No :/ its just keep waiting for connection or wifi (besides its on and chrome and its downloads are working just fine)
[WINDOWS][TOOL]Fire Toolbox V30.2
- Thread starter Datastream33
- Start date
@Datastream33, thank you for the quick response! I would very much appreciate the links and instructions for my tablet. Also if it isn't too much trouble I have one other question.
After disabling OTA updates and lock screen ads, and downloading the nova launcher, I can no longer view pictures I've take (it says they are blocked by parental controls), or add gifs/emojis to facebook messenger (I'm sure there are other similar issues but I havent had time to investigate further). Do you know what might be causing this?
Anecdotal report that Google Play working on 12th Gen Fire tablet with FireOS 8.3.1.3 OTA update released this week.
Can anyone confirm ?
www.howtogeek.com
Can anyone confirm ?
How to Install the Google Play Store on an Amazon Fire Tablet
Amazon Fire Tablets restrict you to the Amazon Appstore, but they run Fire OS, a custom version of Android. That means you can install Google’s Play Store to gain access to millions of Android apps and games, including Google apps like Gmail, Chrome, Google Maps, and more.
www.howtogeek.com
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Good find!Anecdotal report that Google Play working on 12th Gen Fire tablet with FireOS 8.3.1.3 OTA update released this week.
Can anyone confirm ?
How to Install the Google Play Store on an Amazon Fire Tablet
Amazon Fire Tablets restrict you to the Amazon Appstore, but they run Fire OS, a custom version of Android. That means you can install Google’s Play Store to gain access to millions of Android apps and games, including Google apps like Gmail, Chrome, Google Maps, and more.
Hmm... so it needs phone and sms permissions manually applied. I hope someone with a 2022 tablet sees this and tries it out. That would be great for FireOS 8 owners.
Is it a coincidence that a "hole" in FiresOS 8 appears in the same week that Amazon announced a reorganization and "dehiring" of software devs in the Amazon Devices group ?
Amazon Is Said to Plan to Lay Off Thousands of Employees
The job cuts of approximately 10,000, which would start as soon as this week, would focus on the company’s devices organization, retail division and human resources.
www.nytimes.com
I remember reading somewhere that Google was going to remove modifying the navigation bar via adb in Android 11. There may be some merit to that...@Datastream33 ,
Did you ever investigate the problem with FireOS 8 and the navbar as mentioned in droven's post? I made a guess in my response. Did they change the keycodes in the navbar or something like that? It seems Amazon is actively fighting our attempts to change their protected advertising platform.
@drovan, could you please try running these commands in an ADB Shell and let me know the output of the second command?
Code:
settings put secure sysui_nav_bar 'left,;back,home,recent;right'
Code:
settings get secure sysui_nav_bar
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Hmm, the Toolbox should be granting all permissions declared in the manifest automatically. However, I suppose it is installing the Android 10 versions instead...
But, why would GServices crash without the phone and sms permissions?
I think there is "something" in FireOS 8.3.1.3 that "allows" GPS to run.Hmm, the Toolbox should be granting all permissions declared in the manifest automatically. However, I suppose it is installing the Android 10 versions instead...
But, why would GServices crash without the phone and sms permissions?
Apparently some 12 th Gen Fire tablet users "spontaneously" had their Google Play installations working after the OTA update ... anecdotal.
Is Amazon "softening" or was it a coding error ?
Sorry for the late response, my friend. Got caught up in something and was just able to get back on. Anyway, here's how to manually add the play services .apks for the Toolbox to install them:
- Open the Toolbox.
- Click the cog in the upper right-hand corner.
- Click the "About" tab.
- Then click "Open Installation Directory".
- In File Explorer, click the "bin" subdirectory, then the "Google Services" subdirectory.
- Create a new folder and name it "Android 9 (x32)" (if the folder is already made, delete it and re-create it). The directory structure should look like this: Fire Toolbox V30.0\bin\Google Services\Android 9 (x32).
- Download this .zip file, and extract it into the folder you just made (there should be 4 .apk files in the directory after extracting).
- Delete the .7z archive from the folder (if present).
- Re-run the toolbox and execute the Custom Launcher tool.
As for the picture issue, you may need to enable Prime Photos again if it's been disabled (Use the Manage Amazon Apps > Simple subtool to re-enable it if it's been disabled). The OS shows messages from Parental Controls if an activity isn't able to be launched, or intents aren't handled by a compatible app.
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From the error message I've seen, it looked to be some sort of policy. Perhaps Amazon is developing an Android Auto substitute and was testing it out, or perhaps something was wrong with the play store files, and they were updated to fix the error (and the OTA was a coincidence). Not sure, but I doubt (in my opinion, and I could be wrong) Amazon would revert changes like that. They and Google don't play well, and play services aren't supposed to running on Fire Tablets anyway. So I could totally see them trying to shut it down.
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Almost. The only thing missing is the ability to disable system apps... but I don't think anything can be done about that. At least not with ADB.
Hello folks, new user here. I'm thinking of getting a Fire HD 10 (11 gen) because it's on sale right now. I'm not a fan of Amazon's data collecting, so could you please tell me if the Toolbox can:
Furthermore, is this notification in the OP still relevant with v30 or has this changed?
Also, from what I can tell the Fire HD does not have GPS capabilities, so does navigation with e.g. Google Maps not work at all?
I tried to read through the thread beforehand but I'm not sure which information is still up-to-date and there's a lot of pages to cover.
I've never owned a tablet before and was hoping the Fire HD10 can be a decent all-purpose tablet (movies, browsing, reading PDFs etc) but I absolutely wish to remove any unncessary Amazon bloatware if possible. Are there any issues with using the Fire HD without an Amazon account connected?
Thanks for any help!
