New Fire 2015/6 Kids edition advise? - Fire Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hi, so I just bought 2 Fire 7" "Kid's edition", which I believe are just the Fire 7" 5th Gen 2015, with an added 1 year Amazon FreeTime subscription?
I'm not sure if I need to root them. They seem a bit slow (not blaming the hardware), and I worry I may lose the 1 year unlimited FreeTime, but at the same time, I bought 64G Micro SD cards, and they will be used offline, so I plan on buying learning apps for little ones.
What should I do? They came with Fire OS 5.1.1 by default, and I really wish to be able to make a backup of whatever I do with them in case the mother I give these as a gift has to recover it somehow (she knows nothing about android btw).
Here's my hopes with these devices:
1- Use them offline, buy, and download many learning apps for kids, as well as games, and movies.
2- Since I seem to be able to use FlashFire at the moment, and not TWRP, find a way to create a nandroid backup, and easy recovery. (or is Amazon recovery good enough?)
3 - Is it worth a slight performance improvement, flashing a lighter rom, and less confusing launcher/Amazon setup, and complicate a recovery procedure?

ianthomas said:
Hi, so I just bought 2 Fire 7" "Kid's edition", which I believe are just the Fire 7" 5th Gen 2015, with an added 1 year Amazon FreeTime subscription?
I'm not sure if I need to root them. They seem a bit slow (not blaming the hardware), and I worry I may lose the 1 year unlimited FreeTime, but at the same time, I bought 64G Micro SD cards, and they will be used offline, so I plan on buying learning apps for little ones.
What should I do? They came with Fire OS 5.1.1 by default, and I really wish to be able to make a backup of whatever I do with them in case the mother I give these as a gift has to recover it somehow (she knows nothing about android btw).
Here's my hopes with these devices:
1- Use them offline, buy, and download many learning apps for kids, as well as games, and movies.
2- Since I seem to be able to use FlashFire at the moment, and not TWRP, find a way to create a nandroid backup, and easy recovery. (or is Amazon recovery good enough?)
3 - Is it worth a slight performance improvement, flashing a lighter rom, and less confusing launcher/Amazon setup, and complicate a recovery procedure?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
does it have a SD card slot?
does it say HD on it?
Sent from my KFFOWI using XDA Labs

sd_shadow said:
does it have a SD card slot?
does it say HD on it?
Sent from my KFFOWI using XDA Labs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"@sd_shadow Thanks for reading my question.
It has a Micro SD card slot for up to 128G of storage, it's not an HD (I believe they don't support Micro SD), and it says 5th generation as well as Fire OS 5.1.1 that came by default. Here's the link, and special offer (buy 2, get 50$ off):
Fire Kids Edition, 7" Display, Wi-Fi, 8 GB, Pink Kid-Proof Case
My questions are really regarding giving these devices to a mother that doesn't know much about tablets, and will mostly be offline (Freetime is mostly Wifi only sadly), so I'm trying to think what I could do to these devices to improve her experience, and the little ones.. I root, and try out roms all the time on my cellphones, but even with much experience using android roms, the Fire OS UI seems confusing, and bloated to me for a regular mom.

ianthomas said:
"@sd_shadow Thanks for reading my question.
It has a Micro SD card slot for up to 128G of storage, it's not an HD (I believe they don't support Micro SD), and it says 5th generation as well as Fire OS 5.1.1 that came by default. Here's the link, and special offer (buy 2, get 50$ off):
Fire Kids Edition, 7" Display, Wi-Fi, 8 GB, Pink Kid-Proof Case
My questions are really regarding giving these devices to a mother that doesn't know much about tablets, and will mostly be offline (Freetime is mostly Wifi only sadly), so I'm trying to think what I could do to these devices to improve her experience, and the little ones.. I root, and try out roms all the time on my cellphones, but even with much experience using android roms, the Fire OS UI seems confusing, and bloated to me for a regular mom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, it's rootable just use the 5.1.1 root
links in the index
[Index]Amazon Fire 7" - 5th Gen-2015
Sent from my KFFOWI using XDA Labs

Related

Fire HD or galaxy tab 2?

