Remove Amazon Lockscreen Ads w/ ADB & Automate (No Root Required!)

[Datastream33]

While this guide does still work, I'd highly recommend you check out the Fire Toolbox! The Toolbox is not only capable of removing the lockscreen ads, but it's also capable of installing custom launchers, custom keyboards, Play Services, and so much more! We hope to see you there! ​

To start off I just want to let you all know that the second you are done completing the steps in this tutorial you will be the happy owner of a clean lockscreen without cluttered ads. In my previous post, I shared a method with you that momentarily removed the ads from your lockscreen without a PC. Today, I'm going to perfect my previous method and can say upfront that this method does indeed REMOVE LOCKSCREEN ADS PERMANENTLY! Don't believe me? Try the method for yourself and let me know if it worked for you or not. So, without further ado... let's get started with the tutorial.

Video Tutorial:

Useful Links:
» How to install Google Play Services on Fire Tablets:
→ [url]https://goo.gl/oGV6P5[/URL]

» How to download and install ADB onto your PC:
→ [url]https://goo.gl/prH9PQ[/URL]

Text Tutorial:
To remove the ads all you will need is:

1. Fire Tablet
2. USB Cable
3. USB Debugging enabled
4. A computer with ADB installed

1. First things first you will need to download Automate by LlamaLab on the Play Store:
[url]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.llamalab.automate&hl=en_US[/URL]

2. Once the app is installed go ahead and open it. On the dialog box that appears tap "Accept" then "OK" then finally "OK" once more. In the corner of the app look for the hamburger menu icon and tap on it. Next, from the menu that appears select "Settings" Next, you will need to click on the "Privileges" section.
Locate the following privileges:

access photos, media, and files on your device

modify system settings

modify private settings

Tap on it and wait for the installation prompt to appear. When it finally does please install it (you will need to install all three privileges above for the script to work correctly). Now make sure the boxes for the privileges are ticked before moving on to the next step. Once the boxes are ticked press the back button.

3. Still in the settings for Automate scroll down till you find:

Run on system startup

Once you find it tap on it and select "Enable" from the new dialog box that appears. Doing this allows the script to run at startup when the system boots effectively blocking the ads on the lockscreen

4. Next you will need to enable USB debugging.
Swipe down on the top of the screen until the quick settings and notification drawer pops down. Next, tap on the gear icon to be taken to the Settings app for your tablet. In the settings app look for "Device Options" now scroll down and look for the "Serial Number" and tap on it 3 times. You should see a new entry "Developer Options" underneath "Serial Number". *Tap on it and scroll down till you find "Enable ADB" tap on it and on the new dialog box that appears hit "Enable" once more. That's it ADB has been successfully enabled.

*If you are attempting to do this tutorial on a Fire HD 10 (2018) model please note that in the Developer Options you will be looking for "USB Debugging" instead of "Enable ADB". This is because Google changed the name of the setting to USB Debugging starting on Android 6.0 and up. So, to enable ADB just tap on the option titled "USB Debugging" and enable it. You are now ready to proceed with the tutorial. From here on out you shouldn't have to do anything else different.

5. Once USB debugging is enabled plug your tablet into your PC.
Now you will need to open a Command Prompt (Windows) or a Terminal (Linux) session with ADB installed (If you don't have ADB on your PC please visit this forum).
Now type the following commands EXACTLY as they appear on screen:

adb devices

Note: Please make sure you're tablet's serial number appears underneath "List of devices attached" If done correctly you should see:

C:\Users\(You're username here)>
List of devices attached:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx          device

Once you see your serial (the x's being replaced by you're serial number) and next to it, it reads "device" you are ready to move on to the next step. Once ready type the commands below (feel free to copy and paste):

adb shell pm grant com.llamalab.automate android.permission.WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS

adb shell pm grant com.llamalab.automate android.permission.CHANGE_CONFIGURATION

adb shell pm grant com.llamalab.automate android.permission.SET_PROCESS_LIMIT

(Special thanks to XDA member @Toxicshadow for their assistance with removing the missing superuser notification).

Now, press ENTER. If nothing follows the command then it has been executed successfully and the permissions have been properly given to Automate. As illustrated in the picture below:

NOTE: If anything follows the command it means it didn't go through. Please retype or recopy the command above and make sure there are no spaces included. The command is very sensitive.

6. Remove your tablet from your PC and once more open the Automate app. Now click the "More Flows..." option. Next, click on "Start". Go ahead and install the community flow add on.