- stop the Fire HD 10 from "phoning home" (both for OTA updates and userdata collection)
- Google Services are fully functional and
- lockscreen and homescreen ads can be removed completely
- (assuming it ships with 7.3.2.2+)
Furthermore, is this notification in the OP still relevant with v30 or has this changed?
Also, from what I can tell the Fire HD does not have GPS capabilities, so does navigation with e.g. Google Maps not work at all?
I tried to read through the thread beforehand but I'm not sure which information is still up-to-date and there's a lot of pages to cover.
I've never owned a tablet before and was hoping the Fire HD10 can be a decent all-purpose tablet (movies, browsing, reading PDFs etc) but I absolutely wish to remove any unncessary Amazon bloatware if possible. Are there any issues with using the Fire HD without an Amazon account connected?
Thanks for any help!
And today I woke up to find the nice notification that it have been updated to 7.3.2.6 ಠ_ಠHmm, that's not good...
Boy oh boy, I hate jeff bezos -_-
Btw I've disabled the update blocker , I needed to use drive.
Update: Tried to disable again OTA with the tool box and cant download from google drive again D:. I don't know if it is related, but it tries to download with the download manager that comes with the Fire OS. When I download files on drive from chrome drive it works.
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Thanks for the update.
Currently on 7.3.2.1 on a Fire HD 10 (2021), and would like to allow OTA updates again now that we have better support for lockscreen disabling, etc., but don't seem to be able to re-enable via the latest version of Fire Toolbox? Toggle within 'Modify System Settings' does nothing when clicked.
Edit: Another minor bug, desktop shortcut being created on each boot still says "V29.2"
Currently on 7.3.2.1 on a Fire HD 10 (2021), and would like to allow OTA updates again now that we have better support for lockscreen disabling, etc., but don't seem to be able to re-enable via the latest version of Fire Toolbox? Toggle within 'Modify System Settings' does nothing when clicked.
Edit: Another minor bug, desktop shortcut being created on each boot still says "V29.2"
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I was messing up with the tool box files and fixed the small home button problem! Just put the attached file on the patch where you installed your Tool Box "bin\ToolboxResources\Images\UI\NavigationBar"
Doesnt solve my google drive problem, but at least it doens't botter my OCD anymore :v
Doesnt solve my google drive problem, but at least it doens't botter my OCD anymore :v
- stop the Fire HD 10 from "phoning home" (both for OTA updates and userdata collection)
- Its still not perfect if you are on 7.3.2.2+ - Google Services are fully functional
- Yup, works like a charm with all my accounts (edit: if you don't use/enable the new OTA block method) - lockscreen and homescreen ads can be removed completely
- Well, I really can't tell for sure, because I changed the launcher and with that the lock and homescreen ads are not there anymore. But I can't tell you if it works like that on Fire Default Launcher.
Yep, I disabled all Fire apps with the ToolBox, but if it updates by itsefl (lets say to 7.3.2.6 like happened to me this morning) they will be reenabled. The good news is that It's solved just as simple as connect the tablet to pc and running the function on tool box again. My only concern now is that new updates can come with new surprises and the amazon dev team cut our wings D:
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ghoster76
Senior Member
I was about to release a guide on disabling OTA updates by blocking the servers with RethinkDNS when @Datastream33 released v30 of Toolbox with a new data-restricting method of blocking them. I waited a little bit to see the reaction to it and it seems that it blocks some other things too.
Without further ado, here's a preliminary guide to setting up RethinkDNS and Activity Launcher to block any DNS lookups for Amazon's update servers.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alright, I've been testing this app for over a month and I haven't gotten any surprise "updates" just waiting for a reboot to install themselves! I haven't been turning off WiFi before rebooting, or taken any precautions to prevent updates other than just this app with the settings given here. I've only checked if there was an update waiting to install before turning my tablet off so I could delete it if I found one. My tablet has stayed on v7.3.2.3, while the most current release is 7.3.2.6. Using DNS66, I got surprised by the update from 7.3.2.2. I started watching for updates and had to delete them several times before I started using RethinkDNS. Using RethinkDNS has worked flawlessly in disabling OTA updates . The only caveate is that you can't run a "real" VPN along with RethinkDNS because it uses the VPN interface of your tablet in order to work. If you must run a VPN, you'll have to put my blocklist into your router's firewall rules so that the VPN interface of your tablet is free to run a VPN.
Step 1
Turn off your tablet's WiFi and disable DNS66 or any other VPN you are running.
Step 2
Get RethinkDNS from the source and sideload it to your tablet. The current version is v053k. Get Activity Launcher from UpToDown.com and sideload that to your tablet.
Step 3
Install RethinkDNS. Install Activity Launcher. (You can combine steps and just stream install them from your computer if you'd like.)
Step 4
Launch RethinkDNS. Tap "Apps" in the upper-left. A box will pop up saying "Start DNS and Firewall (default)". Tap "START". Another box will pop up saying "Attention!.....". Tap "Proceed". Another box will pop up saying "Connection request". Tap "OK". The app will start. Now you just need to configure it.
Step 5
Tap "Apps" in the upper-left once again. Now a list of installed apps will populate the screen. There are 4 apps you want to block to prevent OTA Updates. Scroll down the list and find each of these apps and tap the blue WiFi and the blue Mobile Data icon next to each of them so they toggle to red.
They are:
Now to check if you are configured properly, look at the top and tap the "Blocked" heading. Your dispay should now list just those 4 apps and the indicators on the right should all be red. Tap to toggle any that are still blue.
Step 6
Now we need to use Activity Launcher to get to the hidden VPN settings of your tablet. Launch Activity Launcher. Let it load (it takes several seconds) and use the search glass in the upper-right. Type in "VPN" (without the quotes). At the bottom of the list under settings you'll see VPN. Tap it. Now find RethinkDNS on the list of installed VPN's and tap the gear at the right. Tap "Always-on VPN" to toggle it on. Tap "Block connections without VPN" to toggle that on. You'll get a warning screen, but acknowledge that and turn it on.
