a database issue. If you are rooted this is easy enough to fix.
A couple of things you will need:
JRUMMY's ROM TOOLBOX (note: this is a paid app, please support our devs)
Root Explorer (You may use another explorer however I have noted that not all will show what the files and/or file contents)
Step 1: Open ROM TOOLBOX and go to "BATCH" by going to "APP MANAGER" then clicking your softkey menu button and selecting "BATCH"
Step 2: Slide back one page to reach the "MARKET LINK" page
Step 3: Remove all market links
Step 4: Reboot your phone
Step 5: Open ROOT EXPLORER and find your way to "/data/data/com.android.vending/databases"
Step 6: Delete the "market_assets.db"
Step 7: Reboot your phone
Step 8: Once Phone is booted return to the "MARKET LINKS" page we used to delete all link in ROM TOOLBOX
Step 9: Click "LINK USER APPS" EDIT: I have found that linking ALL system apps may put you back into the same issue. Until we can figure out what system apps cause this only link the ones you see in your app drawer!!
Step 10: Reboot again for safe measure
Step 11: Some report that you should download a free app then uninstall it. You can if you want to but I didn't.
Step 12: Open your Market and go to "MY APPS"
Your Apps should all be there. If not run it again. What have you got to lose?
I hope this helps you all. I currently have use of "MY APPS" and all of my updatable Apps within!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been lurking here for a while but haven't made any posts (save this one) so I can't post URLs yet... I needed to get a little creative...
Hmmm, this worked once now its broken again.
Sent from my Atrix 2.
Yeah, looks like it isn't any better than the other fixes out there. Kind of a bummer.
Sent from my MB865 using xda premium
I've had this problem for almost two months. I have tried ALL of the different fixes that people have suggested. Deleting things, using Appbrain, install/uninstall Blackmarket, adding links, breaking links.
For a long time I was sure it was linked to the ROM I was using. The last few Hyperdroid ROMs have been missing CSC folder, and possibly it was linked to this.
For a long time I had a Nandriod backup of Hyperdroid V3 where 'my apps' worked, and after testing the latest release from the Hyperdroid team I would go back to my 'working' image.
Recently I downloaded a pirated version of Navigon, and since then 'my apps' has failed to work on any version or image I run, even the (V3 Hyperdroid) one that was working before.
So sadly I must conclude that the missing myapps is NOTHING TO DO WITH YOUR PHONE, and everything to do with the google servers. Once you have been 'blacklisted' it is impossible to restore that part of the market process. I still don't see what relevance it has, as it doesn't stop you from buying apps, and if you search your app you can still update it. So a pointless problem from the Google team, of course, why didn't I think of that earlier.
Update: After logging in to a 'vanilla' SG2 straight out of a shop, and using the Market on a clean phone, I can now log into my Hyperdroid rom and see my apps.
So not phone related, but loggiing in from a 'clean' phone resets the error.
SOLVED!!!
I put together a small app aiming to solve this problem. It works on my Atrix and I think same fix *should* work for Atrix 2. Can anyone who has this problrm try the app for me and see if it fixes the problem?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1480159
Awesome! I'll give it a shot and report back.
**edit**
Works! Thanks! Great job dude!
So what is it about the com.motorola.contacts... app that causes the problem?
Sent from my MB865 using xda premium
It works
I am running the Droid X with CM7 and lost the "My Apps" section in the market, too. As like so many out there to no avail were the other fixes, but this one has been successful so far without having to redo it again and again. I don't have to limit to 98 apps or use App Brain for updates. I did however have to clear the market data after I ran the the market fixer and things have been fine since. I was also able to reinstall the 29 applications identified as the problem and have had no further problems. Thank you K Lee you have been a God send. This seems like such a small thing but major. Can't thank you enough.

App Manager in Google Play still useless, any idea?

