[WINDOWS][TOOL]Fire Toolbox V28.1

[w457381n]

Last edited 5-23-2022

What to do about F/W v. 7.3.2.2

So your Fire tablet has the latest firmware update on it (v7.3.2.2) and Fire Toolbox won't do what it's supposed to. All is not lost. I've collected some workarounds that will keep Amazon at bay. The three main problems are:

1) You can't stop Automatic updates.

2) You can't get rid of the lockscreen ads.

3) You hate the Amazon Launcher, but Amazon won't let you change it permanently.


Once those three problems are addressed, you pretty much have your tablet back. The Toolbox will still work for all the other things you want modify. First, get your tablet set up with Toolbox, install Google Services, and install the launcher you want. (Make sure to select "Enable Widget Support".) We'll take care of the Amazon Launcher later. So let's get started with the 3 main problems.

1) Automatic updates.

We need to stop the tablet from contacting Amazon to update it's firmware. We can no longer disable the service that does this, BUT, we can interfere with it's ability to contact the server from which it gets its updates.

Newly coming into this war against Amazon's restrictions... So forgive me if this is a stupid question.

If I have complete control of my home network (DHCP, DNS, etc.), for the purposes of the initial install I should be able to just DNS blackhole the addresses in your text file, correct? Obviously, this fails if the tablets roam to another network. But for that, once I have better control of the device, will I have other options for local device blackholing the domains (local HOSTS, other OpenDNS roaming client, etc.)?

Thank you so much for all your work on this! It's obviously a labor of love/hate.

 

[blaacksheep]

Newly coming into this war against Amazon's restrictions... So forgive me if this is a stupid question.

If I have complete control of my home network (DHCP, DNS, etc.), for the purposes of the initial install I should be able to just DNS blackhole the addresses in your text file, correct? Obviously, this fails if the tablets roam to another network. But for that, once I have better control of the device, will I have other options for local device blackholing the domains (local HOSTS, other OpenDNS roaming client, etc.)?

Thank you so much for all your work on this! It's obviously a labor of love/hate.

Hi, and welcome to XDA!

The important thing is to block the IPs in the list before you connect to WiFi. There are 6 sites in the blocklist. You can use your router or a PiHole or the like to apply the blocklist. The advantage of doing it locally on the tablet, is it works no matter who's WiFi you're on. The advantage of running it upstream, like at the router, is freeing up the VPN interface for other uses.

You don't need to change the DNS settings. I just included my preferences and was pointing out what the 4th tab in DNS66 was for.

Anyway, I'm glad it helped. There are many other options available to do the things in that tutorial. For most, it's enough to get you going. For some, it's a place to start with their own ideas about how to accomplish the goals. It's just a collection I put together.

 

[kevzmyke]

Does someone know how to bring back the navigation bar on the Amazon FireHD10?? it has now wider gaps between the buttons. It became like this when I hid the device dashboard using Fire Toolbox

 

[manyxda]

Finally I had the satisfaction of siccing Toolbox on my v7.3.1.7 HD 8 and setting both Automatic Updates and OTA Updates to "disabled"! (Something I couldn't do with my v7.3.2.2. HD 10.)

A couple questions.

1. I just want to confirm that if, after disabling those things, I were to be a fool and use the tablet's manual update, then I would get an update. Is that right?

2. What has been people's experience of adjusting DPI? I notice that HD 8's DPI is lower than that of HD 10. I doubt that if the tablet could well handle a higher DPI Amazon would have set it to a lower by default (and make it less enticing).

 

[manyxda]

A question not on Toolbox. But my HD 8 would not let me change the time zone. It is set to GMT+0, and when I click "Select time zone" I am thrown back out to Device Options (a higher node in the menu system).

Somebody here has screenshots of the exact thing as happening to me (scroll down a little).

Does anybody know how to fix this? Thanks.

I tried this: Start factory app Clock > Settings > Change date and time. That sends me Date & Time in Device Options, where I had the original trouble. But here is the interesting bit. If I then hit "Select time zone" I am sent back to Clock's Settings (where I have just come from). Which is to say, the "Select time zone" item is essentially a "Back" button.

More info: I have tried rebooting the tablet. Both my router's Web interface and my HD 10 display the correct local time.

 

[Datastream33]

A question not on Toolbox. But my HD 8 would not let me change the time zone. It is set to GMT+0, and when I click "Select time zone" I am thrown back out to Device Options (a higher node in the menu system).

Somebody here has screenshots of the exact thing as happening to me (scroll down a little).

Does anybody know how to fix this? Thanks.

Greetings!