Edit: This can now also be done in Toolbox by going into Modify System Settings > Networking tab > VPN Settings if you don't want to install Activity Launcher, but Activity Launcher allows you access to other settings that Amazon hides.
Step 7
Turn on your WiFi now.
Congratulations! You're all done. You should be safe from further updates.
Optional:
There are other DNS changes that RethinkDNS can make. If you require them relaunch RethinkDNS and tap the DNS tab in upper-right to change DNS settings.
Your DNS lookups by default will use DoH (DNS over HTTPS). This makes it almost impossible for your DNS lookups to be redirected to a different site than what you typed into your browser. It also makes your DNS lookups unreadable by your ISP so they can't track what you do by your unencrypted DNS lookups (which happen even though your traffic may be encrypted). RethinkDNS also offers Dnscrypt, which is another method of doing the same thing. I believe DoH (the default) is most compatable and left that alone.
You can also use "filtered" DNS lookups to block offensive sites, block piracy sites, block adult sites, etc.
You can also use Cloudflare DNS, Google DNS, CleanBrowsing DNS, Quad9 DNS, or a custom DNS. If you know what you want, you can change your DNS settings here.
If you want to use additional blocklists in your DNS lookups, tap "On-device blocklists". Tap "Disabled" to enable this feature. Let it download the available blocklists. Tap "Configure". Under the "SIMPLE" tab, tap the filters you wish to use. Tap "APPLY".
You can change any other defaults if you wish. This includes all the settings in the settings menu. I left all these setting alone. I would recommend testing your internet after each change you make. If your internet stops working, go back to the defaults until you've determined that you really want to change that setting. Otherwise all the defaults will work fine for the purpose of blocking updates.
If needed, I'll post screenshots of the setup procedure.
NOTE: A reboot may be required after this procedure before you once again get internet access. (Thanks @smirnoff9969 )
Without further ado, here's a preliminary guide to setting up RethinkDNS and Activity Launcher to block any DNS lookups for Amazon's update servers.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alright, I've been testing this app for over a month and I haven't gotten any surprise "updates" just waiting for a reboot to install themselves! I haven't been turning off WiFi before rebooting, or taken any precautions to prevent updates other than just this app with the settings given here. I've only checked if there was an update waiting to install before turning my tablet off so I could delete it if I found one. My tablet has stayed on v7.3.2.3, while the most current release is 7.3.2.6. Using DNS66, I got surprised by the update from 7.3.2.2. I started watching for updates and had to delete them several times before I started using RethinkDNS. Using RethinkDNS has worked flawlessly in disabling OTA updates . The only caveate is that you can't run a "real" VPN along with RethinkDNS because it uses the VPN interface of your tablet in order to work. If you must run a VPN, you'll have to put my blocklist into your router's firewall rules so that the VPN interface of your tablet is free to run a VPN.
Step 1
Turn off your tablet's WiFi and disable DNS66 or any other VPN you are running.
Step 2
Get RethinkDNS from the source and sideload it to your tablet. The current version is v053k. Get Activity Launcher from UpToDown.com and sideload that to your tablet.
Step 3
Install RethinkDNS. Install Activity Launcher. (You can combine steps and just stream install them from your computer if you'd like.)
Step 4
Launch RethinkDNS. Tap "Apps" in the upper-left. A box will pop up saying "Start DNS and Firewall (default)". Tap "START". Another box will pop up saying "Attention!.....". Tap "Proceed". Another box will pop up saying "Connection request". Tap "OK". The app will start. Now you just need to configure it.
Step 5
Tap "Apps" in the upper-left once again. Now a list of installed apps will populate the screen. There are 4 apps you want to block to prevent OTA Updates. Scroll down the list and find each of these apps and tap the blue WiFi and the blue Mobile Data icon next to each of them so they toggle to red.
They are:
- DeviceSoftwareOTA - when you block this a box will pop up saying it will also block 3 other apps. Tap "Proceed". It will repeat that warning when you block both the WiFi and Mobile Network options. When you are done, both should change from blue to red and it should say "blocked" under DeviceSoftwareOTA.
- Forced OTA - Block both WiFi and Mobile Data on this. No popup boxes this time, the inicators just change from blue to red.
- System Updates (1) - This should already be blocked from the first app. If not, repeat the proceedure and block both WiFi and Mobile Data
- System Updates (2) - Again, this should be blocked from the first app and if not repeat the blocking proceedure.
Now to check if you are configured properly, look at the top and tap the "Blocked" heading. Your dispay should now list just those 4 apps and the indicators on the right should all be red. Tap to toggle any that are still blue.
Step 6
Now we need to use Activity Launcher to get to the hidden VPN settings of your tablet. Launch Activity Launcher. Let it load (it takes several seconds) and use the search glass in the upper-right. Type in "VPN" (without the quotes). At the bottom of the list under settings you'll see VPN. Tap it. Now find RethinkDNS on the list of installed VPN's and tap the gear at the right. Tap "Always-on VPN" to toggle it on. Tap "Block connections without VPN" to toggle that on. You'll get a warning screen, but acknowledge that and turn it on.
Edit: This can now also be done in Toolbox by going into Modify System Settings > Networking tab > VPN Settings if you don't want to install Activity Launcher, but Activity Launcher allows you access to other settings that Amazon hides.
Step 7
Turn on your WiFi now.
Congratulations! You're all done. You should be safe from further updates.
Optional:
There are other DNS changes that RethinkDNS can make. If you require them relaunch RethinkDNS and tap the DNS tab in upper-right to change DNS settings.