I have searched this forum and the web, still surprised about the poor integration of multiple devices in Google Play.
Can anybody tell me if there is any easy and fast way to transfer most of your app's to a new device?
I am amazed the lack of usability in this matter? Why is there not a column based page with all your registered devises from left to right and all the app's downwards, then a box to "tick" on each device to install or delete multiple app's in one go??? How hard can it be???
I know you can use Titanium but you need to be rooted and still go by each app individual or take all in one go, this do not make any sense since a newer device might not need all the app's.
On Google Play I can see all my app's and then install them one by one with a confirmation box for every one? long and boring task.
A column based set-up where you choose which app's to be installed on what device you have registered seems like a "no-brainer" to me but I have not been able to find anything that resembles that??
Does it exist and am I a knob or is this a major oversight by Google???
All suggestions are welcome.
Robert
The key here is you need to tell Google to restore your phone once you install an OS. If you did this, the Play Store automatically downloads all your previously installed apps.
Also, in Titanium you have the checkboxes on the side as you're asking for, you just deselect the checkboxes besides the red apps pretty much...

Parental lockdown

Over at Random Blame's Sero 7 Pro Jellytime thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2474673&page=20 there was a brief discussion about creating a locked down kid-safe rom for kids with known internet-misuse issues. My basic idea was to turn the Sero into a glorified media player, with no access at all to communication capabilities, including browser, facebook and such, but still permitting youtube and some other niceties.
There are "apps for that" in the store, but at least the free apps have security holes in them bigger than the Titanic, post-iceberg. The largest hole is the easy workaround of accessing the play store through an ad, then simply uninstalling the PC software. If the kid remembers to put it back later, you might never know it was done.
Here's what I came up with, rolling with several of the ideas proposed in that thread. I'm no dev, and no ability to create a rom, all I did was butcher an existing one In theory, you could do this with any custom rom for any rooted device. It's a one-way trip, so make sure you save the original image someplace in case you want to return to full functionality.
As always, proceed at your own risk.
So for my Sero 7 Pro I did as follows:
1. Root and install XboxeXpert's custom rom, from post 3 here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2297246
2. Install any apps you want on the device from Google Play. Do NOT install from Amazon, they won't work without the Amazon App store installed, which defeats the entire purpose. Trust me, I blew hours on this.
3. Install titanium backup and save everything thus far. Move the save files to a secure laptop so you can reinstall and update later, as needed.
4. Use an app manager like App Master and start stripping out everything related to communications. I blew away Messenger, Browser, Email services, and a number of others. Use your imagination.
5. Lastly, in direct opposition to almost everything XDA stands for, remove Play Store.
* App Master has a backup function, and you may be tempted to use this to preserve Play Store in case you want to install something else later. I found it does not restore correctly and Play Store was unusable, and had to re-flash and start all over again. You may have better luck with Titanium, but I did not try it.
Without a browser, the kid cannot get on any inappropriate sites. Without an app store, they cannot replace the stock browser / messenger or add Facebook / Snapchat to the tablet, even by clicking on an add. The free game apps I installed worked fine, but the ads went nowhere.
This is pretty efficient, about the only thing the kid can do at this point is install a new rom fresh, for which they would need access to a computer, which you would also control in your own house. Can it be beaten? Sure, some of these kids give the NSA night-sweats, but unless your kid is an aspiring dev, it's about as secure as you can hope for.
Best of Luck,
TM