7. In the right-hand corner, you will see a magnifying glass icon, click on it and type in the field "Amazon" and hit enter. Look for "Amazon Lockscreen Ads Remover V4.5 (ADB Required)" flow. Tap on it and wait for the page to load. Proceed to download it to Automate. If you have a hard time finding it in the community flows I've uploaded the script to Google Drive which you can download and import into Automate.

8. Return to the home screen for Automate. You should see the flow you just downloaded. Click on the "Amazon Lockscreen Ads Remover V4.5 (ADB Required)". With the proper permissions given and the installation of the script we are finally ready to KILL those pesky ads once and for all... with confidence, you can now tap on the "Start" button to run the script and finish the removal process.

Congratulations you have now removed all the ads from your tablet's lockscreen. You do NOT NEED TO REBOOT! Just lock the screen and enjoy the wonderful sight of your new ad-free lockscreen!

Before:

After:

The Explanation:
For my little brothers birthday, I bought him an Amazon Fire Tablet HD8 (7th Generation) which he began to jump for joy at the sight of. We got it all set up and everything was going smoothly that is until the lockscreen ads showed up! Looking up a tutorial here on XDA I came across a tutorial on how to remove the ads just by running a command through ADB and to my surprise it actually WORKED! But, it wasn't long before Amazon pushed out an update to the tablets that prevented the Offers app from being removed through ADB. My brother being used to having no ads on the lockscreen came to me and begged me to remove them. Unfortunately, none of the other methods I tried worked. Then it all came down to calling up Amazon and asking them to remove the ads with a chance I could be paying $15. So, I decided to see if I could figure out a method on my own that would work. Then one night I decided to check Android's settings database to see if I could find a resolution, I opened up the settings.db file using Settings Database Editor and begin to look through the database to see if Amazon was hiding any strings governing the lockscreen ads and much to my surprise I found the string I was looking for "LOCKSCREEN_AD_ENABLED" set with a value of "1" meaning it was enabled. By changing the value of the string from "1" to "0" I was able to remove the lockscreen ads. I threw my fist up in the air and began to celebrate my victory till the next day when my brother yet again complained about the ads returning. Opening up the database once again the value was changed back to "1". Then another thought hit me, what if I used an automated app to perform the actions of changing the values for me, and with a quick search on Google Play I found exactly what I was looking for: Automate. So, I began creating the flow and testing it to see if it worked... and it did. I gave it a few days with the script running and with hope I turned on the screen to the tablet and once again celebrated over my victory, knowing this time I had done it. Publishing the flow to the community, I wrote up this tutorial and filmed a video on the method with the hopes that others would be able to experience the same feeling I felt the moment I removed the ads for good. So, that's it... that's how I figured out how to remove the ads for good!

Latest Script Version:
Amazon Lockscreen Ads Remover V4.5
Build: January 11, 2019 @ 1:30 PM
Older Versions:
Respiratory

Changelog:

Version 4.5

• *Support for "Amazon Lockscreen Ads Remover Updater (Add-On)" has been dropped.

*Support has been dropped because there aren't any planned updates, and it's just causing more issues than anything.

Version 4.0

• Fixed an issue where an extra fiber would start when hiding the Service Notification.
• *Disabled parallel launch to prevent the script from running multiple instances of itself.
• Various bug fixes and improved performance/stability.

*Special thanks to XDA member @asdiidjisjd23, and Sabrina Wortmann for bringing the multiple instances bug to my attention, and giving advice on how to fix it. Thank you both so much!!

Version 3.0

• *Fixed a startup bug that caused the script to function improperly.
• You can now hide the Persistent Service Notification.
• New downloadable add-on for auto-updating script.
• Optimized performance of adblocker.
• Various bug fixes and improved performance/stability.

* Special thanks to XDA member @andyk88 and Automate developer @Henrik Lindqvist for assisting me in fixing the startup bug! Thank you both so much!

Version 2.0:

• Improved performance and stability.
• * Fixed logging, and battery draining issues.
• Squashed a few bugs.

* Special thanks to XDA member @jdmegkoupe for his/hers amazing help by fixing the script and preventing it from running continuously, improving battery life, and reducing logs. Thanks so much!

If you like my work and would like to support me feel free to Donate. Thank you.

 

[DragonFire1024]

Sounds legit. Great find. Is the solution permanent?

Sent from my Moto E4 using XDA Labs

 

[Datastream33]

Sounds legit. Great find. Is the solution permanent?

Sent from my Moto E4 using XDA Labs

Yes! The ads WILL NOT come back unless of course you stop the Automate script that blocks the Ads!

 

[projectsome]

excellent work. managed to pick the 8 up yesterday, not realising I couldn't do a lot with it, unlike my previous tablets. Getting rid of the ads for free was a good start.

