yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] Jumbo100:
Automate installation is integrated into the Custom Launcher process. You already have Automate installed, so it's a matter of getting Automate and the Invoker flow properly configured.

@Datastream33 put this in place with FTB v33.x as follows from the release notes:

"... Reimporting the Already Imported​

Because the Toolbox doesn't have direct communication with Automate, it's difficult to tell when a flow is missing and needs to be reimported. The method we've been using isn't ideal... but it's the best I could come up with on the spot. Essentially, the method uses setting database values to keep track of what flow is imported and which ones are not. So by checking if a flow is within this key is how we can determine what flow has been imported. So, this check is now performed where flows are required, and if the check isn't null (meaning the flow has never been imported before) then a new checkbox option will appear, and when checked, will force the Toolbox to reimport the required flow. The following tools now have this option:

Custom Launcher - Launcher Invoker, and Shorcut Launcher

Quicksettings Modifer - Custom Quicksetting Tiles ... "

Also @blaacksheep wrote an earlier post with instruction for manual installation of Invoker flow:

[WINDOWS/LINUX][TOOL]Fire Toolbox V35.0

Fire Toolbox V35.0 All-In-One Toolbox for Fire Tablets! The Fire Toolbox is a collection of useful ADB (Android Debug Bridge) tweaks that can be applied to Amazon's Fire Tablets. The Toolbox project aims to help users fully customize...

xdaforums.com

You're running f/w 7.3.2.6 so you can't disable Fire Launcher; that's why you need the other Custom Launcher "workarounds". Ignore "Disable Launcher" option.
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] Jumbo100:
You've done all the troubleshooting SOP, so some FireOS code/API/library may have been corrupted/"broken" somewhere in your modding process. FireOS doesn't offer any error messages to help with troubleshooting. For the general user, Amazon doesn't have any process to repair FireOS issues other than a Factory Reset.
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] bibikalka:
Just had an issue where WiFi connections became extremely flaky on Fire Max 11 - there would be a connection, but no DNS server. It would say "Private DNS server cannot be accessed" or something. Spent quite a bit of time chasing it!

As I fix, I did this:

settings get global private_dns_mode
settings put global private_dns_mode off
settings get global private_dns_mode

With private dns off, things are fine again!
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] DB126:
Yep - localized DNS can be an issue on any device (Android, Windows, whatever) when the 'service goes bad'. Usually a reboot will clear things up; sometimes need to dig further and flush caches that are not memory resident. Network reset should also do it.

Of course, private DNS is a different beast that FireOS does not expose. Killing it via ADP likely restored the default state. There's probably a way to access the relevant settings panel via Activity Launcher although I wasn't able to locate via a few quick searches/tests. It would be very Amazon like to have removed it all together.

For those new to Private DNS: https://www.howtogeek.com/795644/how-to-enable-secure-private-dns-on-android/
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] jhford:
I've tried so many things but I just can't get my quasi-android setup to work again. Before I had these problems on boot up it would avoid the Fire Launcher and boot directly into Nova. But now the Fire Launcher seems to have control. To fix it I ran the FTB Custom Launcher using Nova 6.2.19 apk, I tried to get Automate working properly again (not sure which Flows I need), etc. This is driving me nuts. I hope someone can help.

Thanks
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] blaacksheep:
I replied to crasher92 back in November with a procedure that works. It may help you out.

If you no longer have Automate installed on your tablet, install it from Google Play Store.

Tap the hamburger (menu) icon in the upper-left, select 'settings'.

Scroll down a page or so and make sure "Run at startup" is checked.

Select 'back', then tap the 3 dots in the upper-right.

Select "Import", select "SD card".

Scroll to the bottom and select "Launcher Invoker.flo", select "Import".

In the 'flows' screen, tap "Launcher Invoker".

Make sure all 3 Privileges are checked and then press "Start".

That should have Automate all set up. Now, open an ADB shell in Toolbox and issue the following command:

Code:

reset_navbar

That will put your Home key back to stock.

Now you have to re-install Nova with the Custom Navbar Button method. It will recognize that it's already installed and should just set up the button.