Your DNS lookups by default will use DoH (DNS over HTTPS). This makes it almost impossible for your DNS lookups to be redirected to a different site than what you typed into your browser. It also makes your DNS lookups unreadable by your ISP so they can't track what you do by your unencrypted DNS lookups (which happen even though your traffic may be encrypted). RethinkDNS also offers Dnscrypt, which is another method of doing the same thing. I believe DoH (the default) is most compatable and left that alone.
You can also use "filtered" DNS lookups to block offensive sites, block piracy sites, block adult sites, etc.
You can also use Cloudflare DNS, Google DNS, CleanBrowsing DNS, Quad9 DNS, or a custom DNS. If you know what you want, you can change your DNS settings here.
If you want to use additional blocklists in your DNS lookups, tap "On-device blocklists". Tap "Disabled" to enable this feature. Let it download the available blocklists. Tap "Configure". Under the "SIMPLE" tab, tap the filters you wish to use. Tap "APPLY".
You can change any other defaults if you wish. This includes all the settings in the settings menu. I left all these setting alone. I would recommend testing your internet after each change you make. If your internet stops working, go back to the defaults until you've determined that you really want to change that setting. Otherwise all the defaults will work fine for the purpose of blocking updates.
If needed, I'll post screenshots of the setup procedure.
NOTE: A reboot may be required after this procedure before you once again get internet access. (Thanks @smirnoff9969 )
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Excellent guide ... but I wouldn't have expected anything less from @blaacksheep !
wrt FTB protocol, would you still recommend using FTB OTA blocking then applying RethinkDNS, or using RethinkDNS exclusively ?
Similar threads
Top Liked Posts
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2Yes, you need to run the Custom Launcher tool in TB to replace the home button on the tablet with a newly created button thats mapped to the Automate script. After that. it should work properly if you've given Automate the required permissions.
BTW, if you don't run Windows regularly, perhaps you're running Linux? If so, a beta of FTB written for Linux is on the way! I don't know how soon, but it seems to be very close to happening. There's a link in the second post of this thread to the webpage that shows the progress of the project. But, for the time being, there's always VM's and dual-boot to run Toolbox in. 1Yes, you need to run the Custom Launcher tool in TB to replace the home button on the tablet with a newly created button thats mapped to the Automate script. After that. it should work properly if you've given Automate the required permissions.
BTW, if you don't run Windows regularly, perhaps you're running Linux? If so, a beta of FTB written for Linux is on the way! I don't know how soon, but it seems to be very close to happening. There's a link in the second post of this thread to the webpage that shows the progress of the project. But, for the time being, there's always VM's and dual-boot to run Toolbox in.
Re-ran TB. It isn't that hard, I'm just stubborn. I DO run linux - i gave up watching the linux thread a while ago, but maybe i'll check it out again.
thanks for your help - it wasn't super smooth but after about 10 tries of installing/rebooting the tablet I got the custom navbar working. And it works great. ( I think I struggled because i already had Automate and the script had issues, kept getting stuck in a loop where it would open Nova and show the options ). Anyway, all's well that ends well - can't thank you and @Datastream33 enough!!! -
3If this has been addressed, I apologize, but I did a cursory search with no results. I've noticed that two of my devices - Fire HD 8 Plus 12th gen (8.3.1.3) and a Fire 7 12th gen (8.3.1.4) - both wil not run Youtube TV. Youtube is fine but the Youtube TV fails with the dreaded "Youtube TV won't run without Google Play services, which are missing from your device."
Google Play and all of the other apps work just fine. So far, I've only noticed Youtube TV suffering from this. My 10th gen tablets are all running different versions of 7.3.X.X and Youtube TV works fine on those. It appears that Amazon OS8 is the culprit. I'll try running that in a browser but figured I'd toss this out in hopes there was a fix for it.
Thanks all for all that you do.2
The exact headache I had. One day everything disappeared, my initial worry that it some how updated was proven false obviously, tried the SD In Linux and not recognised.. Tried on my phone.. Nothing.. Only option given on the amazon tablet was to format again.
So I chose internal storage again.. This time making sure my important apps are on internal hehe
(perhaps if would have shown on gparted, however android was the safest route, but I did lose all the apps that we had spent ages setting up. Doh!)2
Ongoing incompatibility issues with YouTube TV and FireOS 8 on 12th Gen (2022) Fire tablets. No reported solution yet.
Only immediate workaround is accessing YouTube TV from a web browser
@ https://tv.youtube.com/welcome/.
Possible solution would be for a clever dev to code a PWA (Progressive Web App) ie "hybrid app" for YtTV .
A similar situation for YouTube Kids was partially resolved by installing a specific older YtK version.2Warning to those who have SD card formatted as internal storage (instead of portable storage)
Move playstore and its dependencies back to internal storage, else you lose it should your SD card become corrupt. Also worthwhile making sure your default launcher is also on Internal
You can see which apps are on the SD card by going to
Settings > Storage > SD Card and selecting “Apps.”
Select the following apps one by one
- play store
- play services
- Google account manager
- Google services framework
WARNING : The above is confirmed correct for FireOS 8.3.1.3
However, older versions may not be able to differentiate your SD card from internal storage, once you go down the adoptable route.2A 10.1" inch Linux tablet @ Fire HD10 price points !?
Linux Tablet PineTab2 Estimated To Launch In April From $159
Linux Tablet PineTab2 Estimated To Launch In...tabletmonkeys.com
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Fire Toolbox V30.2
All-In-One Toolbox for Fire Tablets!
The Fire Toolbox is a collection of useful ADB (Android Debug Bridge) tweaks that can be applied to Amazon's Fire Tablets. The Toolbox project aims to help users fully customize and unlock the full potential of their tablets by putting all the power into their hands.The Toolbox doesn't touch the system partition meaning all changes made can be reversed either through the tools/subtools themselves or through a factory reset. This means the Toolbox does NOT void your warranty.
