yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] Jumbo100:
From the archives ... The Amazon Fire tablet origin story.

"We want to make money when people use our devices, not when they buy our devices"

- Jeff Bezos , September, 2012

Amazon draws line between Fire tablet and Kindle e-reader

Kindle name is dropped from Amazon's family of tablets to strengthen ties to the rest of its burgeoning hardware line.

www.cnet.com
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] aMikeF:
just tell me whats comands
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] aMikeF:
amazon employees use these tablets to log in to work in Europe, I used to work in an office and I was given such a tablet to log in when I worked from home, this is not always required as they have now abandoned tablets for offices and use regular nfc readers to log in
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] :
It failed to import the module... BUT.... it lead me to look at code, play and investigate and... I've got it sorted now!

After a bit of web searching and python playing (I don't know python btw) I was able to look at the paths (from python's sys.path) being used and saw they referenced user local python directories. Other users obviously don't have the same local directories so I figured I might be on to something. Long story short, within the ~/python/site-packages directory I found an 'adb' directory. So I deleted it (backed it up first obviously!) and bingo... FTB is now working for my user!! Happy, I am!

I reckon what was happening was that the path structure was leading the import to the other adb directory. Once out the way, the correct adb could be loaded. Now I don't know python and these appimages, but can it be restricted to look at only the directories extracted from the appimage?? Rather than my entire user environment. Not wishing to teach my grannie to suck eggs of course!! And, of course, I could be well off track in my assumption.
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] Yamashiro44:
How to download Fire Tool Box?
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] Jumbo100:
See OP#1 for full details.

Read and follow all instructions carefully for best results.
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] DB126:
Grumble post; not seeking a response.

Several apps with Google Play Services dependencies began misbehaving in the past 48 hrs. Been down this path before; almost always traceable to an existing Google Play Services install not fully/properly auto-updating on FireOS 8. In the past I questioned if I somehow contributed to the problem via side loading shenanigans. No such possibility this time. My time with Amazon devices is quickly drawing to a close. Cheap screens aren't worth the ongoing hassle.
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] :
That's okay, I think grumbling is ok on here too! At least, I kinda hope so!!

Nope, Fire and Google are never going to play nice together, not always anyway. It's always going to be a compromise. One can only hope for it being for the most part ok. I've a few niggles on my set up but I live with them. Location is decidedly slow and/or unreliable, for instance. And it's integration with the Googleverse is hit and miss, BUT there's a few plus points that I try to keep in mind, price being but one. Battery life and charge time are good too (compared to my other, older devices)

But yes, you are right. In an ideal world and without budget restrictions, I too would do away with the hassles and place the Fire on the 'old devices' pile.
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] :
New question. Just looking at the 'Automatic Updates' option (in 'Modify System Settings'), is the toggle (or description) back to front?? It displays "*Disabled", if I click the button, the display changes to "Enabled" but the window that comes up says OTA updates have been DISabled (and vice versa). I'm confused as to which way around it is.
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] blaacksheep:
I know that OTA Updates is what the message is about. OTA (Over The Air) Updates are the ones that can't be undone or removed. I think that Automatic Updates is for Amazon Appstore apps, but that might be wrong because I reset my HD10 (2019) and did not put in Google Playstore or Services and just used Amazon Appstore and F-Droid. I shut off Automatic Updates and I still get update notifications from Amazon Appstore but it doesn't automatically install app updates.
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] DB126:
"I think that Automatic Updates is for Amazon Appstore apps..."

That is my understanding and experience with this setting.
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] :
Thank you for the replies...but but but... that's not what I was asking about! I'm confused as to which way around the setting is! It says it's enabled, you click it and a message comes up to say it's now disabled...

Maybe it's just the wording that is confusing me as everything seems to work consistently 🤷‍♂️
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] Jumbo100:
TL;DR

For best FTB mod results: OTA Updates = OFF ; Amazon AppStore Updates= OFF

(Ignore if this post it is overly simplistic or adds to confusion. )

To summarize, the end result of FTB mods for most users:

OTA Updates=OFF ensures that the Amazon servers are blocked to prevent Amazon from auto-updating FireOS and overwriting alll the mods made with ADB commands . Blocking OTA updates also block the updating of Amazon-branded app viz. Amazon Shopping, Prime Movies et al.

Amazon Appstore Updates=OFF prevents Amazon from updating apps which you may have installed from Google Play Store or by APK sideloading. This stops potential app "update clash" between Appstore installed apps and Google installed apps.

On your device, OTA Updates are "restricted" so that ADB commands cannot disable OTA Updates apps and one of the "workarounds" has to be deployed. RethinkDNS is the most rigorous process.