That should do it, although you may need to reboot before it works. :) I've included launcher Invoker.Flo.zip in case you need it. Just extract it and import it if you don't have it already.
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] Jumbo100:
@jhford

I know you're frustrated, but there's one basic, fundamental point you've repeatedly overlooked/ignored/misunderstood :

You can't disable Fire Launcher on f/w 7.3.2.2 and later.

You may have been able to do this on your earlier FTB mods, but you've updated to f/w 7.3.2.6 so disabling Fire Launcher is no longer available. That's why you need one of the Custom Launcher workarounds. You've started the process but it's incomplete.

Please review my and @blaacksheep's posts to you over the last couple of days. You have all the pieces in place to make Custom Launcher work; just a matter of proper execution. (Hint: It's all about reconfiguring Automate and Invoker flow). You're so close to getting this right . 😀
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] jhford:
I just performed all of Blaacksheep's steps. Launcher Invoker.flo was already installed. I ran reset_navbar in ADB, and reinstalled Nova 6.2.19 as "Other." But it boot looped when it got to FTB running the Launcher Invoker code as part of the reinstallation of Nova. So, I shut it down and I'm back to where I started except for Launcher Invoker.flo being properly installed and seteup. See attached. Note that it seems that 4 versions of Launcher Invoker.flo are installed.
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] Jumbo100:
Yikes ... so many copies of Launcher Invoker.

Try deleting all the Invoker flows (especially the Microsoft Launcher !) and re-doing the process again.
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] bibikalka:
Indeed, the whole encryption (aka "private DNS") became flaky for some reason. There are other similar posts out there on the web about the very same issue :

Android Wi-Fi connection DNS failures

My relative's tablet has started having problems on our Wi-Fi network. It will downright refuse to do DNS resolution (not just locally). Some information about our network: Wi-Fi is delivered thro...

android.stackexchange.com

Flushing some persistent cache could help, but what's a good way to do this? Reboots that I tried did not help, only switching to different WiFi and back sometimes fixed that after a few tries.

A pretty unpleasant issue - and something that should just work all the time!
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] jhford:
I did that but when I ran the FTB Launcher installation the programmatic final step of the process was the installation of Launcher Invoker.flo which raised a dialog box to click OK which I did, but raised another dialog box on the connected HD 8 Plus to approve the installation of the Launcher Invoker, which would pause the FTB process if I didn't click it, but, if I did click it, it would install a 2nd, 3rd, etc. instance of Launcher Invoker.flo in Automate. So, I tried deleting all instances of Launcher Invoker.flo in Automate and let FTB install it by itself. But Automate > Launcher Invoker has an error and I can't finish the Nova installation. See attached.
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] DB126:
Yeah - I avoid using Android's native DNS encryption as I utilize more comprehensive toolsets that potentially conflict. That said, I don't typically encrypt DNS data as all calls are directed to a trusted provider regardless of location or device. Also not worried about MITM attacks given lifestyle and awareness of common exposures and vulnerabilities.

Given this lack of 'real world' experience, I can't guide you to the location of Android's native DNS caches. On the rare occasions I experience (or assist with resolving) network wonkiness I simply perform a network reset. Problem solved. As a bonus the dozens of WiFi AP data points from one-and-done connects gets wiped as well.
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] Jumbo100:
Hmm ... FTB v.33.x was newly coded to check for missing/incorrect versions of Invoker.flp. when trying to reinstall/repair existing Automate invoker.flo setups. It's obviously not working for you. (See release notes above).

to get Custom Lauchner to work for your setup, you need :

- a working install of Nova Launcher 6.2.19

- a working install of Automate

- a working copy of Invoker.flo

I think you have all this, but FTB Custom Launcher code isn't co-operating.

