[Q] Not bricked, but not usable either - 7" Kindle Fire HD Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I have a rooted device so decided to play around and make some changes. I loaded the HTC_IME mod keyboard while running ADW Launcher and everything worked fine. I then decided to switch to Apex Launcer and made it the default launcher. Unfortunately it seems that Apex and HTC_IME mod are not compatible. I keep getting an error message that HTC_IME mod has stopped. I can't go into Settings to change to a different keyboard because I have it password protected (App Protector Pro) and I can't use the keyboard. I can't use ADB to get in and delete either the keyboard or launcher because ADB is disabled and I can't get into settings to enable it.
In other words, I totally screwed myself.
Is there any other way to gain control - factory cable, hard reset using buttons on the tablet, sledge hammer.....?
I appreciate any help you can give me.

Crisis Averted
YAY!!!
I'm functional again!!!!
I never realized that you could uninstall apps via the Android Market on the web. Was able to uninstall App Protector Pro so was able to get into Settings to change the keyboard to something functional.
Have learned my lesson and will always keep ADB enabled on both my tablet & phone in case I do something stupid again.

Related

[Q] Sideloaded Books on Nook Homescreens ?

Anyone figured out how to add sideloaded books on the 3 homescreens ? currently only stuff bought from the B&N store can go on the homescreens. Maybe some sort of hack ?
I can hope right ?
That is my only gripe about this device. I really wanted some control over the home page. I understand why they did it, but it just bothered me.
I have installed ADW as a new home screen and am looking for a copy of Launcher Pro to try as well as an alternate to the stock home screen. I also loaded Astro in the hope that I can somehow get individual books and folders on the home screen. The good thing is that you don't lose any of the main BN features at the bottom of the screen. I was able to put the library as an app on the home screen which works for now.
If anybody knows how to do this, I'd love to find out. It's my last hurdle to this being a perfect machine for me.
I originally wanted this as well, but since I rooted, I no longer want it or need it.
I installed LauncherPro and choose to use that as my defacto Home, so I never see the original B&N setup home screen.
Now I can place apps there or anything else. To me, apps are more important than seeing my book covers on the home screen. The only drawback is that I have to go to the library to see my books, but hey, it's a small price to pay.
My advice is this:
If you want to install apps and not just your books on the "home" screen, root the NC and go with LauncherPro or an equivilent.
If you want the original B&N experience and want to sideload your non B&N books then wait until someone comes up with a method, as far as I know, it isn't a priority at the moment.
But rest assured, someone will figure it out.

[Q] Unable to access personal dictionary in Google Keyboard

Ever since I've installed a 4.4 ROM on my phone, I've been unable to access the Personal Dictionary in the stock Google Keyboard. Uninstalling and reinstalling does not solve the issue.
I've installed the latest Google Play Services, the 4.1.x one and that didn't fix anything.
Every time I try to access the personal dictionary, Settings force closes and it kicks me out the Google Keyboard settings. The keyboard works fine and I'm able to add words to the keyboard when prompted, but I can't access the Personal Dictionary.
I like to modify the shortcuts leading to words. For example, I like "lol" to always lead to "LoL!!". Things like that. I can't change that. It's weird.
I would wipe Google Play Services data, but that looks like it'll wipe ALL my data and I have games hooked up to the account that I don't want to lose. =.S
Any ideas besides using a different keyboard. I don't really like the alternatives. Mainly because I prefer hardware keyboard over software to begin with. So my dislike of the other keyboards are just preference related and not actual app functionality or anything like that.
Thanks for any help.
use User Dictionary Manager (UDM) from PlayStore
working great on 4.4
Thank you for your replies. The closest to what I wanted was hoa1. I'm able to modify the personal dictionary of the HTC Keyboard and a prediction would show in the Google Keyboard.
But I'm just going to go back to 4.3. This 4.4 update is just... bad. =.[
Now, Google Play Services is crashing all over the place when I try to download apps. I have to keep restarting the download for each app.
Google Play has this odd cosmetic issue on the magnifying glass when I'm typing something. I've NEVER seen this before. There's this little grainy fuzz over the search icon when I'm texting what I want to search.
Ima just go back to the 4.3 ROM and use that. Everything was working fine. I'm sure ALL my issues would be resolved that way. LoL!!
And yes, I did the usual wipe everything, data, cache, and davlik cache. I install the ROM, boot, wait 10 minutes to let it settle in, install my kernel, wait about 5 minutes, reboot and go. I'm sure I followed the instructions correctly. IDK... Ima just wait. 4.3 was just fine. There's nothing I'll miss in 4.4. =.P
Thanks, anyways.

Play store no longer working. Server Error.