Appstore Updates=OFF can be confirmed from:

Setting > Apps & Notification > Apps, Amazon app settings > Appstore > Automatic Update=DISABLED

Similarly Google Play Store Auto-updates should be disabled to prevent updating of Appstore installed apps.
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] :
...I'm afraid that still doesn't answer my question.... :cry:

Well, not really a question as such. More a comment on this confusing (to me) wording. I'll try to be more explicit; if I click the toggle button for 'Automatic Updates', let's say to enable updates. Up pops a window that says...

"OK, Automatic OTA Updates have been disabled, would you also like to disable ..."

Note - DISabled, and not enabled as I selected. And it happens vice-versa. That is, if I select 'Disable" then the window message says "Enabled". Also note that the pop-up window message refers to OTA updates, NOT the automatic updates I selected (OTA Updates is a different option, below Automatic Updates) I don't know if the wrong window has been triggered.

I'm not sure if this might be a factor (for FTB's logic flow) but I can only restrict OTA updates on my table (not disable) due to the firmware level. I mention that only as this circumstance might be a factor in causing a possibly wrong window to display. (Fyi, I do use a workaround; URL blocking via my adblocker)

Also important to note is that I am referring to the unix V6.1 beta package here. I had a look at V5 and the wording is different, it has changed for V6.

To be clear, it all appears to function correctly and I can achieve what I want, it's just the wording of what's happening seems out of kilter. :)
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] Jumbo100:
So we're on the same page, could you confirm your Fire tablet model and FireOS firmware?

Older tablet models were able to ADB diable OTA Updates; later modes can't and are "restricted". FTB device identification code usually sorts all this out.

Yes , if FTB code is functioning as expected, code description may be a problem. I guess that's why software programmers need a good editor to make to get the desciptors/documentation right. LOL.
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] :
and that's all working perfectly and as expected. No worries there. It's the text/description changes for v6 that are possibly at issue.
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] gguerra:
I am not able to add a shortcut to a specific folder in google drive.

This has always worked with Nova Launcher using older tablets, FW 7.3.2.1 or earlier. I have always used google drive widget to do this, not working now with some newer FW tablets I am working with. Other widgets work including some google drive widgets, just not the one that will take you to a specific folder.

I can go into google drive no problem, need a shortcut to a specific folder. Adding a shortcut actually says "Shortcut added" but it doesn't show on the Fire Launcher or the Nova Launcher.

I'm thinking of trying another launcher that could give me this capability. I seriously doubt the Fire launcher would work for any kind of google operations.

Edit: It seems Evie Launcher will do what I need, never mind the above message. I tried to delete post but it seems there is no way to do that.
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] gguerra:
Side Loading APK's with FTB version 34 gives me this message, (see attachment).

Side loading the same APK with FTB ver 28 works just fine.

Fire HD 10 2021 model.

sorry if this has been asked before, What is going on?
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] Jumbo100:
The original Evie Launcher was developed for amrebi-v7a ABI and has not been updated since 2021. Last APK available for sideloading is ver 2.148.

Your current Fire HD10 Gen11 , 2021 setup requires apps to be compatible with arm64-v8a ABI instruction set.

So the Evie Launcher apk you're using is probably incompatible with your device.
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] Jumbo100:
Browser shortcuts and widgets are not natively supported by Amazon Fire Launcher.

Nova Launcher supports both browser widgets and shortcuts, but shortcuts on Nova have not worked on FireOS 7.3.2.2 and later.

If you need a "folder shortcut" , try using a third-part app to generate a shortcut re-endcoded as a widget . Shortcut Maker for Android app by dec Rushikesh Kamewar has been evtted by the Community this this situation.

Specifically, you can use Shortcut Maker to create an "in app" widget directly to Google Drive and its folders.
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] gguerra:
I got the error with a different APK, an older version of google drive. It will sideload with FTB v28, not v34. Same APK, same tablet. It runs just fine btw.

If I try to sideload the Evie Launcher APK that comes with FTB 34 from the

Sideload Apps

menu option, it will give me the same error.

If I install the Evie Launcher from the

Custom Launcher

menu option in FTB 34, it will load and run just fine, no error message.

The only thing I can think of is the code in FTB v34 under the

Sideload Apps

menu option actually checks the arm version. It gives me the error right away when I select the APK. This would be something that datastream33 would obviously know , no big deal. I appreciate the work he has put in.

I just thought it was strange. I have loaded many 2021 HD 10s with older versions of FTB and the apps run just fine. This started with FTB 34 to which I just made the jump to recently. Either way, I am getting around the problem for now, I just run two versions side by side.

And yeah, I did find out widgets in Nova do not work in FW 7.2.2.2 or later. Evie works perfectly even though it has not been updated, I like it, it does what I need.

Thanks
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] Jumbo100:
IDK ... Custom Launcher must be installing Evie without ARM authentication (?). Good to know.

FTB ver 34.x has some revamped code which may account for issue..
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] gguerra:
I read your message again, sounds interesting, I will explore this.