I am selling my iPad that I regret buying. I want something else. I'm between the kindle fire HD 8.9 and the galaxy tab 2 10.1 are there good reasons to get this over the galaxy? I see the specs difference. But I'm still undecided. Any help would be appreciated.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA
Its a big "it depends"
If you're a prime member, that's a huge + for the kfhd
Its much easier to have a normal android experience on the tab2, but the specs are a lot lower. If you're willing to deal with rooting to get play on the KFHD and dodging amazons updates that break root the KFHD is better device. Or if you don't care about the full android experience and just want to consume media, the KFHD is great. I think only you can answer how important some of this stuff is to you.
Tab2 wouldn't be my first choice unless you got one of those crazy black friday deals on it for a 10" tablet in that price range though. I'd be more likely to compare the tf300t. Much better SOC and cheaper.
Is the kindle that much faster and is the display really look better? I like the idea of being able to expand the storage on the g-tab and I own the s2 and I love it. Whatever I get will be rooted almost as soon as I take it out of the box. Its what I do so that doesn't matter.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA
Mr. bird said:
I am selling my iPad that I regret buying. I want something else. I'm between the kindle fire HD 8.9 and the galaxy tab 2 10.1 are there good reasons to get this over the galaxy? I see the specs difference. But I'm still undecided. Any help would be appreciated.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
why did you get rid of the ipad? The kindle sucks, i'm going to return mine (got the 8.9 for $250). I can't even run Gmail without it crashing.
Mr. bird said:
Is the kindle that much faster and is the display really look better? I like the idea of being able to expand the storage on the g-tab and I own the s2 and I love it. Whatever I get will be rooted almost as soon as I take it out of the box. Its what I do so that doesn't matter.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd tell you to look into the nook hd+ if you're rooting for sure, it has the SD slot, cheaper, but no camera. Can't tell you what the progress is on root though.
jmandawg said:
why did you get rid of the ipad? The kindle sucks, i'm going to return mine (got the 8.9 for $250). I can't even run Gmail without it crashing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't like the iPad. The os is so limited. Everything is so slow. And programs crash all the time. The crashing may have been because I jail broke it but either way it just sucked. I prefer android.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA
Mr. bird said:
I don't like the iPad. The os is so limited. Everything is so slow. And programs crash all the time. The crashing may have been because I jail broke it but either way it just sucked. I prefer android.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was it an ipad 1? IMO the ipad 3 i have is worlds above the kindle fire HD, except for the price. The kindle is going to be even more limited and slow than an ipad 2-4. Samsung has been known to not updating their software so i'd recommend a nexus tablet if you want to go android.
I returned my kindle. Right now i have a nexus 7 and an Ipad 3. The ipad 3 works so good it's kinda boring, the nexus is completely open and there are alot of mods you can do to it. At this point i would not recommend a kindle unless you really like the amazon interface. CM10 looks like it's coming soon, but there will be lots of bugs, and you have to wait.
Maybe not exactly the info you're looking for, but here's my experience with the various manufacturers..
My current round up of devices include:
1. NookTablet
2. NookTouch
3. Moto Xoom (gave to Dad, but I still maintain)
4. Sammy Galaxy Tab 2 7"
5. Asus/Google Nexus 7
6. Kindle Fire 8.9 (just got this week; they had a $50 off deal one day)
7. Sammy Note I (phone)
4,5, and 6 are the only "current" models; all the other have newer versions.
They all have their pro and cons...here's my opinion on some of them.
Overall, the Nexus 7 is the winner.
If you're looking to run custom roms, the N7 has the widest selection and (more importantly) most active development community.
It also has the fastest proc of the bunch.
Its one real drawback, as you and others mentioned, is that it does not have expandable memory.
The Gtab2/7"..the 4 things it has over the N7:
1. Rear camera
2. Expandable storage
3. I/R blaster
4. A lot cheaper (I've seen refurbs on woot! twice now)
It also has a good selection of custom roms, but the dev community isn't as active as the N7...and that's only going to get worse as time goes on.
It is noticeably slower than the N7!
If you run any rom not based off of Samsung's rom, you lose the I/R blaster.
It's not that much of a loss because the available I/R remote control software sucks.
I've used the rear (and front camera) not more than a handful of times.
As for the Nook:
I would only recommend a Nook if you happen to frequent B&N stores often. Or you have already purchased e-books/magazines through them.
Their stock rom allows you to read any book while in store.
Their "Nook Kids" is available as an app for iOS, but not available for any Android devices except their own Nooks.
From my experience their Kids apps are nothing more than a larger selection of kids books, and they allow you to record yourself while reading the book.
I've run custom roms on it and ended putting the stock rom back on (rooted and Google Play installed of course)
As for the Kindle:
I would recommend if you have already purchased e-books/magazines through Amazon and/or have an Amazon Prime account.
Amazon (AFAIK) doesn't allow you to stream any video through android devices except their own Kindle Fires.
So as a Prime member, I was able to watch Fringe for the first time last night (a title not available on NetFlix).
You can also "check out" a lot of books without purchasing them.
I did root and get the Google Play store installed on this too.
I most likely won't be installing any custom roms on it.
Not because I like the Amazon UI or anything...but simpy because:
With both the Nook and the Kindle, you get value added services (like being able to read books in store and streaming content not available on other devices/roms)
So for me personally, I'm a big Amazon user, and am digging my 8.9 and the Prime features.
If I was looking for best specs and most open, I'd probably get an Nexus 10
Geekybiker said it best: " I think only you can answer how important some of this stuff is to you. "
I own a GT 2 7, and theres a catch about the SD memory expansion and is that you cant install applications or application data on the SD; not at least on stock rom; the expansion its only useful for media (music, movies, docs, book, etc..) not for apps.
Regards.
It all depends on the features you want now, and or later.
If you like The Fire HD, it has amazing dual speakers and is a great multimedia device, but is limited at the moment due to the Amazon ecosystem. But both the 8.9" and 7" variants, are having custom roms being developed for them, because the bootloaders have been cracked. So if your willing to wait for the goodies, then go with the Kindle Fire HD.
If you want something with more of a all around Android Experience now go with the Galaxy Tab. In my overall Opinion if it maters, pick the Kindle Fire HD either model size.
I ended up ordering the gtab 2 10.1 I want the expandable storage for movies and pics. 16gb is fine for The rest. Thanks to everyone for their input.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA

