[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] DragonFire1024:
Hello. I have several projects ongoing at the moment, for ways to improves Amazon's Fire tablets, specifically the Fire HD 8. One of them includes trying to get Android's stock live wallpapers from KitKat 4.4 to work. There are a few mysteries and head scratching with these tablets. Wallpapers are one.

Amazon has supposedly blocked the functionality of live wallpapers. Not just Androids, but every live wallpaper that exists (at least from what I've gathered). However I don't believe that is entirely the case. There is an wallpaper XML file which exists in /etc/permissions, android.software.live_wallpaper.xml, which states specifically what permission is needed for live wallpapers to work:

<permissions>
<feature name="android.software.live_wallpaper" />
</permissions>

I am using LiveWallpapersPicker.apk and AndroidLiveWallpapers.apk from KitKat 4.4, along with all the stock wallpapers from that OS version. Everything uploads just find. I can get the picker program to load, if I use an app like Activity Launcher to launch the program. All the live wallpapers are listed. However when I go to select them, nothing happens, or I get a black screen for a second and I am kicked into settings or back to the live wallpaper menu.

My next step was to try and load each wallpaper manually, also using Activity Launcher. All of them will launch, but again Amazons blocks them. The process launches and stays open, but it appears a black overlay is placed in front of the wallpapers so you can't see them or press the button to set them. In all cases, except for two of them, you get about 1/2 a second view of the live wallpaper before you're rudely blacked out. There is one light at the end of the tunnel though. It also proves somewhat of a point they don't have to be installed into /system to work.

This one was expected to work. Holo Spiral (com.android.wallpaper.holospiral) and It's the only one Android labeled as a test wallpaper. It will launch if you do it on it's own. However it's not technically a wallpaper at this point. It's actually more of a screensaver. And honestly a pretty cool one which is also mildly interactive:

The second one, and probably the coolest one (though not my favorite) is Black Hole. Again it's not really a wallpaper, it's a screensaver. Because I am unable to set it as a wallpaper.

So I know these can function and thpough ssome of the wallpapers and the programs have the permission to be used as wallpapers, they still won't work. LiveWallpapersPicker.apk does NOT have the permission. So I used APKtool to decompile it, with Amazon's framework-res.apk installed and added the permission to the XML manifest, right above BIND_WALLPAPER (as most posts I find state to do it there). If the permissions for wallpapers, BIND_WALLPAPER or SET_WALLPAPER_COMPONENT were not there, I added them to. These are simple files really so I shouldn't have to add anything more. I saved the XML, rebuilt the APK and installed it. It works. Howevewr it somehow DOWNGRADES the version to 2.X.X. Huh? I never had an experience where I had an APK downgrade in versions when adding a permission to it's manifest.

With that came two additional problems: 1) The live wallpapers no longer recognized LiveWallpapersPicker. When trying to set them, each wallpaper says "app not installed." I can still get the two wallpapers listed above (screensavers) to load though. So I uninstalled the APK and reinstalled the original. At this point I am stumped and have been for a few days now.

I know you don't need to install them in /system because Amazon allows other such applications for live wallpapers in their own Appstore. You can see for yourself by searching. There are dozens if not more. So I am not sure what I am doing wrong. This should really be as simple as it sounds. Just last week we were able to find a way to disable all of Amazon's apps and another user, one who for a few months helped to get us this far, even made a tool to do it automatically. Shortly after I found a way to install widgets onto the tablets, when using a custom launcher. In both cases the functions were 'blocked' by Amazon, but also in both cases the codes or scripts had literally been staring us in the face for months. The disable command was listed in the ADB menu and the widget script was placed in /system/bin/appwidget and had a step by step guide to activate them. Now they have the same mentality where they 'block' live wallpapers but give a detailed instruction on how to enable them.

I for the life of me just can't figure out what I am doing wrong. I installed Google's app 'Wallpapers' which again gives me the option to set live wallpapers and lists each one, but they are blocked. You also get the option to set them in Nova Launcher too. Scratching your head yet? I have been for months.