So play store now presents a "server error" with a retry button underneath it as soon as I launch play store. Nothing happens when i click retry.
This is what I did.
1) Installed Play store, been using it and working fine for a month.
2) Blocked OTA updates via hide commands.
3) Rooted my tablet yesterday, worked great and nothing was broken.
4) Today, i followed this guide to remove all of amazon's apps. I used the hide method. http://forum.xda-developers.com/amazon-fire/general/safe-to-remove-5-0-1-bloatware-2015-t3239582
5) I touched nothing else.
Now, everything works but google play.
Help!
Ok so I solved the problem.
I lied, I did perform one additional step, and that was the problem.
So between steps 3 and 4, I had installed the Apex launcher from the play store and then moved the fire launcher from /system/priv-app/com.amazon.firelauncher to another backup folder, then rebooted.
Upon reboot, the Apex launcher came up and worked. That's when I noticed the play store issue.
So to fix my issue, I set apex launcher as the default launcher, moved the com.amazon.firelauncher folder back to /system/priv-app, rebooted, then Play Store worked again (and luckily Apex was still set as the default launcher like I wanted).
So I guess the default fire launcher has to be installed and unhidden for play store to work properly?
TheLordofWar said:
Ok so I solved the problem.
I lied, I did perform one additional step, and that was the problem.
So between steps 3 and 4, I had installed the Apex launcher from the play store and then moved the fire launcher from /system/priv-app/com.amazon.firelauncher to another backup folder, then rebooted.
Upon reboot, the Apex launcher came up and worked. That's when I noticed the play store issue.
So to fix my issue, I set apex launcher as the default launcher, moved the com.amazon.firelauncher folder back to /system/priv-app, rebooted, then Play Store worked again (and luckily Apex was still set as the default launcher like I wanted).
So I guess the default fire launcher has to be installed and unhidden for play store to work properly?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the same server error from the google play store last night. I've been excitedly installing stuff left and right since the bright people among us achieved root...so tracking down which tweak or app caused the problem was going to be tough. Luckily I checked my network settings first. I went to my wifi settings and long-pressed on my wifi network to get the modify network screen, scrolled down to show advanced, and discovered something had changed my proxy setting to manual. I set proxy to none and google play came right back. I have no idea how I set the proxy to active, but maybe this will help someone else before they start uninstalling and unhiding things. Google play works fine with the default amazon launcher hidden or deleted by the way.
[email protected] said:
I had the same server error from the google play store last night. I've been excitedly installing stuff left and right since the bright people among us achieved root...so tracking down which tweak or app caused the problem was going to be tough. Luckily I checked my network settings first. I went to my wifi settings and long-pressed on my wifi network to get the modify network screen, scrolled down to show advanced, and discovered something had changed my proxy setting to manual. I set proxy to none and google play came right back. I have no idea how I set the proxy to active, but maybe this will help someone else before they start uninstalling and unhiding things. Google play works fine with the default amazon launcher hidden or deleted by the way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is interesting. Thanks for this response because while my solution did fix my problem, it just didn't make sense that the launcher would have to be not hidden. My proxy settings were set to manual as well, but that's because I did that to get adblock plus working without root, which worked fine. I didn't think to try and set it back to auto in the wifi setting. If I encounter the problem again, I will be sure to keep an eye on that.

Understanding how to for Apex (launcher) on Fire 7 7th Gen 5.4.0.1

I have a Fire 7 7th Gen, running Fire OS 5.4.0.1. It has Apex launcher & Launcher Hijack v3. I ran the script to setup widgets successfully.
I did set the Accessibility options for:
Apex Launcher
Apex Automatic Install / Uninstall Pro
To detect home button press
all on.
rebooted.
I see a flash of the stock launcher followed by Apex, which I understand is normal.
Sometimes I see a message :
Use Apex Launcher as Home with a 'Just Once or Always ' choice,
I say always but it does not seem to stick. Did I miss any steps
in setting up an alternate launcher, or is it more Fire OS weirdness?
For the most part, the directions are fine, and everything works around
95%. I have the launcher running an HTC sense style flip clock / weather
widget, mini widget (battery, wi-fi, bluetooth and airplane mode in
a 1x1 widget) and a calendar agenda widget all working as expected.
I just wondered if it is just a Fire OS thing for it not remembering
I'd set use Apex Launcher always before??
Running Apex (free) on 7th Gen 10 Inch 5.5.0.0. Doesn't ask for me it sticks.
I don't know, weird. I suppose I should be happy that it woks as well as it does . It does seem more responsive
than my 5th gen Fire 7's
fuzzynco said:
I don't know, weird. I suppose I should be happy that it woks as well as it does . It does seem more responsive
than my 5th gen Fire 7's
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I had to guess, I would say it's a new thing with the most recent Amazon patch. Maybe they came to the conclusion they weren't going to win users over with their launcher. Though it asking all the time is annoying, It could be a way to switch between them. The flash happens on all launchers, some more so or less so than others. On 5.4.4.0 you could Downgrade Fire launcher and uninstall/disable it, while keeping the home button, but breaking the recent apps button, but there is no flash. However you can downgrade back to 5.4.0.0, since you do have a 7th Gen. tablet.
DragonFire1024 said:
If I had to guess, I would say it's a new thing with the most recent Amazon patch. Maybe they came to the conclusion they weren't going to win users over with their launcher. Though it asking all the time is annoying, It could be a way to switch between them. The flash happens on all launchers, some more so or less so than others. On 5.4.4.0 you could Downgrade Fire launcher and uninstall/disable it, while keeping the home button, but breaking the recent apps button, but there is no flash. However you can downgrade back to 5.4.0.0, since you do have a 7th Gen. tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just want it to work reasonably, (if that is itself not unreasonable ).
Since 5.4.0.1 I am having problems installing Kodi No Limits builds,
the wizard gets loaded, and then is unable to download any of the
4 builds from any of the sources. It worked fine with 5.4.0.0 and 5.3.3.0
(which came on the tablet). Sometimes widgets stop updating for
not reason. I wish Amazon would let the device work as I the user
want it to. What I want to run as user app is my business on my
device not theirs.
Fire Launcher can be force stopped and its data cleared. There does
not appear to be any updates. The usual Android option to disable is
missing. Is there a package manager command to disable or hide it
or something? Something I can issue from adb shell?
fuzzynco said:
I wish Amazon would let the device work as I the user want it to. What I want to run as user app is my business on my device not theirs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Keep in mind Amazon does not market this device as a fully customizable Android tablet. It exists as a captive (locked down) portal to Amazon's vast ecosystem. Ever wonder why there are no open/unlocked tablets at similar price points? Money talks.
fuzzynco said:
I just want it to work reasonably, (if that is itself not unreasonable ).
Since 5.4.0.1 I am having problems installing Kodi No Limits builds,
the wizard gets loaded, and then is unable to download any of the
4 builds from any of the sources. It worked fine with 5.4.0.0 and 5.3.3.0
(which came on the tablet). Sometimes widgets stop updating for
not reason. I wish Amazon would let the device work as I the user
want it to. What I want to run as user app is my business on my
device not theirs.
Fire Launcher can be force stopped and its data cleared. There does
not appear to be any updates. The usual Android option to disable is
missing. Is there a package manager command to disable or hide it
or something? Something I can issue from adb shell?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The widget issue I think has a lot to do with not being able to control wifi scan intervals or other scan related functions so the wifi drops out more than it should. For example, one setting not available is the 'avoid poor connections' toggle. With root, there are apps and simple build.prop edits that control that some of those features. With older Fire 7s, the Nexus custom ROM really does an incredible job of fixing the problem altogether.

