yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Fire Android Development] xm41907:
I saw that. Hopefully an exploit comes out soon for 5.3.2.1 This for three siblings and unfortunately the 6 year old's is the one that upgraded on me. I'll have to go with the no root use of Nova. Other than ads on the lock screen, he shouldn't even notice a difference.
[Fire Android Development] DB126:
If interested, check Amazon Warehouse deals. Refurbished devices are usually indistinguishable from new and often arrive with older firmware. Pricing is nice too - generally 40-50% off list.
[Fire Android Development] Karcus:
Ordered a tablet on the 15th and it arrived today, the 17th. Luckily it had 5.3.1. Took me 2+ hours to get it rooted using King Root. Tried 2.9.2, and 2.9.6 with at least 10 tries each with failures. Had success with 2.8.5 after two attempts. Good times...

Edit - Wrong thread...weird. I don't know how to delete.

Edit 2 - Or is it?
[Fire Android Development] DB126:
Depends on device type. This forum is for the 5th gen 7" Fire released Sept 2015.
[Fire Android Development] faizul_emizal:
How to downgrade firmware from Fire OS 5.3.2 to 5.3.1 ?
[Fire Android Development] steve8x8:
(1) do not let the tablet upgrade to 5.3.2.1 (wifi off, airplane on)

(2) go here: http://xdaforums.com/amazon-fire/general/fireos-5-3-2-arrived-t3500922/

(edited because of misread version number)
[Fire Android Development] faizul_emizal:
Done downgrade 5.3.2 to 5.3.1.

Thanks steve8X8

Waiting another save way to downgrade my another kindle fire 2015 from 5.3.2.1 to 5.3.1

Auto update after my 1st time setup that kindle
[Fire Android Development] raydantheman:
I'm having trouble downgrading from 5.1.3 to 5.1.2 using the Firmware-Downgrade-to-Fire-OS-5.1.2-Supertool. I've also tried to do the same steps as in the downgrading video of rootjunky's on youtube on a Mac and a PC. For some reason when I go into recovery and put it in to adb sideload mode, it is not detected when using the "./adbosx devices" command on Mac or "adb devices" command on PC. However, ADB works when the device is loaded normally. Can anyone who downgraded from 5.1.3 to 5.1.2 post step by step instructions?
[Fire Android Development] DB126:
Likely a driver issue. See post #2 in this thread. Also try a different USB cable - even if the current cable works in different contexts.
[Fire Android Development] lukester78:
Is there anything I can try other than continuing to attempt to get kingroot working? I've tried multiple versions of it and have yet to see anything close to root. Is that the only tool that works for these tablets?
[Fire Android Development] sd_shadow:
factory reset, reflash firmware, don't sign-in to Amazon

KingRoot is only root option
[Fire Android Development] raydantheman:
Thank you for your answer and advice. A new cable solved my issue. :)
[Fire Android Development] raulvera:
change launcher

Hi, I successfully rooted the device and removed the adds and the OTA updates. Installed Nova Launcher without major problems. The tablet is for a kid so I want to install a kid oriented launcher then, my question is: how can I install another launcher?

I think that supertool removes the original amazon launcher and replaces it with Nova launcher so a regular install of a launcher should not work... So I ask before break something.
[Fire Android Development] DB126:
You will have the best results w/Nova on FireOS. Other launchers tend to be unstable and/or laggy. FireOS does not provide a UI for switching launchers making enabling, disabling and changing a pain. I don't believe the SuperTool removes the stock launcher...simply disables it.

To try a different launcher simply install and allow that launcher to become default (most prompt). Be sure to have a copy of Nova handy as a fall back. Not sure about reenabling the stock launcher; been awhile since I messed with it or related SuperTool functionality.

If you are looking for a more robust child interface suggest a custom ROM which obviously gives you greater selection of launchers and full access to the Google Play store (although the later can be added to FireOS with some restrictions). However, parental controls are a more approachable w/FireOS if you plan to leverage that feature.
[Fire Android Development] raulvera:
Well, during install of Nova Launcher I've read something about backing up the stock launcher.

Thanks for the advice. Tried kakatu launcher and seems to work well. I will play with parental controls included in FireOS.

About the custom ROM, I've read that other ROMS are a little laggy (in a not so powerful tablet) so, by now I will try with FireOS. Anyway, I removed OTA updates so I could try the ROMs in the future.