[Q][ROOT] Towelroot troubleshooting

I cannot for the life of me figure out where I am going wrong.
Youtube videos and all online tutorials and guides suggest it should be as simple as going to towelroot.com, clicking the lambda, getting a prompt to download the .apk, install it, let it run, let the phone reboot, and install SuperSU.
But for whatever reason, that doesn't work for me. If I click the lambda in Chrome, I get a prompt to choose what browser to open it in, and selecting Chrome just asks me again after it opens a new tab. It never downloads. If I choose to open it in firefox, FF will render in the browser as if it were a text file. Going back to Chrome, if I long-hold the icon and choose "Save Link", I can get a copy of tr.apk downloaded. Alright, so far so good. Let's just run it... right? WRONG. "Can not open file". My other .apk's like F-Droid opened absolutely fantastically fine.
OK, I'll work around this using a .apk installer. Go over to Google Play, grab "APK Installer" (1.4 mb or so one), run that, select the .apk file to install aaaannnnddd, I get to the usual screen showing what's asking to be installed and what permissions it wants. Yay! I've seen this page before! Aaannd... The Install button cannot be pressed. It cannot be pressed in landscape or portrait. Only cancel works.
I have not found anyone else with all my searching that has had the same difficulties as me. Hell, as the forum checked my title to find similar threads, there's http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2785869 which shows this guy managed to install towelroot just yesterday.
Anyone have any clue what to do to get a root without the troubles of wiping? This is absolutely tremendously frustrating.
Edit: I had to kill an app's process. I suspect it's Twilight that had to be killed - an app kinda like f.lux on Windows that overlays the screen with a warm tint to make nightviewing nicer. I ended up killing AdBlock, Youtube, Google Music, and a few others. I was then able to install the .apk using APK Installer from the Play store. And once I had root and superuser installed, I had to go into the superuser settings and disable the Tapjacking Protection (or alternatively kill Twilight - that's why I suspect it was a problem in the first place, as there's non-changeable tapjacking for apk installations) and I could finally grant programs superuser permissions.
Exaskryz said:
I suspect it's Twilight that had to be killed - an app kinda like f.lux on Windows that overlays the screen with a warm tint to make nightviewing nicer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep. Any screen overlay will interfere with the install button.

Making The Most of Root on Fire Tablet 10 (tweaks/apps/modules/hacks/optimizations)