What I need I have accomplished with a widget but would I be able to create a shortcut on the home screen that would take me directly to a folder on google drive?
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] Jumbo100:
Hey @Datastream33

Any reason why FTB v34.x can't sideload apss coded for older ABI ver amrebi-v7a per @gguerra issues above?
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] Jumbo100:
I think so. Shortcut Maker can create a widget from the "in app" option to generate "pseudo -shortcut" directly to Google Drive and to Google Drive folders and even specific files. YMMV.

For some reason, Nova can create browser shortcuts, but the shortcuts are not being displayed. Works for widgets though. More FireOS weirdness.
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] Datastream33:
Greetings!

I apologize for the confusion when it comes to this tool, and I recognize that its actual functions aren't well communicated, and that's my bad.

The Automatic Updates tool is effectively two tools in one. One part of the tool is designed to toggle on/off the OTA behavior of installing updates immediately (without user consent) after download (if the OS actually honors this setting I'm not sure), and the second part is designed to toggle on/off the automatic updates of apps installed via the Amazon AppStore.

So how it works is it toggles off/on the automatic OTA updates first (which is what the messagebox is referring to in the first sentence), and then offers the option to toggle off/on the automatic app updates for the Amazon AppStore. ;)

Also, if you're curious as to why the messagebox says its disabled, while the setting in the window still shows it as enabled then this is due to the fact that the toggle isn't updated until the entire process of actually changing the setting is complete. What ever the messagebox reports is what the setting is. :D
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] evocraft:
Thank you for this useful tool !

Straight to my issue - I cannot get the "temporary root shell" to work. The script starts working until it reaches:

./mtk-su

failed critical init step 4: Bad address

I hoped to use the temporary root shell to patch the hosts file and get rid of (most of) the ads. The tablet is going to be used by an elderly relative and ads are not only a nuisance but also a great source of confusion for them.
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] Datastream33:
Yes, I would agree. If the Fire tablets aren't your thing I would definitely recommend you to pick up an Onn tablet before an expensive one like a Galaxy tablet. ;)
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] Datastream33:
I think this means that mtk-su isn't compatible with the version of FireOS your tablet is running. I'm not sure, but maybe [MENTION=8132642]diplomatic[/MENTION] could shed some light on this. He is the developer...
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] Datastream33:
No problem! Always happy to help a friend out! :highfive:
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] Datastream33:
mtk-su usually is the best way to go. However, many of the tablets have been patched when it comes to mtk-su so I would recommend the Automate method if mtk-su isn't available. ;)
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] DB126:
https://xdaforums.com/hd8-hd10/development/official-amazon-fire-toolbox-v1-0-t3889604/post80923273

There's another approach with lock screen ads. Simply contact Amazon and politely say you find them offensive. Rep will almost always disable the feed without charge or pushback. Of course, you need to be in good standing w/Amazon to pull this off.
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] Datastream33:
UPDATE: Amazon Fire Toolbox v6.2 Has Been Released!

What's up, everyone? I hope you are having a terrific and fantastic Tuesday!

We got another update today! Amazon Fire Toolbox V6.2 has been publicly released!

This update brings to the table a new feature, enhancements to pre-existing ones, and a few changes to the Toolbox Installer, and two new commands for TBShell. So for the new feature, I think it is a very important one and I'm not sure why it wasn't added into the Toolbox until now... but here it is. Custom Launcher is the name of this new feature and it basically allows you to install a custom launcher onto your tablet with no interaction needed. It also includes Widget Support and will enable the use of widgets on the chosen Launcher. In addition to this new feature, we have enhancements to Remove Lockscreen Ads and ADB Shells that finally is able to detect if mtk-su can be used for these features or not. Device Detection has also been given an enhancement that allows it to detect if the device was found, but isn't authorized to use ADB by the user.

Enable/Disable Force Close has now been added to TBShell. The goal with this is to help users in determining what/where an error is occurring. Basically, it prevents cmd from closing when an error occurs, giving the user enough time to view the error and to report it here. Hopefully, this will help with troubleshooting in the near future.

If you are interested in everything that has been changed in Version 6.2 please refer to the changelog below.

Version 6.2:

Device Detection: if the device isn't authorized to use ADB the Toolbox will now prompt you to confirm USB Debugging.
Custom Launcher: Installs a custom launcher, and allows for the enabling of widget support.
Sideload Apps: Moving all apks to a single folder is now x2 faster.
Custom Background: Fixed an issue that was causing the background to become transparent when switching between backgrounds.
ADB Shells: Checking for Mtk-Su compatibility has been added.
The installer has been modified to skip asking for the installation directory.
TBShell: The option to disable Force Close has been added.
Remove Lockscreen Ads: Checking for Mtk-Su compatibility has been added.

As always, you can download Toolbox V6.2 from this link, or from the Toolbox's built-in auto-updater.