Device Name: Generation:Amazon Fire 7 (2022) 12Amazon Fire 10/10+ (2021) 11Amazon Fire 8/8+ (2020) 10Amazon Fire 10 (2019) 9Amazon Fire 7 (2019) 9Amazon Fire 8 (2018) 8Amazon Fire 10 (2017) 7Amazon Fire 8 (2017) 7Amazon Fire 7 (2017) 7Amazon Fire HD8 (2016) 6Amazon Fire HD10 (2015) 5Amazon Fire HD8 (2015) 5Amazon Fire HD7 (2015) 5Amazon Fire HD7 (2014) 4Amazon Fire HD6 (2014) 4
In this forum, you may hear the word "generation" being used when talking about Fire Tablets. Just know that "generation" effectively means the same as "what year was the tablet manufactured?". This may seem confusing and as a result a reference table has been provided for you below.
Getting the Toolbox up and running with your tablet is surprisingly a very easy procedure. The only thing required is for you to enable Developer Options and ADB on your tablet. So, without further ado, let's get started.
At this point, please read the section below, and make sure to follow the correct guide that is made for your tablet on how to set up the device so it works with the Toolbox.
FIRE HD 7, 8, 10 (2018 - 2022) Guide:Before purchasing the tablet:- Make sure you uncheck the "Link device to your Amazon account to simplify setup" box before Adding to Cart. (See this screenshot, credits go to @ancientrael)
if the box remains checked, your tablet will automatically update to the latest version of FireOS the second it auto-connects to your wifi.
Booting the tablet for the first time:- Wait for your tablet to fully boot up for the first time (may take a few seconds to minutes).
- When it boots, it will ask you for the language you'd like the OS to use. Select your prefered language.
- Tapping the blue arrow at the bottom of the screen, you'll be asked to connect to a WIFI network.
- Select ANY network from the list (even if you don't know the password).
- Once it asks for the password, tap the "Cancel" button and it will take you to the previous screen with the Wifi networks.
- At the bottom of the screen, you should now see a "Skip Setup" button, go ahead and tap that.
- It will now ask if you're sure you want to skip fire setup. Just tap "Skip" once more.
- You should immeditely be thrown into Fire Launcher. You're now ready to enable USB/ADB Debugging.
Enabling USB Debugging:- Turn on your tablet and go to Settings > Device Options > About Fire Tablet and tap on the Serial Number until you unlock Developer Options.
- Press the back button and find the new Developer Options and toggle it on.
- Scroll down till you find USB Debugging and enable it.
Setting up the drivers:If you are on Windows 10 or Windows 11 you do NOT need to following this guide because Windows will setup the needed drivers by default automatically. All you need to do is plug your tablet in and Windows will take care of the rest. Please wait until these drivers are fully installed before laucnhing the Toolbox for the first time. - Download the latest version of the Toolbox from the Downloads section of this page and install it onto your PC.
- Plug your tablet into the computer, and Windows will start installing the MTP drivers. It will also attempt to install the ADB driver but will fail. (This is normal and to be expected)
- Launch the Toolbox, and it should detect your Windows version and inform you that further driver setup is required. It will then ask you if you'd like the Toolbox to download and install the drivers.
- Click the "Yes" button, wait for the download to finish and follow the driver setup. If this for some reason doesn't work, please follow this guide to manually install the drivers.
- At this point, If drivers are setup properly... the Toolbox will inform you that the "device isn't authorized. Please authorize your device now."
- On your tablet, you should see a new prompt asking if you want to Allow USB Debugging and should show the computer's RSA key fingerprint. Tick the box that says "Always allow from the computer" and hit ok.
That's it, the Toolbox should recognize your tablet and will take you to the main menu. Enjoy!
FIRE HD 6, 7, 8, 10 (2014 - 2017) Guide:Before purchasing the tablet:- Make sure you uncheck the "Link device to your Amazon account to simplify setup" box before Adding to Cart. (See this screenshot, credits go to @ancientrael)
if the box remains checked, your tablet will automatically update to the latest version of FireOS the second it auto-connects to your wifi.
Booting the tablet for the first time:- Wait for your tablet to fully boot up for the first time (may take a few seconds to minutes).
- When it boots, it will ask you for the language you'd like the OS to use. Select your prefered language.
- Tapping the blue arrow at the bottom of the screen, you'll be asked to connect to a WIFI network.
- Select ANY network from the list (even if you don't know the password).
- Once it asks for the password, tap the "Cancel" button and it will take you to the previous screen with the Wifi networks.
- At the bottom of the screen, you should now see a "Skip Setup" button, go ahead and tap that.
- It will now ask if you're sure you want to skip fire setup. Just tap "Skip" once more.
- You should immeditely be thrown into Fire Launcher. You're now ready to enable ADB Debugging.
Enabling ADB Debugging:- Turn on your tablet and go to Settings > Device Options and tap on the Serial Number until you unlock Developer Options.
- Find the new Developer Options and toggle it on.
- Scroll down till you find ADB Debugging and enable it.
Setting up the drivers:If you are on Windows 10 or Windows 11 you do NOT need to following this guide because Windows will setup the needed drivers by default automatically. All you need to do is plug your tablet in and Windows will take care of the rest. Please wait until these drivers are fully installed before laucnhing the Toolbox for the first time. - Download the latest version of the Toolbox from the Downloads section of this page and install it onto your PC.
- Plug your tablet into the computer, and Windows will start installing the MTP drivers. It will also attempt to install the ADB driver but will fail. (This is normal and to be expected)
- Launch the Toolbox, and it should detect your Windows version and inform you that further driver setup is required. It will then ask you if you'd like the Toolbox to download and install the drivers.
- Click the "Yes" button, wait for the download to finish and follow the driver setup. If this for some reason doesn't work, please follow this guide to manually install the drivers.