Thanks again and sorry for my bad english.
[Fire Android Development] DB126:
Glad your choice of FireOS and custom launcher are working well. Most (if not all) custom ROMs for this device are far leaner than FireOS. Whatever you read did not apply to this device and the ROMs available for it. That said, FireOS is not a bad choice if it meets your needs.

Be sure to keep the OTA blocker in place. If FireOS updates beyond 5.3.2.0 (as of this writing) you will loose root and the capabilities/flexibility that comes along with it. Enjoy your device!
[Fire Android Development] raulvera:
Thank you again for the advice. The OTA blocker is the first thing I did before reading a little about the Fire. Now, reading you, I'm thinking on giving a try to a custom ROM...
[Fire Android Development] DB126:
If you go for a custom ROM suggest starting CM 12.1. It offers a nice balance extended feature/functionality while remaining largely true to the look and feel of pure Android. Nexus is a great alternative but at present is experiencing some compatibility issues with Google Play Services. A new build is expected by mid-January.
[Fire Android Development] steve8x8:
Yesterday, I SuperTooled (Nov 29 version) a tangerine Fire which had come with 53.1.0, using Debian Jessie on my laptop.

I had to change the script a bit (define "sudo" as empty action), also I moved the *linux tools out of the way and replaced them with symlinks to the ones I had installed from deb packages (android-tools-{adb,fastboot}). Perhaps my udev setup isn't perfect yet?

I used KingRoot 4.9.6, and it took me several attempts. With a WiFi link too weak, the king was not successful - and in the meantime, the device registered itself (Amazon seem to prepare for this once the device is shipped - I was to give this one away, would have been a nice surprise...). Nevertheless, the 4th or 5th attempt (after the usual reboot) was successful (getting two reboots in a row seems to indicate success even before one sees the red screen). Replacement by SuperSU also worked *but* ST didn't succeed removing KR and Purify. I had to disable device admin permissions, and remove the two packages by hand. (Should I look for any leftovers?)

Not really thinking about the consequences, I installed Nova Launcher. Now, would there be a way back to FireLauncher? Perhaps I shouldn't care - the device will be flashed with CM (probably not the current version though).

Lessons learned:

- KingRoot will need a decent WiFi link (not too fast though, an OTA update should take more than 20 minutes to download). Some instructions when to enable and disable WiFi would be appreciated.

- KingRoot 4.9.6 seems to keep running in the background and add itself to the list of device admins when/before closed. It will have to be disabled before it can be removed. (I didn't test 4.9.2 though.)

- SuperSU 2.49 seems to work even if there's some KR left on the device. Not sure if forever.

- Disabling OTA also disables display of installed FireOS version! That is, should the OTA blocker fail silently, we perhaps wouldn't notice? (And how do you keep records of the OS version? Stickers? Branding?)

Now if I can find a decent swipe keyboard... Thanks to all who contributed so far!
[Fire Android Development] DB126:
Thoughts:

- latest CM 12.1 build is fine (not to be confused w/Nexus issues)

- KingRoot is borderline malware; use the SuperTool to fully remove

- FlashFire is unreliable if KingRoot remenents remain

- recommend FlashFire v0.52+; 0.50 has FC issues

- keep track of last FireOS (bootloader) version installed; reloads are common

- no TWRP ... but you already knew that
[Fire Android Development] steve8x8:
Thanks for your thoughts.

Indeed I've been watching both CM and Nexus for a while. I'm not in a hurry though (but CyanogenMod's latest news may convince me to use CM as of Nov 22).

I know about KR; I'm reading apps/mrw/root.sh now which is the script that is run after KR has finished - it threw a list of errors which may be harmless or not; and I'd like to inspect the filesystem myself to find whether there's anything left. That's why the tablet will stay in airplane mode or off for now.

How would FF's "unreliability" manifest itself, btw?

TWRP... I'm still angry with myself for having upgraded the first Fire from 5.0.1 to 5.1.1 for a reason I'm unable to reproduce now.

I'm working on the script to extract the last FireOS version from the preloader partition (needs su, obviously; if you don't have su you don't need to extract the info from the partition because device info will happily tell you), it's getting better now. (there are no attachments allowed here?)
[Fire Android Development] DB126:
- attachments can be added to forum posts via XDA Labs app

- CM 12.1 will live on for this device whether it be called that or something else based on LineageOS; need to give [MENTION=5749760]ggow[/MENTION] time to settle on a path forward

- FlashFire failures attributable to Kingroot detritus range from inability to launch FF app to borked flashes that take out access to stock recovery (bad news on this device)

- glad to hear about progess on extracting last FireOS (bootloader) version installed; should be very helpful to community; thanks for your efforts!!
[Fire Android Development] b1gn1k:
Stupid question...

