yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Fire General] phooeyman:
Wow thats a pain..i have managed to get play store on it using super tool...But wanted to get rid of all the apps on screen !!! is there no other way? Can i downgrade the tablet please to 5.4
[Fire General] k8500:
As bad as it is, you can't. It would cause a brick. Try not to upgrade anymore and keep your fingers crossed for someone to discover something later.
[Fire General] FoxForceFive:
I downgraded to 5.4 from 5.6, you can do it using the guide on here somewhere, think it's the in fire 8 subforum but works fine.

Just do that, then run this tool.
[Fire General] DB126:
Wait - since when are 5.6->5.4 rollbacks problematic? Acknowledged, there was uncertainty for awhile but the above rollback has since been shown to work on 5th and 7th gen 7" models. Unfortunately, no rollback option for HD 8 devices.

Edit: See this post if using a 5th gen device.
[Fire General] djcrystals:
Just used the debloater on my kids' rooted tabs....great work [MENTION=8292572]savvytechwinner[/MENTION]! Def an increase in performance.
[Fire General] Adyatan:
Wait, You mean that I can rollback my 5th gen to 5.4?
[Fire General] DragonFire1024:
So far only if you have the Fire 7.
[Fire General] Adyatan:
[/COLOR]

Then why Davey that the rollback has been shown to work on 5th gen?
[Fire General] DragonFire1024:
This forum section is for the Fire 7. There a few generations of this device, 5th being one.
[Fire General] DB126:
I am struggling with these conflicting statements. I was confident there were creditable posts claiming successful 5.6->5.4 rollbacks on 5th gen 7" devices. Can't find those ATM. Nor can I find any posts confirming bad outcomes. Until there is supporting evidence one way or the other I will need to walk back my previous statement regarding the safety of rolling back 5th gen devices. Sorry for the confusion.

FWIW - I would be willing to test on one of my 5th gens but all have the 5.0.1 bootloader which I'm not willing to give up for obvious reasons.
[Fire General] alroger:
Google Fire 7" gen7

Thank you guys. Once again XDA to the rescue. :good: :D

Thanks to this thread, and the gen7 downgrade thread I now have a fast Google Fire7.

I got it for x-mas, and it had Fire OS 5.6.0.0, I was able to downgrade, debloat and install Google and Launcher.

If anyone is interested, here is my linux bash script.

Cheers! Happy 2018!
[Fire General] phooeyman:
just got second kindle HD and just cannot get the laptop to recognize it??? installed all the usb drivers and ADB from this thread link
[Fire General] phooeyman:
Mate do you have a step by step guide please i can boot into recovery etc but install via sideload ADB im lost?? many thanks
[Fire General] alroger:
Follow the first post on the thread I linked.

It's very detailed. Adb sideload is just a command you run to upload the old 5.4.0 ROM.
[Fire General] phooeyman:
its not clear bud sorry the side loading thing with ADB???? im not sure how to get this working my tablet is showing as FIRE in device manager
[Fire General] DB126:
Watch the video; substitute desired FireOS build (likely 5.4.0.0) for the one mentioned: https://youtu.be/RQLoH-ahjy4
[Fire General] phooeyman:
Thanks Davey got this far but get this error
[Fire General] DB126:
You tried to open the FireOS file on your Windows machine - likely by clicking on it. No where in the video did it say to do that. Might want to get some local help (family member, friend, etc) if unfamiliar with Windows file management and/or working in a command window.
[Fire General] phooeyman:
No in fact the downgrade firmware file was dragged/dropped into adb cmd window actually.. You obviously don't know yourself.
[Fire General] DB126:
Ha!

Note to self: another 'expert' who doesn't need help (cough). Moving on ...

Note to poster: lots of material in the Fire forums and internet in general to assist you further. Good luck.
[Fire General] phooeyman:
You're no help (cough) tw@t :silly:
[Fire General] DragonFire1024:
I think I figured out how to disable apps on 5.6.x.x

adb shell settings put global guest_user_enabled 1

Or download Settings Database Editor and select global tab. Tap add new setting at the top.

1. First box: guest_user_enabled (then save)

2. Second box: 1 (then save)

Try to uninstall a system app.

I disabled the guest user by putting the setting to 0 and could not disable apps. Out the setting to 1, apps get disabled.