To buy or not to buy?

Hey all, I did not see a topic like this posted so forgive me if there already is one.
I am looking to possibly buy my first tablet, and probably the HD+. I currently own a Samsung Galaxy Note (original, european version) which has a 1280x800 5.3" screen. Thus why I haven't bought a tablet. The nexus 7 was tempting but the low resolution relative to my phone and the lack of SD slot dissuaded me. Plus, while 7" is larger than my 5.3" phone, it wasn't enough.
Now enter the HD+ with its byond HD resolution, 9" of real estate and i'm interested. I played with one at my local B&M store and was impressed. I wanted to check xda first to see what the development community is like before I buy. So far the only negatives are:
* Most of the videos on youtube call it "laggy" or "slow" or "unresponsive" Is this fixed at all?
* Complete lack of USB support. Proprietary charger, etc
* Pretty heavy compared to 7" tablets
I'm posting this essentially to request someone convince me I need this tablet and that the devs are behind it with rooting, etc. How stable is CM10 now on it, for example?
Wow this forum is completely dead. Guess i have my answer.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 2
nook hd+
I go my hands on a 16gig nook hd+ cheap i love it i chose it because the 7 inch tablets seem fine for reading kind of like a paperback but i also enjoy reading comics and way to small on a 7inch. The 10.1 inch tablets are a joke for reading books and are way to long for reading comics like holding a stone tablet in your hands. The nook hd+ and fire hd 8.9 seemed like that sweet spot i was looking for. I chose the nook hd+ over the fire 8.9 for many reasons first the deal i got on it $220 plus a teal book case, the screen is fantastic, micro sd card slot i dont use any streaming and i dont pay for downloads i have a giant harddrive full of mp4 videos epub books and cbz comic files i load myself, and right out of the box the nook hd+ reads .cbz comic files and pretty good at it so i didnt need to pay for anything, root or sideload any apps.
Now i read all the reviews on the nook hd they all reported lag unfinished operating system and nook store didnt have the same amount of multimedia support as the others. Im running the latest software on my nook hd+ and i have zero issues zero. And i have way to many of my own files to load to care if the nook store dosent have a certain movie ill download the latest torrent it plays my bluray 720p mp4 rips like a champ ill download latest books and use clibre to convert and load my epubs and ill download comic files and use comic rack to convert to .cbz
It comes down to you if you want to pay for downloads go with another tablet if you want to load your own stuff you wont get more bang for your buck then nook hd+
Plus if your gonna root that sd card slot is a must have
Oh ya i dont care about a front or back camera on a 9inch tablet thats why i have a phone and laptop
My advice: buy!
Then put CM10 as to verygreen on it and never look back.
I have the direct comparison to a nexus 7 and it is no contest. The screen of the HD+ is absolutely beautiful, the speed of the OS is absolutely okay - much better that the N7 running 4.2 actually.
With a 32 or 64 GB Sd-card you have tons of space.
I would say, atm the HD+ is the best value tablet available (thanks to the developments going on here).
LxMxFxD said:
Hey all, I did not see a topic like this posted so forgive me if there already is one.
I am looking to possibly buy my first tablet, and probably the HD+. I currently own a Samsung Galaxy Note (original, european version) which has a 1280x800 5.3" screen. Thus why I haven't bought a tablet. The nexus 7 was tempting but the low resolution relative to my phone and the lack of SD slot dissuaded me. Plus, while 7" is larger than my 5.3" phone, it wasn't enough.
Now enter the HD+ with its byond HD resolution, 9" of real estate and i'm interested. I played with one at my local B&M store and was impressed. I wanted to check xda first to see what the development community is like before I buy. So far the only negatives are:
* Most of the videos on youtube call it "laggy" or "slow" or "unresponsive" Is this fixed at all?
* Complete lack of USB support. Proprietary charger, etc