May need to re-enable Device Setup before the time zone can be changed. Could you please try running this command in an ADB Shell:

pm enable com.amazon.kindle.otter.oobe

That should do the trick! You should now be able to change the time zone without any problems. If it doesn't work, please do let me know, and we'll troubleshoot further. Best of luck, and please have a fantastic rest of your night/night!

 

[Datastream33]

Does someone know how to bring back the navigation bar on the Amazon FireHD10?? it has now wider gaps between the buttons. It became like this when I hid the device dashboard using Fire Toolbox

If you would like to restore the navigation bar back to defaults, try running this command in an ADB Shell:

settings delete secure sysui_nav_bar

Running the above command will reset the navigation bar and bring back the device dashboard icon. If you'd like to customize the navbar, be sure to check out the Navigation Bar Modifier. It can be accessed through Modify System Settings > System UI > System UI Customizer > Navigation Bar Modifier.

Hope this helps, and if you have any further questions/concerns, please do let us know! Best of luck and have a good day/night!

 

[manyxda]

Greetings!

May need to re-enable Device Setup before the time zone can be changed. Could you please try running this command in an ADB Shell:

pm enable com.amazon.kindle.otter.oobe

That should do the trick! You should now be able to change the time zone without any problems. If it doesn't work, please do let me know, and we'll troubleshoot further. Thank you and best of luck!

Thanks so much. That totally worked!

ADB shell output was
<QUOTE>
> "cd /storage/emulated/0/;pm enable com.amazon.kindle.otter.oobe"
Package com.amazon.kindle.otter.oobe new state: enabled
<UNQUOTE>

Now, did I just temporarily turn something on that should ordinarily be off? In other words, should I go back and do anything to restore the status quo ante?

 

[Datastream33]

Thanks so much. That totally worked!

ADB shell output was
<QUOTE>
> "cd /storage/emulated/0/;pm enable com.amazon.kindle.otter.oobe"
Package com.amazon.kindle.otter.oobe new state: enabled
<UNQUOTE>

Now, did I just temporarily turn something on that should ordinarily be off? In other words, should I go back and do anything to restore the status quo ante?

Awesome! Glad to hear it worked!

If you'd like to disable it again, feel free! It wouldn't hurt anything. The app is mainly used in some settings, and for setup when the tablet is first powered on.

Here's the command to disable it:

pm disable-user --user 0 com.amazon.kindle.otter.oobe

 

[manyxda]

Awesome! Glad to hear it worked!

If you'd like to disable it again, feel free! It wouldn't hurt anything. The app is mainly used in some settings, and for setup when the tablet is first powered on.

Here's the command to disable it:

pm disable-user --user 0 com.amazon.kindle.otter.oobe

Thank you again, and excuse my many questions.

But does it not hurt anything to leave it either enabled or disabled? If that were so, I would rather leave it enabled (for when ever I'd have to change the time zone again).

Did I disable it as part using some Toolbox item? If so, which item? (This is so I'd know, "Okay I am running this item again and will have to remember to enable otter.oobe.")

 

[Datastream33]

Thank you again, and excuse my many questions.

But does it not hurt anything to leave it either enabled or disabled? If that were so, I would rather leave it enabled (for when ever I'd have to change the time zone again).

Did I disable it as part using some Toolbox item? If so, which item? (This is so I'd know, "Okay I am running this item again and will have to remember to enable otter.oobe.")

It's my pleasure, and it's perfectly fine to ask questions! No matter the quantity.

It's fine either way, to be honest. I don't think it will be a problem to keep it enabled. As for how it got disabled, it's likely from running a Disable Amazon Apps preset in the Manage Amazon Apps tool. Both "Standard" and "Complete" presets disable the package.

 

[whitebear99]

Is fireOS 8 comming soon?...
I hope seeing gesture supported...

 

[ModWorld84]

Hi, very amazing tool first of all. Managed to do pretty much everything I needed to. Thanks!!

However, I keep failing on the google assistant.

Any idea as to why?

Thank you.

EDIT: My brain was stuck in "Guide" mode. Just realized I may install it from google play doh lol Seems to be working well now.

 

[Davy49]

Hi All,
Even though I didn't spend very much money on my purchase: https://www.woot.com/offers/fire-hd-8-tablet-7th-gen:
Fire HD 8 Tablet (7th Gen)Sold by Woot
Condition:RefurbishedLabeled Condition: Used - Good Model:32GB | Black (Sold Out)Quantity:1 @ $24.99 . I guess the old adage does apply in my case 'you get what you pay for', I've already used the latest version of the toolbox to modify the tablet, but due to it being a 7th generation model, I'm not even able to install my browser of choice (vivaldi) due to the generation of the tablet. As I truly despise the chrome browser, now I'm wondering if I might be able to install vivaldi via a site such as apkmirror.com ? I purchased this tablet due to it having better specifications than my previous fire 7 (9th generation) tablet does.