Before this post ends I would like to THANK YOU ALL personally for being so cool, and supporting! In addition, I would like to send some special love to all of those who have donated! I REALLY APPRECIATE IT and just wanted to let you all know that I'm really grateful for every single penny! THANK YOU SO MUCH! :highfive:

I really hope you guys enjoy this update, and with that being said.. I'll see you guys in the next update! :D
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] iesvs:
Trying to configure the Custom Launcher it shows No launcher was selected at first, but when I go to Choose I get error:

File not found - DropDownBox.exe

'dropdownbox' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file. ║

Spaceholder was selected and isn't a valid selection.

Thanks :)
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] Datastream33:
OH, thanks for the catch. I'm not sure why the file was deleted but it was. I will recompile it and post the fixed version ASAP.
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] Datastream33:
Due to an oversite and an error on my part I've removed the downloads links for V6.2. I will update the links to the fixed version asap.
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] Datastream33:
Ok, I've restored the Download link. Both Mirror 1 and 2 will take some time to restore but it will eventually get there. If you have installed V6.2 on your PC before this fix please uninstall it and install the fixed version. Thank you and I'm sorry for any inconvenience this has caused.

EDIT: All links have been restored.
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] j0hnnyclaymore:
Hello datastream, is this still working with uptodate fire hd 10 ? Im asking before buying.

And what custom launchers can be installed with your sw? thanks for helping :)
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] mostlydave:
I'm trying to run this on the new updated fire HD 10 and its stuck at the no devices found screen. Am I doing something wrong or is this tablet not supported yet?

Edit: Never mind, I forgot to enable USB debugging, after enabling I was able to install Nova and it's working great!
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] Datastream33:
Hey Johnny, what's up?

Anyways, yes I believe the Toolbox should work for the Fire HD10 (To be sure may I ask what generation you are thinking of buying?) Now about the launchers, so far the only launchers that can be installed using the Custom Launcher tool are: Nova Launcher, Evie Launcher, and Microsoft Launcher (more launchers will be added in future updates).

If you'd like to install a different launcher like ADW launcher you can download the apk from any apk hosting site (make sure it is a trustable source) and sideload it to the tablet using the Sideload Apps tool. I hope I was able to answer your question! ;)
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] mi7chy:
6.1 works good yesterday on a Fire HD 10 2019. Only thing I noticed is in Google Play Store app view the images look blown up compared to manually installing Google Play Store/Services previously.
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] Datastream33:
Really? That's strange... I don't think I've ever experienced this (then again, I don't have a 2019 model). Well, thank you for reporting this, I will look into ASAP.
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] DB225:
Oops. Nvm For some reason my debugging wasn't on. LMAO
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] MrKaon:
[MENTION=8560782]Datastream33[/MENTION]

Thanks for your great tool, disabling Amazon launcher is amazing, all working good on 2019 Fire HD 10 (Gen9)

is it possible to remove selected amazon preinstalled apps? but want to keep Amazon store for Netflix as it can't be installed from Play Store.
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] guibao:
Working smooth as butter on my Fire HD 8 2017 (7th gen).

Thank you very much!
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] Datastream33:
Sweet! Thank you for reporting your success with the HD 10 2019 tablet. :D

Now, about the manual removal of apps. Have you happened to use the Manual mode in the "Remove Everything Amazon" tool? I believe this tool will help you accomplish the task! ;)

BTW, thanks! I really appreciate the nice compliment and I'm so happy to hear that you are enjoying the Toolbox! :highfive:
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] Datastream33:
Greetings!

You are entirely correct in your assumption @gguerra, the Sideload Apps tool does indeed check the cpu architecture. The issue you're encountering is something I've been meaning to fix but haven't due to putting all my focus into the Linux version. The issue lies in the fact that it just obtains the cpu architecture and then compares that value to the APKs supported architecture without considering anything else, such as the fact that arm64-v8a based CPUs still support armeabi-v7a instruction sets. This will get fixed in the next micropatch. Thank you so much for the report! :)
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] Datastream33:
Oh, now that's interesting!

The 'adb' folder in your site-packages makes sense as to why the adb module in ~/.local/share/Datastream/FireToolbox/adb failed to load.

I'm guessing it has to do with the import statement. The import system couldn't find the adb module in the AppImage's python environment so it bled out into your user environment looking for any resemblance to the adb module and found the adb folder in your site-packages (prioritized this directory over the ones in sys.path) and because there was no adb module in that folder it just returned an ModuleNotFound exception, thinking it found the directory it was supposed to find. Deleting that folder allowed the system to look outside of that and actually locate the proper adb folder. Or at least that would be my best guess (I could be entirely wrong, please someone correct me if that's the case). Interesting!

Anyway, glad you got it to work, and it's cool that we learned a few new things together! Good work my friend! :)