One last combination of fixes to try:

- clean out all invoker.flo from Automate, if any

- manually import invoke.flo per @blaacksheep's method. This will get a clean Automate/Launcher Invoker setup

- reset Home key back to stock configuration using ADB command, as noted

- re-install Nova Launcher using the FTB Custom Navbar Button method, as before

This fix combination is a little different. Your first try using @blaacksheep's method should have worked, but there may have been previously invoker.flo installs ( the Microsoft Launcher flow I suspect) interfering with the FTB process. The second try with empty Automate may not have worked due to previous Systems Settings set by FTB. @Datastream33's release notes alluded to System Settings being set by FTB's install of Invoker Launcher, which may assume that an inokerr.flo (and probably only one) is installed.

Hope this works. 🤞
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] jhford:
Before doing anything you suggested, I just deleted Launcher Invoker.flo from Automate. My Automate version is 1.42.2, the latest version which I assume is OK. I'm about to try @blaacksheep's method again, but I'm willing to bet that the dialog boxes will popup again during the Automate part of the Nova installation on both Windows and the device which seem to require an affirmative click/tap as I mentioned in post 14,054, above. If they do, should I do nothing and wait, which maybe forever, or click/tap affirmatively the submit buttons on both dialog boxes?
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] blaacksheep:
The important thing is that only one Launcher Invoker.flo file is started in Automate. In your previous screnshot with 4 flows, none of them were started (as indicated by a lack of a flower/star to the left of the flow). If you have more than one, just open one and click "start" after making sure all the boxes at the bottom are checked. When you go back to the flows screen, it should now have a flower/star next to it.
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] jhford:
It does, with a 2 in the center of the flower.
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] Datastream33:
Greetings!

Just out of ceriousity, what is the value of the "tb_custom_launcher" key in the secure setting database?

In an ADB Shell:

settings get secure tb_custom_launcher
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] jhford:
Alias file was missing, so it has been created.

> "cd /storage/emulated/0/;settings get secure tb_custom_launcher"

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[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] Datastream33:
Ah, think we found the culprit.

Run this command in an ADB Shell, and then start the Launcher Invoker flow:

settings put secure tb_custom_launcher com.teslacoilsw.launcher

Best of luck, and please let us know how it goes! 🤞
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] jhford:
Alias file was missing, so it has been created.

> "cd /storage/emulated/0/;settings put secure tb_custom launcher com.teslacoil.launcher"

I then launched Automate and started the Invoker Flo, if I understood you correctly, and rebooted the tablet. But it doesn't look like anything has changed. For example, I can't set up my widgets with Nova 6.2.19 just like before these ADB commands.
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] Datastream33:
Have you tried granting widget binding via appwidget?

appwidget grantbind --package com.teslacoilsw.launcher --user 0
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] Datastream33:
OK, only thing I can think of is the navbar not being setup properly. What's the value of the "sysui_nav_bar" key in the secure database?

In an ADB Shell:

settings get secure sysui_nav_bar

It should look something like this:
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] jhford:
Alias file was missing, so it has been created.

> "cd /storage/emulated/0/;setting get secure sysui_nav_bar"

[ERROR] Invalid command, try typing "help" for a list of commands.
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] Datastream33:
Dang, so close. Please ensure the exact command is ran.

settings get secure sysui_nav_bar
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] jhford:
> "cd /storage/emulated/0/;appwidget grantbind --package teslacoilsw.launcher --user 0"

Thanks, but that didn't work.
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] Datastream33:
Try adding widgets now
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] jhford:
Nope. Can't add. Isn't it past your bedtime?? :unsure:
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] Datastream33:
HAHA, if only you knew... right, @blaacksheep?

I take it you're done with me?
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] blaacksheep:
I never know when you're up. I'm just glad you're here to try and help @jhford out. :)
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] jhford:
"If you'll be my bodyguard, I can be your long-lost pal."
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] blaacksheep:
Just don't call me Al. I'm Jim. :)
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] Datastream33:
Yeah, I'm kind of all over the place to be honest. 🤷‍♂️
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] Datastream33:
Hahah, you can call me Al I guess. 🎭
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] blaacksheep:
Got to get up early tomorrow, so g'night. :)
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] Datastream33:
It's all good, man. Take care, and have a good night!
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] jhford:
To be continued ...
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] blaacksheep:
Just to clear things up for me (us), please tell us again, what tablet you're running (HD8, HD8+,HD10), the year of the tablet (or generation), and the firmware version you currently have. Also, do you have the most recent FTB (v33.1)? I just want to make sure we're all on the same page because after answering multiple user's questions I get them mixed up and it would be good to have a post that states all these things in one place. (I'm somewhat forgetful. ;))