Hi guys. Now that we have root for the 2017 fire tablet HD, let's share the best apps, tweaks, mods, modules, optimizations etc to get the most out of the tablet.
I just rooted my HD 10 and think this thread is a great idea.
The first thing I usually do after getting root is to install AdAway to block most ads:
https://f-droid.org/repo/org.adaway_56.apk
I want use Nova as the default launcher. Is there a way to disable or uninstall the Fire launcher completely with root? The Hijackthis utility kind of works, but once in a while the Fire launcher will still show when pressing the home button.
Update: I found out how to disable the Fire launcher following the instructions from this thread here:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/hd8-hd10/development/tips-tricks-root-t3310569
It appears that many of the tips for the older gen HD 10 tablets also apply to the 2017 model. The thread I mentioned in my previous post has instructions on how to disable Fire launcher and Amazon service that are safe to disable via adb. Also I recommend installing Google Play and disabling OTA services using the script in this thread:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/hd8-hd10/general/tool-disables-ota-lockscreen-install-t3715320
I also installed some of my favorite root apps such as Titanium Backup and Kernel Adiutor. Also grabbed modded Youtube with no ads (non-root) here:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=71133073&postcount=3
How do we disable all Amazon apps that aren't necessary to get the fastest, smoothest user experience?
Is there a way to change the lock screen and replace it with one that supports pattern unlock instead of a PIN?
Is there a way to permanently disable all Amazon system apps that may launch at startup and run in the background? I want to disable them to get maximum speed and performance from the device. Maybe what we could do is find an app that shows us what's currently running in the background and using up ram, and then figure out a way to permanently disable and or Uninstall them.
These are the system processes that I found running. There are quite a few Amazon-related processes here. Have a look.
The Amazon-related process that I've identified are:
Wake Word Service
System UI
Amazon Metrics Server Application
Fire Content Manager Service
Here Positioning
Precog
Identity mobile platform
Fire Amazon platform
Fire Amazon communication services
Audio stream provider service
Amazon webview metric services
Whisperplay daemon
Documents
Content support manager
Amazon device settings
Crash monitor
Documents
Read the posts in this thread (started by DragonFire1024) to get an idea about what can (not) be uninstalled.
We just gained root, and we do not yet have a reliable method to backup/restore partitions. I would urge you to err on the side of caution and, if you really have to, just control the apps that autorun. You can use the startup manager in ROM Toolbox Lite or All-In-One Toolbox to find out what's running at boot.
Before you start, backup your apps+data using TiBu.
Have you tested the recovery procedure detailed in this post? What's your fallback option if your 10 HD gets bricked? All things considered, a reasonably snappy tablet running some bloat is better than a brick you can't recover from.
These are the apps that I currently have installed on my fire tablet. Feel free to share your apps, too!
Guys,
So I'm using the free version of nova launcher, and one thing that I don't like is that I don't get app notifications. For example, if I get a like on Facebook or a message on Facebook messenger, there's no notification alerting you. Usually you'd see like a "1" on the app icon signaling that there's one new message. Apparently that's because I'm using the free version of nova launcher and the paid version has this functionality built in. I don't want to buy the paid version only to have it not work. Can anyone confirm that the paid version of nova launcher will give me notifications on the app icons, or is this just not supported on fire OS?
*UPDATE*
I think these things are called "badges".
I have rooted my Fire HD 10 2017, installed SuperSU and now of course it does not pass safety net anymore
As I was playing some games from Google Play on the tab, this kind of annoys me, but is no dealbreaker at all.
Has anybody made some experience with hiding root / magisk or something else on the Fire HD 10?
i had posted this information on the main 'rooted fire hd 10 7th generation' thread already but thought it was quite useful regarding nova launcher, playstore and using a child profle:
if you want to use use widgets with nova launcher, just convert nova to a system app. the easiest way i found to achieve this is using the link2sd app.
to use google playstore in a different user profile (e.g. parent profile with child restrictions, as i don't like the freetime child profile) you can also convert playstore to a system app (and clear dalvik dalvik cache,also with link2sd). it showed up in the fire launcher on the other profile right after a reboot. just needed to log in again.
maybe you can use it on a freetime profile as well like that (launch it from GoToApp), but i won't try it out now.
androingo said:
i had posted this information on the main 'rooted fire hd 10 7th generation' thread already but thought it was quite useful regarding nova launcher, playstore and using a child profle:
if you want to use use widgets with nova launcher, just convert nova to a system app. the easiest way i found to achieve this is using the link2sd app.
to use google playstore in a different user profile (e.g. parent profile with child restrictions, as i don't like the freetime child profile) you can also convert playstore to a system app (and clear dalvik dalvik cache,also with link2sd). it showed up in the fire launcher on the other profile right after a reboot. just needed to log in again.
maybe you can use it on a freetime profile as well like that (launch it from GoToApp), but i won't try it out now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will test this out today and let you know if I got it to work. The only thing is, I don't have a child profile, I have a secondary adult profile.
Once I got root I put adaway, titanium backup, modded pandora. I also put on the viperaudio. Can do that by adding busybox via https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ru.meefik.busybox&hl=en
and you'll also need to use something to set selinux to passive for viper to work. I did this by installing Kernal Auditor https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.grarak.kerneladiutor&hl=en
I used Kernel Adiutor to emulate init.d and used the below script and it works to make it permissive on boot and viper driver shows enabled to confirm it
#!/system/bin/sh
setenforce 0
razers7t8 said:
I will test this out today and let you know if I got it to work. The only thing is, I don't have a child profile, I have a secondary adult profile.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The play store hack didn't work for me after following your instructions regarding link2sd. The play store doesn't appear on my other login account.
hm, that is strange. i did two other things before i had root:
trying to install the 4 apks on the other profile, but only the first 2 could be installed: com.google.android.gsf.login.apk and com.google.android.gsf.apk.
and i entered the following command via adb in the main profile:
adb shell pm grant com.google.android.gms android.permission.INTERACT_ACROSS_USERS
but ony after coverting all of the 4 required apks to system apps it worked. did you convert all 4?
if not, maybe one of the steps before make the difference?
androingo said:
hm, that is strange. i did two other things before i had root:
trying to install the 4 apks on the other profile, but only the first 2 could be installed: com.google.android.gsf.login.apk and com.google.android.gsf.apk.
and i entered the following command via adb in the main profile:
adb shell pm grant com.google.android.gms android.permission.INTERACT_ACROSS_USERS
but ony after coverting all of the 4 required apks to system apps it worked. did you convert all 4?
if not, maybe one of the steps before make the difference?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh. That must have been what I did wrong. I only converted the play store apk to a system file. I'll do the other three now.
razers7t8 said:
Oh. That must have been what I did wrong. I only converted the play store apk to a system file. I'll do the other three now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well now the play store shows up on the other login, but when I tap on it, nothing happens. Also, in link2sd, there's no option to clear "dalvik cache." Only "clear cache" which I did.
I notice that ever since I turned the 4 Google apps into system apps with link2sd, my Facebook app no longer works. It gets stuck in the screen.:

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