I have tried sideloading 5.1.2 from 5.3.2 and obviously bricked my fire, (I didnt pay attention) is my tab just fit for the bin? or is it worth holding onto?
[Fire Android Development] sd_shadow:
unlikely that it can ever be fixed, unless you ship it back to Amazon
[Fire Android Development] Hilfey:
For anyone having difficulty rooting from older versions (5.1.2, 5.1.3 etc), I tried the Supertool instructions and at least 20 attempts with no joy. I finally downloaded the 5.3.1 firmware from Rootjunky's site and upgraded (to 5.3.1 NOT 5.3.2!!!). After that I had success with 2 devices that I was giving out to family for Xmas. Good luck and enjoy.
[Fire Android Development] steve8x8:
I uploaded my current version of "whichpl" (preloader detection script) to https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B214JJmar6j-VllGSWNXTS1mSU0 - it works for my Fire running 5.3.1.0 and rooted using Nov 29 SuperTool:

$ adb push whichpl /sdcard/
19 KB/s (974 bytes in 0.048s)
Press any key to continue...

$ adb shell
shell@ford:/ $ su
root@ford:/ # sh /sdcard/whichpl
build stamp: 20160603-023745
fireOS-5.3.1.0 or fireOS-5.3.2.0 secure

My older one (5.1.1, rooted one year ago):

root@ford:/ # sh /sdcard/whichpl
build stamp: 20150923-180133
fireOS 5.1.1 secure

The script may not be perfect yet, please give me feedback if it fails (e.g. because yet another command has to be prefixed with "busybox"). Note that root is required - otherwise there's no read access to the preloader partition!
[Fire Android Development] steve8x8:
When replacing KingRoot with SuperSU a couple of days ago, I got a few "DELETE FAIL INTERNAL ERROR"s, and I decided to have a closer look, running commands by hand and inspecting the filesystem.

Some observations about SuperTool cleaning up after KingRoot 4.9.6 - which may be confusing to beginners but helpful to others:

- /system/bin/.usr still exists, is empty - leftover or required?

- /system/bin/.etc contains .su - leftover?

- /system/usr/attrch, /system/usr/ikm/ikmsu look suspicious

- two kingroot dex files are left in the dalvik-cache

- /system/xbin still contains start_kusud.sh and krdem

Most of that seems to be due to me replacing KR 4.9.2 (which comes with ST) with 4.9.6, and an ever changing list of components. While the list of commands in apps/mrw/root.sh is impressive, it's not complete (and perhaps never will be?)

I'd recommend to

- pm list packages | grep -i king

- pm list packages | grep -i root

- pm list packages | grep -i cafe

- busybox find /system -name \*su (you may also want to look for \*ku\*)

Also KingRoot doesn't seem to cover its traces when it comes to timestamps of files. If you can narrow down the time when you performed the root (for me, it was little less than 3 days ago), you may run

- busybox find /system -mmin -4320 -mmin +2880

(or more precise) and have a closer look at the files listed. (Same for /data will flood your screen. You've been warned.)

In short: [MENTION=5488402]Davey126[/MENTION] is right: KR is malware, and it may prove difficult to fully eradicate it (and the list of remnants does vary with the version, and probably the strategies applied). Flashing a Custom ROM will get rid of everything related to KR.

Oh, btw, I found a file /cache/update-ford_full_ford-552153420-to-560177220.bin, 96 MB in size. Does this indicate updates don't come as full ROM packages anymore, and I was close to the brink of being upgraded (5.3.1.0 to 5.3.2.0)? Phew.
[Fire Android Development] DB126:
- great info; see full post by [MENTION=5936853]steve8x8[/MENTION] for details

- that said unlikely most will be familiar/comfortable w/suggested commands

- possibly OP can leverage in a future update (needs to be scripted)

- update file you found could be a partial or may represent incremental update capability; might need to search for and delete recent .bin file(s) after KR runs
[Fire Android Development] kbshowtyme:
I just bought my Fire yesterday and it already has OS 5.3.2.1 installed. If I try to root this device will it brick??
[Fire Android Development] steve8x8:
What about diff-ing the output of "ls -laR /system" (etc.) before and after KR runs, to find out about the "droppings"? I presume RJ already did this - for KR 4.9.2 which I unwisely chose not to use... (@Tomsgt?)