* Pretty heavy compared to 7" tablets
I'm posting this essentially to request someone convince me I need this tablet and that the devs are behind it with rooting, etc. How stable is CM10 now on it, for example?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Definitely buy.
I too was looking at a new tablet for 2013, similar to you. I have Kindle Fire 1st generation so I know what 7 inch tablet can do for me. Movies and reading books was fine but surfing and comics - not that good. I ordered the 64gb version and looking forward to it
The only downside I was considering is lack of front facing camera for Skype but I solved that problem with a new phone. Another downside is the speakers location on only one side but I can live with that.
tironeol said:
Definitely buy.
I too was looking at a new tablet for 2013, similar to you. I have Kindle Fire 1st generation so I know what 7 inch tablet can do for me. Movies and reading books was fine but surfing and comics - not that good. I ordered the 64gb version and looking forward to it
The only downside I was considering is lack of front facing camera for Skype but I solved that problem with a new phone. Another downside is the speakers location on only one side but I can live with that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Best value tablet, and with rooting/cm its all you need. Reason forum is quiet is there isn't much need for anything!
tironeol said:
I ordered the 64gb version and looking forward to it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
64GB version? Did I miss some big announcement?
Sent from my HD+ running CM10 on SD with XDA Premium
I'm about to get one
Went with a nexus 10 for almost twice the price. I just got it yesterday. Screen Res is niiiice but contrast is very lacking.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk 2
OECD tyyFreq
leapinlar said:
64GB version? Did I miss some big announcement?
Sent from my HD+ running CM10 on SD with XDA Premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's 32gb. In my mind I added the 32gb on board with my 32gb mem card.
LxMxFxD said:
Went with a nexus 10 for almost twice the price. I just got it yesterday. Screen Res is niiiice but contrast is very lacking.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nexus 10 is a fine device but for me it doesn't bring anything extra to a tablet that I need. Of course different people will have different needs.
tironeol said:
It's 32gb. In my mind I added the 32gb on board with my 32gb mem card.
Nexus 10 is a fine device but for me it doesn't bring anything extra to a tablet that I need. Of course different people will have different needs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hear ya. The only major problem with the HD+ is the proprietary charger and lack of Bluetooth. If you're cool with that its all good.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk 2
LxMxFxD said:
I hear ya. The only major problem with the HD+ is the proprietary charger and lack of Bluetooth. If you're cool with that its all good.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bluetooth works, no lack at all! I stream music and use MAPS with my phone's GPS using BT.
I've had mine for about a week now. Some very good help on here for installing google play store (without even rooting) and booting cm10 from the sd card. That's why I got it. The main drawbacks in my mind was no access to play store, and proprietary version of android. But those issues have been taken care of by folks on this forum, and the only thing left as negatives were the proprietary charging/usb port and no camera... I think I'll be able to live with those.
I still haven't gotten adb working but adbwireless seems to do the trick so that's not an issue now either. I'm on the Buy It side as well.
Sent from my BNTV600 using Tapatalk HD
Aside from rooted stock being allergic to to any changes to system files I quite like the Nook HD. It is a good size for reading at the table but so was my old Galaxy Tab 7+. I could have gone for the N7 but I have a bitter hatred against Google for deciding on us that we don't need that micro sd port. Sounds abit like a certain other company no?
Buy if you are ok with that limitation (only if you are on stock though)
Frankly I liked the Nook Color the most