I find that often it saves days of trying to figure out where your problem lies by just biting the bullet and factory resetting. It puts your tablet in a known state and if you follow procedure carefully, and without doing all your customizations up front (just the problematic ones first), often results in success. Afterwards, you can do your debloating and other customizations.
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] jhford:
HD 8 Plus 10th Gen. f/w 7.3.2.6. Yes, I have FTB 33.1 installed. BTW, I also have an HD 7 12th Gen f/w 8.3.2.1 which I have also quasi-Androidized. It's running Launcher Hijack v. 4.0.3 without issue, albeit slower. Both are running Nova 6.2.9, because Nova 7.x doesn't support many of my necessary widgets, BTW, you can call me Betty, but I'm really Jack.
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] blaacksheep:
Hi Jack! No, I'm not commandeering your aircraft.... 🙃

Edit: I'm running the same tablet you are, but with v7.3.2.3 firmware. /edit

I've been trying to stay out of this especially since @Datastream33 got involved. I don't want to mix things up.

Have you done a factory reset and started from scratch yet? I see you mentioned several times that the alias wasn't present. I've seen that in the past with my own tablet, but it was corrected in v33.0 I think. That puzzles me. We can just use the full command if it's needed.

So if you start in a fresh state with no launcher installed and Automate not installed, I believe that Toolbox DOES install v6 of Nova, which then gets updated by Google to v7, but don't take my word for it. I run v7 because it doesn't cause me any problems.

From a fresh state, Toolbox SHOULD install the Custom Navbar Key in the Settings Database. It should then walk you through the Automate installation and import the Launcher Invoker flow. This part must be done exactly to script for the proper results. If you don't follow the script exactly, things don't get done that need to be done. Don't do anything until the script tells you to do it. Really - this is crucial. If you follow the instructions exactly as they are specified, it should work immediately.

Edit 2: Make sure you disable the wifi immediately if you reset to avoid any further OTA updates until you can put the tablet into metered mode at least. (y)
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] jhford:
It's my bedtime now, but I'll reply more fully tomorrow. But, for now, I dread doing a factory reset, but, more importantly, Nova 7.x would be a deal breaker for the reason I've already stated. See you tomorrow. And I really appreciate your help. I don't know how my Androidized set-up got screwed up. If only we could just restore a backup like a Nandroid restore with which I'm very familiar because of my Nexus 7.
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] blaacksheep:
Okay on bedtime. I had to go last night, myself. The factory reset is a last resort, but often is still easier than undoing everything you modified to see if it will work - but I understand that an unsuccessful factory reset is even worse.

We all take some time to learn our devices. I buy cheap devices to learn on. :) I just don't trust anything important on them until they're proven.

Yeah, you're probably much safer doing a manual install of a "custom" launcher. Just make sure you don't tick any boxes or click "OK" until the script tells you to do so. I've had to redo it multiple times because I like to think that I can do it faster than the script asks for. (I've reset my tablet multiple times to replicate others' problems.) I try to keep the data that I want on my tablet in a folder that I can just dump to the big SD card I use for storage, so resets are just time-consuming.

Amazon has Fire tablets locked down so we can't write to most of the memory that a nandroid backup writes to. I'm learning that Android is much like Windows in that you have to specify where you want things stored to contain them and to restore backups. It seems we're always fighting the OS writers (Google, MS, Apple) for control over where we want things.