Re update.bin: I looked for the URL to show up somewhere, and indeed it still does, in /data/data/com.android.providers.downloads/databases/downloads.db, using "busybox strings" I get

https://amzdigital-a.akamaihd.net/obfuscated-otav3-9/6dca78b772d6e91a072cfd101c6fbabe/update-ford_full_ford-552153720-to-560177220.bin/cache/update-ford_full_ford-552153720-to-560177220.bin

I note that the first "timestamp" is off by 300 from the 5.3.1.0 version that can be downloaded from RJ's site. Build date here is Sep 22 (vs Jun 24), lab126.build number 1537 (vs. 1534), sec patch level seems to be identical (May 1). No idea why, maybe newer built-in packages.

What's creepy: they indeed seem to build individual update bins for all possible builds out there.

Oh well, the URL gives me a 404 now. There are indications that the whole transmission is secured not only by https.

I had deleted the file from /cache a bit too quickly but it wouldn't have given much anyway: zip files have their toc at the end. For now there seems to be no way to find out about the total size of the download not whether it would have been identical to the 5.3.2.0 ROM. (It's somewhat promising though that the update didn't go for 5.3.2.1 directly.)

There's nothing more I can do now, at least in this dark corner ;)

---------- Post added at 05:53 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:43 PM ----------

"Brick" is usually defined as a lost ability to boot into the system, or at least into the recovery.

Rooting itself doesn't touch any of those - trying to install another ROM would though. Note that root powers are required to overwrite any system partition (including the bootloader stages).

So in short you should avoid any attempt to install another version of FireOS (as downgrading from 5.3.2.1 is known NOT to work, resulting in a brick).

There's no known way to root 5.3.2.1 YET, but nobody stops you from trying.

If you happen to get root access by any means, that's fine - you should replace the tool used with SuperSU as soon as possible, and disable OTA (check RootJunky's SuperTool). Please let us know what you found. If you don't succeed, in the worst case you should be able to sideload 5.3.2.1 in the original recovery to restore a pristine system.

tl;dr: Root attempts usually don't brick a Fire, but may be unavailable yet for 5.3.2.1. If that's bad news for you, return the device. There are rumours that warehouse deals can still provide older firmware versions...
[Fire Android Development] Shanye:
I have a Fire 7 running version 5.3.10.

Kingroot as bundled with the supertool fails to root. A newer version of Kingroot also fails to root. I'll hang on and see if things change in the future.

PS Another Fire 7 running 5.0.1 and bought in early December 2016 - the Supertool worked perfectly.
[Fire Android Development] LumpyPotatoez:
help on supertool

When I open up the amazon tool (supertool) it run smoothly but when I try to click Number 6 which is Root your amazon fire tablet nothing happens. can someone help?
[Fire Android Development] DB126:
KingRoot v4.x (4.85-4.96) is effective against FireOS 5.3.1.x but often takes multiple attempts to find a solution. There are numerous post in this thread and others offering best practices to improve success. Avoid KingRoot 5.x which is difficult to remove and no more effective than 4.x.

That device running FireOS 5.01 is special as it can boot TWRP. Be sure to block OTA updates as there is no going back.
[Fire Android Development] Shanye:
I've tried everything I can see - I've had to wipe the thing eight or nine times so far to prevent the Fire O/S update installing past 5.3.10...

The thing I don't understand is why Kingroot would quite happily root one machine on 5.3.1, but struggle with another one. Surely if the hardware and the software are the same, then one machine is effectively exactly the same as another and if one is rooted, then it should be 100% possible to root another one without fail?

Hopefully a little more time will sort it all out.
[Fire Android Development] DB126:
Short version: KingRoot search and match algorythem is not much better than trial/error with a short timeout. It doesn't seem to know much about the target device or 'learn' from previous failures/successes on a specific device or the larger community. Each run is like a toss of the dice.
[Fire Android Development] Stranger_84:
Also might wanna check with root checker afterwards as well ... Mine said it failed but I've always double checked to avoid issues and I was indeed rooted
[Fire Android Development] Shanye:
Progress Update - it works!

I had another go this morning, not really expecting much - after all, it had failed a dozen times before...

It worked! Not only did it work, but Kingroot worked instantly, almost as the app opened. Very odd.

I have now swapped to SuperSU, stopped Amazon updates, and installed Flashfire and Google play store within 10 minutes of me first getting the tablet plugged into my PC today.