How do I Flash Amazon Fire 7 Nexus(modded) (originally 5.1.1) back to fire os 5.1.1

I flashed my son's Amazon Fire 5.1.1 with Nexus ROM using FlashFire.
What is the safest way to go back to FireOS 5.1.1??
I am still searching the forums, but I am nervous because I've already destroyed 1 of these things and really don't want to do a second.
KYJoe said:
I flashed my son's Amazon Fire 5.1.1 with Nexus ROM using FlashFire.
What is the safest way to go back to FireOS 5.1.1??
I am still searching the forums, but I am nervous because I've already destroyed 1 of these things and really don't want to do a second.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Safest approach IMO is to sideload 5.1.1 via Amazon's stock recovery. See this tread; first post has a nice video.
Davey126 said:
Safest approach IMO is to sideload 5.1.1 via Amazon's stock recovery. See this tread; first post has a nice video.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Got it worked great. Rooted using Supertool Now back to troubleshooting speed issues when installing/launching some apps.
Took Facebook 10 minutes to download and install....once I launch it...it come sup with a blue screen and the logo flashes longer than it should....
ug
KYJoe said:
Got it worked great. Rooted using Supertool Now back to troubleshooting speed issues when installing/launching some apps.
Took Facebook 10 minutes to download and install....once I launch it...it come sup with a blue screen and the logo flashes longer than it should....
ug
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Surprised you stepped away from Nexus (or any custom rom for this device) if looking for 3rd party apps. If FireOS is a must you'll probably need to keep some of Amazon's massive app portfolio from launching at boot and reloading even when 'swipped' away.
Davey126 said:
Surprised you stepped away from Nexus (or any custom rom for this device) if looking for 3rd party apps. If FireOS is a must you'll probably need to keep some of Amazon's massive app portfolio from launching at boot and reloading even when 'swipped' away.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I may have to step away from the device altogether. Unfortunately we bought 3 of them as Easter gifts for kids. I didn't research the device enough before purchasing (my fault). We found them for $28 on Amazon, saw they could be rooted with CM12 and assumed it would work like the Nook Color did. (my fault completely).
In the 3-4 days that my son used it and we had moved apps to the sd card...for whatever reason when I took a look at the tablet to see how space was being utilized and how well it was running on the 4th day....the sd card didn't even show up. And I know (if you want a nook color experience...buy a nook color)...
KYJoe said:
Well I may have to step away from the device altogether. Unfortunately we bought 3 of them as Easter gifts for kids. I didn't research the device enough before purchasing (my fault). We found them for $28 on Amazon, saw they could be rooted with CM12 and assumed it would work like the Nook Color did. (my fault completely).
In the 3-4 days that my son used it and we had moved apps to the sd card...for whatever reason when I took a look at the tablet to see how space was being utilized and how well it was running on the 4th day....the sd card didn't even show up. And I know (if you want a nook color experience...buy a nook color)...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nook Color is a nice device. However, you can probably achieve your objectives with a little more work. Are the current problems confined to issues with SD card access? Or are there other concerns.
Davey126 said:
Nook Color is a nice device. However, you can probably achieve your objectives with a little more work. Are the current problems confined to issues with SD card access? Or are there other concerns.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have to admit that I don't use the tablet. It is mainly for my 11 year old niece, 13 year old niece and 13 year old son. Biggest concern for me is the sd card just becoming blank. I put cyanogen on my sons color 2? 3? years ago? and I haven't had to touch it since. He installs apps, copies movies over etc...but for the last 6 months he had been using it with a cracked screen....which seemed annoying to me but he didn't mind, but then the back fell off..lol....
I just want something that works and can install apk via usb cable etc...watch movies...play KODI. Each of the 3 Fire's have 64gb sd cards in them. So they should last a little while.
Let me know if you have any suggestions. I'm not totally against looking at another custom rom, but I may have to buy a 4th one so that I can mess with it.
KYJoe said:
I have to admit that I don't use the tablet. It is mainly for my 11 year old niece, 13 year old niece and 13 year old son. Biggest concern for me is the sd card just becoming blank. I put cyanogen on my sons color 2? 3? years ago? and I haven't had to touch it since. He installs apps, copies movies over etc...but for the last 6 months he had been using it with a cracked screen....which seemed annoying to me but he didn't mind, but then the back fell off..lol....
I just want something that works and can install apk via usb cable etc...watch movies...play KODI. Each of the 3 Fire's have 64gb sd cards in them. So they should last a little while.
Let me know if you have any suggestions. I'm not totally against looking at another custom rom, but I may have to buy a 4th one so that I can mess with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looks like you found a solution in another thread. See how that plays out.