- At this point, If drivers are setup properly... the Toolbox will inform you that the "device isn't authorized. Please authorize your device now."
- On your tablet, you should see a new prompt asking if you want to Allow USB Debugging and should show the computer's RSA key fingerprint. Tick the box that says "Always allow from the computer" and hit ok.
That's it, the Toolbox should recognize your tablet and will take you to the main menu. Enjoy!
• ADB Shell - Spawn a Unix shell that can be used to communicate with the device and execute commands.• Custom Launcher - Replace Fire Launcher with a custom launcher.• Enable Widget Support - Enable widgets on supported launchers.• Custom Sounds - Set custom sounds for notifications, lock/unlock events, low battery, and more!• Density Modifier - Change the value of pixels per inch to either decrease or increase resolution.• Restore Default Density - Restore the factory default density.• Google Assistant - Replace Amazon Alexa with Google Assistant.• Google Services - Install Google Services and the Play Store.• Google Services (Manage)• Add/Remove Google Accounts• Clear Data/Cache for Play Services• Uninstall Play Services• Hybrid Apps - Sideload Amazon Appstore apps without having the Appstore enabled.• Keyboard and Input - Manage other input methods and install custom keyboards.• Lockscreen Wallpaper - Replace the lockscreen's wallpaper with a custom one. • Manage Amazon Apps - Manage the Amazon apps installed on your tablet.• Hide/disable Amazon Apps - Hide and Disable Amazon apps through presets or manually select apps.• Restore Amazon Apps - Completely restore every Amazon app or manually select apps to restore.• Modify System Settings - • Power Options - Reboot, shutdown, reboot into recovery, or reboot the tablet into bootloader mode.• Parental Controls Hide - Installs a service that auto-dismisses messages from Parental Controls.• Privacy Controls - Disable telemetry collection of app usage data, interest based ads, etc. • Push and Pull• Push - Transfer files from your computer to your tablet.• Pull - Retrieve files from your tablet and transfer them to your computer.• Remove Lockscreen Ads - Remove ads from the lockscreen.• Screen Capturing - Record the device's screen, or capture a screenshot.• Sideload Apps - Install APKs from sources outside of the Amazon Appstore.• System Backup • Backup - Create a backup of the current system configuration.• Restore - Restore system configuration from a previously created backup.• User Management (8th gen and above)• Create a User - Create a new user.• Delete a User - Delete a toolbox created user.• Switch Users - Switch the current user to a different Toolbox created user.• YouTube Clients - Install third-party Youtube clients.
Toolbox:
Other Downloads:
ResourceResource LinkApplicable ToolsCustom Navigation Bar IconsNavigation Bar ModifierToolbox ChangelogsN/A
VersionInstaller (.exe)Portable (.zip)Update PostVirusTotalV30.1PostLinkV30.0PostLinkV29.0PostLinkV28.9DownloadPostLinkV27.0PostLinkV26.1PostLinkV25.2PostLinkV24.0DownloadPostLink*Halloween EditionDownload*Bug FixLinkV23.0DownloadPostLinkV22.0DownloadPostLinkV21.0DownloadPostLinkV20.0DownloadPostLinkV19.0DownloadPostLinkV18.0DownloadPostLinkV17.0DownloadPostLinkV16.0PostLinkv15.0PostLinkV13.0PostLinkV12.0PostLinkV11.1PostLinkV11.0PostLinkV10.2PostLinkV10.1PostLinkV10.0PostLinkV9.2PostLinkV9.1PostLinkV9.0PostLinkV8.2PostLinkV8.1PostLinkV7.2.1DownloadPostLinkV7.1PostLinkV7.0PostLinkV6.56PostLinkV6.55PostLinkV6.54DownloadPostLink
If you like my work and would like to support me feel free to Donate. Thank you!69
The Toolbox is being marked as a virus?This is likely because the Toolbox (and it's installer) aren't signed with a software license. This freaks Windows out because it sees that there is no publisher, and as a result it displays a warning (smartscreen). In addition, some anti-viruses might also flag the Toolbox as a virus simply because the build is relatively new and there is no record of it in the anti-viruses database, resulting in a false positve.As always, I take your security and privacy VERY seriously! If you do not feel safe with installing the Toolbox due to virus concerns, I respect and support your decision. It is always up to the user and their judgment!32I'd also like to take the time to acknowledge today as a very special day for this project! Today marks the 3RD YEAR anniversary of the project!!!
It seems like only yesterday, that the first version of the Toolbox was released! It's just crazy to think that it all started in 2019, as a very simple batch file program designed solemnly to remove lock screen ads, and has grown into what it is today! If you're interested in what started it all, I'd highly recommend checking out this post. It dives a little more into the Toolbox's background and it's beginnings!
I just wanted to THANK YOU all from the bottom of my heart for making the last 3 years so memorable! If it wasn't for the amazing support and this wonderful community, the project would've died a long time ago! You guys are the fuel that feeds the Toolbox's development!
Through this project, I've gotten to meet some wonderful people that I'd consider to be good friends:
@Davy49, @Tailborn, @Falcon342, @blaacksheep, and of course you (the one reading this)!
So, where does the Toolbox go from here? Well, I suppose the next step would be to bring the Toolbox to more platforms! Currently, the Toolbox is being ported to other platforms using the Python programming language, and PySimpleGUI. I've also been asked if the Toolbox Python port will ever become open-source, and I think the answer is most likely yes. Big things are planned for the Toolbox this year, and I hope you'll join me on this journey!
HERE'S TO THE TOOLBOX'S 3RD YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!
28Last edited 9-30-2022
A lot has changed since I first posted this. Toolbox has been updated to v29.0 and now has a new method of replacing the Fire Launcher, DNS66 is only a delaying tactic and doesn't stop updates in all cases, and the Lockscreen Ad removal process in the old FTB v9.2 still works to remove the ads. I leave the post up, but understand that it's just for reference as a starting point for you to explore these things.