For anyone with a Fire running 5.3.1, all I can say is that the Supertool undeniably works without having to change any of the apps bundled with it, including the Kingroot.apk. It's just that it seems to work at random.

Thanks for the replies Davey126 and Stranger_84.
[Fire Android Development] Stranger_84:
Glad you got it working [emoji106]
[Fire Android Development] whodat711:
can anyone list all of the ips/servers of the amazon update process so that I can block them thru my router before attempting to proceed to get on wifi for kingroot to work??

Thanks
[Fire Android Development] DB126:
Like all big companies Amazon intelligently load balances and uses different CDNs as needed. Blocking IPs/servers is only effective for the little guys.
[Fire Android Development] HughJeffner:
One way that *might* work is if you figured out the domain name the device uses to contact the update service and blackholed it in your own dns server. I'm running dnsmasq in my wifi router so it should be simple to do...
[Fire Android Development] Signor Rossi:
Any News on 5.3.2.1?

Send by my OnePlus Three!
[Fire Android Development] DB126:
Assume you are referring to root - nothing yet. Important to recognize that it's very unlikely anyone is actively working on identifying potential vunerabalities and associated exploits specifically for FireOS. Too small a target. If a crack in the underlying build of Android is discovered and successfully exploited then Amazon devices *may* benefit. Don't hold your breath.
[Fire Android Development] steve8x8:
Hm, if only android-vts (SecureNow's vulnerability test suite) would be kept up-to-date. Would make life easier.

(What about the recently=yesterday closed StageFright issues? Anything useful known about those?)
[Fire Android Development] DB126:
Not sure I'm understanding the point of this post. Is there some concern about obsecure Android vunerabalities that the media chooses to highlight (classic click bait) between the roughly quarterly security patches made to the only two regularly updated custom ROMs for this device? Or are you on the hunt for vunerabalities that can potentially be exploited for root? If the latter you'll need to hunt down forums (loose term) that focus on Android security.
[Fire Android Development] greevedogg:
My son just got this tablet for Christmas to replace a crappy kids tablet that won't hold a charge anymore.

Too bad that it's on 5.3.2.1 already...I would really like to unlock this thing to install CM12 on it.

It wouldn't be so bad if FireOS didn't cripple ChromeCast functionality in Netflix and Disney Jr.

If at least that would work, I'd be okay with it.

I hope rootjunky's SuperTool gets updated, or someone finds a way to downgrade 5.3.2.1 without bricking the device...

(End rant)
[Fire Android Development] mehdoux:
Hi everyone,

I just ordered an Amazon Fire 7inch tablet and I have big chances to get it working on FireOS 5.3.2.1 which, as we all know, is not (yet) rootable. I just wanted to ask if it is possible to get rid of the ads on the lockscreen without rooting it (via ADB, using a computer) ? (Installing PlayStore doesn't require root as far as I know, correct me if I'm wrong)
[Fire Android Development] DB126:
Only temporarily; ads will return after a few days or a reboot. If you want root consider cancelling your order and grabbing a refurb from Amazon Warehouse which typically arrive with older firmware. Priced <$30 USD with most units indistinguishable from new outside the plain brown packaging. Don't hold your breath on an exploit for 5.3.2.1.
[Fire Android Development] rarelyseen:
hello i am trying to downgrade my fire 5th gen from 5.1.3 to 5.1.2 ,but i keep getting hung up when using your downgrade tool. it finds my device and puts it into recovery mode. i am able to choose adb sideload mode then it pops up your device has been downgraded, but it wasn't. any ideas? i am new to android and i know these devices have driver issues, but when i use the supertool it tells me i am good. thanks for the help
[Fire Android Development] steve8x8:
You may try and complain to the vendor that some of the ads may not be appropriate for young members of your family. There have been success reports along this line.

---------- Post added at 01:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:26 PM ----------

Can you exclude cable issues? Try another one, and also check your drivers.
[Fire Android Development] HughJeffner:
Using stock 5.3.1 fresh install here are the domain names used in the update process:

softwareupdates.amazon.com

amzdigital-a.akamaihd.net

The first one is the actual update check, blocking DNS lookup of this domain effectively disabled auto-updates for me YMMV

The second domain name is where the firmware is actually downloaded from (not verified but seems probable). Note that this could change depending on how the update check is implemented.

I recommend blocking DNS resolution of softwareupdates.amazon.com if practical in your situation
[Fire Android Development] chemie99:
Did you ever update the script?