Which generation Fire 7" would you choose?

If price was irrelevant would you choose a 5th gen OS 5.3.1.0 or a 7th generation?
Can sd card be used as main storage on both?
If price was irrelevant I would search ebay and message people to find one with 5.1.2 and tell them to turn off wifi and ship it to me. They all can run and SD card up to 128 gb
Shell820810 said:
If price was irrelevant would you choose a 5th gen OS 5.3.1.0 or a 7th generation?
Can sd card be used as main storage on both?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A 5th gen with FireOS 5.3.1 can be rooted allowing installation of a custom ROM and/or more flexible use of SD card storage (virtually anything). A 7th gen will almost certainly arrive with a version of FireOS that can not be rooted at present. You are then stuck with FireOS and fairly restrictive SD card utilization. Remaining improvements in 7th gen devices are relatively minor.
Shell820810 said:
If price was irrelevant would you choose a 5th gen OS 5.3.1.0 or a 7th generation?
Can sd card be used as main storage on both?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I currently am using 15 of the 7" 5th gens rooted and running as kiosks for test taking in my classroom. They have a few booting issues, but otherwise are awesome machines for what I need. I've really fallen in love with the heavy duty Moko case for protecting against water damage/drops from the students.
I picked up 10 more 7th gens during the Prime sale. I opened one and tried to install Google Play and the Kiosk Browser with Launcher Hijacker. Not only do I have to deal with obnoxious lock screens, but it moves sluggishly slow compared to the custom rom I've been running on the 5th gens. If 5.4.0 isn't rooted within the next month, I'm returning all 10 to Amazon because they have zero worth to me in their current state.
I understand they might be selling the tablet as a loss leader for the ads, but their bloatware is awful. Truly a waste of awesome hardware.
gsbs1 said:
I If 5.4.0 isn't rooted within the next month, I'm returning all 10 to Amazon because they have zero worth to me in their current state.
I understand they might be selling the tablet as a loss leader for the ads, but their bloatware is awful. Truly a waste of awesome hardware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
- securing root in the next 30 days is highly unlikely IMO
- Amazon has a sound business strategy; hardware and software are sold as a package and support that strategy

Catching Up with the Amazon Fire...