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.
This method is far from perfect and has sometimes allowed updates to somehow slip by. The only other way to do this that I know is to use an app blocking firewall and block the update apps. I chose this method because it doesn't require a 'training period' to train the app on what to block and what to let through. Also, if you've already got lockscreen ads in your tablet's cache, this will not remove them. This method must be in place before you first connect to WiFi for the lockscreen ad blocking to work.
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. On a computer, we would modify the hosts file and block the addresses of the update servers. On an Android device, we need root access to do that, but there is an alternate way of adding things to the hosts file - with a VPN. We'll use a free and open source ad blocking VPN app to do this. The app is called DNS66 and it's available through F-Droid. You need to make sure this is always running to be protected from updates.Luckily, android has a feature to assist us in this. It's called "Always On VPN" and we need another app to access the hidden setting for this. We'll use "Activity Launcher" to get to this setting. Activity Launcher is available from Google's Play Store.
It turns out that using Activity Launcher to change this hidden setting does nothing more than give you an extra notification that your VPN is off. It doesn't stop traffic, so it's useless. Besides, my tablet has taken to turning the "Always On VPN" setting back off every time I boot. (Thanks Amazon!) Activity Launcher is still useful for finding settings that Amazon doesn't see fit to include. It also makes desktop shortcuts to those settings if you wish.
Download DNS66 to your computer from f-droid.org or from the attached file, copy it to your tablet and install it.Also go to the Play Store and install Activity Launcher.Finally, get the Amzn_Blcklist.txt that's attached to this post and copy that to your tablet. The blocklist file must remain on your tablet, so put it somewhere where it won't get deleted. I suggest in the root of your internal storage. (/storage/emulated/0)
Open DNS66. There are a couple settings that must be changed. On the Start tab, turn on "Watch Connection". (All 3 switches should now be on.)
Now go to the Hosts tab. Tap the "+" in the lower-right. Under Title, type "Amazon Blocklist". Tap the paper clip on the next line. Navigate to the Amzn_Blocklist.txt file you downloaded earlier and select it. Now tap "Done" in the upper-right. You should now have the first and last entry on the displayed list selected.
Now go to the Apps tab. Turn on "Show System Apps". Tap the gear under the Show System Apps switch and select "No Apps". All the switches below that should now be off.
You can optionally set your own DNS servers on the next screen if you'd like. I like to turn on Custom DNS Servers, deselect the German ones that are pre-selected, and then turn on the last two servers (CloudFlare).
This can also be done with Toolbox making this step unnecessary. Now go back to the Start tab. Tap "Start". It will notify you that it wants to connect to a VPN. Tap Yes or OK and allow it.
Quick note: Do not use the Toolbox DNS changer in Modify System Settings AND the DNS66 Custom DNS setting together. This will cause connectivity to fail. I use DNS66 and not Toolbox's DNS changer. Having the Custom DNS Servers set ins DNS66, and using the Toolbox DNS changer simultaneously caused me hours of grief trying to figure out why Google couldn't connect!
Now Launch Activity Launcher. Tap the magnifying glass in the upper-right. Enter "VPN". One setting should appear called "VPN". Tap it. Tap the gear on the end of the DNS66 line. Turn on Always-on VPN. Turning on the other switch makes Google Services think you are disconnected, so leave that one off. Step one accomplished.
Notes:
DNS66 takes several seconds before it gets started when you first boot, so it is possible that the tablet will make a DNS query for the update server or the lockscreen ad server before it loads. Best practice is to turn off WiFi before you power down or reboot.
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2) Lockscreen Ads.
Toolbox v29.0 now takes care of lockscreen ads!
It turns out, that blocking those update servers also blocks your tablet from getting any lockscreen
ads! No further action is needed. I stopped investigating this because I chose to disable the lockscreen completely. If you want to do that, you can do it in Toolbox, or in Activity Launcher that you just installed. Launch Activity Launcher. Tap the magnifying glass. Type in "screenlock". Now tap the last item (.password.ScreenLockSuggestionActivity). Select None and you're done.
Notes:
It has come to my attention that when disabling your PIN, it may still ask you for a PIN by Parental Controls for some settings or activities. I would suggest if you're going to disable your PIN, to first set it to something simple like 0000, reboot it, and then disable the PIN. That way you'll know what PIN you set if it suddenly asks you next month for your PIN.
Another way to disable lockscreen ads is detailedHere.
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3) Amazon Launcher.
New: Toolbox v29 has remediated most of the difficulties in replacing the launcher. Always check that you have the latest version of Toolbox. I'll leave the rest of the post up to inspire ideas.
The latest version of Toolbox (v 28.1) has a new tool called 'Custom Navbar Key'. This method uses Automate to automatically replace the Home button every time you reboot. It works rather nicely. I leave this section posted for completeness and to facilitate experimentation on other choices.
The way we're going to get rid of the Amazon Launcher is by not calling it! We're going to replace the Home button with another button that we can map to any launcher we'd like. This isn't a perfect solution, but it is FREE. If you're willing to spend a couple bucks, you can purchase a more configurable gesture navigation app with more features, but this is FREE, so maybe you can accept it's shortcomings. I'll keep this post updated with other navbar replacements that people suggest.
Go to the Play Store. Get and install "One Button Navigation". Launch it. It will want you to turn on Accessability Service for it. Follow the on-screen instructions and turn on "One Button Navigation Bar". You'll see your new nav button at the bottom of the screen. I like to adjust the width down to a dot, like the button it's replacing, but that's up to you. I also like to make the background black and the botton bright yellow so that I'm reminded it's running. Set up the background and button colors as you like them. Yeah, I know the ads in this are obtrusive, but you'll never see them once it's set up. Also DNS66 will block the ads if you install that first.