Question Fully disable assistant?

I just got my Pixel 5a yesterday and immediately am annoyed by the Google stuff. I installed the Nova launcher but still get thrown back to the Pixel launcher or tossed into various assistant screens all over the place. Is there any way to truly turn this stuff off via normal settings? I don't really want to root or get custom firmware, but I despise these forced integrations between everything.
I don't want anything launching of its own volition or because I accidentally touch or look at the phone. I just want the apps to launch when I click them, the 3-button navigation to let me switch between tasks, and a simple homescreen to hold widgets and shortcuts I choose. The first reason I don't want the Pixel launcher is because it doesn't' let me remove the stupid search bar, but I also don't want any of the other hidden and implicit triggers that tie into the assistant.
I also find it annoying that the home button opens some search if I touch it while already on the home screen. Is this coming from the assistant too? I didn't yet find any settings in Nova to adjust the buttons.
I'm with you here. Installed Nova for the exact same reason as you. I do this next thing on all my Android phones: GO to settings > Apps & notifications > see all apps > Google = DISABLE... o some phones it can be uninstalled!
Personally I also disable "Google Play Services for AR" but that is personal choice. I also disable a number of other apps that I know I do not want/use.
I suppose I could use ADB to try and uninstall them, but once they're disabled that is usually good enough. The first one though, Google being disabled, "should" remedy all your issues. I too use the three button navigation and hate ALL assistants!
There's a program on here called 'adpappcontrol' that's great for removing anything you want via ADB.
It's basically just a gui for the command line program. It's worked great for me on at least three phones.
[TOOL] ADB AppControl 1.8.0 🚀 Ultimate App Manager & Debloat Tool + Tweaks
ADB AppControl 🚀 Root is not required. Works with any Android device. Can do almost everything you dreamed about with applications. ADB AppControl - the desktop program, that will allow you to easily manage applications on your android device...
forum.xda-developers.com
Highly recommend. Make sure you tip the dev, since he does it in his spare time.
jaseman said:
I'm with you here. Installed Nova for the exact same reason as you. I do this next thing on all my Android phones: GO to settings > Apps & notifications > see all apps > Google = DISABLE... o some phones it can be uninstalled!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I could have sworn I already did that, but just checked and it is enabled. Has yours stayed off? Would the automatic Google Play app updates cause this to be reenabled?
I also now found the Nova setting Gestures -> Home Button that was causing this other search to appear if I press the home button when already on the home screen. Setting it to None with the checkbox still set for Only on main home page seems to give me what I want there...
lightuser said:
I could have sworn I already did that, but just checked and it is enabled. Has yours stayed off? Would the automatic Google Play app updates cause this to be reenabled?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine has stayed disabled. I can't speak to whether auto updates may have reenabled it. I always turn auto updates off. I like to see what is being updated on my phone.
jaseman said:
Mine has stayed disabled. I can't speak to whether auto updates may have reenabled it. I always turn auto updates off. I like to see what is being updated on my phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
they wont turn it back on but i have found in the past that sometimes with a os update they will re-enable.

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