Hey Guys -
I've been using XDA for a few years now to mod my many other Android devices, but today; was talking to wife and she isn't happy with her Amazon Fire tablet as she says it's too slow and is sick of all the ads. It's a 7" 5th Generation running 5.6.0.1 and all I've done to it in the past is install Google Play on it.
What would be my best option / ROM to load which would basically turn it into a simple yet stable Android device? I looked at LineageOS & a couple of others in this forum, but unsure which is the most stable - and - if it's even possible to install any of them on a 5.6.0.1 device. I planned to test out a couple as I thought I had rooted when installing Google Play long ago so grabbed TWRP and installed FlashFire - but when launching FlashFire I was told it was not rooted.
What would you suggest be the way to go to achieve this goal? Thanks!
bzowk said:
Hey Guys -
I've been using XDA for a few years now to mod my many other Android devices, but today; was talking to wife and she isn't happy with her Amazon Fire tablet as she says it's too slow and is sick of all the ads. It's a 7" 5th Generation running 5.6.0.1 and all I've done to it in the past is install Google Play on it.
What would be my best option / ROM to load which would basically turn it into a simple yet stable Android device? I looked at LineageOS & a couple of others in this forum, but unsure which is the most stable - and - if it's even possible to install any of them on a 5.6.0.1 device. I planned to test out a couple as I thought I had rooted when installing Google Play long ago so grabbed TWRP and installed FlashFire - but when launching FlashFire I was told it was not rooted.
What would you suggest be the way to go to achieve this goal? Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, allowing FireOS to update beyond 5.3.2.0 permanently removed the ability to root and/or install custom ROMs. It's FireOS in all it's glory from this point forward. There is a convoluted way to remove some of the Amazon bloat but you probably don't want to go there as it's not for the faint of heart. Most who travel that route have less than satisfactory outcomes. 5th/7th gen Fire 7 devices are getting long in the tooth and are decidedly underpowered for the tasks Amazon demands of it. Your better half is probably looking a new device if she is significantly dissatisfied.
Davey126 said:
Unfortunately, allowing FireOS to update beyond 5.3.2.0 permanently removed the ability to root and/or install custom ROMs. It's FireOS in all it's glory from this point forward. There is a convoluted way to remove some of the Amazon bloat but you probably don't want to go there as it's not for the faint of heart. Most who travel that route have less than satisfactory outcomes. 5th/7th gen Fire 7 devices are getting long in the tooth and are decidedly underpowered for the tasks Amazon demands of it. Your better half is probably looking a new device if she is significantly dissatisfied.
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Some folks over in the HD 8/10 forum seem to be making headway with achieving root, some of which might apply to the Fire 7.
However, I do have to agree the 5th gen Fire 7 I have is barely a functional tablet at this point with the stock ROM.
lakitu47 said:
Some folks over in the HD 8/10 forum seem to be making headway with achieving root, some of which might apply to the Fire 7.
However, I do have to agree the 5th gen Fire 7 I have is barely a functional tablet at this point with the stock ROM.
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HD 10 has a different underlying architecture utilizing different kernel and ROM components exposing new vulnerabilities that are being exploited. Amazon will undoubtedly close those as do all manufactures. In contrast HD 8 uses the same architecture as the Fire 7. Realizing root on that device is highly unlikely.
It will be interest to see what Amazon does with the next hardware refresh. Me thinks the Fire 7 will be gone with either an adjustment on the HD 8 price point or the addition of some other gizmo to fill the gap.
Davey126 said:
HD 10 has a different underlying architecture utilizing different kernel and ROM components exposing new vulnerabilities that are being exploited. Amazon will undoubtedly close those as do all manufactures. In contrast HD 8 uses the same architecture as the Fire 7. Realizing root on that device is highly unlikely.
It will be interest to see what Amazon does with the next hardware refresh. Me thinks the Fire 7 will be gone with either an adjustment on the HD 8 price point or the addition of some other gizmo to fill the gap.
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From what it looks like so far, it looks like the current progress for the Fire HD 8 is less so "root" and more like "uncovering hidden features we never knew we could use on Fire OS".
I do notice the Fire HD 8/HD 10 have gotten more of the spotlight recently. The Fire 7 (even the 2017 version) just isn't the $50 bargain it was two years ago. The HD 8 2017 has already dropped down to only $80 new.
Less people are buying the 7" tablet now, because it almost seems "too cheap". I do wonder what the Fire tablet lineup will be next year.
I bought the 7" recently and still consider it a pretty good bargain (I paid 40 Euros).
You could argue that the 8" it better value for money (I don't really know, but maybe) but for me the 7" form-factor is just perfect for a "everyday carry device".
The market for 7" tablet is not so big, you could get a Lenovo for about 80 Euro or a Samsung for about 120, that's about it if you want to avoid chinese no-names.
So it is by far the cheapest option and debloated and equipped with Google Playstore it is quite a nice device and I expect Amazon to drop the 7" line, so get it while you can...
morgonhed said:
I bought the 7" recently and still consider it a pretty good bargain (I paid 40 Euros).
You could argue that the 8" it better value for money (I don't really know, but maybe) but for me the 7" form-factor is just perfect for a "everyday carry device".
The market for 7" tablet is not so big, you could get a Lenovo for about 80 Euro or a Samsung for about 120, that's about it if you want to avoid chinese no-names.
So it is by far the cheapest option and debloated and equipped with Google Playstore it is quite a nice device and I expect Amazon to drop the 7" line, so get it while you can...
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Click to collapse
A gently used HDX is a far better device for similar coin. Far superior hardware and capable of running a dozen+ custom ROMs ranging from KitKat to Nougat (soon Oreo). I do enjoy my rooted 5th gen Fire for media streaming playback.

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