[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] Datastream33:
What's going on, guys?

Long time no see!

I know this is out of the blue, but I'm extremely excited to announce that Fire Toolbox V34.0 has just been released. There's some good changes in here, so let's not delay any further and get into the nitty gritty of today's update.

Let's Rethink the Blocking of OTA Updates​

OK, I’ll be the first to admit that the current restriction workaround of setting the Wi-Fi networks as metered isn’t ideal for a large majority of cases. It not only prevents HD streaming in some apps, but can slow down downloads and uploads. So, it would be ideal if we had a different approach, one that just works for our case? Well luckily for us, @blaacksheep has us covered as usual. In today’s update, I’m excited to announce that the Toolbox is now capable of installing and configuring Rethink Dns for tablets running on a restricted firmware! Huge shoutout to @blaacksheep’s guide, It was a very valuable resource in getting this thing setup!

Unlike the metered method, Rethink allows us to block connections to Amazon’s servers, without sacrificing networks speeds. But because Rethink is always running in the background it will consume some RAM which can impact performance on tablets with a lower RAM capacity. Despite this, it’s still worth a try if you’re experiencing issues with the metered method.

The method works by installing Rethink, setting it as an "always on VPN", and then restoring a settings backup that contains the neccessary rules for blacklisting connections to Amazon's OTA updates servers, and preventing network access for the OTA Update system packages.

If you’re interested in trying this method, all you need to do is launch the Modify System Settings tool, and click the toggle next to OTA Updates (you will have to revert the Metered method before the Rethink method can be used), and select Rethink from the new method selection window!

Switching It Up With Languages​

For tablets running FireOS 7.3.2.0+ now have the option to change the device's language, even using languages not listed in Amazon's language selection in the Device Setup app! However, there's always a downside, and in this case the downside is that because Amazon didn't get around to fully translating the OS for different languages only some parts of the OS have been translated. From what I could gather, the Settings app is where it's mostly noticeable. Some headers and descriptions may appear in the selected langauge, while some may still appear in English.

And while we're on the subject of languages, as far as I could tell, there's no way of adding additional languages to the tablets without root access. So I'm afraid there isn't much we can do about the partial support, or adding additional languages that aren't already supported.

Restoring What Matters the Most From System Backups​

So this next feature is something I think has been needed for some time now. When restoring a backup, it's now possible to select what elements from your backup you actually want to restore. So, if you have backup with the Internal Storage, package states, and user apps, but you just want to restore the package states, you can now tell the Toolbox that's what you want and instead of it restoring the entire backup all at once you can now restore just the package states. Pretty freaking cool aye? The list view has also been updated so the backups will now appear from top to bottom instead of from left to right.

A new Google Assistant​

When it comes to downloading, this tool and the Google Services tool were the hardest ones to account for. The Google app itself (depending upon which version of Android your tablet runs) is a fairly large APK (120MB+), and after APKMirror shut down access to direct download links we had a fairly hard time hosting the APKs ourselves so we figured since we already had Play Services installed, we'd just rely on the Play Store to download/install the Play Store for us. Of course I didn't think of the possibility of the Play Store blocking access to the Google app due to an unsupported device. Luckily, we just discovered that another popular APK website (trusted) allows direct downloads, so the Google app is now downloaded from there, solving the whole issues with the Play Store.

Also, the process of fully activating Google Assistant has changed with time, so I took the liberty of adding an instructional video/text tutorial that goes over the onboarding process. And for some reason the Gassist APK has been missing from previous Toolbox builds, so that has also been restored.

Hiding Those Pesky Unsupported Settings​

As Android continues to evolve, new features are constantly added and some features are sometimes removed. In past versions of the Toolbox, some features could be found that would have no impact on different versions of Android and would often cause confusion due to their inclusion. For me this was something I've been meaning to tackle for some time now. Not everything has been accounted for just yet, but I think it's a good start. So, here's just a few of the subtools that have been hidden for specific Android versions:

[Custom Launcher]

To avoid confusion, the Launcher Activation methods that aren’t compatible with the tablet’s firmware are now hidden.

[SystemUI Modifier]

Due to Google removing the ability to modify the navigation bar through the settings database, the Navigation Bar Modifier will now be hidden for tablets running FireOS 8+.

[Modify System Settings]

The Do Not Disturb (Voluem Panel), and Power Notifications options should only be shown on tablets running FireOS 6.

The Night Mode (Dark Theme), and Gesture Navigation options should only be shown on tablets running FireOS 8+.

The Language Locale option should only be shown on tablets running FireOS 7+.

Gesture Navigation will only be shown on tablets running FireOS 8+.

A New Way of Navigation on FireOS 8​

Thanks to @dbdude58 for discovering an easy way to activate Gesture Navigation, it's now possible to toggle on/off gesture navigation in the Modify System Settings tool (SystemUI tab)! While it does survive a reboot, there can be some cases of the navbar glitching out, and sometimes weird behavior can occur (at least in my testing). But, it's a breath of fresh air to use on FireOS nonethless.

What's Changed Exactly?​

Interested in everything that's been changed in today's update? Here's the changelog:

Scam Sites and Ensuring Your Download is Legit​

It has come to my attention that there are some scam sites out there claiming to be the "official" website for Fire Toolbox. Please do NOT download anything from these sites! They could distributing malware, or bundling it with the Toolbox. I do NOT run any other websites (besides the two wordpress websites - Datastream33, aftb), and I do NOT post Toolbox updates or builds anywhere else except right here on XDA. Once you've downloaded either the Installer or Portable build, I'd strongly suggest checking the SHA256 checksum and ensuring the file's checksum matches the checksum posted here before installing.

If you're comfortable with the command line you can use CertUtil (certutil -hashfile filepath SHA256) or Powershell (Get-FileHash filepath), or if you prefer a GUI you can try my new Sha256Checker tool.

Downloads​

Name	Installer (.exe)	Portable (.zip)
Fire Toolbox V34.0

Download​

Download

SHA256 Hashes​

Filename	SHA256 Hash
FTB_V34.0_Installer.exe	df19c7f691674c1dc4d3a91c32f3fa351a27c344f3bf265c6d8301f0056a98dc
FTB_V34.0_Portable.zip	f47618c589e61dc94c7672b37d38a3ae31bb8edf2e5bae8f0ded8d2a1321dd5f

Thank You, Thank You, Thank you!​

Hey guys, I know I haven't shown my face in here for some time... but I just wanted to let you all know that I have been keeping tabs on the thread. I just wanted to once again thank you all from the bottom of my heart for being so caring, and kind towards each other. I've been in and out of some communities and let's just say, there are some VERY vicious people out there. So thank you all for being so kind and respectful.

As always, I need to give a GIANT shoutout to my good friends, @blaacksheep and @Jumbo100! I want to thank you guys so much for your dedication, support, and wonderful guides! I have no idea what we would do without you! It's been a long ride, and I'm glad we get to share it with you fine gentlemen. Thank you for everything you've done! :D

Another huge shoutout goes to the fine folks who've sent some of their hard earned money towards the coffee fund. THANK YOU all so much! I really do appreciate it!

Oh, before I forget... my Linux enjoyers... we've got something cooking that I think you'll enjoy. Stay tuned! ;)

Well, that’s all I got for now, stay safe everyone, and hope you all have a fantastic rest of your day/night! Until next time, peace!