Okay, Jack. Get some sleep (if you already haven't) and I'll be around tomorrow afternoon through whenever I get tired. (I'm EST in Buffalo, NY) Let's hope we can resolve this quickly. :)

~Jim
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] jhford:
Ok Jim. To refresh your memory, you suggested that I clear the flows out of Automate, which I did, and after that to run the FTB Custom Launcher (FTBCL) > Other > Nova 6.2.29 which I also did. BUT, FTBCL proceeded to install Automate which caused dialog boxes with HTML submit buttons to appear on top of FTB on my laptop and on the tablet. If I didn't click the submit buttons, the FTB process circle kept spinning probably forever; if I clicked it seems Automate was a mess. So, I tried deleting Automate and running FTBCL again. But that didn't work either. That's when I gave up. I understand that Launcher Hijack isn't compatible with the HD 8 Plus, but what about "Launcher Replacer"?
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] blaacksheep:
Launcher Replacer got shut down in v7.3.2.2. It also doesn't work with FireOS 8. Okay, we'll work on it tomorrow. No sweat
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] jhford:
Woke up. Had to pee. Hypertension & diuretics. Checked, and the HD 8 Plus has been running f/w 7.3.2.6 since November 14, 2022 in my quasi-Androidized set-up except for the recent fiasco when the set-up was lost, if that even matters now. Back to sleep. [EDIT] Checked again. As I previously posted, Invoker Flow does not have the flower, but it does have an error message. See attached.
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] blaacksheep:
That error could be the source of your problem. The screenshot is incomplete. It doesn't show the full line in the error, but it does say "no activity found" so something isn't installed properly.

You know that the log portion of the screen is scrollable, right? That log is from 2-28, this is 3-02. According to the log, the flow restarts in line 4 and proceeds without error,

so it would appear that Automate and the flow are operating as expected. You just need to press the blue "Start" button!

The other two things that need to be in place are the custom launcher (Nova) needs to be installed and functional, and the system setting "sysui_nav_bar" needs to be set.

You can verify that Nova is installed and working by launching it from the app list in the Amazon launcher. You can verify that the system setting is set by using Toolbox > Modify System Settings > Settings Database Modifier, selecting the "Secure" tab. Scroll to the sysui_nav_bar entry and make sure that it contains "......key(130:file///storage/emulated.......". This is where the keys are defined that are displayed on the navbar.

The other way to see if this is defined properly is to use ADB Shell and type in

settings get secure sysui_nav_bar

This should display a line that defines all three keys of the navbar, the middle one being the "key(130:" definition.

If the launcher, the sysui_nav_bar key definition, and Automate are all correct, then it's something else that has been done that we could not foresee. That is why when I suggested a factory reset, that I mentioned setting up the problematic customization first before you do anything else. These settings/customizations often interact with other things in unexpected ways.
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] jhford:
I managed to copy the error text.

02-29 08:13:25.217 I 22@1: Flow beginning

02-29 08:13:25.225 I 22@34: System setting get

02-29 08:13:25.231 I 22@29: Fork

02-29 08:13:25.268 I 22@31: Broadcast receive

02-29 08:13:25.297 I 23@24: Fork

02-29 08:13:25.327 I 23@4: Media button

02-29 08:13:25.496 I 24@25: App in foreground?

02-29 08:35:51.957 I 24@5: App start

02-29 08:35:52.078 F 24@5: android.content.ActivityNotFoundException: No Activity found to handle Intent { flg=0x10040000 }

02-29 08:35:52.078 I 24@5: Stopped by failure

02-29 16:48:32.455 I 22@31: Resumed after restart

02-29 16:48:32.462 I 22@31: Broadcast receive

02-29 16:48:32.481 I 23@4: Resumed after restart

02-29 16:48:32.484 I 23@4: Media button

02-29 16:48:33.031 I 22@35: App start

02-29 16:48:33.041 F 22@35: android.content.ActivityNotFoundException: No Activity found to handle Intent { flg=0x10040000 }

02-29 16:48:33.044 I 22@35: Stopped by failure

02-29 16:48:33.052 I 23@4: Stopped by parent
[Fire HD 8 and HD 10 Android Development] jhford:
I deleted the existing flow with error lines and reimported your .flo, started it, the flower appeared, and I ran the ADB command which generated the following output:

"cd /storage/emulated/0/;settings get secure sysui_nav_bar"

null