I need a tester.
[Fire General] Adyatan:
Hmm. The adb code seems to work! But how do you uninstall a system app?
[Fire General] DragonFire1024:
If I recall correctly:

adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.packge.name
[Fire General] Adyatan:
Nope! Not working on Fire 5th gen.

Delete Failed Internal Error
[Fire General] DragonFire1024:
Could be the wrong code. I don't remember if it's -k --user 0 or --user 0 -k
[Fire General] Adyatan:
The debloat tool is also not working!
[Fire General] kapilathi:
Can you hide navigation bar specific to an app?
[Fire General] DB126:
Not without root as FireOS does not expose Android's native immersive mode controls. Even then I'm not certsin FireOS would support what you are looking for without the use of Xposed Framework which is an obstacle in itself.
[Fire General] kapilathi:
Thanks for the info.
[Fire General] DragonFire1024:
Immersive mode:

Hide only statusbar

adb shell settings put global policy_control immersive.status=*

Collapse navigation bar, swipe from bottom of screen to expand and leave status bar untouched:

adb shell settings put global policy_control immersive.navigation=*

Hide/collapse both statusbar and navigation bar:

adb shell settings put global policy_control immersive.full=*
[Fire General] aut92:
Can we remove the lock screen by doing this please? If not, how can I please? Kindle 7 gen 7, unable to root as none been found. Thank you x
[Fire General] DB126:
- device lockscreen can not be disabled on FireOS (sorry - no workarounds)

- if you don't care for the lockscreen ads contact Amazon and request that they be removed
[Fire General] DragonFire1024:
I managed to disable it in my HD 8 for a bit. I was severely debloated though and I think that is why it worked. I had made a few edits using Settings Database Editor and it worked. I since, haven't been able to repeat the process.
[Fire General] a212ww:
Question

Hello,

I am working on developing a new all in one utility for a similar purpose that will work on patched devices. I was wondering if I could use portions of your code in my new utility. My email is arei@123computer.net if you could email me.

Thanks
[Fire General] DragonFire1024:
The code to disable is standard code and nothing special about it. The tool itself on the other hand is another story. But the tool was built off the code I found in an XDA article which surprisingly worked. The tool was created after that for those who were less inclined to take a manual approach.
[Fire General] Unidave199:
And the final vote is......

Hya XDA gang..

Success with a 7th gen! But now working on a 5th gen 7inch tablet.

Much reading suggest I can use the latest Supertool found here:

https://xdaforums.com/amazon-fire/help/fire-7-2017-7th-gen-downgrade-debloat-t3699937

But adb sideload the Fire OS 5.4.0.0 found here

FireOS 5.4.0.0 links:

- 5th gen: https://fireos-tablet-src.s3.amazona..._579225620.bin

That sound about right???

I was actually able use the latest Supertool to load Google and launcher hijack without loading the root but the ad remove tool won't work. And some of the earlier reading suggests I will brick my device if I run the root command.

But, if I adb sideload the .bin file for FireOS 5.4..0.0 then I should be able to profit?
[Fire General] soulife:
I've read approximately 20~ish pages trying to answer my own question, but i'm starting to get tired, so i'm asking anyway even though some douch is probably gonna have something negative to say because, you know, xda and stuff..

I understand that "disable OTA updates" isn't guaranteed to stick, but has anyone who has disabled OTAs on, say, a 5.4.0.0 version been updated anyway yet?

I got my new Fire 7 - 7th Gen tablet today (paid $7 on Amazon!). It's on 5.4.0.0, I disabled OTAs, installed Google services, Removed all the Amazon stuff, removed ads, the whole shibang.. I'm ready to try for Google aAssistant next, and finish setting it up to my liking, but i'm a little worried about the OTA so I haven't connected to Wifi yet. I just started googling what i should block in my routers firewall to block it, but i'm honestly just tired.. I've been messing around for 6 hours now and i'd like to just set it up now if disabling OTAs is working so far..