 

[Datastream33]

excellent work. managed to pick the 8 up yesterday, not realising I couldn't do a lot with it, unlike my previous tablets. Getting rid of the ads for free was a good start.

Excellent! Glad I could help you out! :victory:

 

[TrofeoSC]

Got it figured out on my 10 by using adb 1.3, but there are problems on my wife's 10.

When I try it for my wife's 10 I get the extra junk on the command prompt when I try to insert the code I copied.
You did not say what to do if you get the extra junk.

Would you help me please?

Thanks

 

[Datastream33]

Got it figured out on my 10 by using adb 1.3, but there are problems on my wife's 10.

When I try it for my wife's 10 I get the extra junk on the command prompt when I try to insert the code I copied.
You did not say what to do if you get the extra junk.

Would you help me please?

Thanks

Hi Trofeo5C,
You will get the extra junk after the command if the command wasn't typed or copied correctly. Please try and recopy the command and make sure you aren't copying ANY spaces. If you need further help you can watch the video tutorial (goto 8:30) at the top of this forum or you can reply to this comment and I will be happy to assist you further! Good luck!

 

[rwalle]

Looks like the script runs continuously and drains the battery. Log file size is on the GB level.

 

[Datastream33]

Looks like the script runs continuously and drains the battery. Log file size is on the GB level.

I'm currently working on fixing the script so it only runs when Android changes the LOCKSCREEN_AD_ENABLED value to 1 so it doesn't need to continuously run. The updated script will not run all the time. Also, the logging can be turned off, please visit step 8 and read through it. It will show you how to turn the log off.

 

[weiqj]

Why so much trouble?
I found simply disabling the kindle special offer will do.
Must be rooted already.

adb shell
su
pm disable com.amazon.kindle.kso

Then change
LOCKSCREEN_AD_ENABLED
to 0.

 

[Datastream33]

Why so much trouble?
I found simply disabling the kindle special offer will do.
Must be rooted already.

adb shell
su
pm disable com.amazon.kindle.kso

Then change
LOCKSCREEN_AD_ENABLED
to 0.

Yeah that's the issue. Root as far as I'm concerned isn't available on Fire HD8 Tablets (I could be wrong it's been awhile since checked.) but this tutorial is mainly for those who don't want to root their tablets and for those that can't obtain root.

 

[jdmegkoupe]

ad block version 2

i have altered the flow to proceed when the setting has changed, which results in significantly less logging and better battery life "the infinite loop from the original version prevented deep sleep"

see attachment.

 

[Datastream33]

i have altered the flow to proceed when the setting has changed, which results in significantly less logging and better battery life "the infinite loop from the original version prevented deep sleep"

see attachment.

Ah, I see you beat me to it. Thank you so much for fixing the script! I will post the new script to Automate and Google Drive and credit you for you're amazing help. Thanks so much!

 

[jdmegkoupe]

No problem

 

[andyk88]

It seems I would need to run the "adb shell pm grant" command again after power off and on, otherwise it does work. Thanks for any suggestions!

Update: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=76887225&postcount=33

 

[Datastream33]

It seems I would need to run the "adb shell pm grant" command again after power off and on, otherwise it does work. Thanks for any suggestions!

Hmm very interesting ?
Once you run the adb command and it goes through it should be the last time you need to do it. Are you clearing the cache for the superuser addon?

 

[andyk88]

Hmm very interesting ?
Once you run the adb command and it goes through it should be the last time you need to do it. Are you clearing the cache for the superuser addon?

Thank you for your response.

I didn't clear any cache. I think followed your detailed instructions exactly, except I used "Minimal ADB and Fastboot" (I didn't think it would make a difference).

Update: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=76887225&postcount=33

 

[Datastream33]

Thank you for your response.

I didn't clear any cache. I think followed your detailed instructions exactly, except I used "Minimal ADB and Fastboot" (I didn't think it would make a difference).

Oh I see. Can I have you remove Minimal Adb and Fastboot (adb minimal sometimes causes errors) and install stock Adb using the link under the video tutorial in my first post. Once, installed can you try running the command in abd and reboot? Please let me know how it goes. Thanks! :fingers-crossed:

 

[danilo4033]

I did as the Video shows and after turn off and turn on the automation failed to grand permision any idea why dont work after turn on back. I used the adb from the video and no problems. Just is not working after restart.

 

[Datastream33]

I did as the Video shows and after turn off and turn on the automation failed to grand permision any idea why dont work after turn on back. I used the adb from the video and no problems. Just is not working after restart.

OK. Let's see what we can do to fix it. Can you please confirm that you've enabled start on boot in Automate's settings (setting > Start on boot)