 

[19Patrick]

Hello community, I ordered for my son a HD8 2020, I disabled all Amazon stuff and adds. So far everything fine. I installed google services and assistandt.
I tried to log in the playstore with his log in data (family link account). But it was not possible. than i logged in with my account. everything was working but now I'm not able to log my account of again and log his account in. I get the error that I have to use the account manager. But on the fire HD is no account manager installed. There is only the one from Amazon but not from Google. In the Toolbox I got the information that the account manager was installed.
So, is there a way to activate Google family link?
Regards

There is something else. It was not possible to uninstall fire launcher and to set nova as standard.

 

[Michajin]

@Datastream33 Looking through the disable options for the newer OS, the only thing i see that still functions is the clear option in shell. Now given the device will only update if it is rebooted, would it being feasible to use like a init-d, automate, or similar program to link a shell script to run a adb shell pm clear com.amazon.device.software.ota that runs every time the device wants to reboot? If that is even possible... just spit balling ideas...

 

[manyxda]

Hi All,
Even though I didn't spend very much money on my purchase: https://www.woot.com/offers/fire-hd-8-tablet-7th-gen:
Fire HD 8 Tablet (7th Gen)Sold by Woot
Condition:RefurbishedLabeled Condition: Used - Good Model:32GB | Black (Sold Out)Quantity:1 @ $24.99 . I guess the old adage does apply in my case 'you get what you pay for', I've already used the latest version of the toolbox to modify the tablet, but due to it being a 7th generation model, I'm not even able to install my browser of choice (vivaldi) due to the generation of the tablet. As I truly despise the chrome browser, now I'm wondering if I might be able to install vivaldi via a site such as apkmirror.com ? I purchased this tablet due to it having better specifications than my previous fire 7 (9th generation) tablet does.

Are you saying Vivaldi refuses to install to your tablet, saying the Android version was too old?

On the tablet, this site says: "5.3.7.0 – Latest version for Fire HD 8 & Fire HD 10 (7th Generation)."

Same site says: "Fire OS 5 Bellini – based on Android 5.1.1 Lollipop".

Summing up, you seem to be finding out that Vivaldi considers Android 5.1.1 to be too old (consistent with what's on this page, where the latest Vivaldi is said to require Android 6 and up).

If so, I believe the latest apk would also refuse to install. You may be able to install an older version Vivaldi apk. (I do this all the time often because the later version is actually less good.)

As an alternative, I believe custom ROMs exist for HD 8 7th gen if you go in for that sort of thing. See this page.

A custom ROM typically raises the Android version of the tablet so it is no longer too old for apps.

I don't have an HD 8 7th gen and so am not speaking from experience.

 

[LDL707]

I've got a Fire 7 (9th Generation) with F/W 7.3.2.2.

I have it connected to my computer successfully. I can see it in File Explorer and with adb. But when I run Fire Toolbox V27.0, I get the following error: "ACCESS IS DENIED ACCESS IS DENIED isn't compatible with the Toolbox. Please plug in a supported Fire Tablet."

What am I missing?

 

[Davy49]

Are you saying Vivaldi refuses to install to your tablet, saying the Android version was too old?

On the tablet, this site says: "5.3.7.0 – Latest version for Fire HD 8 & Fire HD 10 (7th Generation)."

Same site says: "Fire OS 5 Bellini – based on Android 5.1.1 Lollipop".

Summing up, you seem to be finding out that Vivaldi considers Android 5.1.1 to be too old (consistent with what's on this page, where the latest Vivaldi is said to require Android 6 and up).

If so, I believe the latest apk would also refuse to install. You may be able to install an older version Vivaldi apk. (I do this all the time often because the later version is actually less good.)

As an alternative, I believe custom ROMs exist for HD 8 7th gen if you go in for that sort of thing. See this page.

A custom ROM typically raises the Android version of the tablet so it is no longer too old for apps.

I don't have an HD 8 7th gen and so am not speaking from experience.

Thanks so much for your reply, it's looking now like I made a bad choice on purchasing this tablet, & I've decided to return it for a full refund. I guess I was just having an extreme type of 'senior' moment. The bottom line is the fact that you get what you pay for. I just thought I'd be better of specification wise by purchasing the fire hd 8 (7th generation) tablet as it had more storage space, etc. I guess for now I'll just be stuck with my fire 7 (9th generation) tablet that responds pretty slow quite a bit of the time, even after I delete the data cache. At least the software version is more recent so I'm able to install most of the play store apps that I'm wanting to.

 

[carlos aguas]

Como hago para usar la caja de herramientas ?