Just thinking out loud here, this is of no importance, but, Tbh, I think jumped the gun on buying this.. I saw the sale on amazon, and saw i could pay in installments of $7 per month. At only $35, it was hard to pass up, but so was the Fire 8 since it was only $11 a month. I checked xda real quick and saw "install second bootloader" then checked xda for the fire 8 and saw almost nothing, so i got the 7.. I remembered rooting my step daughters and flashing a new rom so i just assumed this was a good buy. But as long as I can prevent OTAs, this isnt too bad. Still worth the $35 if all my stuff works in the end. Still regretting not just grabbing the 10 though..
[Fire General] DB126:
HD 8 (5/6/7th) gen is bootloader locked and unrootable so no custom ROMs, kernels or "second bootloader". Likely you accessed a forum for the 2nd gen HD 8.9 which has nothing in common with the HD 8.

6 hours for "the whole shibang" is time forever lost. Work which remains vulnerable to a rouge OTA. Hope the benefit was worth the effort.
[Fire General] soulife:
I think you misunderstood my post.. I understand that the 7 i have is bootloader locked, and currently unrootable, that was the purpose of my final off topic paragraph. I accessed the Fire 7 thread, and the fire 8 threads. If you were to visit both, you would see exactly what i said. Fire 8 has about 8 posts, and fire 7 is pretty generalized since the fire 7 marketed a few years ago isnt the fire 7 marketed today. Hense, why i said i jumped the gun.. My 6 hours of research and modifying what i have, has so far made me happy.. I have no ads and no amazonware..

But what i'm wondering is, and what I asked was, has anyone who has disabled OTA updates on their Fire OS 5.4.0.0 version, been updated to a later version anyway, despite their "disable OTA" settings.. I said i understand there are no guarantees.. But so far, up to today, HAS ANYONE BEEN UPGRADED ANYWAYYYYYY? Understand?

Thank you for telling me about root though just incase i was about to ask that next, you've probably frustratingly had to answer that question a million times before, but i know, thats why i never mentioned rooting mine, and i only mentioned the question of peoples experience so far with OTAs..
[Fire General] DB126:
Err...my response was triggered by the "thinking out loud" paragraph, mention of a second bootloader and frequent confusion between Amazon devices and their capabilities. Upper case bark followed up by "understand?" did not go unnoticed. Thank you.

I have observed postings indicating an uncommanded OTA update was received/processed after unspecified steps were taken to block such actions but there is no way to know whether an appropriate technique was used and if the block was applied "correctly" as defined by the author which in itself is no assurance of an iron clad condom. I have long since abandoned giving guidance on this topic since so many people get it wrong. Hopefully an unsubstantiated testimonial (or three) will boost your confidence.
[Fire General] soulife:
:) Thank you.. I'll hold off on an internet connection until I get some firewalled blocks in place for amazon then, just in case.. Your help is greatly appreciated.

Edit: And i apologize if i was condescending. I didnt intend to bark, but i too felt like i was barked at, so i suppose i barked back a little. But i do understand if i was misunderstood.. I've been on xda for a long time and I see clueless people asking to be spoon fed info all the time. They will ask a question that was answered 1 post before theirs. Or try to drag and drop a file onto a cmd window and ask why they got an error ;) lol
[Fire General] alroger:
As I said.. just follow the procedure. That's for debloating and removing OTA.

Working since jan 13 like a regular Android tab. Pretty good for a cheap tab this quality.
[Fire General] soulife:
In your experience, has removing OTA been successful so far? If i can avoid having to research amazons OTA related ip addresses to configure a firewall, at least for the time being, that would be comforting to know.. I feel like i should just setup a firewall for this tablet anyway, just incase, but if i could start to actually use my new tablet in the mean time without fear of an OTA, that would be great..
[Fire General] DragonFire1024:
I have an HD 8 that has remained in 5.4.0.0 since the day I disabled DeviceSoftwareOTA. Does that stop firmware from updating at all? Yes. But does it stop other OTA when disabled? Probably not. I've decompiled a lot of APKs now and there are great tools to use to check various functions of apps (MyAndroidTools. You need root). And I have seen several APKs that have their own OTA activities and what not. So there is definitely background OTA going on in other apps. To what extent, I've no idea.

Edit: there is also a way to turn off automatic updates using secure settings but I don't know if it's reliable. Probably only works on Android updates I imagine. I'll have to look for the method though.