Next tap the Action tab. Tap "Single Click". Scroll down and select "Launch Application...". Select the launcher that you installed with Toolbox here. In my case, it was Nova 7. (Google updated the Nova version that Toolbox installed.) Now you can set any other actions you'd like for the new button.
I didn't want anything additional, so I made the gestures similar to the original buttons. This is all up to you. You can reverse them or set additional functionality to the button. I ended up with a new navbar that covers the original navbar (the one with the home button that brings up the Amazon Launcher). I now have a button that when pressed, takes me to my launcher. When I swipe it left, it goes back a screen. When I swipe it right, it shows the recents. I spent a lot of time with other navbar replacements and this is the minimalist replacement that works best for me. YMMV. Before someone complains that it doesn't work in landscape mode, I'm not the developer. You should rate it and leave a comment for him! This is the best I could find that does what I want for FREE.
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I'll edit this post with your suggestions for better solutions to these problems and keep a list of navbar replacements that people suggest at the end so you can find what works best for you.
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Some Suggested Navigation Bar replacements:
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One Button Navigation Bar by Nu-Kob (PlayStore)
Pie Control by coolAce (PlayStore)
Simple Control by coolAce (PlayStore)
DNS66 is available from F-Droid.org (dated March 26, 2021)
Activity Launcher is available from APKMirror.com (dated March 21,2022)21What's going on, guys?
I sincerely hope everyone is doing good, and having a wonderful December so far!
Today marks the release of V26.0 of the Toolbox! So, without further ado... let's take a look at what this release has to offer!
Welcome, Welcome, Welcome... Screen!
You know, every time I run a build for the first time I go through the Theme Selector, then the Tour, and then the Welcome Screen. I just think to myself "this is just a mess" - so in this update I thought I'd focus on improving it and making it better. I started by re-designing the Welcome Screen and doing my best to link all three tools into something that looked visually appealing. Now, in a tabbed interface you'll find the Setup Tour in the very first tab, Theme Selection (with a new UI) in the second, Installation Management in the third, and finally in the fourth the Changelog.
Now let's talk specifically about the Installation Management tool. This bad boy now has the ability to read installations from directories other than the default (localappdata\Datastream). So, if you've got your installations in a custom location, and you'd like to manage them, it's now possible to point the path to that location. This should help make managing installations a lot easier!
Custom Launchers on FireOS 7.3.2.2
As some of you may know, I bit the bullet and updated my tablet to the latest version of FireOS... to the dreaded 7.3.2.2. This update, from what I heard, caused the Custom Launcher and disabling OTAs tools to no longer function and after updating, I soon discovered that it was indeed the case. I then tried everything I could think and well really didn't turn up any valuable workarounds... until I tried the method we'd been using on older gen devices... and it worked! Of course, just like on the older gens, it has the drawback of being removed every time the device is rebooted. However, it's the only method I could find, so it's better than nothing, right?
Anyway, while coding it in I decided to take the liberty of also clean up the code, and the UI a bit. What's cool is the tool will now read what generation your tablet is, and display what methods are available to use. You'll also find that the initial method selection UI is a lot more usable compared to its previous iteration.
Change the Timeout for the Display?
Ah, the latest addition to the General group in the Modify System Settings tool. This subtool not only allows you to alter the timeout to traditional values, but also allows you to set a custom timeout. Want your screen to sleep after 24 hours of inactivity? This one's for you folks who want to extend the timeout as much as you can. Just be careful, it may cause a burn-in if your tablet's screen remains on the same screen for too long!
Let's Talk Linux Port Stuff
I guess the point of this section is to ask you guys if you're ok with updates to the VB version being slowed down, so I can focus more on the port? I'd also like to address a common question I get asked about it being open-source. Right now, I'm planning on it being closed-source for now. However, I am planning on making it open-source when I feel like the time is right. Please be patient! So, let's get back to the original question... are you guy's ok if I shift primary focus to the port?
Wait, that's not everything! If you're interested in everything that's changed... please take a look at the changelog below:
Ready to download V26.0? Head on over to the Download's section of the OP. By the way, because of some directory changes to the bin folder... the update will not show up in the Updater. It must be installed via the Installer or extracted from the Portable release.
Ok, my favorite part about of these release posts... sharing appreciation for you awesome folks! I just wanted to say I'm so blessed to be a part of the wonderful community over here on XDA. You guys are incredible people and in fact... this is perhaps the one place I've been on that I don't see negativity or people bullying one another. You guys are just AMAZING and I wanted to let you know that I appreciate everyone's support! Furthermore, you guys are what keep this project going, and it wouldn't be where it is today without you guys! So please pat yourself on the back - you deserve it!
Also, I'd like to place the limelight on my good friends @blaacksheep, and of course @Falcon342. I just can't express how much I appreciate all you've done for this thread! I haven't had the time to get on here because of work and when I come on the forum I see you guys helping out and answering questions. I really do appreciate the time and effort you two have put into being so freaking helpful! However, I've got to be honest, I'm extremely sad because I feel like I'm not doing enough. I'm sure you guys would like a little help (I'm gonna try harder to be more active on here when I can to hopefully help you guys out). Anyway, thank you guys again!! I really do appreciate it!!!!
Also, don't think I forgot about you donators! I just want to say I'm so honored that you'd donate your hard-earned cash. Sometimes I feel like I don't deserve it. Guys and gals, THANK YOU so much for donating! I really do appreciate every penny!
This year has flown by and Christmas is right around the corner, so I just wanted to say MERRY CHRISTMAS and I hope you all had a remarkable 2021! Let's hope 2022 is an even better year!
Well, that's all I've got for now! Have a good one, guys, and until next time... Peace!
- Make sure you uncheck the "Link device to your Amazon account to simplify setup" box before Adding to Cart. (See this screenshot, credits go to @ancientrael)