Edit edit: I love my HD 10. Since I can edit the framework and systemUI and settings APK, I've learned to enjoy FireOS to an extent. I hope to soon understand enough about the way Amazon customized this lollipop edition that I can actually customize FireOS as much as a custom rom.
[Fire General] DB126:
If you opt for a reliable software (VPN based) firewall blocking network access to DeviceSoftwareOTA.apk is advisable. Renaming/disabling that pub is even better. Good luck!
[Fire General] lakitu47:
There's also another system app called "Forced OTA". Judging by the package name, it's probably just for setup, but I would recommend blocking it anyway.
[Fire General] DB126:
That's part of the problem with defining effective OTA blocking techniques that do not impart undesirable side effects. Plenty of unsubstantiated suggestions from well meaning enthusiasts - often based simply on file identifier. I have no idea what "Forced OTA" does; not part of my blocking strategy.
[Fire General] DragonFire1024:
From what I can tell, having decompiled the APK more than a few times, I think part of it's job is to force the home page to default to fire launcher. It's essentially why we have to use launcher hijacker. The OTA is internal and it updates the system to set fire launcher as default launcher always and to make sure the home screen remains fire launcher home screen whenever home is called upon, regardless if another launcher is installed.
[Fire General] troy_77:
Thanks for sharing your script! I copied it over to a bash script for use on Linux. I started with a new Fire 7 ( 7th gen ) running 5.0.6.1 that I first downgrade to 5.4.0.0 with out any issues. I had to add the following two items to your list of Amazon apps to remove all. (No problem, just to let you know if you want to update your script again)

Maps: com.amazon.geo.client.maps

Downloads UI: com.android.providers.downloads.ui

For anyone else who prefers Linux, basically just change the ' adb\adb.exe uninstall -k ' command to ' adb shell pm uninstall -k '. So for example to remove maps (assuming you have android-tools already installed)

adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.amazon.geo.client.maps

I also used Launcher hijacker and appwidget.sh to successfully install Apex launcher with working widgets!

Thanks again!
[Fire General] Meep70:
I was almost there. That made life a lot easier. :)
[Fire General] jasiek610:
is there any method to remove bloat on fire 7 7th gen running 5.6.1.0 ?
[Fire General] DragonFire1024:
There might soon be one I believe. Watch for updates but in a new thread. There are a few working on a method if I recall correctly.
[Fire General] troy_77:
I've been working on a modified bash version of this Tool that I would like share. I want to be sure Im giving credit to the people who have done the work. Who should be credited with the appwidget.sh script that is being used to get widgets working properly?

Thanks
[Fire General] DragonFire1024:
I found the script, and found out it worked, but i can't really take credit for something that was already there. It's a standard android script available in most devices. The surprise is it even still existed on these machines, much less worked.
[Fire General] Severus Snape:
After running the script doing the launcher hijack, I found I was able to just run

adb uninstall -k --user 0 com.amazon.firelauncher

which then popped up the "choose a default home screen app" thing when I hit the home button and from there everything worked much better
[Fire General] Team Willow:
Working on 5.4.0.0 with downgrade from 5.6.0.1

Good morning all, I did this today from 5.6.0.1 with no issuse, I hope this helps....

Thanks to savvytechwinner for your help....

https://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=76813896&postcount=82
[Fire General] TheAgentSmith1:
My tablet was on 5.6.1.0 and I downgraded it straight to 5.4.0.0.

the tool worked, except for the ad removal :/

thank you so much for the tool :)
[Fire General] DragonFire1024:
Fire 7 i presume?
[Fire General] TheAgentSmith1:
Yes its an Amazon fire 7 Tablet 7th generation.

----

I would like to keep amazon prime video and amazon shopping. because every time i try to install them over play store it fails... what can i do?
[Fire General] simbin:
Got "Failure - not installed for 0" for these:

com.amazon.goodreads.kindle

com.amazon.com.alexa.tablet

com.android.downloads.iu

adb\adb.exe uninstall -k --user 0 amazon.alexa.tablet

Way to remove the others?

Couple more suspicious ones, Should I delete?

com.amazon.whisperlink.core.android

com.here.odnp.service
[Fire General] savvytechwinner:
Well, I didn't remove the others just because some apps will really screw it up if you get rid of them, so I only uninstalled the main ones, if that makes since. You can manually delete them if you want though, no-one is stopping you. Just back up your stuff because if something goes wrong that's a factory reset for you.
[Fire General] mcwaremex:
Hi. Got an amazon fire 7 (7th gen) with 5.6.2.0, and was able to downgrade to 5.4.0.0 and install all the google apps. Thanks for this amazing effort!

Only thing is that I'm unable to download Netflix App, google store says my device is not compatible (I had the app running with the original Amazon OS) any ideas why?
[Fire General] DB126:
Grab it from a trusted download site like APKMirror:

https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/netflix-inc/
[Fire General] Flux707:
Reliabilty

Yh hey I was wondering if that code makes apps comply with it and reshape to fill the whole screen or if they have black bars where the nav bar and status bar used to be like YouTube and if they don't then how do you undo this code
[Fire General] Zboy745:
This sucks

I love my Fire 7 (2017) but I'd love it even more if I get these damn ads and Amazon bloatware and Alexa off it. I hope a root strategy and a ROM is released for it soon I am so done with Fire OS. Why couldn't Amazon have gone with REAL ANDROID with Amazon Apps pre-installed?
[Fire General] DB126:
Root is unlikely given device age; easy exploits were plugged long ago. As for your other comment Fire tablets exist for one reason which has nothing to do with being "real Android". Welcome to the Amazon ecosystem.
[Fire General] Zboy745:
Yeah I figured. I am going to keep trying to find an exploit. Amazon has to have a way to install the firmware somehow, right? There's got to be a way that way if you catch my drift.
[Fire General] DB126:
Sure - have at it. Maybe you'll find a vulnerability that has eluded untold experienced eyes over the past 3+ years - not to mention knowledgeable Amazon & Google engineers whose job it is to protect the fort. I won't be holding my breath.
[Fire General] DragonFire1024:
They do. I believe they use a root shell using a specific uid and pid which also requires a certain permission be attached. With that said, unless you can crack a couple of keystores, I don't think we'll be able to unlock these tablets anytime soon. I do think the keys are on the tablets, but they are heavily secured and the likelihood of ever getting to them is slim to none because they are locked away in a "master key box" that is locked inside another keystore which makes it not only totally hidden, but nearly impossible to ever access.
[Fire General] vic_singh:
Do I need to put the tablet in fastboot?
[Fire General] Zboy745:
hmmm well then. Has anyone tried altering FireOS to take bloatware and Alexa off and then masking the signature?
[Fire General] DB126:
There are various 'hacks' available to partially debloat the stock portfolio as documented elsewhere in the forum. Has nothing to do with altering FireOS; leverages standard Android commands.

Not sure what you mean by "masking the signature".
[Fire General] Zboy745:
In recovery, you can apply update from SD card. We could use that to install an altered or customized version of Fire OS (like another launcher already installed, FireOS launcher uninstalled, google play already set up, no ads, etc) with OTA blocked. We would just have to mask the signature or something. I've done that before with a few of my phones. The issue is I can't get ahold of a Fire OS zip file nor the right signature they use. It's just an idea, but I haven't seen anywhere if it possible nor tried.
[Fire General] DB126:
Amazon's stock recovery is a little more sophisticated. Signature masking (forging, cloning, etc.) isn't that easy. If it were flashing custom ROMs would be a cake walk.
[Fire General] DragonFire1024:
you aren't kidding. I've already tried to do things like that. It's a lot easier to do to an APK than a signed recovery.
[Fire General] Zboy745:
Right, I kinda knew that but was hoping someone was smarter than me in that dept. would be able to mask it.

---------- Post added at 03:58 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:55 PM ----------

But not impossible. I mean I'm not an Andriod genius, let alone FireOS, but there's got to be away. I've done this in the past for some of my phones (ASUS, Kazam, Samsung) bc I was too impatient to wait for a root strategy or custom ROM. And masking the signature wasn't too difficult. But the recovery for Amazon Devices is tricky, but not impossible. We just need someone who is exceptionally good at it.
[Fire General] DragonFire1024:
Or a back door.
[Fire General] DB126:
Digital security isn't hard if done properly. Many previous exploits leveraged vulnerabilities that never should have been available albeit for the lack of discipline. Those days are over as the stakes are much higher for OEMs who get caught with their shorts in the wrong orientation.
[Fire General] DragonFire1024:
How we have little faith.
[Fire General] DB126:
I know - education and relevant experience carry little weight. Ignorance is bliss.